Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha
Encyclopedia
Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha (in ) (1644–1702) of the Köprülü family, was the grand vizier
of the Ottoman Empire
under Mustafa II
from September 1697 until September 1702. Shaw, Stanford J. (1976), History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Vol.1 Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-29163-1 pp. 225–227 Amcazade Koprulu Huseyin Pasha was close to ordinary Ottoman Moslem subjects being a member of the Mevlevi Order. He was known to be concerned with the needs of the common people as well as those of the military and buraeucratic classes.
, and for this reason he has the cognonom of "amcazade (nephew)". We have little of his youth and education. His father had agricultural estates at the Turkish village of "Kozluca" in present day Bulgaria
and young Huseyin spent his youth there. He must have had a good Ottoman classical scribal or military education, since because when he is first mentioned he is a staff officer. He participated at the campaign for Siege of Vienna at 1683, as a high staff officer in the Ottoman army since Ottomans were commanded by the Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, who was his close relative. After the defeat of Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna
and retreat to Belgrade
, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa was executed and Amcazade Huseyin was arrested because of his close relationship to the executed commander. In 1684 he was released from prison, but was sent away from the seat of power as an administrator of provinces with a rank of beylerbeyi. First he was appointed as guard-governor of Cardak near Gallipoli
at the Dardanelles
Straits; then he was given the rank of "vezier" and given a similar but more perstigious job at "Seddulbahir". In 1691 for a time he was appointed as the temporary governor ("kaimakam") of Istanbul and returned to his main job on Dardanelles. On 1694 he was appointed the Kapudan Pasha (Ottoman admiral-in-chief) and was instrumental with the help of Mezzo Morto Huseyin Pasha in retaking of Chios
from the Venetians in 1695. For this success he was appointed the governor of Chios. In 1696 he was again appointed as the temporary governor of Istanbul but soon was sent to the post of governship of Belgrade. On August 1697 the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Mustafa II
was on the campaign against the Austrians and came to Belgrade. In a War Council planning on what to do next, Amcazade Huseyin Pasha proposed that the Ottoman army should go and put under siege the fortress of Varaždin
. However, others argued that it should go towards Temesvar
; their proposal was accepted and the Ottoman army was surprised and routed at the Battle of Zenta
.
, a coalition of European powers including the Habsburg Monarchy
, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, the Republic of Venice
and Peter I of Russia
. After long months of negotiations the Treaty of Karlowitz
was signed on 26 January 1699. The Ottomans ceded to the Habsburg Monarchy, all of the Ottoman province of Hungary
including Transylvania
which was conquered after 1526; Podolia
was returned to Poland and most of Dalmatia
and Morea
(the Peloponnese
peninsula in southern Greece) passed to Venice. With the heavy loss of professional soldiers at the Battle of Zenta and the large territories ceded away, it became obvious that Ottoman military system, the financial system and buraucratic systems sustaining the military and the state had to be reformed. This task fell mainly on the shoulders of the Grand Vizier Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha.
Amcazade Huseyin started with economic and financial reforms. The excise duties on tobacco and coffee, which had quadrupled during the war to provide finance for military effort, were substantially reduced and so too the duties on essential consumer goods, for example soap and cooking oil. During the war special imposition taxes were created and those who could not pay these extraordinary tax impositions were heavily fined. Amcazade Huseyin abolished these extraordinary tax impositions and issued a tax amnesty on those who were not able to pay and who were required to pay heavy fines. The rates of traditional taxes were adjusted down so that they matched the ability to pay. Debased coins struck during the war were replaced by coins of full value. New cultivators, from nomadic Turcomans, were induced to settle in places like Urfa, Malatya, Antalya and Cyprus where the numbers of agricultural peasants had decreased to very low levels. Efforts were made to develop a new manufacturing base, in place of devastated Ottoman craft industries and replacing imports from Europe.
Amcazade Huseyin, then, had the salary rolls of the professional army ("kapikulu" corps) reviewed. The "Janissary Corps" numbers which had reached 70.000 men before Treaty of Karlowitz, of which than only 10.000 were actually combatants, were reduced to 34,000 combatants; while the "Artillery Corps" was reduced from 6,000 to 1,250. There was new recruitment to the "Kapikulu Sipahi Corps". Similarly, the provincial "Timaroid Sipahi" were reformed by eliminating bribery and making sure that they were properly maintained and trained.
The Navy was also reorganised under the command of Mezzo Morto Hüseyin Pasha, who was a close ally of Amcazade Huseyin. At last, a new fleet of wind-driven galleons replaced the oar-driven galleys. The naval officers and personnel were also fully reorganised creating a complete hierarchy of officers. The lower rank galleon men were properly and regularly housed in barracks; paid well and even their retirement was thought of for the first time in Ottoman navy. Finally, the bureaucracy of scribes of the central government and of the palace was reorganised, retiring old inefficient scribes and introducing new ones trained at new scribal schools.
The Sultan was very much affected by the defeat at Battle of Zenta, where he was personally present. Giving Amcazade Huseyin a free hand in governing his realm, he retreated to a court life, not in Istanbul but in the old Placae in Edirne
. His close advisor was his old teacher, a cleric called Feyzullah Efendi, who he appointed as the Sheikh ul-Islam
. Soon Feyzullah Efendi became the effective voice of the Sultan. As soon as the effects of Treaty of Karlowitz over, Feyzullah Efendi collected around him a clique of relatives and allies; started appointing them to key state posts and became the centre of interigues against the Grand Vezier Amcazade Huseyin. Feyzullah Efendi had his son Fethullah Efendi given an appointement that would have given him the post of Sheik-ul-Islam when his father left the post. The appointment of a sheikh-ul-islam by dynastic rules was totally unprecedented but Amcazade Huseyin had little choice in the matter. From then onwards whenever the state under Amcazade Huseyin started affecting adversely his interests, Feyzullah Efendi was able to intervene and stop the application of such a policy. In July 1701 Mezzo Morto Huseyin Pasha, who was an ally of Amcazade Huseyin, died and the delicate power balance between Istanbul and Edirne tipped towards Feyzullah Efendi in Edirne. This frustrated Amcazade Huseyin Pasha so much, that his serious illness is attributed to this helpnessness. After that illness in September 1702 Amcazade Huseyin Pasha resigned from the post of Grand-Vizier.
He went to live in his estate at Silivri
, near Istanbul. Before the end of the year he died at his estate. He was buried at a türbe
(tomb) at the district of "Sarachanebasi" in Istanbul.
An able administrator and an important reformer he demonstrated again the ability of a member of the Koprulu dynasty in holding the Ottoman power intact after a big crisis, but at the end he was driven from office by a powerful cleric.
One of the oldest wooden coastal mensions on the Bosphorous near the first suspension bridge, is the partial remains of one belonging to him called the "Koprulu Amcazade Huseyin Yalisi". It is claimed that Amcazade Huseyin reviewed the final negotiated copy of the Treaty of Karlowitz at this left-over part of the mansion.
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
under Mustafa II
Mustafa II
Mustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:...
from September 1697 until September 1702. Shaw, Stanford J. (1976), History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey Vol.1 Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and Decline of the Ottoman Empire, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-29163-1 pp. 225–227 Amcazade Koprulu Huseyin Pasha was close to ordinary Ottoman Moslem subjects being a member of the Mevlevi Order. He was known to be concerned with the needs of the common people as well as those of the military and buraeucratic classes.
Earlier years
Amcazade Huseyin was born in 1644 and was the son of Hasan Ağa Kypriljoti, the brother of Köprülü Mehmed PashaKöprülü Mehmed Pasha
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha , was the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1656 until his death. He was the first leader and founder of the Albanian Köprülü noble dynasty/family.- Life :He was recruited as a part of the devshirmeh system and was trained in the palace school...
, and for this reason he has the cognonom of "amcazade (nephew)". We have little of his youth and education. His father had agricultural estates at the Turkish village of "Kozluca" in present day Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
and young Huseyin spent his youth there. He must have had a good Ottoman classical scribal or military education, since because when he is first mentioned he is a staff officer. He participated at the campaign for Siege of Vienna at 1683, as a high staff officer in the Ottoman army since Ottomans were commanded by the Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, who was his close relative. After the defeat of Ottomans at the Battle of Vienna
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place on 11 and 12 September 1683 after Vienna had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months...
and retreat to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa was executed and Amcazade Huseyin was arrested because of his close relationship to the executed commander. In 1684 he was released from prison, but was sent away from the seat of power as an administrator of provinces with a rank of beylerbeyi. First he was appointed as guard-governor of Cardak near Gallipoli
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...
at the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
Straits; then he was given the rank of "vezier" and given a similar but more perstigious job at "Seddulbahir". In 1691 for a time he was appointed as the temporary governor ("kaimakam") of Istanbul and returned to his main job on Dardanelles. On 1694 he was appointed the Kapudan Pasha (Ottoman admiral-in-chief) and was instrumental with the help of Mezzo Morto Huseyin Pasha in retaking of Chios
Chios
Chios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
from the Venetians in 1695. For this success he was appointed the governor of Chios. In 1696 he was again appointed as the temporary governor of Istanbul but soon was sent to the post of governship of Belgrade. On August 1697 the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Mustafa II
Mustafa II
Mustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:...
was on the campaign against the Austrians and came to Belgrade. In a War Council planning on what to do next, Amcazade Huseyin Pasha proposed that the Ottoman army should go and put under siege the fortress of Varaždin
Varaždin
Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...
. However, others argued that it should go towards Temesvar
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
; their proposal was accepted and the Ottoman army was surprised and routed at the Battle of Zenta
Battle of Zenta
The Battle of Zenta or Battle of Senta, fought on 11 September 1697 just south of Zenta , on the east side of the Tisza river, was a major engagement in the Great Turkish War and one of the most decisive defeats in Ottoman history...
.
Years as Grand Vizier
Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha was appointed the Grand Vizier on 17 September 1697 just after the disastrous Ottoman defeat at Battle of Zenta on 11 September 1697. He was given a promise by the Sultan that he would be free agent in his government of the Empire with no interference by the Sultan. It was hoped that during the negotiations for peace to take place at Karlowitz, he could use family ability to get best possible terms for the ending of the long war against the Holy League of 1684Holy League (1684)
Holy League of 1684 was initiated in by Pope Innocent XI, and composed of the Holy Roman Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Venetian Republic. Tsardom of Russia joined the League in 1686. This alliance opposed the Ottoman Empire in the Great Turkish War and lasted until the Treaty...
, a coalition of European powers including the Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
and Peter I of Russia
Peter I of Russia
Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...
. After long months of negotiations the Treaty of Karlowitz
Treaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...
was signed on 26 January 1699. The Ottomans ceded to the Habsburg Monarchy, all of the Ottoman province of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
including Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
which was conquered after 1526; Podolia
Podolia
The region of Podolia is an historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. Northern Transnistria, in Moldova, is also a part of Podolia...
was returned to Poland and most of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
and Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
(the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
peninsula in southern Greece) passed to Venice. With the heavy loss of professional soldiers at the Battle of Zenta and the large territories ceded away, it became obvious that Ottoman military system, the financial system and buraucratic systems sustaining the military and the state had to be reformed. This task fell mainly on the shoulders of the Grand Vizier Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha.
Amcazade Huseyin started with economic and financial reforms. The excise duties on tobacco and coffee, which had quadrupled during the war to provide finance for military effort, were substantially reduced and so too the duties on essential consumer goods, for example soap and cooking oil. During the war special imposition taxes were created and those who could not pay these extraordinary tax impositions were heavily fined. Amcazade Huseyin abolished these extraordinary tax impositions and issued a tax amnesty on those who were not able to pay and who were required to pay heavy fines. The rates of traditional taxes were adjusted down so that they matched the ability to pay. Debased coins struck during the war were replaced by coins of full value. New cultivators, from nomadic Turcomans, were induced to settle in places like Urfa, Malatya, Antalya and Cyprus where the numbers of agricultural peasants had decreased to very low levels. Efforts were made to develop a new manufacturing base, in place of devastated Ottoman craft industries and replacing imports from Europe.
Amcazade Huseyin, then, had the salary rolls of the professional army ("kapikulu" corps) reviewed. The "Janissary Corps" numbers which had reached 70.000 men before Treaty of Karlowitz, of which than only 10.000 were actually combatants, were reduced to 34,000 combatants; while the "Artillery Corps" was reduced from 6,000 to 1,250. There was new recruitment to the "Kapikulu Sipahi Corps". Similarly, the provincial "Timaroid Sipahi" were reformed by eliminating bribery and making sure that they were properly maintained and trained.
The Navy was also reorganised under the command of Mezzo Morto Hüseyin Pasha, who was a close ally of Amcazade Huseyin. At last, a new fleet of wind-driven galleons replaced the oar-driven galleys. The naval officers and personnel were also fully reorganised creating a complete hierarchy of officers. The lower rank galleon men were properly and regularly housed in barracks; paid well and even their retirement was thought of for the first time in Ottoman navy. Finally, the bureaucracy of scribes of the central government and of the palace was reorganised, retiring old inefficient scribes and introducing new ones trained at new scribal schools.
The Sultan was very much affected by the defeat at Battle of Zenta, where he was personally present. Giving Amcazade Huseyin a free hand in governing his realm, he retreated to a court life, not in Istanbul but in the old Placae in Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
. His close advisor was his old teacher, a cleric called Feyzullah Efendi, who he appointed as the Sheikh ul-Islam
Sheikh ul-Islam
Shaykh al-Islām is a title of superior authority in the issues of Islam....
. Soon Feyzullah Efendi became the effective voice of the Sultan. As soon as the effects of Treaty of Karlowitz over, Feyzullah Efendi collected around him a clique of relatives and allies; started appointing them to key state posts and became the centre of interigues against the Grand Vezier Amcazade Huseyin. Feyzullah Efendi had his son Fethullah Efendi given an appointement that would have given him the post of Sheik-ul-Islam when his father left the post. The appointment of a sheikh-ul-islam by dynastic rules was totally unprecedented but Amcazade Huseyin had little choice in the matter. From then onwards whenever the state under Amcazade Huseyin started affecting adversely his interests, Feyzullah Efendi was able to intervene and stop the application of such a policy. In July 1701 Mezzo Morto Huseyin Pasha, who was an ally of Amcazade Huseyin, died and the delicate power balance between Istanbul and Edirne tipped towards Feyzullah Efendi in Edirne. This frustrated Amcazade Huseyin Pasha so much, that his serious illness is attributed to this helpnessness. After that illness in September 1702 Amcazade Huseyin Pasha resigned from the post of Grand-Vizier.
He went to live in his estate at Silivri
Silivri
Silivri is a city and a district in Istanbul Province along the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, outside of metropolitan Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. The largest city in the district is also named Silivri...
, near Istanbul. Before the end of the year he died at his estate. He was buried at a türbe
Turbe
Türbe is the Turkish word for "tomb", and for the characteristic mausoleums, often relatively small, of Ottoman royalty and notables. It is related to the Arabic turba, which can also mean a mausoleum, but more often a funerary complex, or a plot in a cemetery.-Characteristics:A typical türbe...
(tomb) at the district of "Sarachanebasi" in Istanbul.
An able administrator and an important reformer he demonstrated again the ability of a member of the Koprulu dynasty in holding the Ottoman power intact after a big crisis, but at the end he was driven from office by a powerful cleric.
One of the oldest wooden coastal mensions on the Bosphorous near the first suspension bridge, is the partial remains of one belonging to him called the "Koprulu Amcazade Huseyin Yalisi". It is claimed that Amcazade Huseyin reviewed the final negotiated copy of the Treaty of Karlowitz at this left-over part of the mansion.
See also
- Köprülü EraKöprülü eraThe Köprülü era was the period which Ottoman Empire's politics were set by the Grand Viziers, mainly the Köprülü family, which was a notable family of imperial bureaucrats of Albanian origin. Köprülü family generated grand viziers to the Empire, combining ambition with genuine talent...
- Treaty of KarlowitzTreaty of KarlowitzThe Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...