Hain Ahmed Pasha
Ottoman governor, later sultan of Egypt
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Hain Ahmed Pasha (lit. Ahmed Pasha 'the Traitor'; died 1524), was an Ottoman governor (beylerbey) and a statesman, who became the Ottoman governor of Egypt Eyalet in 1523.
Early life
Declaring himself the sultan of Egypt
Ahmed Pasha wanted to become the grand vizier, and persuaded Suleiman the Magnificent to dismiss Piri Mehmed Pasha, using his old age. His rival Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha was appointed (June 1523) instead as grand vizier, so Ahmed Pasha asked the sultan to make him the governor of Egypt Eyalet. Upon arriving in Egypt, Ahmed Pasha declared himself the independent sultan of Egypt.[3][4] He struck coins with his own face and name in order to legitimize his power, and captured Cairo Citadel and the local Ottoman garrisons in January 1524.[3][2]
Death
After surviving an assassination attempt in his bath by two emirs that he had previously sacked, he fled Cairo. Ottoman authorities finally captured him and executed him by decapitation.[2][1] His rebellion occasioned a short period of instability in the nascent Egypt Eyalet. After his death, his rival Pargalı İbrahim Pasha visited Egypt and reformed the provincial military and civil administration.[5][6]
Family
Ahmed married Ilaldi Sultan, a daughter of Sultan Bayezid II. They had at least a son and a daughter:[7]
- Sultanzade Koçî Bey. He married his cousin Hanzade Hanımsultan, the daughter of Selçuk Sultan (daughter of Bayezid II) and had a son, Ahmed Çelebi.
- Şahzade Aynişah Hanımsultan (died in 1570). She married Abdüsselâm Çelebi and had a daughter, Ümmihan Hanım.