Hekim Ismail Pasha (1807–1880; lit. ''Ismail Pasha the Physician'', also known as Ismail Hakkı Pasha) was an Ottoman physician and statesman.

Biography

Ismail Pasha was born to a Greek family from the island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

. He was sold as a slave to a doctor in Izmir and was informally trained as a surgeon next to him. He was then appointed to the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

and served during the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histor ...

. Later, he received formal medical training in the newly established medical school, graduating in 1840 and continuing his medical studies in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He gained prominence during the reign of Sultan

Abdülmecid ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد المجيد) is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Majīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to th ...

, when he served as the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

's chief surgeon and the Imperial family's private physician. He served in various ministries such as these of Medicine, Public Works and Trade and as governor of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

Shkodër Shkodër ( , ; sq-definite, Shkodra) is the fifth-most-populous city of the Republic of Albania and the seat of Shkodër County and Shkodër Municipality. The city sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the southern part of Lake Shkod ...

, Izmir and

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

. Ismail Pasha was the father of the composer and poet

Leyla Saz Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanimefendi (1850–1936) was a Turkish composer, poet and writer. Biography Born in 1850, she was the daughter of İsmail Hakkı Pasha, (often called Hekim İsmail Pasha (İsmail Pasha the Doctor). She spent her ...

, whereas his grooms were

Kadri Pasha Mehmed Kadri Pasha also known as Kadri Pasha (1832 – 1884) was an Ottoman statesman and reformer. He was the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Abdul Hamid II from 9 June 1880 to 12 September 1880. From 11 February 1876 t ...

and

Giritli Sırrı Pasha Giritli Sırrı Pasha ("Sırrı Pasha the Cretan") was a 19th-century Ottoman administrator and man of letters of Turkish Cretan origin. He was born in 1844 in Kandiye, Crete, Ottoman Empire as the son of Helvacızade Salih Tosun Efendi. He s ...

References

1807 births 1880 deaths Political people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire People from the Ottoman Empire of Greek descent Slaves from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century slaves {{Ottoman-bio-stub