The era of Köprülü

The beginning of the dynasty was laid by Mehmed Köprülü, who was appointed to the post of great vizier on September 15, 1656 on the advice of Turhan Sultan . He came to power in a difficult period: the female sultanate weakened the great empire; decentralization tendencies, weakening of military and economic power intensified in the country; besides, failures in wars with Austria and Venice often happened.

By energetic actions, Mehmed and his descendants were able to suppress internal strife, uprisings, improve the work of the state apparatus and the financial condition of the empire. Decisive actions were taken to restore the military power of the Ottomans both on land and at sea. And finally, the great viziers of the Köprülü family managed to inflict a series of defeats on Austria , Spain , Venice , and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth . As a result, Crete was annexed to the Ottoman Empire, lands in Hungary and Croatia , Podillia , control over Right-Bank Ukraine was established . At the same time, Köprülü proved to be generous philanthropists who supported poets and writers. In the time of the first representatives of the clan, a large library was created, which was named in honor of the dynasty. Numerous mosques and madrassas were built by their order.

The beginning of the weakening influence of the clan was a new war with Austria and its allies, which was called the Holy League War . In 1683, Ottomans led by Kara Mustafa Köprülü were defeated in the Battle of Vienna , as a result of which Kara Mustafa was removed from his post and executed 10 days later.

The Köprülü family still retained its influence. However, the strength of the clan was gradually weakening, their influence on the Sultans was lost along with the weakening of the Ottoman Empire. Köprülü began to occupy the position of Grand Vizier with interruptions of several years (from a year to 12 years). The era of Köprülü ended with the removal of the last great vizier from the dynasty - Numana Pasha , who spent only 2 months in office.

There are fewer capable Köprülüs; on the whole, representatives of the clan are increasingly receiving posts thanks to family ties. Finally, after the death of the battle of Abdullah Pasha Köprülü on June 19, 1735 , the period when Köprülü occupied significant state or military posts finally ended. From that moment, the Köprülü family was considered only the family of wealthy aristocrats.

Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (September 15, 1656 - October 31, 1661)

Over the past 10 years, the predecessors of Mehmed Köprülü have changed 17 times. To restore the prestige of the position of the great vizier and to distance him from the palace intrigues, at the instigation of the Valide Sultan Turhan Khatija, they decided to look for a new grand vizier outside the palace environment. On September 15, 1656, Sultan Mehmed IV appointed Keprül Mehmed the Great Vizier, accepting all his conditions.

The conditions were as follows:

• Grand Vizier’s decisions will not be reviewed
• The Grand Vizier will be able to independently appoint, promote and remove officials
• The great vizier will be able to make complaints decisions without the advice of the sultan
• No one in the yard can interfere in the affairs of the state

Mehmed Pasha stayed in power for 5 years. During this time he:

• Conducted successful naval and land battles at Crete and Canakkale against the Republic of Venice
• Attached Lemnos and Tenedos to the Ottoman Empire
• Suppressed the rebellion of the sect of Cadizadeli
• Successfully crushed the rebellion of the Erdel Principality ( Principality of Transylvania )
• Successfully suppressed the rebellion of Abaza Hasan Pasha
• Took control of military and political figures
• Stopped the destructive tradition of buying posts

Fazyl Ahmed Pasha (October 31, 1661 - October 19, 1676)

Sensing the approach of death, Köprül Mehmed called to his eldest son Fazyl Ahmed, who at that time was the governor of Damascus, and made him his deputy. On October 31, 1661, Köprül Mehmed Pasha died after a serious and prolonged illness in Edirne, and Fazyl Ahmed became the new great vizier. In this position he:

• Successfully completed the Fourth Austro-Turkish War
• In 1669 he completed the conquest of Candiye in Crete.
• Successfully ended the war with the Commonwealth for power over Right-Bank Ukraine
• I tried to eliminate the budget deficit
• Established peace and order within the state

Merzifonlu Cara Mustafa Pasha (October 19, 1676 - December 25, 1683)

Fazil Ahmed was forty-one years old when he died of dropsy during his move from Istanbul to Edirne on November 3, 1676 . His younger brother Fazyl Mustafa Pasha , who was with him when he was dying, gave the seal of the great vizier to the Sultan, who entrusted the authority of the great vizier to Kara Mustafa Pasha. Kara Mustafa Born in a Merzifon in a Turkish family, but was subsequently adopted by the powerful Köprülü family. In this position he:

• Successfully completed the war with the Russian kingdom
• Commanded the army of the Ottoman Empire and the Allies in the Battle of Vienna

The defeat under the walls of Vienna ultimately cost the vizier of life - the escaped Kara Mustafa was executed in Belgrade .

Köprülü Abaza Siyavush Pasha (September 23, 1687 - February 2, 1688)

In 1687, upon returning from the campaign, the army rebelled and Sultan Mehmed IV was ousted from the throne, and the great vizier Suleiman Pasha was removed from his post. The new great vizier was Abaza Siyavush Pasha ^[4] - a servant of Mehmed Köprülyu, who married his daughter. Prior to this, he successfully coped with the tasks set, with such a high position he could not cope. The treasury was empty, and the Janissaries demanded their payments. Despite the fact that Siyavush was a henchman, they, with the support of the youngest son Mehmed Köprülyu, killed the great vizier ^[5] .

Fazyl Mustafa Pasha Köprülü (November 10, 1689 - August 19, 1691)

Despite the unsuccessful course of the war for the empire with Austria, Venice and the Commonwealth, the sultan appointed the youngest son Mehmed Köprül Fazyl Mustafa as the great vizier at the suggestion of the Janissaries. In this post, he:

• Strengthened military discipline, restored the combat corps of the Janissaries
• He abolished heavy taxes for the population, made several concessions for the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire, and helped peasants
• He seized part of the Hungarian lands ( Pirot , Nis , Smederevo and Belgrade ) and restored the power of the Ottomans in Bosnia
• In December 1690, suppressed the uprisings of the local nobility in Cyprus and Egypt.
• Prepared and launched a new military campaign against Austria

Hussein Pasha Köprülü (September 17, 1697 - September 4, 1702)

Amjazadeh Hussein also came from a wealthy and influential Köprülü family. He was the son of Hassan-aga Köprülü and the nephew of Mehmed Köprülü ^[6] . On September 11, 1697, the Ottoman army was defeated in the battle of Zent by troops of Prince Eugene of Savoy . Already on September 17 of the same year, Sultan Mustafa II appointed Hussein Pasha Köprül the great vizier. In this position he:

• He made peace with Austria, Venice and the Commonwealth (on behalf of the Sultan, he ceded Hungary and Transylvania to Austria, Dalmatia and the Peloponnese - to Venice, Podolia and Right-Bank Ukraine - the Commonwealth) and thereby stopped the war economically disadvantageous for the Ottoman Empire ^[6]
• He planned a series of reforms in all areas to renew the power of the Ottoman Empire: he decided to renew the economic power of the empire (revived trade, craftsmanship; eased the tax burden and announced a tax amnesty); on the expansion of agricultural land (granted benefits to peasants); supported domestic manufacturers to reduce imports from Europe; more attention was paid to the Christian population of the empire
• Reformed military forces, navy and bureaucracy

Numan Pasha Köprülü (June 16, 1710 - August 17, 1710)

On June 16, 1710, Numan Pasha Köprülü, the son of Fazyl Mustafa ^[7] , was appointed the great vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Despite the fact that Numan Köprülü was supportive of the Swedish king, he did not agree with his attempt to draw the Ottoman Empire into a new war with the Russian state . Numan considered it not entirely timely due to the fact that Austria , Venice and the Commonwealth could intervene in this war on the side of Russia. On the other hand, the great vizier thought that he should not miss the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of neighbors who continued to participate in the Northern War. Therefore, transferring a large sum of money to the Swedish king Charles XII , Numan Pasha offered the latter, as an honorary escort (actually a separate army), 40 thousand Turkish troops, so that he could leave for Swedish possessions in Europe. Numan Pasha tried to help Karl XII , negotiated with the hetman Philip Orlik on joint actions with the Swedes with the support of the Crimean Khan Devlet II Geray . However, despite the pressure from the enemies of Russia, the great vizier did not want to start an open war. This was not part of the plans of the Swedish king, who was supported by France and Venice . In addition, Numan Pasha ordered the execution of the former Sultan’s ban on the presence of Christian, in particular French merchants near mosques in Istanbul . Such actions strengthened the hostility of France to the great vizier. As a result, on August 17, 1710, Numan Köprülü was removed from office.

• Justin McCarthy. The Ottoman Turks: An Introductory History to 1923 .-- Longman, 1997 .-- ISBN 0-582-25655-0 .
• Caroline Finkel. History of the Ottoman Empire. Vision of Osman. - Moscow: AST, 2010 .-- ISBN 978-5-17-043651-4 .
• İsmail Hâmi Danişmend. Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı. - İstanbul: Türkiye Yayınevi, 1971.