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The “reluctant” admiral: Damad Halil Pasha and the Ottoman navy (1595-1598) 23

to the sancaks (districts) belonging to the province of Cezâyir-i Bahr-i
Sefîd . Halil Pasha’s dual function as grand admiral and vizier, as well
62
as his status as the damad of the dynasty, conferred him important
authority in securing appointments for the members of his own house-
hold and for his clients that would act in line with his policy. His net-
work of clients and protégés can be traced to a certain extent in Vene-
tian ambassadors’ dispacci and especially in Ottoman archival sources
such as ruûs defterleri (registers of appointments), which provide some
information about their professional background as well as the nature
of their relationship with Halil Pasha.
Halil Pasha’s first appointments demonstrate his intentions to
break the influence of the previous administration and secure for his
own men the important positions that fell under his authority. Accord-
ing to bailo Venier, Halil Pasha, as soon as he took the office, ap-
pointed his kapı kethüdası (maggiordomo della sua porta) as the new
tersane ağası (Agha of the Arsenal), thus, linking this important ad-
ministrative post in the arsenal to one of his closest clients . Since
63
the sultan had granted Galata as part of Halil Pasha’s kapudan pasha
domains, the administration of this district was directly subordinated
to him . Venier reported that Halil Pasha immediately replaced the
64
subaşı (governor) of Galata, who was a renegade from Messina and a
client of Cigalazade, with one of his own protégés, who was a renegade
of Venetian origin . In February, Halil Pasha made another change in
65
the critical posts of the arsenal by appointing the koyun emini
66
İbrahim Çavuş as the new Tersâne-i Âmire emini in place of Derviş
67
Efendi, who had been occupying this position during Cigalazade’s ad-
miralty . Selaniki states that this change was realized by the inter-
68
cession of the enderûn, which hints at the direct involvement of the
Palace in Halil Pasha’s area of responsibility . In April, the post of
69

62 Cezâyir-i Bahr-i Sefîd was the name of the province that brought together various
maritime districts and the Aegean islands under the administrative command of the
kapudan pasha. İ. Bostan, The Establishment of the Province of Cezayir-i Bahr-i Sefid, in
E. Zachariadou (ed.), Kapudan Pasha, His Office and His Domain, Crete University Press,
Rethymnon, 2002, pp. 241-251.
63 «Et Aga dell’Arsenale ha fatto il maggiordomo della sua porta che qui si chiama
Capigilarchiaiasi». Marco Venier to the Senate, Constantinople, 31 January 1595, Asv,
Sdc, 40, f. 483r.
64 See the footnote 34.
65 Ivi. «egli [Halil Pasha] ha levato il carico di Subassi di Pera a un Messinese patrioto
del Cigala [Cigalazade] et vi ha posto un venetiano nominato Saban».
66 Koyun emini was the person in charge of the provision of sheeps for the palace
and the state.
67 High-level administrator in the Ottoman arsenal.
68 Selaniki, Tarih-i Selaniki cit., p. 442.
69 «Bâ-şefâ’at-ı şerîfe-i Enderûn». Ivi.

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