Ibrahim | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Engraving of Ibrahim Pasha | |
| 28thGrand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire | |
| In office 27 June 1523 – 15 March 1536 | |
| Monarch | Suleiman I |
| Preceded by | Piri Mehmed Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Ayas Mehmed Pasha |
| Ottoman Governor of Egypt | |
| In office 1525–1525 | |
| Monarch | Suleiman I |
| Preceded by | Güzelce Kasım Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Güzelce Kasım Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1495 Parga, Republic of Venice |
| Died | 15 March 1536(1536-03-15) (aged 40–41) Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
| Nationality | Ottoman |
| Spouse | Muhsine Hatun[1] |
| Children | Mehmed Şah Bey |
Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha[a] (c. 1495 – 15 March 1536), was the firstGrand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire appointed bySultanSuleiman the Magnificent.
Ibrahim, born as Orthodox Christian, wasenslaved during his youth. He and Suleiman became close friends in their youth. In 1523, Suleiman appointed Ibrahim as grand vizier to replacePiri Mehmed Pasha, who had been appointed in 1518 by Suleiman's father, the preceding SultanSelim I. Ibrahim remained in office for the next 13 years. He attained a level of authority and influence rivaled by only a handful of other grand viziers of the Empire, but in 1536, he was executed on Suleiman's orders and his property (much of which was gifted to him by the Sultan) was confiscated by the state.
Ibrahim was born toOrthodox Christian parents inParga,Epirus, then part of theRepublic of Venice. His ethnicity is unknown, but he probably originally spoke a Slavic dialect and also knew Greek and Albanian. His father was either a sailor or a fisherman.[2] Some time between 1499 and 1502, during theOttoman–Venetian War, he was captured in a raid byIskender Pasha, the Ottoman governor ofBosnia, and became a slave. He first met PrinceSuleiman while residing at Iskender Pasha's estate nearEdirne, most likely in 1514. It was then that he was taken into Suleiman's service.[3]
After his rivalHain Ahmed Pasha, thegovernor of Egypt, declared himself independent of the Ottoman Empire and was executed in 1524, Ibrahim Pasha traveled south toEgypt in 1525 and reformed the Egyptian provincial civil and military administration system. He promulgated an edict, theKanunname, outlining his system.[4][5]
In a lavish ceremony in 1523, Ibrahim Pasha was married to Muhsine Hatun, the granddaughter of the same Iskender Pasha who had captured him more than two decades previously. This marriage appears to have been politically motivated as a method of integrating Ibrahim, an outsider, into the Ottoman elite. While Muhsine was initially skeptical about her new husband, they eventually formed a loving relationship. Although historians once believed that the woman Ibrahim married wasHatice Sultan, the sister of Sultan Suleiman, this had been based on scanty evidence and conjecture. As a result of research carried out by the historian Ebru Turan, including the discovery of multiple references to Muhsine in Venetian and Ottoman texts as well as a signed letter from her to Ibrahim, it is now accepted that Ibrahim's wife was Muhsine and not Hatice. They had at least one child, a son named Mehmed Şah Bey (dead in 1539).[1]
His palace, which still stands on the west side of theHippodrome in Istanbul, has been converted into the modern-dayTurkish and Islamic Arts Museum.
On the diplomatic front, Ibrahim's work with WesternChristendom was a complete success. Portraying himself as "the real power behind the Ottoman Empire", Ibrahim used a variety of tactics to negotiate favorable deals with the leaders of the Catholic powers. TheVenetian diplomats even referred to him as "Ibrahim the Magnificent",[6] a play on Suleiman's usual sobriquet. In 1533, he convincedCharles V to turnHungary into an Ottoman vassal state. In 1535, he completed a monumental agreement withFrancis I that gave France favorable trade rights within the Ottoman Empire in exchange for joint action against theHabsburgs. This agreement would set the stage for jointFranco-Ottoman naval maneuvers, including thebasing of the Ottoman fleet in southern France (inToulon) during the winter of 1543–1544.
Although Ibrahim Pasha had long since converted to Islam, he maintained some ties to his roots, even bringing his parents to live with him in the Ottoman capital, where they also converted to Islam. His father took the name Yusuf and joined the Ottoman elite, becoming a governor in Epirus.[7]
As he attained increasing wealth and power, he also made enemies; such as the famousHürrem. After a dinner with the Sultan on 15 March 1536, Ibrahim Pasha went to bed. Upon arrival to his room, he was seized, and killed. Thus, Hürrem became the chief political advisor to her husband, the Sultan.[8][9]
Muhsine, granddaughter of an illustrious statesman, is now largely accepted as Ibrahim's wife.
Originally, he probably spoke a Slavic dialect; sources mention that during the peace negotiations with the Habsburgs in 1533 he conversed in his mother tongue with Ferdinand I's representative Jerome of Zara, who was a Croatian... Venetian sources indicate that the pasha could also speak Greek and Albanian.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 27 June 1523 – 14 March 1536 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ottoman Governor of Egypt 1525 | Succeeded by |
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