Melek Ahmed Pasha ("Ahmed

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

the Angel"; 1604–1662) was an Ottoman statesman and

grand vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

during the reign of

Mehmed IV Mehmed IV ( ota, محمد رابع, Meḥmed-i rābi; tr, IV. Mehmed; 2 January 1642 – 6 January 1693) also known as Mehmed the Hunter ( tr, Avcı Mehmed) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the a ...

Early years

He was of Abkhaz (or

Abazin The Abazin, Abazinians or Abaza ( Abaza and Abkhaz: Абаза; Circassian: Абазэхэр; russian: Абазины; tr, Abazalar; ar, أباظة), are an ethnic group of the Northwest Caucasus, closely related to the Abkhaz and Circassi ...

) origin. According to one source, his father was a sea captain named Pervane. During the reign of

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

, he was appointed as the governor of

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

. During

Ibrahim Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam. For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam. Ibrahim may also refer to: * Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...

's reign, he was appointed to the governorships of

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. In 1644, he married İsmihan Kaya Sultan, Murad's daughter, and gained the title ''

damat Damat ( tr, damat, from fa, {{nq, داماد (dâmâd) "bridegroom") was an official Ottoman title describing men that entered the imperial House of Osman by means of marriage, literally becoming the bridegroom to the Ottoman sultan and the d ...

'' (groom). But all of the provinces (even Erzurum a part of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

) he was assigned, were quite far from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, the capital, and during most of his assignments, his wife stayed in Istanbul. During the reign of

, he finally returned to Istanbul as a vizier. But in 1650, to the dismay of his wife, he was appointed as the governor of

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, another post far from Istanbul. Kaya Sultan tried to persuade the queen regent to revoke the decision. But she couldn't succeed, a sign of the chaos in Ottoman palace. Nevertheless, before Melek Ahmed left Istanbul, the Grand Vizier

Kara Murat Pasha Kara Murat Pasha, or Kara Dev Murat Pasha, lit. ''Courageous Giant Murat Pasha'' in Ottoman Turkish; (1595 - 1655), was an Ottoman Albanian statesman and military officer. He served as Kapudan Pasha and twice as Grand Vizier. His epithet ''K ...

resigned, complaining of the intrigues of the palace people. The queen regent offered the post to Melek Ahmed, who accepted the offer on the condition that the palace people would not meddle with the governance of the state on 5 August 1650. He was the brother-in-law of the Haydarzade Mehmed Pasha, the

Ottoman governor of Egypt The Ottoman Empire's governors of Egypt from 1517 to 1805 were at various times known by different but synonymous titles, among them ''beylerbey'', viceroy, governor, governor-general, or, more generally, '' wāli''. Furthermore, the Ottoman sul ...

from 1646 to 1647, who married his sister.

Grand Vizier

When Melek Ahmed took office, he realized that the empire was almost bankrupt. The

Cretan War (1645–1669) The Cretan War ( el, Κρητικός Πόλεμος, tr, Girit'in Fethi), also known as the War of Candia ( it, Guerra di Candia) or the Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War, was a conflict between the Republic of Venice and her allies (chief among ...

was very costly, and tax revenues from

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

were much less than the expected amount because of the

Jelali revolts The Celali rebellions ( tr, Celalî ayaklanmaları), were a series of rebellions in Anatolia of irregular troops led by bandit chiefs and provincial officials known as ''celalî'', ''celâli'', or ''jelālī'', against the authority of the Ottoman ...

. He attempted to balance the budget, but without a real knowledge of financial affairs, his economic measures worsened the economy instead of improving it. Among his measures was the debasing of coinage by reducing the gold content. This caused reactions among both the merchants and the soldiers, whose salaries were paid by the new coins. The sultan was forced to relieve him of his post on 22 August 1651.

Later years

After 1651, he was again assigned as a provincial governor, but this time in

Silistra Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...

(now in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

), much closer to capital. Soon, he was able to return to Istanbul. In 1654, Mustafa İbşir Pasha had been appointed as the Grand Vizier, but delayed his arrival in Istanbul. During this period, Melek Ahmed functioned as his deputy. This aroused İbşir Pasha's suspicions, and Melek Ahmed was exiled to Van and

Malkara Malkara ( el, Μάλγαρα, Malgara) is a town and district of Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at 55 km west of Tekirdağ and 190 km from Istanbul. It covers an area of 1,225 km², which makes ...

. However, after İbşir Pasha was deposed, Melek Ahmed Pasha was able to regain his former titles. After working in some provinces in the European part of the empire, he was married for a second time to Fatma Sultan (the daughter of the late sultan

Ahmed I Ahmed I ( ota, احمد اول '; tr, I. Ahmed; 18 April 1590 – 22 November 1617) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617. Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal f ...

) in 1662. According to Evliya Çelebi, the marriage was unhappy and forced upon both parties; Fatma Sultan reportedly threatened Melek Ahmed Pasha with divorce and the withdrawal of her dowry (which was reportedly worth an entire year's tax revenue from the

Egypt Eyalet The Eyalet of Egypt (, ) operated as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1867. It originated as a result of the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) and the a ...

). Melek Ahmed Pasha died in 1662, only months after marrying Fatma Sultan.

Aftermath

In the Ottoman Empire, the minting of devalued coinage continued after 1651 and provided the major reason for a wide-scale rebellion, the

Çınar Incident Çınar incident (''Platanus Incident'') is the name of a 17th-century rebellion in the Ottoman Empire. It is also sometimes known as "The Event of the Vakvak" (''Vakʿa-ı Vakvakiye''), named after a mythical tree on which human beings grew, as ...

, in 1656.

Evliya Çelebi and Melek Ahmed Pasha

Evliya Çelebi and Melek Ahmet Pasha were milk brothers as a result they happened to be very close to each other. Although not a particularly successful Grand Vizier, details about both Melek Ahmed Pasa and his wife

Kaya Sultan ota, اسمیخان کایا سلطان , house = Ottoman , house-type = Dynasty , father = Murad IV , mother = , birth_date = 1633 , birth_place = Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (present day Istanbul, Turkey) , ...

(as well as his later marriage to Fatma Sultan) are well known because of

Evliya Çelebi Derviş Mehmed Zillî (25 March 1611 – 1682), known as Evliya Çelebi ( ota, اوليا چلبى), was an Ottoman explorer who travelled through the territory of the Ottoman Empire and neighboring lands over a period of forty years, recording ...

's books. Evliya Çelebi was one of the most important Turkish travel writers of his time, and his mother was the milk-sister of Melek Ahmed Pasha, and Evliya Çelebi used this opportunity to travel with Melek Ahmed Pasha.On line history
/ref>

References