Damat Murtaza Pasha
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Damat Murtaza Pasha | |
|---|---|
داماد مرتضى پاشا | |
| Beylerbey of Budin | |
| In office 29 August 1626 – February 1630 | |
| Appointed by | Murad IV |
| Preceded by | Sofu Mehmed Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Acem Hasan Pasha |
| Beylerbey of Silistra | |
| In office February 1630 – 1632 | |
| Appointed by | Murad IV |
| Preceded by | Hüseyin Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Abaza Mehmed Pasha |
| Governor of Erivan | |
| In office 7 August 1635 – 1 April 1636 | |
| Appointed by | Murad IV |
| Preceded by | Tahmaspqoli Khan Qajar |
| Succeeded by | Abbasqoli Khan Qajar |
| Personal details | |
| Died | April 1, 1636 |
| Military service | |
| Battles/wars | Tatar raids on the Commonwealth Polish–Ottoman War (1633–1634) Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–1639) |
Damat Murtaza Pasha or Naima Murtaza Pasha[1] (Ottoman Turkish: داماد مرتضى پاشا; d. 1636) was an Ottoman statesman who held the positions of beylerbey and vizier.
There is no available information about the early years of his life. He was educated in the Enderun.[2]
While serving as beylerbey of Bosnia, he was appointed vizier and then beylerbey of Budin on 29/30 August 1626.[3] At the beginning of February 1630, Murtaza Pasha left his post as beylerbey of Budin to become the commander in charge of the defence of Özi Fortress.[1] He was to be aided by Canibek Giray, Khan of Crimea.[4] While en route, the pasha was met in Izmail in mid-July by the royal envoy Aleksander Piaseczyński, who was travelling to Constantinople. While Piaseczyński was still in the capital, Murtaza Pasha and Stanisław Koniecpolski maintained cross-border negotiations through messengers. A seven-clause draft dated 9 September 1630[5] included a clause requiring Khan Temir to stop their raid of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[6] Murtaza Pasha remained beylerbey of Özi until 1632.[2] He was replaced by Abaza Mehmed Pasha, who for some time had attempted to continue the policies of his predecessor.[7]
On 6 January 1632, he is recorded as the beylerbey of Diyarbakır. After taking this post, he had the former grand vizier Hüsrev Pasha executed in Tokat on the sultan’s orders.[8] While serving as beylerbey of Diyarbakır, he was summoned to Istanbul in early 1634 for preparations against Poland, due to his previous experience in Özi. In early April, Murtaza Pasha departed on campaign with Sultan Murad IV’s army. Although the sultan returned to Istanbul after the Polish side requested peace, Murtaza Pasha was appointed commander-in-chief and continued the advance with the army placed under his command for security purposes. He played an active role in the peace negotiations and, on 27 July 1634, a peace was concluded with the Poles.
In spring 1635, during the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 he followed Sultan Murad IV against the Safavids, then serving as beylerbey of Diyarbakır. Murad launched a counter-operation after hearing of a Safavid movement led by Amir-Guna Khan towards Van and succeeded in preventing an attack.[9] Upon the capture of Erivan on 8 August 1635, he was given 12,000 soldiers and tasked with the governorship and defence of the region along with the post of beylerbey of Erzurum. Following Murad IV’s return to Istanbul, the Safavids resumed their offensive. After a three-month siege, Erivan Fortress fell on 1 April 1636, and Murtaza Pasha killed during the siege.[10]