Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha ("Mehmed Emin

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

the Cypriot"; 1813–1871) was an Ottoman civil servant and statesman of

Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( or ; ) are so called ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Turkish Cypriots are mainly Sunni Muslims. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,000 Turkish settlers were given land onc ...

origin, who served at the top post of

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

during three different times under the reign of the sultan

Abdulmejid I ʻAbd al-Majīd (ALA-LC romanization of , ), also spelled as Abd ul Majid, Abd ul-Majid, Abd ol Majid, Abd ol-Majid, and Abdolmajid, is a Muslim male given name and, in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Maj ...

. He was in favor in reforming the Ottoman Empire into a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

. He however died before the first Ottoman constitution came into existence.

Career

His uncle was in charge of

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

's private treasury, secured him for palace service while he was young, and he then entered the ''Hassa'' regiment (1833–1834). He then studied abroad, in France, at the Sultan's expense. He served in a military capacity, as ''serasker'', in

Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

(1844–1845),

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

(1845–1847; during which time he suppressed a serious

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

revolt), Tirnova (1847), and then

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(1847–1848). During this period, many rumours circulated about his mismanagement practices, but they were dismissed by the Sultan as gossip. He was appointed as a

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

in 1848. In 1850–51, Mehmed Emin served as governor of the Eyalet of Aleppo, at the end of which he was appointed

müşir () is an Arabic word meaning "counsellor" or "advisor". It is related to the word shura, meaning consultation or "taking counsel". As an official title, it historically indicates a personal advisor to the ruler. In this use it is roughly comp ...

(

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

), in the province of Syria.Stanford J.Shaw, ''History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey'', Cambridge University Press, 1977. Vol. 2, p. 70 His periods of administration were for the first term between 29 May and 23 November 1854, the second term between 18 November 1859 and 24 December 1859, and for the last term between 28 May 1860 and 6 August 1861. As such, he was also the last grand vizier under Abdülmecid. Like many other prominent Ottoman statesmen of the

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

period, Mehmed Emin Pasha rose from the

Dragoman A dragoman was an Interpreter (communication), interpreter, translator, and official guide between Turkish language, Turkish-, Arabic language, Arabic-, and Persian language, Persian-speaking countries and polity, polities of the Middle East and ...

's office (), largely Turkified by the 19th century, and climbing through the foreign office of the Ottoman Empire, held consecutive ambassadorial and governorship posts. Mehmed Emin Pasha died in his yalı in Kandilli, Istanbul, in 1871. After his death, his first wife, Melek Hanım, née Marie Dejean (formerly the wife of Julius Michael Millingen), wrote her memoirs of the

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

, in the 19th century context of that institution, as well as a controversial account of the high spheres of the Ottoman society, published in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1872, treating much the same period as the memoirs of

Leyla Saz Leyla Saz, also called Leyla Hanımefendi (1850–1936), was an Ottoman and later 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 t ...

, written much later in the 1920s.

References

Bibliography

*Melek Hanim (1872)
Thirty years in the harem: or, The autobiography of Melek-Hanum, wife of H.H. Kibrizli-Mehemet-Pasha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kibrisli Mehmed Emin Pasha 1813 births 1871 deaths Pashas 19th-century Ottoman military personnel 19th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to the United Kingdom Turks from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Cypriot people Turkish Cypriot diaspora Seraskers Ottoman governors of Aleppo

Career

See also

References

Bibliography