Nişancı Ahmed Pasha (died February 1753),also called Şehla Ahmed Pasha,HacıŞehla Ahmed Pasha,or Kör Vezir Ahmed Pasha ("Ahmed Pasha the Blind Vizier"),was an Ottoman Grand Vizier during the reign of Mahmud I. [1] He was also the Ottoman governor of Egypt from 1748 to 1751. [2] [3] [4]
He was of Turkish origin. His family was from Alaiye (now Alanya in Antalya Province,Turkey),but Ahmed was born in Söke (in Aydın Province,Turkey) to his father Cafer. One of his uncles was a vizier. He was appointed as the chief stableman (Turkish :imrahor). In 1738,he was promoted to be the governor of Aydın Province. In 1742,he returned to Constantinople,the capital. He was appointed as the nişancı (one of the highest bureaucratic posts). Soon afterwards,he was promoted to be the grand vizier on 23 June 1740.
He was sometimes called Kör Vezir ("blind vizier") because he was somewhat cross-eyed. [5]
His term in the office was one of the few periods of peace in the history of the Ottoman Empire,as the war against the Habsburg monarchy and the Russian Empire had just ended and Nader Shah,Shah of Persia,was occupied in Transoxiana and Daghestan. Despite the favorable conditions,Ahmed Pasha was unable to take advantage of the political state of peace and failed to follow his intended program of recovery and reform. Meanwhile,he was accused of dishonesty and indifference to state affairs. He was dismissed from the post on 21 April 1742 and was replaced by the more experienced Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha,who had already once served a term as grand vizier 10 years ago.
He was exiled to the island of Rhodes. Soon thereafter,however,he returned to government services. In 1743,he became the governor of the Sanjak of İçel (modern Mersin Province,Turkey) and then the governor of Sidon Eyalet. That year,a new war with Persia broke out,and Ahmed Pasha was given command (Turkish :serdar) of northern Anatolia,where he successfully defended Kars against Nader. He then worked as the governor of Aleppo Eyalet (in modern Syria) and Diyarbekir Eyalet.
After the Treaty of Kerden,he was appointed the governor of Baghdad Eyalet in 1747,the governor of Egypt Eyalet in 1748, [2] [3] [4] and the governor of Adana Eyalet in 1751. However,Ahmed Pasha refused this last position in Adana,and in 1752,he returned to his former governorship in Aleppo,where he died in February 1753. [6]
Contemporaries in Ottoman Egypt described him as a man interested in the sciences and philosophy,but reported that he was disappointed when he discovered that Egypt's famed Al-Azhar University had ceased to teach about sciences and focused on only religious education. [4] [7] Reportedly,he found even the most educated Egyptians and ulema to be illiterate in basic mathematics,spending most of his time with the few he found that shared his interest in the sciences. [4] [7]
Murad Bey Mohammed was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain (Bey),cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler,but an energetic courageous fighter.
Ibrahim Bey was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain and regent of Egypt.
Koca Mehmet Ragıp Pasha (1698–1763) was an Ottoman statesman who served as a civil servant before 1744 as the provincial governor of Egypt from 1744 to 1748 and Grand Vizier from 1757 to 1763. He was also known as a poet. His epithet Koca means "great" or "giant" in Turkish.
Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha was an Ottoman statesman and military leader who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire three times.
Safranbolulu Izzet Mehmet Pasha was a grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire and served from 1794 to 1798.
Köse Halil Pasha,also known as Khalil Pasha al-Kawsaj,was an Ottoman statesman who served several high-level roles in the Ottoman Empire's administration,including serving as Defterdar and the Ottoman governor of Bosnia Eyalet (1699–1702),Erzurum Eyalet (1703–04),Van Eyalet (1704–06),Basra Eyalet,Sidon Eyalet (1708–1710),and Egypt Eyalet (1710–11). During his tenure in Erzurum,Hahil Pasha was in command of a military expedition in Georgia in 1703.
Veli Mehmed Pasha,also known as Mehmed Veli Pasha or WālīPasha,was an Ottoman statesman who served as Kapudan Pasha (1706–1707) and the Ottoman governor of Bosnia Eyalet (1707) and Egypt Eyalet.
Recep Pasha was an Ottoman statesman.
MoralıIbrahim Pasha,also known as AşçıIbrahim Pasha or HacıIbrahim Pasha or Ibrahim Pasha al-Kapudan,was an Ottoman statesman and grand admiral.
Muhassıl Osman Pasha,also known as Halepli Osman Pasha or Uthman Pasha al-Halabi,was an Ottoman statesman. He served as the Ottoman governor of various provinces (eyalets),including Tripoli,Egypt (1733–35),Damascus (1739–40),Adana (1740),Sidon (1740–46),and Jeddah.
Seyyid Abdullah Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who served as grand vizier from 1747 to 1750. He also served as the Ottoman governor of Cyprus,Rakka (1746),Konya (1750),Bosnia (1750–51),Egypt (1751–52),Diyarbekir (1752–60),and Aleppo (1760).
Divitdar Mehmed Emin Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who served as grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1750 to 1752. After this,he was exiled to Rethymno on Crete for three years.
Izzet Mehmed Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who served as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire twice,first from 1774 to 1775,and second from 1781 to 1782.
Keki Abdi Pasha was an Ottoman statesman. He served as the governor of the Sanjak of İçel,Adana Eyalet (1780–81),Diyarbekir Eyalet,Aleppo Eyalet (1784),Rakka Eyalet (1784–85),Sivas Eyalet (1785–86),and Egypt Eyalet.
Ismail Pasha was an Ottoman statesman of Georgian origin,he grew up in Tunis during the reign of Ali Pasha (1759-1782). Because of this,he became the kethüda (assistant/deputy) of Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha,the famous Kapudan Pasha. He would go on to serve as the Ottoman governor of Egypt Eyalet and Morea Eyalet (1791–92).
Kayserili HacıSalih Pasha was an Ottoman statesman,originally from the city of Kayseri in central Anatolia. He served as the Ottoman governor of Bosnia,Egypt,Diyarbekir (1796–99),and Trebizond,dying in 1801 or 1802.
Trabluslu Ali Pasha,also known as Cezayirli Ali Pasha or Seydi Ali Pasha,or Ali Burghol (Burghul) was an Ottoman statesman. He served as the Ottoman governor of Egypt from July 1803 to February 1804.
Müftizade Ahmed Pasha was an Ottoman statesman. He served myriad provincial governorships and high-level managerial roles throughout his career.