Sokollu Mehmed Pasha rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential statesmen of the Ottoman Empire. Initially recruited into the Janissary Corps, he converted to Islam and steadily climbed the ranks, eventually serving as Grand Vizier under three sultans. Known for his diplomatic skills and visionary projects, Sokollu played a crucial role in Ottoman politics and military campaigns.
Table of Contents
Here’s the short biography of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha.
Early Life of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was born as Bayiça in 1505 into an Orthodox Christian family in Sokoloviç village, in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. He received his first education in the monastery with his uncle during his childhood. Later, he was recruited into the Janissary Corps to conform to the Ottoman “devşirme” system. In this system, he converted to Islam and was familiarized with the principles of religion and Turkish culture.
Rise to Power
He steadily and successfully rose within the ranks. He held highly regarded positions including the BeylerBeyi (Governor-General) of Ottoman Rumelia and finally as a Sadrazam (Grand Vizier) in the final year of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (Kanuni), during the reigns of his son Selim II and grandson Murad III. Serving for 3 sultans made him one of the most influential statesmen of the Ottoman Empire.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was a very skilled diplomat capable of dealing with his European counterparts and forcing policies that favoured the Ottoman Empire. It was Sokollu himself who stood by the elder Sultan Suleiman Kanuni in his last moments when he gave his life during the siege of Szigetvar (Hungary) in 1566.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was a very dominant figure during his period of service in the Ottoman Empire. He married Ismihan Sultan, the daughter of the Sultan Selim II. He still had ties with his Orthodox family in Bosnia. He managed to get his close relatives to important positions within the state. Most notably Makarije Sokolović who became the Archbishop of Serbia, Lala Mehmed Pasha and perhaps the most famous Lala Mustafa Pasha, the conquerer of Cyprus.
Military Career
It was Sokollu who introduced the spectacular idea of linking the Don and Volga rivers during the expedition of Astrakhan. He wanted to link the rivers at a position where the distance between the two channels was the shortest. Thousands of men would have to dig and link both waterways.
This expedition and project aimed to halt the Russian advances into the region. Russian advances into Kazan and Astrakhan, former Turkic Sultanates, seriously disrupted the balance of power in the region. It also resulted in problems for the Holy Hajj pilgrimage, especially for the Central Asian Muslims who had to travel through Russian-occupied Astrakhan, north of the Caspian Sea. Sokollu wanted to establish a small navy in the Caspian Sea and conquer the shores of the sea.
Another one of his projects was to open the Suez Canal. This way the Ottoman fleets would be able to enter the Red Sea and easily reach the wide Indian Ocean, thereby granting a perfect opportunity to assist the Muslims of India and Indonesia against the Christian Portuguese and Dutch.
Both projects never materialized but they clearly showed the vision of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and the general view of the Ottoman Empire at that time.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was an important factor in helping the Muslims in Southern Spain during the Second Morisco Uprising. It eventually failed but the Ottoman Navy assisted in bringing a large number of Muslims to North Africa and various parts of the Ottoman Empire, rescuing them from Catholic Spain’s vengeful aims.
Ottoman Conquest of Cyprus
One of the three big islands of the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus, was also annexed during his reign as Grand Vizier. The conquest of Cyprus was started on the 2nd of July 1570 with the landing of a force of 50,000 men and more than 200 ships. Total conquest was completed in 11 months with the fall of Famagusta.
The fall of Cyprus initiated a new Crusade in which a big Holy League armada was formed by Venice, Spain, Papal States, Sicily, Naples, Genoa and so on. At the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571, the Ottoman Navy was heavily defeated and most of the fleet was destroyed. The battle brought joy and renewed hopes for the Christian nations to defeat the Turks.
After the sea battle, the Venetian ambassador visited Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and made remarks about the defeat of the Ottomans. Sokollu replied with the following famous and historic words:
By destroying our navy you merely shaved our beards, but by taking Cyprus we cut off your arm. A shaved beard will grow even stronger but a cut-off arm is forever lost.
These were not mere words, the Ottoman dockyards worked day and night and in less than a year, a newly built and fully equipped Ottoman Navy of 200 ships set sail and stood against the Crusader fleet. This clearly showed the Ottoman’s capacity and strength to counter its losses within a minimum amount of time. The news of a new Ottoman fleet shocked the Holy League and they began withdrawing which eventually led to the fall of the last enclave of the Spaniards in Tunisia.
A Genius of Diplomacy and Politics
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha orchestrated several policies to disrupt European politics. Most notably the election of a new King for Poland-Lithuania after the death of Sigismund II. He died without an heir and so the country stumbled upon hard times. Poland saw major powers like Austria, Russia, France and the Ottomans meddling in internal politics whom to choose as a successor king.
With the directions of Sokollu, the Ottomans first sided with the French candidate, the brother of French King Charles IX, Henry de Valois. His reign was short-lived and again a new king had to be chosen. The Ottomans eventually succeeded in appointing a vassal ally from Transilvania, Voivode Stephan Bathory. Thus, with this move, an Ottoman-appointed king sat on the throne of Poland-Lithuania which brought the nation under the Ottoman sphere of influence.
Assassination of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was stabbed by an assassin and died of his wounds on the 12th of November 1579. There is much debate about why he has been killed but some people believe that he got too strong. He was buried in his tomb in Eyüpsultan.
Legacy of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha
During his lifetime he constructed a lot of buildings including mosques, one of which bears his name in İstanbul, and a couple of külliye (colleges) in İstanbul, Edirne and Lüleburgaz and a dozen more structures throughout the empire. His sons were good statesmen and served the Ottoman Empire long after his death.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha still is regarded as one of the best-known and respected Grand Viziers in Ottoman History. In Ottoman sources, he is known by the nickname “tavîl”, which means tall, because of his unusual length.
Last updated on August 29th, 2024 at 05:35 pm