Yunus Pasha (

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

: يونس پاشا ) (died September 13, 1517) was an Ottoman statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire for eight months in 1517, serving from January 30 until his death on September 13.

Biography

Yunus was of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

, Greek or

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

origin.Alper, Omer Mahir, "Yunus Paşa", (1999) ''Yaşamları ve Yapıtlarıyla Osmanlılar Ansiklopedisi'', İstanbul:Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık A.Ş. C.2 s.678 He was taken into the

devşirme Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...

system (taken from his family and converted to Islam in order to become an Ottoman bureaucrat/soldier) at a young age, Yunus was raised to become a Janissary, eventually becoming agha (top commander) of the Janissary corps. In 1511, he became a

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

in the

divan A divan or diwan ( fa, دیوان, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meanin ...

(the Ottoman government) and the

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

(top provincial administrator) of the

Anatolia Eyalet The Eyalet of Anatolia ( ota, ایالت آناطولی, Eyālet-i Anaṭolı) was one of the two core provinces (Rumelia being the other) in the early years of the Ottoman Empire. It was established in 1393. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ...

. Yunus Pasha had a large role in the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17). After the Ottoman victory in the Battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516, Yunus Pasha, with Ottoman troops under his command, mobilized his forces and entered the (modern Syrian) city of

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

, from there invading the cities of

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

, 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 rapid succession. After the 1517 Battle of Ridaniya, he entered the Egyptian city of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

with his Janissary forces, and after a three-day siege, captured the city for the Ottoman Empire. smanlı Tarihi, II. Cilt, 10. baskı, sf: 286,291,543,544, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları-2011, Ord. Prof. İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı">İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı">smanlı Tarihi, II. Cilt, 10. baskı, sf: 286,291,543,544, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları-2011, Ord. Prof. İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı/ref> Because of his successes and the death of the previous grand vizier, Hadım Sinan Pasha, in combat during the Battle of Ridaniya on January 22, 1517, Yunus Pasha was appointed Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, grand vizier eight days later, on January 30. Later, he was simultaneously appointed to be the governor of Egypt. After attaining these double positions, Yunus Pasha allegedly set up a syndicate of bribery and extortion. After the news of the corruption reached the sultan

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite last ...

, Yunus Pasha's governorship was revoked and given to

Hayır Bey Hayır Bey (sometimes spelled Kha'ir Bey or Kha'ir Beg) or Khayrbak (died 1522) ruled Egypt in the name of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 until his death in 1522.Süreyya, Bey Mehmet, Nuri Akbayar, and Seyit Ali. Kahraman. Sicill-i Osmanî. Beşik ...

, leaving Yunus Pasha with the sole office of grand vizier. It is alleged that sultan

had Yunus Pasha executed for insulting his governorship successor

's Circassian ethnicity after bitterness of losing his governorship to him despite Yunus Pasha being the one who had conquered Egypt for the Ottoman Empire. Whatever the reason, Yunus Pasha was executed by decapitation on September 13, 1517.

Personal life

He was married in 1505 to Aslıhan Hanimsultan, daughter of Selçuk Sultan and granddaughter of Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yunus 16th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire 16th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt Grand Viziers of Selim I Ottoman governors of Anatolia Ottoman governors of Damascus Ottoman governors of Egypt Year of birth unknown 1517 deaths Devshirme Executed people from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire People executed by the Ottoman Empire by decapitation 1510s in Egypt 1510s in the Ottoman Empire 16th-century governors

Biography

Personal life

See also

References