Kara Mahmud Bushati
| Kara Mahmud Pasha | |
|---|---|
| Governor of Scutari | |
| Reign |
|
| Predecessor | Mehmed Pasha |
| Successor | Ibrahim Pasha |
| Issue | |
| Family | Bushati |
| Father | Mehmed Pasha |
| Born | Sanjak of Scutari, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 22 September 1796 Krusi, Montenegro |
| Religion | Islam |
Kara Mahmud Pasha (Turkish: Kara Mahmud Paşa, fl. 1749–22 September 1796) was a hereditary Ottoman governor (mutasarrıf) of the Sanjak of Scutari (known in historiography as Pashalik of Scutari), belonging to the Ottoman Albanian Bushati family (Buşatlı).
Mahmud was the son of Mehmed Pasha Bushati, the governor of the sanjak of Scutari. When Mehmed Pasha died in June 1775, the Sultan's rule was not returned to northern Albania; he was succeeded by his young son, Mahmud Pasha.
In the 1780s his rebellious character brought him into conflict with the Ottomans. This conflict is regarded in Albanian historiography as a bid to create an independent principality. However, the immediate cause of the conflict with the Ottomans was his clash with the Tosk Pashas of Southern Albania, namely Ali Pasha and Kurd Ahmet Pasha. His major quarrels were with Montenegro, which he attacked in 1785. During his attacks in Montenegro he even burned Cetinje.
During his conflict with the southern Albanian Pashas he was approached by the Austrians and Russians who wanted to use him against the Ottomans. They offered to convert Kara Mahmud Pasha to Christianity, thus recognizing him as king of Albania. He accepted the proposal, however, upon learning that they wanted to hand his lands to Montenegro, he rejected their offers in 1788, and beheaded the delegation, sending their heads as trophies to the Ottoman Sultan who pardoned him for his quarrels with the local Pashas.
Kara Mahmud Pasha continued to quarrel with the Ottoman Empire, however, by annexing the Sanjak of Prizren and large parts of Montenegro and by instituting military and political reforms in his state without permission from the Porte. Through these efforts, he hoped to create an independent state free from Ottoman control. To prevent these efforts, the Ottomans sent an expedition into his realm and besieged Scutari, which was garrisoned by his most faithful men. The siege was lifted and the Ottoman expedition retreated, then returned but failed to complete the siege.
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