Hadım Sinan Pasha (, a, ; ; died 22 January 1517) was a Bosnian- Ottoman nobleman, politician and statesman. He served as the

Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire The grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire ( or ''Sadr-ı Azam'' (''Sadrazam''); Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman Turkish: or ) was the ''de facto'' prime minister of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, sultan in the Ottoman Empire, with the absolute p ...

from 1516 to 1517. He was a

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 ...

Life

Early life

Sinan Pasha was of Bosnian descent. According to Ragusan documents the Borovinić noble family were from Borovinići village near

Foča Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the south-east on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...

. His ancestor Tvrtko Borovinić (fl. 1417–46) was a close relative of Radoslav Pavlović, the

Grand Duke of Bosnia Grand Duke of Bosnia (, ) was a court title in the Bosnian medieval state, with its first holders being recorded around the middle of the 14th century. The title was bestowed by the monarch to its highest military commander, rarely two, usually ...

, whom he served as a vassal.

Sanjak-bey

From December 1496 he was sanjak-bey of Bosnia. From 1504 to 1506, he was the sanjak-bey of Herzegovina. In 1507–08 he expanded the

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

mosque built in 1473 by an earlier Sinan Pasha who was the first sanjak-bey of Herzegovina. Later he served as the sanjak-bey of Smederevo between 1506 and 1513.

Beylerbey and Grand Vizier

In 1514, he was 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 ...

(high governor) of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. In the

Battle of Chaldiran The Battle of Chaldiran (; ) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran. It marked ...

against

Safavid Iran 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 ...

he was in charge of the right flank. After the battle he was appointed as the beylerbey of

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

, a post more prestigious than his former post. His next mission was the conquest of the Dulkadirids, a vassal of the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

, in what is now South

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He defeated Bozkurt of Dulkadir in the Battle of Turnadağ. After the conquest of the beylik,

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

(the Inflexible) appointed him as 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 ...

on April 25 1516. Sinan was Selim's favorite grand vizier. He was active in the conquest of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

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 ...

, which were then provinces of the

. He defeated and subdued the independent Kurdish emirate of Baban, making them an Ottoman vassal. On October 28, 1516, he defeated an Egyptian Mamluk army in

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis (), also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus, is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and serves as the capital of the Khan Yunis Governorate. It has been largely destroyed during the Gaza war. Before the 14th century, Khan Y ...

, near Gaza,

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Next year, he fought in the Battle of Ridaniya in Egypt on January 22, 1517. In Ottoman battle tradition, the sultan was almost always in the central headquarters. But the Battle of Ridaniya was an exception, because

decided to encircle the Mamluks personally and assigned Sinan to the central headquarters. The plot was successful and the Mamluks were defeated. However, before the battle was over, Mamluk cavalry (including Tuman bay II, the Egyptian sultan) raided the Ottoman headquarters and killed Sinan, thinking he was the sultan.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt II'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 248-249 After the battle, Sultan Selim expressed his sorrow, saying, "We won the battle, but we lost Sinan."

Personal life

According to some sources, Sinan was married to the full-sister of Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

. It has been speculated that this sister was

Gevherhan Hatun Gevherhan Hatun ( "''Gem of the Khan''"; - ) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Mehmed II (reign 1444–46 and 1451–81) and Gülbahar Hatun. She was the sister of Sultan Bayezid II (reign 1481–1512). Early life Gevherhan Hatun was th ...

, Bayezid's only known full sister. Some historians have disputed this, arguing that Sinan may also have married one of Bayezid's half-sisters, or that Bayezid had an unknown second full-sister.

References