Osman Pazvantoğlu
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Portrait
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| Born | 1758 |
| Died | January 27, 1807 Vidin |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Kolari |
Osman Pazvantoğlu (1758 – January 27, 1807, Vidin) was an Ottoman soldier, a governor of the Vidin district after 1794, and a rebel against Ottoman rule. He is also remembered as the friend of Rigas Feraios, a Greek revolutionary poet, whom he tried to rescue from the Ottoman authorities in Belgrade.
His grandfather was originally from the Eyalet of Bosnia, and part of the guards of the city of Sofia, hence Osman's name: pasban-oğlu, "son of the guard". Initially a mercenary in service to the Wallachian prince Nicholas Mavrogenes, Osman Pazvantoğlu disobeyed the latter on one occasion, and was saved from reprisals through Feraios' intervention.
Having gathered a large army of mercenaries, he rebelled against the Ottoman sultan Selim III, and, acting as an independent ruler, he minted his own coins and had diplomatic relations with foreign states (including the French Republic). In 1798, he held territories which spread from the Danube to the Balkan Mountains and from Belgrade to Varna. In 1793, he undertook a military expedition to the Pashaluk of Belgrade but was soundly defeated by the Serbs in Ottoman service at the Battle of Kolari.
The 1798 military expedition of Hüseyin Küçük (having 100,000 soldiers) failed in its goal to conquer Vidin and capture Pazvantoğlu, and indirectly resulted in the fall and execution of Prince Constantine Hangerli, after Küçük accused him of not having provided the Ottoman Army with enough funds. He also attempted to annex the Sanjak of Smederevo but was stopped by 16,000 Serbian soldiers in Ottoman service. In 1799, the Ottoman sultan forgave Pazvantoğlu's rebellion and agreed to make him a pasha.
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