Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha

Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: كپرولى زاده فاضل احمد پاشا‎, Turkish: Köprülü Fazıl Ahmet Paşa; Albanian: Fazıl Ahmed Pashë Kypriljoti; 1635 – 3 November 1676) was a member of the renowned Köprülü family originating from Albania, which produced six grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire.[1]

Another engraving of Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, from 1690
In this Ottoman Turkish style name, Fazıl Ahmed is the given name, the title is Pasha, and the family name is Köprülü.
Köprülü Fazıl

Ahmed

Pasha
An engraving
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
In office
31 October 1661 – 3 November 1676
MonarchMehmed IV
Preceded byKöprülü Mehmed Pasha
Succeeded byKara Mustafa Pasha
Personal details
Born1635
Veles (then named Köprülü, now in North Macedonia)
Died3 November 1676(1676-11-03) (aged 40–41)
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
NationalityOttoman
RelationsKöprülüzade Fazıl Mustafa Pasha (brother)
Köprülüzade Numan Pasha (nephew)
Kara Mustafa Pasha (brother-in-law)
Abaza Siyavuş Pasha (brother-in-law)
Amcazade Köprülü Hüseyin Pasha (cousin)
ParentsKöprülü Mehmed Pasha (father)
OriginsAlbanian
FamilyKöprülü family
Military service
Allegiance Ottoman Empire
Battles/warsAustro-Turkish War (1663–64)

Cretan War (1645–69)

Polish–Ottoman War (1672–76)

Life

He served as grand vizier from 1661 to 1676 after he inherited the title from his father, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, the founder of the Köprülü political family. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Ottoman governor of the Damascus Eyalet (1660 to 1661) and the Erzurum Eyalet (1659 to 1660).[2]

He was dubbed Fazıl, meaning "wise" (from the Arabic fazilet, meaning "wisdom"), for reducing taxation and promoting education. On the other hand, he was brutal in war. He led the Ottoman army in the Austro-Turkish War (1663–64). At the beginning of July 1664, he succeeded in destroying Novi Zrin in the northern part of the Kingdom of Croatia after nearly a month-long siege. Although defeated in the Battle of Saint Gotthard, he was able to gain territory by the Peace of Vasvár in 1664.

Following this treaty, he concentrated on the Cretan War and captured Candia (present-day Heraklion) from the Republic of Venice in 1669. At the end of the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676) against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, he signed the Treaty of Buchach in 1672 and the Treaty of Żurawno in 1676.

Contemporary European observers frequently remarked upon the atheistic tendencies of Fazıl Ahmed's inner circle of courtiers, and particularly those of Fazıl Ahmed himself. Nevertheless, his exact religious views remain unknown.[3]

Fazıl Ahmed Pasha died on November 3, 1676 from complications resulting from his lifestyle of heavy drinking.[4]

See also

References
  1. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters,
  2. Mehmet Süreyya (1996) [1890], Nuri Akbayar; Seyit A. Kahraman (eds.), Sicill-i Osmanî (in Turkish), 1, Beşiktaş, Istanbul: Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı and Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, p. 209
  3. Wurm, Heidrun (1971). Der osmanische Historiker Ḥüseyn b. Ğafer, genannt Hezārfenn, und die Istanbuler Gesellschaft in der zweiten Hälfte des 17. Jahrhunderts. Freiburg im Breisgau: Klaus Schwarz Verlag. p. 52. [in German]
  4. Finkel, Caroline (2005). Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire, 1300-1923. New York: Basic Books. pp. 278, 281. ISBN 978-0-465-02396-7.
Political offices
Preceded by
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha		 Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
31 October 1661 – 3 November 1676		 Succeeded by
Kara Mustafa Pasha
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