İskenderpaşazade Hürrem Pasha (died 28 August 1526), known in Arabic as Khurram ibn Iskandar Pasha, was an Ottoman statesman who served as ''

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 ...

'' (governor-general) of

Damascus Eyalet Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the Mamluks following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan ...

in 1523–1524 and afterward as ''beylerbey'' of

Karaman Eyalet Karaman Eyalet () was one of the subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . In 1468, the formerly independent principality of Karaman was annexed by the Ottomans; Mehmed II appointed his son Mustafa as gov ...

. He was killed in office during a battle to rout rebel tribesmen in the province. His brother-in-law, Grand Vizier Ibrahim Pasha, erected a tomb for him the mausoleum complex of

Rumi Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Life

Hürrem was one of at least two sons of the veteran Ottoman statesman and commander

Skender Pasha İskender Pasha Mihaloğlu (, ; fl. 1478–1504), known simply as Skender Pasha, was the sanjakbey of the Bosnian Sanjak in period 1478–1480, 1485–1491 and 1499–1504. A Mihaloğlu family member, descendant of Köse Mihal, he and his broth ...

, the other being Mustafa Pasha. He was the brother-in-law of Sultan Suleiman's grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha, who was once a slave of Iskender Pasha's family and married Hürrem's sister Muhsine Hatun. Hürrem was appointed the ''

'' (governor-general) of

in 1523. He led a punitive expedition against the

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

of the

Chouf Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate ( muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon. Geography Located south-east of Beirut, the region comprises a narrow coastal stri ...

subdistrict in Mount Lebanon led by the Ma'n family on 27 October 1523. The expedition ended with his burning of forty-three villages and the killing of at least four hundred Druze. He launched a second expedition in 1524 when his '' subashis'' (superintendents) were killed by the Druze. In the second campaign, thirty villages were burned, at least three hundred Druze were killed and three hundred Druze women and children were taken captive. His campaigns were celebrated by the

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

scholars and poets of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. Hürrem was later appointed ''beylerbey'' of the

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

-based

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 ...

. He was killed in the plain of Kayseri on 28 August 1526 attempting to suppress rebellious Turkmen tribes, who had launched a revolt in Anatolia that year. Hürrem's troops consequently fled and the rebels captured the horses, weapons and treasure of Hürrem's camp. On their way to join the

kizilbash Qizilbash or Kizilbash (Latin script: ) ; ; (modern Iranian reading: ); were a diverse array of mainly Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman "The Qizilbash, composed mainly of Turkman tribesmen, were the military force introduced by the conquering ...

rebels in

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 ...

, they were routed and massacred in Diyarbakir by Ottoman troops led by Hüsrev Pasha, the ''beylerbey'' of

Aleppo Eyalet Aleppo Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman conquest it was governed from Damascus, but by 1534 Aleppo was made the capital of a new eyalet. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters Its reported area in the 19th centur ...

Death and tomb

Hürrem was buried in

. Ibrahim Pasha erected a mausoleum for him in the mausoleum complex of

, known as the

Mevlana Museum Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī (), or simply Rumi (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273), was a 13th-century poet, Hanafi '' faqih'' (jurist), Maturidi theologian (''mutakallim''), and Sufi mystic born during the Khwarazmian Empire ...

. The domed tomb, which has an octagonal plan in the classic Ottoman style, is on the east side of the kitchen. Inside the tomb is Hürrem's marble tombstone, alongside the marble tombstone of Haci Bey, an Ottoman statesman who served during Suleiman's reign.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *{{cite thesis , last=Yilmaz , first=Mehmet Şakir , title=Bureaucracy and 'Kanun' in the Reign of Suleyman the Magnificent (1520-1566) , date=September 2006 , publisher=Bilkent University , location=Ankara , type=PhD , url=http://www.thesis.bilkent.edu.tr/0003213.pdf 1526 deaths 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman governors of Damascus Ottoman military personnel killed in action Mihaloğulları