Veli Pasha ( 1787–1822) was an Ottoman Albanian governor (''pasha'') of the

Pashalik of Yanina The Pashalik of Yanina, sometimes referred to as the Pashalik of Ioanina or Pashalik of Janina, was an autonomous pashalik within the Ottoman Empire between 1787 and 1822 covering large areas of Greece, Albania and North Macedonia. The pashal ...

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

, and the second son of

Ali Pasha Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina. People * Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406) * Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...

. As an Ottoman commander, he is known for his participation against the

Souliotes The Souliotes were an Orthodox Christian Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of Independence came to identify with the ...

, the

Septinsular Republic The Septinsular Republic ( el, Ἑπτάνησος Πολιτεία, Heptanēsos Politeia; it, Repubblica Settinsulare) was an oligarchic republic that existed from 1800 to 1807 under nominal Russian Empire, Russian and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman so ...

, and the

Serbian rebels Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambigua ...

History

An attendant to Veli Pasha of Thessaly, by Louis Dupré - 1827

In 1787 or 1788, following his father's conquest of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the ...

and formation of the

, a 17-year-old Veli was appointed by Ali as ruler of the Sanjak of Trikala with the title ''Pasha of Trikala''. He married Zeivenie, a daughter of Ibrahim Pasha of

Berat Berat (; sq-definite, Berati) is the ninth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Berat County and Berat Municipality. By air, it is north of Gjirokastër, west of Korçë, south of Tirana, and east of Fier. Berat is located i ...

, in 1798. His second wife was Zybeide H. Vlora, the daughter of Sylejman Pasha. He was a well-educated man and fluent in Albanian,

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

and Italian. Between 1807-1812, he ruled the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

as ''Pasha''. In 1803, his father sent him with an army to fight the

. In 1806, following renewed conflict between the Ottomans and Russians, Veli Pasha was sent to attack the

. Veli Pasha seized Vonitsa,

Preveza Preveza ( el, Πρέβεζα, ) is a city in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located on the northern peninsula at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epir ...

and

Butrint Butrint ( el, Βουθρωτόν and Βουθρωτός, ''Bouthrōtón'', la, Buthrōtum) was an ancient Greek and later Roman city and bishopric in Epirus. "Speakers of these various Greek dialects settled different parts of Greece at diffe ...

. Ali Pasha married Veli Pasha to his neighbour Ibrahim Pasha's daughter. Veli Pasha was sent to suppress the Serbian rebels in the sanjak of Smederevo (

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...

). By 1804, Veli was the

sanjakbey ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' ( ota, سنجاق بك) () 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 ('' san ...

of Delvina and

Beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit= bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Selj ...

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hi ...

. By 1807, Veli Pasha had 10,000 soldiers at his disposal. Veli and his brother Muhtar attempted to convince their father to come to terms with the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

but to no avail. Nonetheless, Ali Pasha would entrust

to Veli, and

Parga Parga ( el, Πάργα ) is a town and municipality located in the northwestern part of the regional unit of Preveza in Epirus, northwestern Greece. The seat of the municipality is the village Kanallaki. Parga lies on the Ionian coast between the ...

to Veli's eldest son Mehmet. In 1812, upon the appearance of Ottoman troops - who had arrived to subdue Ali Pasha - the Muslim population of Preveza threatened to revolt and forced Veli into the citadel. Preveza was blockaded by Turkish and

Souliote The Souliotes were an Orthodox Christian Albanian tribal community in the area of Souli in Epirus from the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century, who via their participation in the Greek War of Independence came to identify with the ...

forces, and the Ottoman government attempted to negotiate his surrender. In order to save his captured son Mehmet (at the pleas of Veli's other son Selim), and in return for an appointment to the Pashalik of St. John of Acre, Veli finally surrendered Preveza and deserted his father's cause.

Legacy

Apart from his appointment as Pasha in multiple regions, Veli Pasha was also known for plundering multiple ancient sites. He plundered the Treasury of Atreus in

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. ...

. In April, 1808, he had people dig in Mycenae; he unearthed the

Tomb of Clytemnestra The Tomb of Clytemnestra was a Mycenaean tholos type tomb built in c. 1250 BC. A number of architectural features such as the semi-column were largely adopted by later classical monuments of the first millennium BC, both in the Greek and Latin wor ...

among multiple other tombs containing human remains and jewellery, valuable stones and gems. He also unearthed around 25 statues and a marble table. He had them all transported to Tripolitza where he is said to have thrown out the mortal remains and the gems. He sold all other findings to western travellers for 80,000.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasha, Veli 19th-century Ottoman military personnel Ottoman Epirus People from Epirus (region) Albanians from the Ottoman Empire People of the First Serbian Uprising Ottoman military personnel of the Serbian Revolution Ali Pasha of Ioannina