Merzifonlu Mustafa Pasha |
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Kara Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman commander at the Battle of Vienna
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Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire | |
In office 19 October 1676 – 25 December 1683 |
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Monarch | Mehmed IV |
Preceded by | Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha |
Succeeded by | Bayburtlu Kara Ibrahim Pasha |
Personal details | |
Born | 1634 or 1635 Merzifon, Rum Eyalet |
Died | 25 December 1683 Belgrade, Budin Eyalet |
Nationality | Ottoman |
Relations |
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (father-in-law) Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha (brother-in-law) Köprülü Fazıl Mustafa Pasha (brother-in-law) |
Origins | Albanian |
Family | Köprülü family |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Ottoman Empire |
Service/branch |
Ottoman Navy Ottoman Army |
Years of service | 1660s–1683 |
Rank |
Kapudan Pasha (1666–70) Commander-in-Chief (1676–83) |
Battles/wars |
Polish–Ottoman War (1672–76)
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Polish–Ottoman War (1672–76)
Russo-Turkish War (1676–81)
Polish–Ottoman War (1683–99)
Great Turkish War (1683–99)
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: مرزيفونلى قره مصطفى پاشا, Merzifonlı Ḳara Muṣṭafā Paşa; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous of Merzifon"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman military leader and grand vizier who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Central and Eastern Europe.
Born to Albanian parents in Merzifon, Mustafa was educated in the household of Mehmed Köprülü and married into the powerful Köprülü family. In 1659, he became governor of Silistria and subsequently held a number of important posts. Within ten years, he was acting as deputy for his brother-in-law, the grand vizier Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha when absent from the Sultan's court.
He served as a commander of ground troops in a war against Poland, negotiating a settlement with Jan Sobieski in 1676 that added the province of Podolia to the empire. The victory enabled the Ottomans to transform the Cossack regions of the southern Ukraine into a protectorate. When his brother-in-law Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha died that same year, Mustafa succeeded him as grand vizier.