Çalık Ali Pasha (also Hacı Çalık Ali Pasha or Merzifonlu Çalık Ali Pasha; died 1698) 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 ...
during the reign of
Ahmed II
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
.
Early life
Ali Pasha was a
Turk
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
from
Merzifon, a city in north-central
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 ...
, and a subordinate of
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, who was also from Merzifon. Although his fellow countryman was executed after the unsuccessful
siege of Vienna in 1683, Ali continued to work as a civil servant. He traveled to
Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...
(now in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Ara ...
) for pilgrimage and gained the title
Hacı
Hacı is the Turkish spelling of the title and epithet Hajji. It may refer to:
People
* Hacı I Giray (died 1466), founder and the first ruler of the Crimean Khanate
* Hacı Ahmet ( 1566), purported Turkish cartographer
* Hacı Arif Bey (1831� ...
, and in 1688, he was appointed as governor of the
Sanjak of Sakız Island (modern-day
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 mast ...
,
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...
). In 1690, he was appointed as the governor of
Erzurum Eyalet
The Erzurum Eyalet ( ota, ایالت ارضروم, ''Eyālet-i Erżurūm'') was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the conquest of Western Armenia by the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was .
History
T ...
and then as the governor of
Diyarbekir Eyalet (both in modern-day
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
).
As Grand Vizier
On 23 March 1692, Ali Pasha was appointed the
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 ...
of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
. His first action as grand vizier was to travel to the battlefield to observe the course of the ongoing war, the
Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
. He made arrangements to repair the rampart of
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...
(in modern-day Serbia). Upon returning to
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
, the capital, he concentrated on improve the state of the treasury, which was running a deficit due to the costly war. He authorized Canibi Ahmet, the
defterdar (finance minister), for this task. However, although the treasury was recovered, Ali Pasha soon became the target of severe criticisms and opposition by political rivals because of his policy of economic austerity. The sultan asked him to dismiss Canibi Ahmet, but Çalık Ali Pasha tried to defend Ahmet Canibi. Failing to convince the sultan, he resigned on 17 March 1693 after a year in the office.
[Ayhan Buz: Osmanlı Sadrazamları, Neden Kitap İstanbul,2009, p.139-142]
Later years
In the absolute monarchical system of the Ottoman Empire, objection to the sultan's order was unheard of. However,
Ahmed II
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
being one of the more tolerant sultans, did not punish Çalık Ali Pasha. Instead, he offered Ali Pasha a governorship. Ali Pasha spent the rest of his life in
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
(in modern-day Turkey) and in Candia (modern-day
Heraklion
Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...
, on the island 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, ...
), where he died in 1698.
See also
*
List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Pasha, Calik
17th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire
1698 deaths
Year of birth unknown
People from Merzifon