Janbirdi al-Ghazali
| Janbirdi al-Ghazali جنبريدي الغزالي |
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|---|---|
| Ottoman Governor of Damascus | |
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In office 1518–1521 |
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| Preceded by | vacant |
| Succeeded by | Ayas Mehmed Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Died | 1521 Damascus, Ottoman Syria |
| Nationality | Mamluk (Circassian) |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Janbirdi al-Ghazali (Arabic: جان بردي الغزالي; Jān-Birdi al-Ghazāli; died 1521) was the first governor of Damascus Province under the Ottoman Empire from February 1518 until his death in February 1521.
Al-Ghazali was originally the na'ib or "viceroy" of Hama under the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in the early 16th century. When the Ottomans invaded Mamluk Syria, Janbirdi fought alongside the latter at the Battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516, leading the assault on Ottoman sultan Selim I's army in Gaza. Al-Ghazali was wounded during that confrontation. After the Mamluk defeat, he retreated to Cairo with his army where he took part in the defense of the city from incoming Ottoman forces. The Ottomans again defeated the Mamluks and conquered Egypt and Syria.
Al-Ghazali then joined the Mamluk governor of Aleppo in defecting to the Ottomans and severed allegiance with Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri. Selim I was reportedly impressed by al-Ghazali's loyalty to his superiors and in a bid to have him serve under the Ottomans, Selim appointed him as governor of Damascus in February 1518. At the time, Damascus Province encompassed much of the Levant, including much of central and southern Syria, the Syrian coastline, Palestine, Transjordan and Lebanon. He paid an annual tribute of 230,000 dinars to the Ottoman sultan.
As governor, he was in charge of safeguarding the pilgrim caravan destined to make hajj in the Hejaz for the pilgrim route from Damascus to Aqaba in southern Transjordan. In order to do this successfully, he subjugated the Turkmen nomads in the area. After two years, he managed to have those same Turkmen tribes protecting the pilgrims. By 1520, hajj caravans were traveling without incident. In line with Ottoman state policy at the time, al-Ghazali embarked on major development projects in Damascus. Having been appointed the nazir or "supervisor" of Damascus's main waqf, he had the Umayyad Mosque repaired and redecorated. He also had a number of other mosques, schools and canals rebuilt and repaired. Supervisors of madrasas ("religious schools") who were deemed negligent were stripped of their position and their school buildings restored.
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