Statesman, grand vizier and the conqueror
of Crete (B. 1635, Vezirköprü – D. 3rd
November 1676, Kemerburgaz). He is the
oldest son of the Ottoman grand vizier Köprülü Mehmet Pasha. He took a good
education after having gone to Istanbul
with his father when he was seven years old. He learned Arabic, Persian, fiqh
(Islamic law) and kalam (Islamic philosophy). He worked as the assistant of Karaçelebizade
Abdülaziz Efendi, who was one of the leading savants of this age, and therefore
he was surrounded by professors. He worked as the governor general of Damascus with his vizier
degree. He was assigned as the district governorate of the grand vizier (the
functionary acting for the grand vizier who went to an expedition with the
army) fifty days before the death of his father. Upon the testament of Mehmed
Pasha, the Sultan Mehmed IV gave without hesitation the seal of grand vizierate
to Fazıl Ahmet Pasha who was twenty six years old (30th October
1661). The sultan was only twenty years old at that time.
Fazıl Ahmed Paşa spent the first one
or two years of his grand vizierate by dealing with the interior affairs of the
emperorship. Upon the problems showing up in Transylvania
during this time, he went to the Expedition of Austria that was also called the
expedition of Nové Zámky. He captured the fortress of Nové Zámky on the river of Nitra after a siege of thirty seven days
(24th September 1663). After that, he captured almost thirty
castles, notably Novigrad, and he returned to Belgrade to spend the winter. He came again
into action in May 1664 and he captured the fortress of Yenikale (Serinwar)
near Nagykanizsa after a siege of twenty days and he made it destroyed. He
moved forward to Yanıkkale (Györ) that was one of the most important fortress
between Vienna
and Buda. The Austrian Emperor, who thought that Vienna could be lost if Yanıkkale would be captured,
sent an army lead by Marshal Klont Montecuccoli against the Turks. The pitched
battle that started near the village
of Szent-Gotthârd on 1st
August 1664 has worn down both of the parties. However, the emperor, who learned
that Fazıl Ahmed Pasha had empowered his army, accepted to sign the Treaty of
Vasvar (10th August 1664). With this treaty, the emperor was
legitimizing the conquests of the last expedition, and promising not to get involved with the
affairs or Transylvania and he was accepting to pay a war indemnity of 200.000
florins to the Ottoman Empire.
The Venetians, who knew that the
Turks would press on Crete and would like to capture the Fortress of Heraklion after
the Treaty of Vasvar, made a peace offer to Mehmed IV. However, this peace
offer was rejected because the Venetians failed to leave the castle that they
were protecting for twenty one years. Upon that, Fazıl Ahmed Pasha went on the
road to capture Crete on 15th May
1666. Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, who arrived at Chania with 167 pieces of ships on 3rd
November, started to besiege the Fortress of Heraklion in the morning of 26th
May 1667 after a period of preparation of six months. The Venetians, who were resolute
about not giving the castle to Turks no matter what happens, succeeded to
resist during two and a half year with the support of other European states. In
the end, the Venetians, who understood that the capture of the fortress was
just a matter of time, decided to give the possession of the castle. The
morning of 27th September 1669, the 93 keys of Heraklion were presented
to Fazıl Ahmed Pasha in two silver trays. The grand vizier, who spent also the
winter of 1669-70 in
Crete and who personally supervised the reparation of a large part of the
damages occurred, left the administration of Crete
to the vizier Ankebut Ahmed Pasha and left this place on the first days of May
1670.
Ahmed Pasha dealt with internal and
external problems for a while after the problem of Crete
had resulted. He didn’t lean towards the request of renewing the capitulations
probably because of the attitude of the French during the wars of Austria and Crete.
He gave a cold welcome to the ambassador Marquis
de Nointel when he arrived in Istanbul after Müteferrika
Süleyman Ağa was accredited to Paris
in 1672 as an ambassador and the agreement could be only realized one year
after his arrival… The sultan, deciding to take an action against the king of Poland, who continuously placed a strain on the
Kazakh Commander Doroshenko of Ukraine,
which joined the Empire Ottoman at its own request towards the middle of the
year 1672, went on the road from Edirne
by taking with him Fazıl Ahmed Pasha. Kamianets-Podilskyi gave its possession after a siege
lasting eight days in this expedition that was referred as the Expedition of
Poland (27th August 1672).
While the astonishment of this event
still continued, the units directed by the governor of Aleppo Kaplan Pasha, the
Crimean Khan Selim Giray and Doroshenko entered into Poland by running the blockade of
the famous commander-in-chief of the king Jan Sobieski and they captured many large
and small fortresses. The king consented to make a peace treaty with very severe
conditions. Upon the fact that this agreement signed in Buchach on 18th
October 1672 was not approved by the National Assembly of the Poland and that
Sobieski captured some of the fortresses after the Turkish army went back, the
army went to the Second Expedition of Poland. The fact that the Governor General
of Silistra Sarı Hüseyin Pasha was defeated in the pitched battle made in front
of the Khotyn Castle, provided that Sobieski ascended the throne of Poland. Fazıl
Ahmet Pasha moved back to Dobruja and waited till the winter passed. Sobieski,
who knew that the Turks would attack in the middle of the year 1674, made a
peace offer to the Sultan; however the agreement was not signed.
Mehmed IV and Grand Vizier Fazıl
Ahmed Pasha returned to Edirne
on 21st November 1674. The conflicts in Poland were directed by the
Commander-in-chief Vizier Şişman İbrahim Pasha after this time. İbrahim Pasha,
who had captured forty eight castles from the Polish, tried to capture Lvov, which was the center of Galicia, but he couldn’t be
successful. Podolia and Ukraine
stayed under the control of the Ottoman Empire with the Zorawno Agreement
signed with Poland
(26th October 1676).
Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha became ill
on the road while going to Edirne
with the sultans in October 1676. Since his illness became worse, it was deemed
suitable for him to rest in the farm of Karabiber in Kemerburgaz. He deceased
there in the night connecting 2nd November to 3rd November
after working as a grand vizier for more than fifteen years. His corpse was
brought to Istanbul
and buried to the ground in the mausoleum of his father in Divanyolu. Fazıl
Ahmed Pasha, who was an intelligent, intellectual, modest person, was also
known with his addiction to drink. Since he had no children, the race of
Köprülü proceeded with his brother Fazıl Mustafa Pasha, who became the grand
vizier in 1689.
Köprülüzâde Ahmed
Pasha, who stayed in the position of grand vizier (prime ministry) during more
than fifteen years without interruption, spent nine years of this duration on
front lines and was generally successful in wars. He was regarded by native and
foreigner historians as moderate, tolerant, patient, determined, foreseeing, as
a protector of science and scientists, art and artists, as softhearted,
religionist, righteous, enemy of the corruption, intelligent, generous, mindful
about mutual advisement and most commonly as his epithet indicates, a “virtuous”
person.
Fazıl Ahmed Pasha was a grand vizier
who put signature to some innovations during his duty of grand vizier. Within
this context, he realized innovations in the military and economical field. He
founded a library in Istanbul Çemberlitaş. He prohibited giving presents to the
Palace and to statesmen in important days. He decreased the expenses inside the
palace and made a contribution to the economy.