Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha (1689 – 13 August 1758) was an Ottoman statesman and military leader who served as Grand Vizier 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) ...

three times.

Family

His father, Nuh, was a Venetian convert to Islam who worked in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(modern-day

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 ...

) as a doctor, and his mother Safiye was a Turk. His epithet ''Hekimoğlu'' means "son of a physician" in Turkish.

Early years

Ali worked in various districts (and provinces) of the empire like

Zile Zile, anciently known as Zela ( el, Ζῆλα) (still as Latin Catholic titular see), is a city and a district of Tokat Province, Turkey. Zile lies to the south of Amasya and the west of Tokat in north-central Turkey. The city has a long history, ...

(in modern-day

Tokat Province Tokat Province ( tr, ) is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. Its capital is Tokat, which lies inland of the middle Black ...

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 in ...

), Yeniil (south of modern-day

Sivas Province Sivas Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey. It is largely located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey by territory. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kays ...

, Turkey),

Adana Eyalet The Eyalet of Adana ( ota, ایالت ادنه; Eyālet-i Adana) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire, established in 1608, when it was separated from the Eyalet of Aleppo. Its reported area in the 19th century was . History The Ramadanids playe ...

(in modern-day Turkey),

Aleppo Eyalet ota, ایالت حلب , common_name = Aleppo Eyalet , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1534 , year_end = 1864 , date_start = , date_end = , event_s ...

(in modern-day Syria) as a provincial governor. He fought during Ottoman–Persian War (1722–27) and captured Tebriz. After the treaty of Hamedan in 1727, he worked in

Shahrizor Eyalet Shahrizor Eyalet (, ota, ایالت شهر زور, Eyālet-i Šehr-i Zōr) was a semi-independent eyalet of the Ottoman Empire covering the area of present-day Iraqi Kurdistan. History When the Ottomans conquered the region in 1554, they decided ...

(in modern-day

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

) and

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is ...

. During the new war against Persia, he was appointed as the commander of the front ( tr,

serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) * SERDAR, a stabilized remote-controlled Ukrainian weapon station * Serdar (city) in Turkmenistan, the capital of Serdar District * Serdar (Ottoman rank), a military and noble rank of t ...

). He captured

Urmia Urmia or Orumiyeh ( fa, ارومیه, Variously transliterated as ''Oroumieh'', ''Oroumiyeh'', ''Orūmīyeh'' and ''Urūmiyeh''.) is the largest city in West Azerbaijan Province of Iran and the capital of Urmia County. It is situated at an al ...

and

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

(second time). He was the father-in-law of

Hatibzade Yahya Pasha Hatibzade Yahya Pasha (known by contemporaries as just Yahya Pasha; died August 1755) was an Ottoman statesman and admiral. He served as Kapudan Pasha (grand admiral) of the Ottoman Navy briefly in 1743 (May to November), as well as serving as ...

, who succeeded him as the

Ottoman governor of Egypt The Ottoman Empire's governors of Egypt Eyalet, 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, th ...

the first time.

First term as grand vizier

During his first term (12 March 1732 – 12 August 1735), he tried to reform the army by establishing a new artillery corps named

Humbaracı Humbaracı corps were bombardier and mortar troops of the Ottoman army. It is considered as the first organized and specialized troops in the corps level for this class in the military history of the world. Name ''Humbara'' (also pronounced ...

( Howitzer). For this task he employed a French convert named

Claude Alexandre de Bonneval Claude Alexandre, Comte de Bonneval (14 July 1675 – 23 March 1747), was a French army officer who later went into the service of the Ottoman Empire, eventually converting to Islam and becoming known as Humbaracı Ahmet Paşa. Life He was the ...

(later known as Humbaracı Ahmed Pasha). He was suspicious of the embattled

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

and tried to end the war against

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

to free up resources, but his peace policy was met with criticism, and, during a council of war held in the palace, Sultan Mahmud I dismissed him.

After the first term

After his first term, Ali Pasha continued as a provincial governor. He was appointed to

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, ...

(in

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 ...

), Bosnia,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

, and parts of

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 ...

. In Bosnia, he defeated the

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

at the Battle of Banja Luka during the Austro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–39) and supported the Grand Vizier

Ivaz Mehmed Pasha Ivaz Mehmed Pasha ("Mehmed Pasha the Replacement"; died 1743), also known as Hacı Ivaz Mehmed Pasha or Hacı Ivazzade Mehmed Pasha, was an 18th-century Ottoman grand vizier and provincial governor.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erk ...

in the siege of Belgrade (1739). In Egypt, he suppressed the uprising of the Mamluks, and his governorship was reported to be largely peaceful and free of insurrections.

Second term as grand vizier

During his second term (21 April 1742 – 23 September 1743), the most important problem was the new war against Persia, still led by

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian ...

of the

Afsharid dynasty The Afsharid dynasty ( fa, افشاریان) was an Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman Afshar tribe Afshar ( az, Əfşar افشار; tr, Avşar, ''Afşar''; tk, Owşar; fa, اَفشار, Āfshār) ...

. However, the Sultan refused Ali Pasha's campaign plan and dismissed him, accusing him of not taking appropriate measures in the Eastern front.

After the second term

After his second term, he was appointed as provincial governor to

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the nar ...

, Crete, Bosnia,

Trikala Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...

(in Greece),

Ochakiv Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the admini ...

(in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...

(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 Macedo ...

), and

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

(in Anatolia) in rapid succession. In Trabzon, he was able to end the chaos created by the local leaders.

Third term as grand vizier

His third term was very short (15 February 1755 – 18 May 1755). The new sultan

Osman III Osman III ( ota, عثمان ثالث ''Osmān-i sālis'';‎ 2 January 1699 – 30 October 1757) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757. Early life Osman III was born on 2 January 1699 in the Edirne Palace. His father was Must ...

was under the influence of the palace courtesans. When Ali Pasha refused to obey the sultan's order to execute a young prince ( tr, şehzade), the sultan jailed him. He barely escaped being executed by the intercession of the

valide sultan #REDIRECT Valide sultan {{redirect category shell, {{R from move{{R from miscapitalization{{R unprintworthy ...

(queen mother) Şehsuvar.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi'' Cilt IV, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p. 33

After the third term

After being jailed in Kızkulesi (Maiden's Tower) in the Bosphorus, he was first exiled to Mağusa ( Famagusta),

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, and then to the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

. He was given a pardon in 1756 and appointed as the Ottoman provincial governor to Egypt for the second time. Once again, his governorship was reported to be peaceful. On 17 October 1757, for the fourth time, he was appointed the governor of Anatolia. On 13 August 1758, at the age of about 71, he died in Kütahya of a urinary tract infection. He is buried in a small monumental tomb near the Hekimoğlu Ali Paşa Mosque at the religious buildings complex that he endowed to be built in the Davutpaşa neighborhood of Istanbul.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Hekimoglu 1689 births 1758 deaths 18th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire 18th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt Politicians from Istanbul Ottoman governors of Egypt Ottoman governors of Crete Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars People of Venetian descent People from the Ottoman Empire of Italian descent