Sofu Mehmed Pasha (died August 1649), also known as Mevlevi Mehmed Pasha, was an Ottoman statesman who served as

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 ...

and

defterdar This is a list of the top officials in charge of the finances of the Ottoman Empire, called ( Turkish for bookkeepers; from the Persian , + ) between the 14th and 19th centuries and ''Maliye Naziri'' (Minister of Finance) between 19th and 20th ...

(finance minister).

Early years

He was a chamberlain/deputy (''

kethüda ( ota, كدخدا), often corrupted to or in daily speech, was an Ottoman Turkish title meaning "steward, deputy, lieutenant". It derives from the Persian word ("master of a household", later "chieftain, headman"). The term originated in med ...

'') of a ''

'' (the head of the treasury). 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 ...

in 1636, he was appointed as the defterdar and served until 1639. During his retirement, he became a member of

Mevlevi Order The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded by the followers of Jalal ...

gaining the title Mevlevi or Sofu. During the turbulent events taking place just before the dethronement of

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 ...

in 1648, the previous grand vizier

Hezarpare Ahmet Pasha Tezkereci Ahmed Pasha (died 8 August 1648), better known as Hezarpare Ahmed Pasha after his death, was an Ottoman grand vizier and defterdar (finance minister). Early life Ahmed was a son of a professional soldier of probable Albanian origin ...

had been lynched by an angry mob, and the

Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

leaders forced the sultan to appoint Sofu Mehmed Pasha as the grand vizier. The sultan reluctantly agreed on 8 August 1648. Nevertheless, the sultan was dethroned five days after his appointment. Despite this dethronement, Sofu Mehmed Pasha was still afraid of the former sultan, as there was a possibility of the Janissaries re-enthroning him. To Sofu Mehmed Pasha's relief, Ibrahim was executed ten days after his dethronement.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi'' Cilt III, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 pp. 100-102 Sofu Mehmed Pasha is thought to have been personally present during the execution.M.Fatih Ertürk: ''Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Tarihi'', Kalipso yayınları, İstanbul, p.172

Grand Vizierate

The new sultan

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 ...

was only 7 years old and the queen regent

Kösem Sultan Kösem Sultan ( ota, كوسم سلطان, translit=;, 1589Baysun, M. Cavid, s.v. "Kösem Walide or Kösem Sultan" in ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam'' vol. V (1986), Brill, p. 272 " – 2 September 1651), also known as Mahpeyker SultanDouglas Arth ...

(Ibrahim's mother and Mehmed's grandmother) was suspicious of Sofu Mehmed because of his role in the execution of Ibrahim. Another problem for Sofu Mehmed was the economy. His top priority in the government was the treasury. He limited expenditures, but this policy caused reactions among the

sipahi ''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial ''Timariots, timarli s ...

troops, leading them to revolt. Sofu Mehmed saved his life by taking refuge behind the power of the Janissary troops. Although this saved his life, the Janissaries gained an excess of power from the incident, and soon, the commander of the Janissary

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 ...

took sides against Sofu Mehmed. The defeat of the Ottoman navy in the

Battle of Focchies The Battle of Focchies was a significant naval engagement that took place on 12 May 1649, in the harbour of Focchies, Smyrna between a Venetian force of nineteen warships under the command of Giacomo da Riva, and an Ottoman force of eleven warsh ...

on 12 May 1649 was a further blow to Sofu Mehmed Pasha.

Death

On 21 May 1649, he was replaced by Kara Murat Pasha. He was exiled to

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 ...

(a town in European

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 ...

), and soon, Kara Murat Pasha had him executed there in August 1649.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehmed, Sofu 17th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire Pashas Defterdar Executed people from the Ottoman Empire 1649 deaths 17th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Year of birth unknown Ottoman governors of Damascus Turks from the Ottoman Empire

Early years

Grand Vizierate

Death

See also

References