Ağa Yusuf Pasha (Yusuf Pasha the Agha), also known as Gürcü Yusuf Pasha (Yusuf Pasha the Georgian), was an 18th-century Ottoman military leader and

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 ...

. Yusuf Pasha was of Georgian origin and a

devshirme Devshirme (, usually translated as "child levy" or "blood tax", , .) was the Ottoman practice of forcibly recruiting soldiers and bureaucrats from among the children of their Balkan Christian subjects and raising them in the religion of Islam ...

. In 1710, he was appointed

Agha of the Janissaries The Agha of the Janissaries or Janissary Agha (; ) was a top Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military official and courtier, and the commander of the Janissary corps. Apart from the commander-general of the entire corps, the title of "Agha of the Janissar ...

, commander of the

Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

corps. As a military leader, he became successful during the

Pruth River Campaign The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine. Characteristics The Prut originates on the eas ...

(1710–1711). By the

Treaty of Pruth The Treaty of the Pruth was signed on the banks of the river Prut between the Ottoman Empire and the Tsardom of Russia on 23 July 1711 ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1710–1713 with the assistance of Peter Shafirov. The treaty was a politic ...

(1711),

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 ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

agreed to provide a free passage for King

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 ...

to return to his country. The next year, Ağa Yusuf Pasha was appointed grand vizier. However, although a component commander, he lacked the skill of a statesman. When Peter the Great refused to allow a free passage for Charles XII,

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

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, ...

(r. 1703–1730) decided to declare war on Russia. But Ağa Yusuf Pasha persuaded the Sultan to give up the idea believing that Peter the Great would finally follow the terms of the treaty. However, the Russian Tsar was still reluctant, and the angered Sultan dismissed Ağa Yusuf Pasha from his post as grand vizier on 11 November 1712. Although he was exiled to the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, soon he was executed.Ayhan Buz: ''Osmanlı Sadrazamları'' pp.172–173

References

{{Grand Viziers of Ottoman Empire Georgians from the Ottoman Empire Devshirme Converts to Sunni Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy 18th-century Ottoman military personnel Pashas 18th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Exiles from the Ottoman Empire 18th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire 18th-century slaves in the Ottoman Empire