Reşid Mehmed | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Grand Vizier | |
| In office January 1829 – 17 February 1833 | |
| Preceded by | Topal Izzet Mehmed Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Mehmed Emin Rauf Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1780 |
| Died | 1836 (aged 55–56) |
Reşid Mehmed Pasha, also known asKütahı (Greek:Μεχμέτ Ρεσίτ πασάς Κιουταχής, 1780[citation needed]–1836), was anOttoman statesman and general who reached the post ofGrand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an important role in theGreek War of Independence.[1]
Reşid Mehmed was born inCircassia.[2] As a child, he was captured as a slave by the Ottomans, and brought to the service of the thenKapudan PashaKoca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha. His intelligence and ability impressed his master and secured his rapid rise. He was stationed inKarađorđe's Serbia for a short time. At only 29 years, he was appointed governor ofKütahya, from where he acquired hissobriquet.
In 1820, he was sent by SultanMahmud II, along with many other pashas, to quell the rebellion ofAli Pasha ofYannina against thePorte. At the same time, the Greeks were preparing their own uprising, which broke out in March 1821. Thus, after the defeat and death of Ali Pasha in 1822, he was at hand to campaign against the Greek rebels.
Having been appointed commander-in-chief of the Ottoman forces inEpirus, he marched south, to meet the Greek forces underAlexandros Mavrokordatos, which were campaigning towardsArta. He inflicted a crushing defeat upon them in theBattle of Peta, on 4 July 1822, and proceeded southwards, to the strategically important town ofMissolonghi. There he was met byOmer Vrioni, and their joint force of 8,000 besieged the city for two months, from 25 October to 31 December 1822. Omer Vrioni, contrary to Reşid Mehmed's view, initially tried to take the town by negotiations, which the besieged Greeks took advantage of, dragging them out until 8 November, when they were reinforced by sea, at which point they refused to negotiate further. The siege began in earnest, and the two pashas scheduled their main assault forChristmas night, 24 December, calculating that the Greeks would be caught by surprise. The plan was leaked to the defenders, and the attack failed. Six days later, the siege was lifted.
After the failure at Missolonghi, Reşid Mehmed moved against the mountainous region ofPelion, which he managed to subdue. For his success, he was appointed governor of thesanjak of Trikala, and was finally appointed commander-in-chief of all Ottoman forces inRumelia.
From this position he was tasked by the Porte with taking Missolonghi and thus securing western Greece. Reşid Mehmed assembled an army of more than 35,000 and in February 1825 he set out for Missolonghi. On arriving there on 20 April, he immediately invested the town with earthworks and subjected it to heavy bombardment. However, despite his efforts, the Greek garrison, aided by raids from the Greek bands behind his lines and resupplied by the Greek fleet despite the Ottoman naval blockade, resisted effectively. In the end, he was forced to call upon the assistance ofIbrahim Pasha of Egypt, whose army had been victorious against Greek forces in theMorea. The Egyptian forces arrived in early November, but a split occurred between the presumptuous Ibrahim and Reşid Mehmed, who withdrew his forces. After the Egyptians failed too in their assaults, Ibrahim acknowledged his error. The two pashas now cooperated, and the siege was intensified. The seaward supply route was cut, forcing threatening the defenders with starvation. Finally, they attempted a desperate escape, breaking out through the besieging forces, on the night of 10 April 1826. The sortie resulted in a massacre of the defenders, and Missolonghi fell to the Ottoman forces.
After this success, Reşid Mehmed turned towardsAttica andAthens, where he arrived in July. Hebesieged the Greek garrison on theAcropolis of Athens unsuccessfully for ten months, until his unexpected victory over a Greek relief force at theBattle of Phaleron on 24 April 1827 forced the Greeks to surrender the fort.
The Ottoman Bosnian leadership led byHusein Gradaščević were outraged whenSultanMahmud II granted Serbia autonomy and subsequently six districts from the Bosnia Eyalet with theTreaty of Adrianople. Husein Gradaščević had already begun to support the cause of the fallenJanissary after theAuspicious Incident and would not allow Mahmud II to further disintegrate Bosnian society. Instead of negotiating withHusein Gradaščević, theGrand Vizier Reşid Mehmed Pasha (already engaged in an aggressive campaign againstAlbanianpashas andbeys) mobilized his Ottoman army towardsTravnik. Disappointed by Reşid Pasha's move, Gradaščević marched forward with an army of 52,000 intoPristina, and later fought and defeated Reşid Pasha atShtime. A Bosnian delegation reached the Grand Vizier's camp inSkopje in November of that year. The Grand Vizier promised this delegation that he would insist to the Sultan that he accept the Bosniak demands. His true intentions, however, were manifested by early December when his cannons attacked Bosnian units stationed on the outskirts ofNovi Pazar. Reşid Mehmed Pasha later began an aggressive campaign into Bosnia with the assistance of the renegade kapetanAli-paša Rizvanbegović and defeated the entire army ofBosnia Eyalet led by Husein Gradaščević outside the town of Stup.
A very distinguished general, Reşid Mehmed fought in theRusso-Turkish War, where he was defeated by GeneralDiebitsch at theBattle of Kulevicha. Subsequently, he was appointedGrand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, a post he held from January 1829 to 17 February 1833. From that position, he orchestrated theMonastir massacre of 1830 of the Albanian beys killing hundreds. He led the Ottoman armies inAnatolia in theEgyptian-Ottoman War. He was captured by the forces of his old antagonist,Ibrahim Pasha, at the war's decisiveBattle of Konya in 1832.
He was appointed theWāli ofDiyarbakir Eyalet andRaqqa Eyalet in 1834 and onwards led military campaigns against the localKurdish tribesBarzan,Bedir Khan and Milli and theYazidi inSincar. In 1835 he subdued the Kurdish Milli tribe inMardin.[3] In 1836, he defeated theSoran Emirate after the capture ofMir Kor.[4] He died in 1836.[3]
| Preceded by | Grand Vizier January 1829 - 17 February 1833 | Succeeded by |
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