Statesman, Commander of Naval Forces, Grand Vizier
(B. 1710, Gelibolu – D.
19th March 1790, Shumnu). Because
of his monumental appearance he was given the nickname “Palabıyık (handlebar
moustache)”. He was also known with titles of “Algerian” and “Veteran”. His
being called as “Algerian” is because of his long stay in Algeria and also
because he received there the title of “Protector of
Algeria”. Hasan was born as an orphan who was a slave of Hasan Aga, a tradesman
from Tekirdağ. Reportedly he was captured on the border of Iran and bought and
raised by Hasan Aga as a slave. Since he
beat other children in the neighborhood Hasan Aga intended to sell this child
but because his wife adopted him as her own child, she prevented his being sold.
When he reached the age of
seventeen-eighteen he became an uncontrollable tough guy, beat other young
people in the region and was complained about many times. The tradesman
thereupon freed him and sent him to various places by his ships. Hasan who got
used to navigation by this means became a janissary at the age of twenty five
and joined military expedition of Belgrade. He drew attention with his courage
in the wars of Morava and Hisarcık.
Hasan Pasha one day
departed with some wealth given to him by his master for Algeria which became
known to him with its brave men. When his ships ran across to a foreign ship on
the way, he jumped to the enemy ship and fought with a great effort even though
he was very young. Meanwhile when the wind changed its direction ships were
separated from each other and Hasan Pasha remained in the enemy ship. He killed
about fifteen of the enemy crew on his own and incarcerated the alive to the
warehouse or cabins, thus capturing the ship. However since he stayed in the
middle of the sea on his own, he was saved by the Algerians and taken to
Algeria. This courage of Hasan Pasha was appreciated by the Protector of
Algeria and the ship was granted to him. Besides a coffee shop was given to his
administration which made him one of the protectors of Algeria.
Gaining reputation in a
short time he became the Governor of Tlemsen. Because of the jealousy of some
protectors in Algeria, his life was in danger, so he passed to Spain, Napoli
and Istanbul. Since he was famous with his navigation he was taken into the
class of captains and was granted a ship. He became a captain in 1770 with the
title of mir-imiran (governor). He conquered Limnos from Christians and
acquired the title of “Veteran”. Within the same year he was assigned to be a Vizier
(minister) and subsequently to the Command of Naval Forces. Later he became the
Guard of Strait and Seraskier of Anatolian state and Rusçuk. The same year he
was assigned to Command of Naval Forces for the second time and the rule of
Mora province was granted to him in 1780. Hasan Pasha who became a vizier in
1786 was taken from the naval forces after two years and assigned to seraskier
of Özi Citadel.
When Hasan Pasha was the
Commander of Naval Forces, 1768 Turkish Russian war started. The Baltic fleet
sent by the Russians to the Mediterranean was supported by the English fleet
and fought first the Ottoman fleet but there was not any decisive result in
this battle. The second war around Koyun Isles near to the Aegean shores was
essentially between Hasan Pasha’s galleon and Russian admiral Spiridov’s ship.
When the Russian ship approached his galleon, Hasan Pasha and thirty warriors
jumped to the Russian ship. Hasan Pasha was wounded with a bullet during this
brave struggle but still kept fighting. After a while he returned to his
galleon with his warriors. The Russian panicked upon this unexpected move and
burnt their own arsenal. When the fire also spread to the Turkish ship both
ships started to burn. Since it was not possible to stay in the ship any more,
Hasan Pasha took his yataghan and jumped to the sea with the warriors around
him. They held to a wooden piece and moved towards the coast. A small boat
saved them. Hasan Pasha was entitled to Captain and Governor after this brave
battle.
This second period of
Command of Naval Forces of Hasan Pasha lasted fifteen years. He made great
service during this period and quelled Tahir Ömer revolts emerging in Syria and
Iraq. He defeated the uprising Albanians in Mora Peninsula and maintained the
peace and order again. Later he participated to the Yılan Island War within the
1787 Russian Austrian war and defeated the Russian fleet. The next year he
defeated the Russians in front of Ismail Citadel and was assigned upon this
success to Grand Vizier by the Sultan Selim III in 1789. This duty of Hasan
Pasha lasted three and half months. During this duty he passed away in March
1790 and was inhumed in the dervish lodge in Shumnu built by him.
Hasan Pasha not only
served to the state but also left behind numerous benevolence works. He
constructed barracks for sailors in Istanbul shipyard and built fountains by
bringing water from a place about four hours away from Midilli. He also built a
fountain in Bakla, a mosque, a public bath and three fountains in Vize, a Pasha manor house and a large marble pool in the middle of
the Midilli Island and fountains in Limni, Sakız and Istanköy isles. He was
known with his bravery and heroism.
