Hadji Mustafa Pasha (, Хаџи Мустафа-паша, ; 1733 – 27 December 1801) was an Ottoman commander and politician of Greek Muslim origin who lived in

Sanjak of Smederevo The Sanjak of Smederevo (, ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade (, ), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak) centered on Smederevo, that existed between the 15th and the outset of the 19th centuries. It ...

(in modern-day

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

). He fought in the

Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) The Austro-Turkish War, also known as the Habsburg–Ottoman War, was fought from 1788 to 1791, between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. During the conflict, Habsburg armies succeeded in taking Belgrade (1789) and liberating much o ...

and the

Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

. In the period between 1793 and 1801 he was Vizier of the Sanjak of Smederevo (also known as ''Belgrade Pashaluk''). On 15 December 1801 he was murdered by Kučuk-Alija, one of four rebel

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 ...

leaders ( dahije) who took control over the sanjak.

Biography

Born in 1733, of Greek Muslim origin, he was surnamed Şinikoğlu (). As ''

hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

'', he carried out a pilgrimage to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

, and was also a member of the

Bektashi Order Bektashism (, ) is a Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The Bektashi co ...

. He was among the notable Ottomans who had fought during the

and the

. Mustafa Pasha was the main government architect (''bina emin'') in the Pashalik of Belgrade before he became

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 ...

of the

Belgrade Pashaluk Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

in July 1793. He closely collaborated with Petar Ičko and according to some sources both of them were members of one

masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

. As a friend of the Serb people, he was nicknamed the "Serbian mother". In 1793 and 1796

Selim III Selim III (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of a ...

proclaimed

firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...

s in which gave more rights to Serbs. Among other things, taxes were to be collected by local Serbian rulers with the title of ''obor-knez'' (dukes); freedom of trade and religion were granted and ordinary Serbs began to live in peace.

also decreed that some unpopular

Janissaries 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 du ...

were to leave the Belgrade Pashaluk as he saw them as a threat to the central authority of Hadži Mustafa Pasha. Many of those Janissaries were employed by or found refuge with Osman Pazvantoğlu, a renegade opponent of Sultan Selim III in the Sanjak of Vidin. Fearing the dissolution of the Janissary command in

, Osman Pazvantoğlu launched a series of raids against Serbian brigands without the permission of Sultan Selim III causing much volatility and fear in the region. Mustafa Pasha engaged mercenary forces in order to fight against forces of Osman Pazvantoğlu. To finance these forces Mustafa Pasha had to increase taxes. He accepted the proposal of local ober knezes to allow them to establish their own forces consisting of 16,000 Serbs led by Serb officers, commanded by Stanko Arambašić from Veliko Selo, to prevent the rebellion because of the increased taxes. In the summer of 1797 the sultan appointed Mustafa Pasha on position of

beglerbegi ''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 Rumelia Eyalet and he left Serbia for

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

to fight against the Vidin rebels of Pazvantoğlu. During the absence of Mustafa Pasha the forces of Pazvantoğlu together with Janissaries captured Požarevac and besieged Belgrade fortress. At the end of November 1797 ober knezes from

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

Aleksa Nenadović, Ilija Birčanin and Nikola Grbović brought their forces to Belgrade and forced besieging Janissary forces to retreat to

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

. In January 1798 Mustafa Pasha ordered his forces together with Serb forces under command of Ilija Birčanin to attack Janissary forces in

. However, on January 30, 1799, the court of Sultan Selim III allowed the Janissaries to return, referring to them as local Muslims from the

. Initially the Janissaries accepted the authority of the

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Pasha under Hadži Mustafa Pasha. Then two Janissaries in Šabac, Bego Novljanin and Ćurt-oglija, demanded from a Serb a surcharge and murdered the Serb when he refused to pay. Fearing the worst, Hadži Mustafa Pasha marched on

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

with a force of 600 to ensure that the Janissaries were brought to justice and order was restored. On the 27 of December three of the 200 of those guarding Hadži Mustafa Pasha's quarters entered his room and after a short exchange one of the three, Kučuk Alija, shot Mustafa. The body of the Pasha was then displayed through the streets of Belgrade. Before his death Mustafa Pasha allegedly instructed his son, Dervish Bey, to unite his forces with Serb forces and capture Belgrade from dahias.

Citations

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadzi Mustafa Pasha 18th-century Ottoman military personnel Pashas 18th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire People from the Ottoman Empire of Greek descent Ottoman Serbia 1733 births 1801 deaths Leaders ousted by a coup