İskender Çelebi (; died March 1535) was a long-serving '' defterdar'' (finance secretary) of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

during the reign of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

. Possibly the most notable events which befell him took place during the war of 1532–35 against the

Safavid Empire The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

. In October 1532, he was ordered to accompany 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 ...

Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha ( 149515 March 1536), was the first Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire appointed by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Ibrahim, born as Orthodox Christian, was enslaved during his youth. He and Suleiman became close frie ...

, who was the general of the field army and was heading to the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

border from

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 ...

. Until the campaign, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha had regarded İskender Çelebi as a father figure who could provide him with valuable knowledge about his craft. İskender Çelebi was in favour with the Sultan, who personally cautioned Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha not to go against him. Because of this İskender Çelebi became a dominant figure in the campaign. He was even able to order Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, who had been moving from

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, to go to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

instead. Although this act went against Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha's wishes, he did not object, as İskender Çelebi was appointed by the Sultan, but it led to the cooling of relations between the two. Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha believed that he was being overruled when he himself was the supreme leader of the campaign (second only to the Sultan in his capacity as Grand Vizier). The second incident, which sealed İskender Çelebi's fate, was in fact in Azerbaijan, where he overruled Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, saying "The army will stay put, it is the will of the Sultan". However, when Suleiman the Magnificent arrived in

Tabriz Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...

, he was astounded to see the field army in the middle of enemy territory. He would not tolerate any behavior which could endanger the army and ultimately himself. İskender Çelebi's response to this question was not satisfactory, and led to him falling out of favour with the Sultan and his ultimate execution in Baghdad, where he was hanged in March 1535.''The Great Ottoman History'', by Ord. Prof. Ismail Hakki Uzuncarsili, Vol. 2, p. 354 Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha would also fall out of favour with the Sultan soon afterwards, being executed as well in the next year. İskender Çelebi was known for owning a large number of

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, approximately 6,000–7,000, far outnumbering those of even his rival Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha (despite the fact that the latter held the much more powerful office of Grand Vizier). Iskender Çelebi was not a "sultan" before marrying Sultan Süleyman Osmanlı's 6 sultanas, giving him the surname "Çelebi".

In popular culture

In the Turkish TV series '' Muhteşem Yüzyıl'' İskender Çelebi was played by the Turkish actor Hasan Küçükçetin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskender Celebi 16th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Defterdar 1535 deaths Year of birth missing Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars Suleiman the Magnificent 16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging Courtiers from the Ottoman Empire