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The “reluctant” admiral: Damad Halil Pasha and the Ottoman navy (1595-1598) 13

years in the inner palace service . After having served for four years,
13
Halil Pasha was dismissed due to his incapacity to control a rebellion of
the janissaries who were not satisfied with the monetary policy of the
government. In 1588, he was elected as governor-general of Bosnia re-
placing Sokullu Ferhad Pasha , a relative of the late grand vizier
14
Sokullu Mehmed Pasha and governor of Bosnia for more than 15 years,
with a likely aim to impose sultan’s centralist policies in this frontier
province and eradicate Sokullu clan’s remaining networks . However,
15
Halil Pasha barely saved his life by escaping hastily from the assault of
the soldiers of the Bosnian frontier, who were disappointed with years
of delay in the payment of their salaries. After the murder of his patron
Doğancı Mehmed Pasha in a military revolt against the new financial
regulations in 1589, Halil Pasha remained for some time without any
protector and did not receive any assignment until he was appointed as
governor-general of the province of Karaman in 1591. The same year he
was promoted to a more important province, Damascus, where he found
the opportunity to demonstrate his worth as governor and received for-
mal appreciation from sultan. In November 1592, he was appointed gov-
ernor-general of Anatolia where he served only eight months until he
was called to the capital in summer 1593 for further promotion. Halil
Pasha was chosen among other candidates as the prospective hus-
band of Fatma Sultan, daughter of Murad III and Safiye Sultan, which
would enhance his prestige and authority as an imperial son-in-law
(damad) and create a strong bond of loyalty with the whole dynastic
family. Before the wedding ceremonies, he was immediately given the
rank of vizier and placed in the Imperial Council, thus, receiving a
career boost worthy of an Ottoman princess. His appointment to the
post of kapudan pasha by Mehmed III, as will be analysed in detail,
will come in line with these advancements in his career. During the
rest of the reign of Mehmed III, he served as second vizier and deputy
grand vizier, though disgraced two times due to his inability to sup-
press military revolts. He died in December 1603, as a dismissed and
disgraced vizier-damad, shortly after the death of Mehmed III and the
enthronement of Ahmed I .
16

13 Börekçi defines Halil Pasha as Doğancı Mehmed Pasha’s «one of own protégés from
the privy chamber». G. Börekçi, On the Power, Political Career and Patronage Networks
of the Ottoman Royal Favourites (Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries), in M.
Baramova, G. Boykov & I. Parvev (ed.), Social Networking in South-Eastern Europe: 15th-
19th Century, LIT Verlag, Vienna, 2021, p. 30.
14 U. Dakic, The Sokollu Family Clan cit., pp. 58-59.
15 E. Türkçelik, Damad Halil Paşa cit., p. 1642 and 1648.
16 Ivi, pp. 1646-1648.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XX - Aprile 2023
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)