Marashly Khalil Pasha

It is known that he was born in 1570 and was an Armenian from Zeytun . His relative was the Rumelian beyerbey Doanji Mehmed Pasha - one of the associates of Sultan Murad III .

Initially, he studied at Enderun, and in 1595 received the first military rank. In 1606, Chakyrjibashi was appointed Khalil. During this period, he began to establish relations with foreign ambassadors, for example, with the French ambassador Baron de Salignac, who often visited him in Uskudar with him.

In 1607, Khalil Pasha took part in suppressing the Jelali uprising led by Kuyuju Murat Pasha, as an officer in the Janissary corps , but in 1609 he was appointed Kapudan Pasha to counter European pirates in the Mediterranean. To this end, he successfully managed in many ways, making various naval expeditions. In 1612, Khalil Pasha participated in the reception of the Dutch ambassadors who were sent to Istanbul to find support against Spain. Soon, Pasha successfully suppressed the uprisings in Libya and Greece and received a high reward for this.

In November 1616, Sultan Ahmed I appointed Marashli Khalil Pasha the great vizier and sent him to the war against the Iranian state of the Safavids . However, the Turkish army, although it captured Tabriz, was soon defeated in the battle of Ardabil . Moreover, changes have taken place on the Sultan's throne. In November 1617, typhoid brings Sultan Ahmed to the grave and the courtyard splits into two parts. One of the factions led by Sheikh-ul-Islam Khojasadettinzade Mehmet Esat-effendi and Sofu Mehmed Pasha, who replaced the great vizier during his absence in Istanbul, preferred to see Mustafa, an adult and, at the same time, mentally insolvent shekhzade, than his young healthy nephew of Osman . Sofu Mehmed claimed that Osman was too young to rule without causing a negative reaction among the population. The head of the black eunuchs, Mustafa-aga, objected, referring precisely to the mental health of the shekhzade, but his objections were not taken into account and Mustafa I was erected on the throne.

The accession to the throne of Shekhzade Mustafa created a new type of succession in which the eldest in the family ascended the throne; this type of continuity continued until the fall of the empire . In addition, this was the first time in the Ottoman Empire when a brother succeeded the sultan instead of his son. But a year later, the mentally ill sultan was overthrown and Osman II ascended the throne. The latter entered into a peace treaty with Shah Abbas the Great on his own terms, as a result of which Khalil Pasha was dismissed. Although Pasha refused the post of governor of Damascus and preferred to find shelter in the monastery of the famous Sufi sheikh Aziz Mahmoud Hudayi, he retained the rank of vizier and membership in the Divan .

In 1620, Khalil Pasha was once again appointed Kapudan Pasha and gave advice to the Sultan - to attack Spain with the support of Morocco, but he soon witnessed the bright and tragic events in the history of Turkey. In 1621, Osman II was defeated in the battle of Khotyn against the Polish-Cossack army, and a year later he was overthrown and killed during the Janissary rebellion, during which Mustafa I became the Sultan for the second time. However, Abaza Mehmed Pasha soon raised a rebellion in Anatolia, and Halime Sultan was soon forced to extradite her son-in-law to the great Vizier Kara Davuta Pasha. As a result, in 1623, Kösem-Sultan put her son Murad on the throne of the sultan, and she herself began to rule the country as a regent. In the same year, Khalil Pasha was exiled to Malkara.

In 1626, the authorities, worried about the growing uprising of Abaz Mehmed Pasha, awarded Khalil Pasha the title of Great Vizier. Marashli Khalil Pasha was simultaneously appointed responsible for peace negotiations with Iran. But soon in 1628 he was again dismissed.

Khalil Pasha died in Istanbul in 1629 and was buried in Uskudar.

Khalil Pasha maintained close contact with various religious orders: Meli-Halzavi, Shabani, Halveti and especially with Jelveti. Sheikh Aziz Mahmoud Hudayi had a huge influence on him. At any time, Pasha found shelter and comfort in his monastery and did not refuse the advice and prayers of the Sheikh during the difficult periods of 1619, 1623 and 1628. It is known that in his monastery, Hudaya received the Dutch ambassador Hag, a friend of Khalil Pasha.

The friendship of Khalil Pasha himself with the ambassadors was a rare occurrence in the Ottoman Empire. Turkish and foreign historians describe Pasha as a moderate, cautious officer and a good captain. In the Fatih region, Pasha built fountains and a mosque. And in Uskudar near the monastery of Hudaya in 1617 he ordered the construction of tekke (Kapiji Tekke).

In the Turkish television series “The Magnificent Century: Kösem Sultan ”, the famous actor Shener Sawash played the role of Marashla Khalil Pasha.

• Danişmend, İsmail Hâmi (1971) Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı , İstanbul: Türkiye Yayınevi, say ..
• Uzunçarşılı, İsmail Hakkı, (1954) Osmanlı Tarihi III. Cilt, 2. Kısım, XVI. Yüzyıl Ortalarından XVII. Yüzyıl Sonuna kadar) , Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu (Altıncı Baskı 2011 ISBN 978-975-16-0010) say.370-373
• Kültür Bakanlığı web sitesi, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu Kronolojisi , Erişim tarihi: 12.12.2011