İskender Pasha Mihaloğlu (, ;

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1478–1504), known simply as Skender Pasha, was the

sanjakbey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak'', in Arabic '' liwa’' ...

of the

Bosnian Sanjak Sanjak of Bosnia (, / Босански санџак) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire established in 1463 when the lands conquered from the Bosnian Kingdom were transformed into a sanjak and Isa-Beg Isaković was appointed its firs ...

in period 1478–1480, 1485–1491 and 1499–1504. A Mihaloğlu family member, descendant of

Köse Mihal Köse Mihal (; 13th century – 1340) accompanied Osman I in his ascent to power as a bey and founder of the Ottoman Empire. He is considered to be the first significant Byzantine renegade and convert to Islam to enter Ottoman service (see Nök ...

, he and his brother Ali Bey (the sanjakbey of Smederevo) helt notable offices in

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 ...

(the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Life

Origin

He was member of the Mihaloğlu family which descended from

. His brother was Ali Bey Mihaloğlu.

Career

In 1476 Skender Pasha joined up with his brother Ali Bey, the sanjakbey of Smederevo, as he departed from Smederevo and crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

ahead of 5,000

spahi Spahis () were light cavalry, light-cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the Arab and Berber populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, w ...

s making a second attempt to reach Temesvár. Ali Bey was confronted by the Hungarian nobility at

Pančevo Pančevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Панчево, ; ; ; ; ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the South Banat District in the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is located on the shores of rivers Timiș (ri ...

. The Ottomans suffered an utter defeat and barely escaped in a small boat. The Hungarians chased Ali Bey into the valley on the opposite bank of the

Nadela The Nadela or Nadel (Serbian Cyrillic: Надела or Надел) is a system of canals and rivers in northern Serbia, an long left tributary to the Danube in the Banat region of the Vojvodina province. Course The Nadela originates from the ...

where they liberated all the previously captured Hungarian prisoners and also took 250 Ottoman captives. He was the sanjakbey of Bosnia in 1478–1480, 1485–1491 and 1499–1504. In 1499 he captured part of the Venetian territories in

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. Around 1500 he built a tekke (Islamic religious institution) of the

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

order in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, capital of Bosnia. In 1501 he unsuccessfully besieged

Jajce Jajce ( sr-Cyrl, Јајце) is a town and municipality in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, wi ...

and was defeated by János (Ivaniš) Corvin, assisted by Zrinski, Frankopan, Karlović and Cubor.

Family

He had at least two sons and a daughter: * Hürrem Pasha, beylerbey * Mustafa Pasha * Muhsine Hatun. She married 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 ...

Ibrahim Pasha, a former slave of Skender's family.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihajlovic, Skender Pasha Ottoman governors of Bosnia Ottoman Bosnian nobility 15th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 1504 deaths Mihaloğulları