Halil Hamid Pasha
Encyclopedia
Halil Hamid Pasha, also Halil Hamit Paşa (1736-1785) was a Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
from 31 December 1782 to 30 April 1785. He was especially instrumental in inviting foreign experts, especially French ones, to the Ottoman Empire
from 1784.
As a result French missions were sent to the Ottoman Empire to train the Turks in naval warfare and fortification building. Up to the French revolution
in 1789, about 300 French artillery officers and engineers were active in the Ottoman Empire to modernize and train artillery units.
From 1784, André-Joseph Lafitte-Clavé
and Joseph-Monnier de Courtois instructed engineering drawings and techniques in the new Turkish engineering school Mühendishâne-i Hümâyûn established by Halil Hamid Pasha. Mostly French textbooks were used on mathematics, astronomy, engineering, weapons, war techniques and navigation.
Halil Hamid Pasha had argued for a path towards modernization for the Ottoman Empire, and a conciliatory stance against Russia
, but he was ultimately suspected of plotting for the succession of Abdul Hamid I and future ruler Selim III
, due to reactionary intrigues and the rise of the anti-French sentiment. Secret correspondance between Selim III and Louis XVI was discovered, and a plot against the current ruler was alleged. Halil Hamid Pasha was beheaded, and the war party rose to power, leading the Ottoman Empire to war with Russia in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792).
The French experts ultimately had to leave in 1788 with the start of the hostilities. Some returned to Constantinople, but eventually all instructors had to leave with the end of the Franco-Ottoman alliance in 1798.
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...
from 31 December 1782 to 30 April 1785. He was especially instrumental in inviting foreign experts, especially French ones, to 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...
from 1784.
As a result French missions were sent to the Ottoman Empire to train the Turks in naval warfare and fortification building. Up to the French revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
in 1789, about 300 French artillery officers and engineers were active in the Ottoman Empire to modernize and train artillery units.
From 1784, André-Joseph Lafitte-Clavé
André-Joseph Lafitte-Clavé
André-Joseph Lafitte-Clavé, also André-Joseph de Lafitte was a French Army engineering officer. He became Colonel on 1 April 1791, and Maréchal de Camp on 25 October 1792...
and Joseph-Monnier de Courtois instructed engineering drawings and techniques in the new Turkish engineering school Mühendishâne-i Hümâyûn established by Halil Hamid Pasha. Mostly French textbooks were used on mathematics, astronomy, engineering, weapons, war techniques and navigation.
Halil Hamid Pasha had argued for a path towards modernization for the Ottoman Empire, and a conciliatory stance against Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, but he was ultimately suspected of plotting for the succession of Abdul Hamid I and future ruler Selim III
Selim III
Selim III was the reform-minded Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. The Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV...
, due to reactionary intrigues and the rise of the anti-French sentiment. Secret correspondance between Selim III and Louis XVI was discovered, and a plot against the current ruler was alleged. Halil Hamid Pasha was beheaded, and the war party rose to power, leading the Ottoman Empire to war with Russia in the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792).
The French experts ultimately had to leave in 1788 with the start of the hostilities. Some returned to Constantinople, but eventually all instructors had to leave with the end of the Franco-Ottoman alliance in 1798.
See also
- Franco-Ottoman allianceFranco-Ottoman allianceThe Franco-Ottoman alliance, also Franco-Turkish alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between the king of France Francis I and the Turkish ruler of the Ottoman Empire Suleiman the Magnificent. The alliance has been called "the first non-ideological diplomatic alliance of its kind between a...
- List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
- Ottoman military reform effortsOttoman military reform effortsOttoman military reform efforts began after the Belle Époque of European civilization. Ottoman military reforms follow the empire's transformation to become a modern country. It followed the same period only a couple decade later of Russia's reforms, and Japan's opening of its doors to west during...