Mahmud Dramali Pasha

Mahmud Pasha, called Dramalı (Greek: Μαχμούτ πασάς Δράμαλης, Drama c. 1780 - Corinth, 26 October 1822) was an Ottoman statesman and military leader. A descendant of Sultan Ahmed III, he was a Beyzade,vizier, Serdar-ı Ekrem, and a pasha, and served as governor (wali) of Larissa, Drama, and the Morea. In 1822, he was tasked with suppressing the Greek War of Independence, but was defeated at the Battle of Dervenakia and died shortly after.

Mahmud Pasha was born in 1780 in Drama, from where he got his nickname. He came from a distinguished family of Albanian origin: His maternal grandfather was Sultan Ahmed III by his mother, Zeynep Sultan, and his paternal grandfather Husayn Agha was a Çorbaci of the Janissaries and governor of Kavala. His father Halil Mehmed Bey was the Silahdar Agha of Sultan Selim III, after having commanded an Albanian regiment in Egypt against Napoleon. Husayn Agha was also the paternal uncle of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, making Mahmud the latter's nephew, and also a second cousin of Ibrahim Pasha, who would also lead an expedition in Greece in 1825–1828.

Mahmud was raised and educated at the Topkapi Palace at Istanbul. He participated in various campaigns throughout the Empire, rising to the post of Vizier and acquiring significant military skills. Enjoying the patronage of the Valide Sultan, he was eventually posted in his home province of Drama, succeeding his father Halil as governor. In 1820 he was Pasha of Thessaly at Larissa and participated in the army of Hursid Pasha that was operating against the rebel Ali Pasha of Yannina.

...
Wikipedia