Yeğen Osman Pasha
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Yeğen Osman Agha or Pasha |
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|---|---|
| Died | 1689 |
| Allegiance | Ottoman Empire |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars | |
Yeğen Osman Pasha or Yeğen Osman Aga was 17th century Ottoman military officer of Armenian origin. After being commander of sekban (peasant mercenaries) units in Anatolia, he was appointed first to position of sanjakbey and serçeşme of the Sanjak of Karahisar-i Sahib. In 1687 for a couple of months he was also the beylerbey of Rumelia Eyalet, which was the highest position he held.
Yeğen Osman was commander of all Anatolian sekbans. Rivalries between the janissaries and the sekbans ultimately resulted in a rebellion. After the janissaries had been defeated on the Rumelian front, they marched on Istanbul in 1687 to depose Mehmed IV. The latter married his daughter to Yeğen Osman and appointed him to hold the janissaries in check. In 1687 Yeğen Osman was appointed as sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Karahisar-i Sahib in exchange for providing support to the sultan with 5,000 of his men. At his insistence, he was also appointed as security chief (serçeşme) of this province. Instead to bring his forces to the front, by the middle of May 1687 he brought around 4,000 men to Istanbul and instead to defeat forces that threaten the sultan, they actually additionally threaten him. Only 1,500 of his men were sent to the front at the end of June. To satisfy appetites of abitious Yeğen Osman and win his support the sultan made him beylerbey of Rumelia Eyalet with seat in Sofia and responsible for exceptionally important front toward Holy League. Yeğen Osman de facto remained on the position until 1689 and treated the territories he controlled as his personal fiefdom. He increased taxes to unbearable level to earn as much money as possible for himself, though he regularly denied this when he was faced with criticism.
Mehmed IV to be succeeded by Suleyman II who continued the policy of his predecessor towards sekbans. Yeğen Osman, as Rumelian beylerbey, rebelled against new sultan and became the main enemy of the Ottoman government. All dissatisfied sekbans gathered around him, including many from Anatolia. The sultan offered him the position of serasker of Timișoara, but he refused. Sultan appointed him as sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Bosnia and Yeğen's uncle as sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Herzegovina, but this did not satisfy his ambitions so his forces of 10,000 men continued to plunder the territories under his control, including the Ottoman Serbia and Greece. According to some sources, Yeğen Osman had more money than Ottoman treasury.
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