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Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (, , ; or ''Qyprilliu'', also called ''Mehmed Pashá Rojniku''; 1575, Roshnik,– 31 October 1661, Edirne) was Grand Vizier of the
Köprülü was called to Istanbul, where he accepted the position of Grand Vizier on 14 September 1656. He spoke to Valide Sultan on his appointment as Grand Vizier and told his terms and she accepted. He was given extraordinary powers and political rule without interference, even from the highest authority of the Sultan. Of course, he gave reports on governance to Turhan Sultan, and in many administrative matters she supported him. Thus, historians saw her and him as the mainstay of the Ottoman state.
In order to prevent the Valide Sultan or any other person from the harem from exercising power in their affairs, he proposed to confirm and declare the sultan's adulthood. As the Grand Vizier, his first task was to advise Sultan Mehmed IV to conduct a life of hunts and traveling around the Balkans and to reside in the old capital of Edirne, thus stopping his direct political involvement in the management of the state. On 4 January 1657, the household cavalry Sipahi troops in Constantinople started a rebellion and this was cruelly suppressed by Köprülü Mehmed Pasha with the help of Janissary troops. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople was proven to be in treasonous contacts with the enemies of Ottoman state and Köprülü Mehmed Pasha approved of his execution.
The Sultan gave the Grand Vizier the absolute authority over the life and property of the Ottoman government and people and assured him that anyone who opposed him for any purpose could be executed for disobeying the order.
He started on a military expeditions against the Venetian blockade of Dardanelles Straits. The Ottoman navy had a victory against Venice in the Battle of the Dardanelles on 19 July 1657. This allowed Ottomans to regain some of the Aegean islands, including Bozcaada and Limni (15 November) and to open the sea-supply routes to the Ottoman Army still conducting the sieges of Crete.
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
and founding patriarch of the Köprülü political dynasty. He helped rebuild the power of the empire by rooting out corruption and reorganizing the Ottoman army. As he introduced these changes, Köprülü also expanded the borders of the empire, defeating the Cossacks, the Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...
, and most impressively, the Venetians. Köprülü's effectiveness was matched by his reputation.
Biography
Early life
He was born in the village of Roshnik in the Sanjak of Berat, Albania to Albanian parents.Rise through the imperial service
He eventually rose to the rank of pasha and was appointed the '' beylerbey'' (provincial governor) of the Trebizond Eyalet in 1644. Mehmed Pasha's early rise was facilitated by his participation in patronage networks with other Albanians in the Ottoman administration. His main patron was the Albanian Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha who secured Köprülü Mehmed's appointment as mirahor. Later he was to rule the provinces of Eğri in 1647, of Karaman in 1648, and of Anatolia in 1650. He served as vizier of the divan for one week in 1652 before being dismissed due to the constant power struggle within the palace. In 1656, the political situation in Ottoman Empire was critical. The war in Crete against the Venetians was still continuing. The Ottoman Navy under Kapudan Pasha (grand admiral) Kenan Pasha, in May 1656, was defeated by the Venetian and Maltese navy at the Battle of Dardanelles (1656) and the Venetian navy continued the blockade of the Çanakkale Straits cutting the Ottoman army in Crete from Constantinople, the state capital. There was a political plot to unseat the reigning Sultan Mehmed IV led by important viziers including the Grand Mufti ( Şeyhülislam) Hocazade Mesut Efendi. This plot was discovered, and the plotters were executed or exiled. The Mother Sultana Turhan Hatice conducted consultations and the most favored candidate for the post of Grand Vizier came out as the old and retired but experienced Köprülü Mehmed Pasha.Grand Vizier
Köprülü was called to Istanbul, where he accepted the position of Grand Vizier on 14 September 1656. He spoke to Valide Sultan on his appointment as Grand Vizier and told his terms and she accepted. He was given extraordinary powers and political rule without interference, even from the highest authority of the Sultan. Of course, he gave reports on governance to Turhan Sultan, and in many administrative matters she supported him. Thus, historians saw her and him as the mainstay of the Ottoman state.
In order to prevent the Valide Sultan or any other person from the harem from exercising power in their affairs, he proposed to confirm and declare the sultan's adulthood. As the Grand Vizier, his first task was to advise Sultan Mehmed IV to conduct a life of hunts and traveling around the Balkans and to reside in the old capital of Edirne, thus stopping his direct political involvement in the management of the state. On 4 January 1657, the household cavalry Sipahi troops in Constantinople started a rebellion and this was cruelly suppressed by Köprülü Mehmed Pasha with the help of Janissary troops. The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople was proven to be in treasonous contacts with the enemies of Ottoman state and Köprülü Mehmed Pasha approved of his execution.
The Sultan gave the Grand Vizier the absolute authority over the life and property of the Ottoman government and people and assured him that anyone who opposed him for any purpose could be executed for disobeying the order.
War with Transylvania and the Habsburgs
In 1658 he conducted a successful campaign in Transylvania. He also annexed Yanova (Jenő) on 1 August 1660 and Várad on 27 August. By annexing more territory in Hungary, he intended to directly threaten the Austrian capital Vienna.Revolt of Abaza Hasan Pasha
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's campaign against Transylvania was cut short by the large-scale revolt of several eastern provincial governors under the leadership of Abaza Hasan Pasha, then the governor of Aleppo. The rebels opposed Köprülü Mehmed's violent purges of the military and demanded that he be killed. However, Sultan Mehmed IV remained steadfast in his support for Köprülü and dispatched an army against the rebels under the command of Murtaza Pasha, who was then guarding the Safavid frontier. Despite assembling a force of 30,000 men and defeating Murtaza Pasha in battle, the harsh winter and fading morale eventually forced the rebels to capitulate. Abaza Hasan's revolt was finally brought to an end in February 1659 with the assassination of all the rebel commanders in Aleppo, despite promises that they would be spared.Ayazmakapi Fire
In July 1660 there was a big fire in Istanbul (the Ayazmakapi Fire) causing great damage to persons and buildings, leading later to a food scarcity and plague. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha became personally involved in the reconstruction affairs. The honesty and integrity in conducting state affairs by Köprülü Mehmed Pasha is shown by an episode in this task.Sakaoglu, 281 The burnt-out Jewish quarters from the Ayazmakapi Fire were decided to be compulsorily purchased by the state.Death and legacy
Köprülü Mehmed's victories in Transylvania would push the Ottoman border closer toAustria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
.
Family
While stationed in Köprü in Anatolia, he married Ayşe Hatun (Hanım), daughter of Yusuf Ağa, a notable originally from Kayacık, a village of Havza in Amasya. Yusuf Ağa was a ''voyvoda'' (tax-farmer) who built a bridge in Kadegra, that thus became Köprü, from which the family name of Mehmed (who was originally stationed there, and where he was '' sanjak-bey'') was taken. Together they had a number of children, amongs them Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, Köprülüzade Fazıl Mustafa Pasha (father of Köprülüzade Damat Numan Pasha and Köprülüzade Abdüllah Pasha) and at least two daughters, who married Abaza Siyavush Pasha and Kara Mustafa Pasha.See also
*Köprülü era
The Köprülü era () (c. 1656–1703) was a period in which the Ottoman Empire's politics were frequently dominated by a series of grand viziers from the Köprülü family. The Köprülü era is sometimes more narrowly defined as the period fr ...
* Köprülü family Köprülü may refer to:
People
* Köprülü family (Kypriljotet), an Ottoman noble family of Albanian origin
** Köprülü era (1656–1703), the period in which the Ottoman Empire's politics were set by the Grand Viziers, mainly the Köprülü fa ...
* List of Ottoman grand viziers
References
* N. Sakaoğlu (1999), ''Bu Mülkün Sultanları,'' İstanbul: Oğlak.Bibliography
*External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koprulu, Mehmed 1570s births 1661 deaths People from Berat Mehmet Pasha 17th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Albanian grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Albanian Pashas 16th-century Albanian people 17th-century Albanian people Ottoman people of the Cretan War (1645–1669)