Hurshid Ahmed Pasha | |
|---|---|
 Friedel, 1832 | |
| Died | (1822-11-30)30 November 1822 |
| Allegiance |  Ottoman Empire |
| Rank | beylerbey,serasker,vali,Grand Vizier |
| Conflicts |
|
Hurshid Ahmed Pasha[a] (died 30 November 1822) was anOttoman general andGrand Vizier during the early 19th century. OfGeorgian descent, he was kidnapped and taken toConstantinople as a youth, where he was enrolled in theJanissaries and eventually appointed to several high positions. He successfully suppressed anuprising in Serbia in October 1813 and held the position ofGrand Vizier between 1813 and 1815. In late 1820, he was charged with the suppression ofAli Pasha of Yanina's revolt. Soon after this, aGreek uprising began in theMorea. Hurshid Pasha defeated Ali Pasha and had him killed in early 1822, but his subordinates failed to put down the Greek uprising. He committed suicide after receiving a message from the Sultan in November 1822, for reasons that remain unclear.
He was born in the Caucasus and was ofGeorgian descent.[1][2] He was kidnapped and taken toConstantinople as a youth,converted to Islam and enrolled in theJanissaries. There he acquired the favour ofSultanMahmud II and occupied several high positions.
Appointed mayor ofAlexandria after theFrench evacuated Egypt in 1801,[3] he was namedgovernor of Egypt in 1804 atMuhammad Ali's behest. Allied withBritain's diplomatic representative, Hurshid tried to get Muhammad Ali and hisAlbanians removed from Egypt, bringing in thedeli (lit. "madmen") light cavalry fromOttoman Syria to counterbalance them. Muhammad Ali won theDelis to his side and, backed by a demonstration ofulema andguild leaders inCairo, had himself named governor of Egypt in May 1805. Hurshid, abandoned by his troops, was besieged in theCairo Citadel, which he left only after he saw the Ottomanfirman investing Muhammad Ali as Egypt's governor.
In 1808, Hurshid Pasha served as the governor of Rumelia.[4]
In March 1809, he was sent to theSanjak of Smederevo to suppress theFirst Serbian Uprising led byKarađorđe Petrović. He defeated Karađorđe at Banja, destroyed Serbian rebel unitsat Čegar,captured Deligrad, lostat Jasika in 1809, lostat Varvarin in 1810, and successfully suppressed the uprising in 1813 through taking Negotin and Belgrade.[5] On 5 September 1812 he was namedGrand Vizier (Prime Minister), a post he held until 1 April 1815. He remained on campaign in Serbia as commander-in-chief (serasker) andVali of Bosnia, and brought the uprising to an end after recapturingBelgrade in October 1813.
After the suppression of theFirst Serbian Uprising, Grand Vizier Hurshid Pasha sent his commanderSerčesma to the still rebellious parts of Serbia with a large army to return the Serbs under Ottoman suzerainty and ensure them of their rights.[6] Thevojvoda Miloš Obrenović surrendered at the Takovo church and other commanders followed suit.[7] Serčesma appointed mayors (mutesellim) and took Miloš with him to Belgrade before Hurshid Pasha, who recognized him as governor of the Rudnik nahiya.[8] Shortly after this, Hurshid left the Belgrade Pashalik and appointed hiskethüdaDarendeli Ali Pasha as Vizier.[8] Darendeli promoted Miloš to governor of the Kragujevac and Požega nahiyas, as well.[8] Darendeli was soon replaced withSulejman Pasha Skopljak, who didn't follow Hurshid's and Darendeli's acceptable holding towards Serbs, but instead upheld an administration in the likes of theDahije, which together with the army bringing inplague and instances of murder resulted inHadži Prodan's rebellion.[9]
Hurshid served as the Vali of Bosnia in 30 March–28 October 1815.[10] He was replaced bySulejman Pasha Skopljak.[11] He then served asmutasarrıf[12] of Salonica since 28 October 1815.[11]
In November 1820, he was named governor of theMorea Eyalet (thePeloponnese), with a seat atTripoli andserasker of the expedition against the rebelliousAli Pasha ofYanina. Before he left for Yanina, however, he was disturbed by rumours of a possible revolt among the Greeks of the Morea. His fears were allayed, however, when an assembly of Greek notables visited him on 8 November 1820 in Tripoli. Thus, on 6 January 1821, he left Tripoli for the north, leaving behind his treasury and his harem, while his deputy (kaimakam) Mehmed Salih with a force of 1,000 Albanians remained to maintain order. However, only a few months later, while the Ottoman armies were besieging Yanina, the first uprisings of theGreek War of Independence took place. Hurshid Pasha decisively defeatedAli Pasha of Yanina at Ioannina.
Hurshid immediately informed the Sultan of the events, and without waiting for instructions, reacted by sendingOmer Vryonis andKöse Mehmed Pasha to suppress the revolt first inCentral Greece and then to cross over to the Peloponnese and quell the uprising in its heartland. At the same time, he dispatched his chief of staff Mustafa Bey with 3,000 men to reinforce the garrison of Tripoli. Hurshid himself remained in Yanina to supervise the last stages of the siege. Despite his rapid reaction, his plans ultimately failed: Vryonis and Köse Mehmed failed to suppress the revolt in Central Greece, while the reinforcements of Mustafa Bey were insufficient to save Tripoli, which fell to the Greeks underTheodoros Kolokotronis after a prolongedsiege, on 23 September 1821. Despite the general massacre of the Muslim inhabitants, Hurshid's harem and a part of his treasure were saved. Finally, in January 1822, he killed Ali Pasha through treason, and sent his severed head to the Sultan, and his star seemed on the rise again. He assembled an army of 80,000 men[citation needed] (a huge number by Balkan standards) and was about to march in order to finally crush the Greek uprising, when disaster struck. His political enemies in Constantinople, alarmed at the fame and power he had achieved and the prestige that the successful ending of both Ali Pasha's and the Greek revolts would bring him, accused him of misappropriating a large part of Ali's treasure. Hurshid had sent 40,000,000piasters, with a statement that they had been found in Ali's vaults, while the Sultan's ministers calculated Ali's fortune at over 500,000,000 piasters. When they asked him to send a detailed account, the offended Hurshid did not reply.[citation needed] Shortly after that, he was denounced for abuse of public treasure and fell in disgrace. He was removed from his positions, and replaced asserasker and governor of Morea byMahmud Dramali Pasha. Hurshid was ordered to remain inLarissa to attend to the provisioning of Dramali's army.
When news began arriving in Constantinople of the failure of Dramali's expedition atDervenakia, the Sultan ordered Hurshid to take matters in his own hand and salvage what he could of the situation. However, his opponents continued to plot against him, and agents were sent to kill him. Although he was informed of the threat to his person, Hurshid did not react. Instead, he ordered the post-haste construction of a tomb, and arranged for a very elaborate funeral with all authorities present, without telling anyone who these arrangements were made for. Then he called all authorities, attended his own funeral, and upon completion of the ceremony he committed suicide by takingpoison in front of everyone, on 30 November 1822. Despite the public nature of his death, the Sultan's emissaries still had to exhume him and take his head to the Sultan, as these were their orders.[citation needed]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Mayor of Alexandria 1802–1803 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Mayor of Alexandria 1804 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ottoman Governor of Egypt 16 March 1804 – 17 May 1805 | Succeeded byasMonarch of Egypt |
| Preceded by ? | Governor ofRumelia Eyalet 1808–12 | Succeeded by ? |
| Preceded by | Vali of theBosnia Eyalet 30 March–28 October 1815 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire July 1812 – 30 March 1815 | Succeeded by |
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