Omar Pasha

Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas (Turkish: Ömer Lütfi PaÅŸa, Serbian: Омер-паша Латас, romanized: Omer-paÅ¡a Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in the Austrian Empire to Serbian Orthodox Christian parents, he initially served as an Austrian soldier. When faced with charges of embezzlement, he fled to Ottoman Bosnia in 1823 and converted to Islam. He then joined the Ottoman army, eventually rising to a position of command and serving as their broader strategic commander during the Crimean War, which saw Russia soundly defeated both diplomatically and military by a broad coalition of European powers. Latas was behind the Ottoman victories at OlteniÈ›a, Cetate, and Eupatoria.