Cezayirli Hasan Pasha | |
|---|---|
 Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha bust atMersin Naval Museum | |
| Nickname | Ejder-i Bahrî (Monster of the Seas) |
| Born | 1713 (1713) Unknown |
| Died | 1790 (aged 76–77) |
| Allegiance |  Ottoman Empire |
| Years of service | 1737–1790 |
| Rank | Kapudan Pasha |
| Battles / wars | |
Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha (1713 – 19 March 1790) orHasan Pasha of Algiers, nicknamedEjder-i Bahrî (Monster of the Seas),[1] was anOttomanGrand Admiral (1770–90),Grand Vizier (1790), and general in the late 18th century.
He is known to have been brought up as aGeorgian[2] slave in westernAnatolia by aTurkish merchant ofTekirdağ, who raised him in that city considering him on a par with his own sons.
He rose through the ranks of the Ottoman military hierarchy and was for a time with theBarbary Coast pirates based inAlgiers (whence his nameCezayirli, meaning "Algerian" in Turkish). He was a fleet commander during theBattle of Chesme aboard theReal Mustafa and was able to extract the forces under his command from the general disaster for theOttoman Navy that occurred there. He arrived at the Ottoman capitalIstanbul with the bad news, but was highly praised for his own accomplishment and promoted, first to chief of staff and later to grand vizier. Hedislodged the Russian fleet which had established a base on theAegean island ofLemnos in October 1770, andforced them out ofLesbos in November 1771.
Anecdotal evidence indicates that, immediately after the defeat at Chesme, he and his men were lodged by a local priest inAyvalık who did not know who they were. Hasan Pasha did not forget the kindness shown at that hour of crisis and later accorded virtual autonomy to theGreek-dominated town of Ayvalık, paving the way for its becoming an important cultural center for that community in theOttoman Empire in the 19th century.
The defeat also prompted Hasan Pasha to establish the Naval Engineering Golden Horn Shipyard (laterTurkish Naval Academy) in 1773.
Hasan Pasha blockadedAcre in the summer of 1775 in order to check the power of the autonomousArab ruler of Palestine,Zahir al-Umar. Hasan Pasha ordered Zahir to pay 50,000 piasters to relieve the siege. Zahir ultimately refused and consequently, Hasan Pasha's ships bombarded Acre, but theOttoman Empire manning Acre's cannons refused Zahir's orders to fire back at the ships and intentionally directed their fire away from Hasan Pasha's naval forces. Their loyalty to the Ottoman sultan precluded them from firing on his military. Zahir fled, but was killed by Hasan Pasha's troops before he could escape.[3]
In 1786, Hasan Pasha was ordered by the sultanAbdul Hamid I to take troops toEgypt and drive out theMamluk emirs led byIbrahim Bey (Mamluk) andMurad Bey, who had become de facto rulers of the province.[4][5] He arrived in Egypt in early August 1786 and was successful inthis campaign (although the Mamluk emirs would regain power after his death) and remained the de facto Ottoman governor of Egypt for around a year. His long-timekethüda (assistant/deputy)Ismail Pasha the Tripolitanian remained in Egypt and was soon appointed theOttoman governor of Egypt himself (1788–89, 1789–91)[6] while his allied Mamluk emirIsmail Bey became theShaykh al-Balad and de facto ruler.
In theRusso-Turkish War of 1787-1792, Hasan Pasha (then 74) commanded the Turkish troops in the beginning campaigns, taking part in theaction of 17 June 1788, theBattle of Fidonisi, and theSiege of Ochakov.
He died on 19 March 1790, from illness or perhaps poisoned. His statue today graces the resort town ofÇeşme, along with the lion that he domesticated while inAfrica and took along with him everywhere.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded byas Governor | Ottoman Governor of Egypt (acting) 1786–1787 | Succeeded byas Governor |
| Preceded by | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 2 January 1790 – 30 March 1790 | Succeeded by |
| Seamen of the Ottoman Empire | |
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| Kapudan Pashas |
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| Other important seamen | |
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