Çorlulu Ali Pasha ( in

Çorlu Çorlu () is a municipality and district of Tekirdağ Province, northwestern Turkey. Its area is 531 km2, and its population is 300,296 (2024). It is a rapidly growing industrial center built on flatland located on the motorway Otoyol 3 and ...

– 1711 in

Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) 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 and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...

) was an Ottoman

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

who held the office from 1706 to 1710.

Early life and career

As his surname indicates, Ali was born in

in , the son of a peasant or barber. His handsome appearance and intelligence led to his adoption by a member of the court under Sultan

Ahmed II Ahmed II (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1691 to 1695. Early life Ahmed II was born on 25 February 1643 or 1 August 1642, the son of Sultan Ibrahim and Muazzez Sultan. On 21 October 1649, Ahmed, along with his brothers Mehmed ...

(). This opened the way to the Galata Palace School, and eventually the Inner Service of the palace itself. Ali rose quickly, from ''seferli oda'' to the post of

Silahdar Agha The Silahdar Agha was a palace office of the Ottoman Empire, denoting the principal page of the Ottoman Sultan. As such its holders were persons of great influence, and provided many senior officials and even Grand Viziers. The title derives from ...

(chief sword-bearer) under

Mustafa II Mustafa II (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. Early life He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–87 ...

(). As Silahdar Agha, Çorlulu Ali advanced his office's standing and power considerably: from the

Kizlar Agha The Kizlar Agha (, , ), formally the Agha of the House of Felicity (, ), was the head of the eunuchs who guarded the Ottoman Imperial Harem in Constantinople. Established in 1574, the post ranked among the most important in the Ottoman Empire un ...

he assumed the role of intermediary between the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

and the Sultan, and from the

Kapi Agha The Kapi Agha (, " Agha of the Gate"), formally called the Agha of the Gate of Felicity (''Bâbüssaâde ağası''), was the head of the eunuch servants of the Ottoman Seraglio until the late 16th century, when this post was taken over by the Kizla ...

he took over control of the palace pages, the ''

iç oğlan The term ''iç oğlan'' ("Inner alaceBoy") refers to the boy servants or pages who were taken from Christian parents in the Balkans and converted, according to the ''devşirme'' system in the Ottoman Empire, and who worked in the ''Enderûn'', th ...

''s. Ali was also charged with reordering the hierarchy of the entire Inner Service. At the beginning of the revolt known as the

Edirne event The Edirne Incident () was a janissary revolt that began in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in 1703. The revolt was a reaction to the consequences of the Treaty of Karlowitz and Sultan Mustafa II's absence from the capital. The rising power of t ...

in 1703, he was dismissed due to the intrigues of the Grand Vizier

Rami Mehmed Pasha Rami Mehmed Pasha (1645–1706) was an Ottoman statesman and poet who served as Grand Vizier (1703) and governor of Cyprus and of Egypt (1704–06). He was known as a poet of divan literature (the epithet Rami, meaning "Obedient", is his pen n ...

and the influential Sheikh-ul-Islam,

Hacı Feyzullah Efendi Hacı is the Turkish language, 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 A ...

, although he acquired the rank of

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

. However, after Mustafa II's overthrow, Sultan

Ahmed III Ahmed III (, ''Aḥmed-i sālis''; was sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at Hacıoğlu Pazarcık, ...

() appointed Çorlulu Ali as a "vizier of the dome" (''kubbe vezir'', i.e., a member of the Imperial Council). He was briefly appointed as the ''

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...

'' (governor-general) of

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

(modern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

) in 1704, but quickly returned to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and resumed his position as "vizier of the dome".

Grand vizierate

In May 1706, he was appointed as Grand Vizier. According to the ''

Encyclopaedia of Islam The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the Islamic studies, academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill Publishers, Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, Isl ...

'', he was "the first competent Grand Vizier of the reign", and enjoyed high favour with the Sultan, who in 1708 married his niece Emine Sultan (a daughter of Mustafa II) to him. Thus Ali gained the title ''

damat Damat (, from {{langx, fa, {{nq, داماد (dâmâd) "bridegroom") was an official Ottoman title describing men that entered the imperial House of Osman by means of marriage, literally becoming the bridegroom to the Ottoman sultan and the dyn ...

'' ("groom") to the

Ottoman dynasty The Ottoman dynasty () consisted of the members of the imperial House of Osman (), also known as the Ottomans (). According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, under the leadership of Os ...

. As Grand Vizier, Çorlulu Ali paid particular attention to rectifying the abuses in the

Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

, the reining in of the government budget, and improvements to the

Ottoman navy The Ottoman Navy () or the Imperial Navy (), also known as the Ottoman Fleet, was the naval warfare arm of the Ottoman Empire. It was established after the Ottomans first reached the sea in 1323 by capturing Praenetos (later called Karamürsel ...

and the Imperial Arsenal. At the same time, however, he was strongly opposed to entering any conflict for the time being. Thus he was accused of missing the opportunities presented by the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

, which drew the attention of the Western European powers, to regain the

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

from the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

, as well as checking the growing threat of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

during

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

's invasion of Russia in the

Great Northern War In the Great Northern War (1700–1721) a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern Europe, Northern, Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the ant ...

. Indeed, after his defeat at the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava took place 8 July 1709, was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. The Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedish army commanded by Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld. The battle would l ...

, Charles XII refused to treat with Çorlulu Ali, as he believed that he had been promised assistance from the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

, an Ottoman vassal, that had never materialized. Matters came to a head when Charles XII sought refuge in Ottoman lands. Peter the Great tried to follow him into Ottoman lands, and Charles persuaded the Ottoman government to declare war on Russia.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt III'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 23 Ali Pasha wasn't able to follow a consistent policy, and the Swedish ambassador accused him of accepting bribes from the

Russians Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...

. Having lost the Sultan's confidence, Ali was dismissed in June 1710 and sent to govern Kefe (

Feodosia Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into ...

) in the Crimea. But before he was able to reach his new office, the sultan changed his mind and exiled Ali Pasha to the island of

(in modern

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

), where he was then executed in December 1711.

Buildings

Çorlulu Ali erected a number of monuments, including a school and a fountain at Çorlu, and two

Friday mosque A congregational mosque or Friday mosque (, ''masjid jāmi‘'', or simply: , ''jāmi‘''; ), or sometimes great mosque or grand mosque (, ''jāmi‘ kabir''; ), is a mosque for hosting the Friday noon prayers known as ''jumu'ah''.See: * * * * ...

s in Istanbul: at the Imperial Arsenal, and at the quarter, where his tomb is.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Pasha, Corlulu 1670s births 1711 deaths 18th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire 18th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire Damats Executed people from the Ottoman Empire People from Çorlu Galatasaray High School alumni Exiles from the Ottoman Empire