Kara Mustafa
Encyclopedia
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...
military leader and grand vizier
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...
who was a central character in the empire's last attempts at expansion into both Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
His Name
In contemporary sources, Mustafa is universally described as both greedy and villainous. The veracity of this is naturally open to conjecture, although his nickname of (Turkish for "black" or "handsome") can certainly be interpreted in this way.Born to Turkish parents in Merzifon, he was adopted into the powerful Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
Köprülü family at a young age and served as a messenger to Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
for his brother-in-law, the grand vizier Ahmed Köprülü. He directed in the name of Köprülü family's mukata' or tımar fields in Merzifon. After distinguishing himself, Mustafa became a vizier in his own right and, by 1663 or 1666, Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral of the Ottoman Navy
Ottoman Navy
The Ottoman Navy was established in the early 14th century. During its long existence it was involved in many conflicts; refer to list of Ottoman sieges and landings and list of Admirals in the Ottoman Empire for a brief chronology.- Pre-Ottoman:...
).
His Official Life
He served as a commander of ground troops in a war against PolandPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
in 1672, negotiating a settlement that added the province of 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...
to the empire. The victory enabled the Ottomans to transform the Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
regions of the southern Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
into a protectorate
Protectorate
In history, the term protectorate has two different meanings. In its earliest inception, which has been adopted by modern international law, it is an autonomous territory that is protected diplomatically or militarily against third parties by a stronger state or entity...
. In 1676, when the grand vizier died, Mustafa succeeded him.
He was less successful in combating a Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
rebellion that began in 1678. After some initial victories, intervention by 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...
turned the tide and forced the Turks to conclude peace in 1681, effectively returning the Cossack
Cossack
Cossacks are a group of predominantly East Slavic people who originally were members of democratic, semi-military communities in what is today Ukraine and Southern Russia inhabiting sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper and Don basins and who played an important role in the...
lands to Russian rule with the exception of a few forts on the Dnieper and Southern Bug
Southern Bug
The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh), is a river located in Ukraine. The source of the river is in the west of Ukraine, in the Volyn-Podillia Upland, about 145 km from the Polish border, and flows southeasterly into the Bug Estuary through the southern steppes...
rivers.
Battle of Vienna
In 1683, he launched a campaign northward into AustriaAustria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
in a last effort to expand the Ottoman empire after more than 150 years of war. By mid-July, his 100,000-man army had besieged Vienna (guarded by 10,000 Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
soldiers), following in the footsteps of Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
in 1529. By September, he had taken a portion of the walls and appeared to be on his way to victory.
But on 12 September 1683, the Austrians and their Polish allies under King Jan Sobieski
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski was one of the most notable monarchs of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, from 1674 until his death King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Sobieski's 22-year-reign was marked by a period of the Commonwealth's stabilization, much needed after the turmoil of the Deluge and...
took advantage of dissent within the Turkish military command and poor disposition of his troops, winning 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...
with a devastating flank attack led by Sobieski's Polish cavalry. The Turks retreated into 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...
, and then leaving the kingdom for retaking by the Austrians in 1686.
The defeat cost Mustafa his position, and ultimately, his life. On 25 December 1683, Kara Mustafa was executed in 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...
by the order of the commander of the Janissaries
Janissary
The Janissaries were infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards...
. He suffered death by strangulation with a silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
cord which was the capital punishment inflicted on high-ranking persons in the Ottoman Empire. His last words
Last words
Last words are a person's final words spoken before death.Last Words may also refer to:* Last Words , an Australian punk band* Last Words , a memoir by George Carlin* Last Words , a 1968 short film directed by Werner Herzog...
were, in effect, "Make sure you tie the knot right." Mustafa's head was presented to Sultan Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV
Mehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
in a velvet bag.
Legacy
It was rumored that his remains were both in Turkey and in Austria, but it has never been proven. The Austrian Government announced the discovery of a skull thought to be the Grand Vizir's, and also announced they would bury the skull unless the Turkish Government raised a claim. His headstone was originally in Belgrade, but is now found in EdirneEdirne
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...
, the second capital of Ottoman Empire.
The Foundation of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha was one of the biggest foundations ever founded both in Ottoman Empire and Turkey. According to the official records; it was last managed by the grandsons of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha; District Governor Ahmed Asım Bey (Born in Istanbul,1844). Ahmed Asım Bey's predecessor was his son; Mehmed Nebil Bey (Born in Istanbul, 1888) who also served as a governor during Ottoman Empire in Syria. The Foundation was finally managed by Mehmed Nebil Bey's son; famous Turkish painter Doğan Yılmaz Merzifonlu Karamustafaoğlu (Famous as Yılmaz Merzifonlu) until 1976. The Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha's last name ended with the marriage of Doğan Yılmaz Merzifonlu Karamustafaoğlu's one and only daughter's ("Mrs. Abide Tuğçe" (Currently; Mit) who carries Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha's mother's first name) marriage. Family tree can be chased via T.R. Prime Ministry Directorate General of Foundations.
Coffee legend
As Mustafa Pasha's army retreated it left several large bags of green beans behind in Vienna. These sacks contained unroasted coffee beans which as legend has it, formed the nucleus from which the Viennese coffee trade began.Titles
Resources
- Goodwin, Jason - Lords of the Horizons (book)
- Wheatcroft, Andrew The Enemy at the Gate: Habsburgs, Ottomans and the Battle for Europe,
Basic Books.