Hadım Hafız Ahmed Pasha (usually referred to as Hafız Ahmed Pasha; died November 3, 1613
) was an
Ottoman statesman who served as the
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
from 1590 or 1591 to 1594.
Previously, he had served as governor (
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 ...
) of
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
, and he became a
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 ...
along with his appointment to Egypt.
After Egypt, he became the governor of
Bursa
Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
from 1594 to 1595. His epithet ''Hadım'' means "
eunuch
A eunuch ( , ) is a male who has been castration, castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2 ...
" in Turkish.
He commanded the victorious
Ottoman forces during sultan
Mehmed III
Mehmed III (, ''Meḥmed-i sālis''; ; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the Long Turkish ...
's siege of
Eger
Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...
in 1606.
After a string of various government and military roles,
Ahmed Pasha retired in 1607 or 1608. He died on November 3, 1613.
See also
*
List of Ottoman governors of Egypt
The Ottoman Empire's governors of 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, the Ottoman sult ...
References
* Süreyya, Bey M, Nuri Akbayar, and Seyit A. Kahraman. Sicill-i Osmanî. Beşiktaş, İstanbul: Kültür Bakanlığı ile Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı'nın ortak yayınıdır, 1996. Print.
16th-century births
Year of birth unknown
1613 deaths
16th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt
17th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman governors of Egypt
Pashas
Eunuchs from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman governors of Cyprus
17th-century slaves in the Ottoman Empire
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