Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kapudan Pasha | |
| In office 1590–1595 | |
| Monarch | Murad III |
| Preceded by | Kılıç Ali Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Halil Pasha |
| Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire | |
| In office 27 October 1596 – 5 December 1596 | |
| Monarch | Mehmed III |
| Preceded by | Ibrahim Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Ibrahim Pasha |
| Kapudan Pasha | |
| In office 1599–1601 | |
| Monarch | Mehmed III |
| Preceded by | Halil Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Mustafa Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1545 |
| Died | 1606(1606-00-00) (aged 60–61) |
| Nationality | Ottoman |
| Spouses | |
| Children | by Saliha Mahmud Pasha Ayşe Hanım by Safiye Mehmed Bey Hüseyn Bey Fülane Hanım |
Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha (also known asCağaloğlu Yusuf Sinan Pasha;c. 1545–1605), his epithet meaning "son of Cicala", was anOttomanItalian statesman who held the office ofGrand Vizier for forty days between 27 October to 5 December 1596, during the reign ofMehmed III. He was also aKapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of theOttoman Navy) as well as a military general. He was one of the most capable statesmen of the Ottoman Classical Age, having contributed to the eastwards expansion of the empire at the expense of Persia and successfully defended Ottoman Hungary from Habsburg invasion. However, because of court intricacies, he resigned from the Vizierate after just over a month in office.
He was born asScipione Cicala inMessina around 1545, as a member of the aristocraticGenoese family[1] of Cicala. His younger brother wasCarlo Cicala. His father, a Viscount (di Cicala), was, according toStephan Gerlach, acorsair in the service of Spain, while his mother is said to have been aTurk from Castelnuovo (Herceg Novi today). The Visconte and his son, captured at theBattle of Djerba by theOttoman navy in 1560 or 1561, were taken first toTripoli in North Africa and then toConstantinople. The father was in due course ransomed from captivity and, after living for some time atBeyoğlu (Pera), returned to Messina, where he died in 1564. His son, Scipione, was not released, but was inducted into the Ottoman corps of young boys to be trained for imperial service. He converted, as was required, to Islam and was trained in the Imperial palace, rising to the rank ofsilahtar. He married two great-granddaughters ofSuleiman I and found himself assured of wealth, high office and protection at the Porte.
As an army commander, he distinguished himself in thebattle of Lake Cahul during the suppression of the uprising inMoldavia. He becameAgha of the Janissaries in 1575 and retained this office until 1578. During the next phase of his career he saw much active service in the longOttoman–Persian war of 1578–1590. He wasbeylerbey (governor-general) ofVan in 1583, and assumed command, in the same year, of the great fortress ofErivan, being raised to the rank ofvizier at the same time. He also played a prominent role, once more as Beylerley of Van, in the campaign of 1585 againstTabriz. As Beylerbey ofBayazıt, an appointment which he received in 1586, he fought with success in western Persia during the last years of the war, bringingNihavand andHamadan under Ottoman control.
After the peace of 1590, he was made governor ofErzurum, and in 1591, becameKapudan Pasha or Grand Admiral of theOttoman fleet. He held this office until 1595. During the third Grand Vizierate (1593–1595) ofKoca Sinan Pasha he was promoted to Fourth Vizier. At that time, the Ottomans had been at war with Austria since 1593. Cağaloğlu Yusuf Sinan Pasha, by then appointed Third Vizier, accompanied SultanMehmed III on theHungarian campaign of 1596. He tried in vain to relieve the fortress ofHatvan, which fell in September 1596. He was present at the successful Ottomansiege of Eger (Eğri) (September–October 1596) and at theBattle of Mezö-Keresztes in October 1596 and took part in the final assault that turned an imminent defeat into a notable triumph for the Ottomans. In reward for his services, he was made Grand Vizier, but the discontent arising from the measures which he used in an effort to restore discipline amongst the Ottoman forces, the troubles which followed his intervention in the affairs of theCrimean Tatars, and the existence at court of powerful influences eager to restoreDamat İbrahim Pasha to the Grand Vizierate, brought about his deposition from this office after 40 days.
He was Beylerbey ofDamascus from December 1597 to January 1598. In May 1599, he was made Kapudan Pasha for the second time. In 1604, he assumed command of the eastern front, where a new war between the Ottomans and the Persians had broken out in the preceding year. His campaign of 1605 was unsuccessful, the forces he led towardsTabriz suffering defeat near the shore ofLake Urmia. Cağaloğlu had to withdraw to the fortress of Van and thence in the direction ofDiyarbekir. He died in the course of this retreat in December 1605. He is the ancestor ofİlhan İrem, who was a famous Turkish pop singer.
He married two great-granddaughters of Sultan Suleiman I. The two girl were daughters ofAyşe Hümaşah Sultan, the daughter ofMihrimah Sultan, the only daughter of SultanSuleiman I, birth by his legal wifeHürrem Sultan.
TheCağaloğlu quarter inIstanbul, a household name in Turkey for having been the equivalent of London'sFleet Street as the city's press center, and where Yusuf Sinan Pasha had constructed a palace and ahamam (Turkish bath), is named after him and carries his name to this day. The bath, known asCağaloğlu Hamam after the Pasha, was reconstructed in 1741.
The song "Sinàn Capudàn Pascià" by theGenoese singer-songwriterFabrizio De André tells the story of Sinan Pasha. It is completely inGenoese dialect and is part of the albumCrêuza de mä.
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| Preceded by | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 17 October 1596 – 5 December 1596 | Succeeded by |
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