Ishak Pasha ( ota, إسحق پاشا, tr, İshak Paşa; 1444 – died 30 January 1487) was an Ottoman general, statesman, and later

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 Albanian or Greek origins.

Origin

Turkish orientalist Halil Inalcik (1916–2016) believed that the figure of Ishak Pasha stemmed from the confusion between several Ottoman Ishak Pashas (particularly Ishak bin Abdullah and Ishak bin Ibrahim) and

Ishak Bey Ishak Bey or Ishak-Beg or Ishak-Beg Hranić was an Ottoman governor and soldier, the sanjakbey of Üsküb from 1415 to 1439. Biography According to some sources he was a member of the Bosnian Hranušić family, released slave and adopted son ...

, but according to him Ishak Pasha was Greek or of Croatian origins. According to German orientalist

Franz Babinger Franz Babinger (15 January 1891 – 23 June 1967) was a well-known German orientalist and historian of the Ottoman Empire, best known for his biography of the great Ottoman emperor Mehmed II, known as "the Conqueror", originally published as ''Me ...

(1891–1967) he was a convert of Orthodox Albanian or Greek origin.

Jean-Claude Faveyrial Jean-Claude Faveyrial (1817–1893) was a French Lazarite Roman Catholic priest and author of the first written History of Albania. The book is published in Albania and stands as a serious endeavour to document the history of the Albanians and t ...

reveals that Ishak Pasha was Albanian.

Career

In circa 1451 he was appointed as 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 Selj ...

'' (provincial governor) 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 re ...

; the same year, the newly ascended Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

("the Conqueror") forced him to marry his father Sultan

Murad II Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451. Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...

's widow Sultan Hatun. His first term as a Grand Vizier was during the reign of Mehmed II. During this term, he transferred

Oghuz Turk The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family. In the 8th century, they formed a tribal confederation convent ...

people from their

n city of

Aksaray Aksaray (, Koine Greek: Ἀρχελαΐς ''Arhelays'', Medieval Greek: Κολώνεια ''Koloneya'', Ancient Greek: Γαρσάουρα ''Garsaura'') is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Aksaray Province. In ...

to newly conquered

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 (" ...

in order to populate the city, which had lost a portion of its former population prior to the 1453 conquest. The quarter of the city where the migrants were settled is now called

. His second term was during the reign 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, B ...

. He died on 30 January 1487 in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

In popular culture

* Ishak Pasha is referenced in the 2011 video game '' Assassin's Creed: Revelations'', as the Mentor of the Assassin Brotherhood in 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 ...

, in which his armor was hidden underneath the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

, and was later recovered by the protagonist

Ezio Auditore da Firenze Ezio Auditore da Firenze () is a fictional character in the video game series ''Assassin's Creed'', an Italian master assassin who serves as the protagonist of the series' games set during the Italian Renaissance. His life and career as an assas ...

by recollecting his Memoir Pages. ''Assassin's Creed Rebellion'', a free-to-play mobile game, further details his story in the Spanish Inquisition as he and his apprentice Yusuf Tazim search for Niccolo Polo's journal. * In 1951 film, '' İstanbul'un Fethi'', Alev Elmas played Ishak Pasha. * Ishak Pasha is played by Yılmaz Babatürk in 2012 film ''

Fetih 1453 ''Sultana Muhammad Fetih 1453'' ( ''The Conquest 1453'') is a 2012 Turkish epic action film directed by Faruk Aksoy and produced by Faruk Aksoy, Servet Aksoy and Ayşe Germen. Starring Devrim Evin, İbrahim Çelikkol and Dilek Serbest, the film is ...

''. * Mentioned together with

in the song ''The Fall Of Constantinople'' by the neofolk band H.E.R.R.

Origin

Career

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading