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The “reluctant” admiral: Damad Halil Pasha and the Ottoman navy (1595-1598) 25

quently approached by those who wanted Cigalazade’s removal from the
admiralty due to his anti-Venetian actions in late 1594 . This back-
75
ground explains Arnavud Memi’s reappointment as governor-general of
Trablusgarb in March 1595 , shortly after Halil Pasha’s promotion to the
76
admiralty, and his privileged position as de facto commander of the navy
between 1595 and 1598. During his admiralty, Halil Pasha maintained
his protection over Arnavud Memi and even had him appointed to the
governor-generalship of Trablusşam in September 1597 by making a per-
sonal petition to the sultan on behalf of him .
77
The patterns of appointment to the maritime sancaks belonging to
the province of kapudan pasha during Halil Pasha’s admiralty are
mostly consistent with the general thesis propounded by Metin Kunt
in terms of the frequent changes, shorter periods of tenure and region-
alism of provincial offices in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth
centuries . A scan of appointment registers between 1595 and 1598
78
reveals that there had been frequent incidences of dismissals and re-
appointments in several maritime sancaks. In April 1595, Halil Pasha
changed the sancakbeyis of Rhodes, Mezistre (Mystras, Greece) and
Mytilene, who had been appointed by the previous administration less
than a year ago. These appointments were made with the method of
ber vech-i mübâdele, which means that the governors of these sancaks
exchanged their positions with each other . Among these sancaks,
79
the administration of Mezistre was subjected to the most frequent
changes in Halil Pasha’s time. In May 1595, the sancakbeyi of Mezistre
was transferred to the sancak of Eğriboz (Euboea, Greece), and Mezis-
tre was given to the Ağa of the azebs of Rhodes. In January 1596, the
sancakbeyi of Silistre (Silistra, Bulgaria), who was previously a

Tripoli di Barbaria». Marco Venier to the Senate, Constantinople, 23 December 1594,
Asv, Sdc, 40, f. 371r.
75 For example, the deputy grand vizier, Ferhad Pasha, in order to denigrate Cigala-
zade before the Sultan, asked Arnavud Memi to gather evidences to prove Cigalazade’s
damages against the Venetians. Marco Venier to the Senate, Constantinople, 19 Janu-
ary 1595, Asv, Sdc, 40, f. 448r.
76 «Mirmîrân-ı Trablusgarb: sâbıkan Trablusgarb Beğlerbeğisi Memi Paşa’ya virilmek
buyuruldı [the governor-generalship of Trablusgarb is given to Memi Pasha, who was
previously governor-general of Trablusgarb]». BOA, A.NŞT.d 1140, 11 Receb 1003 (22
March 1595), p. 73.
77 «Mirmîrân-ı Trablusşam: kapudan vezîr Halil Paşa hazretlerinin tezkiresi mûce-
bince sâbıkan Trablusşam Beğlerbeğisi olan Memi Paşa’ya tevcîh olunmak buyuruldı
[the governor-generalship of Trablusşam is given to Memi Pasha in accordance with the
tezkire of vizier admiral Halil Pasha]». BOA, A.RSK.d 1474, Safer 1006, September 1597,
p. 256.
78 M. Kunt, The Sultan’s Servants cit., pp. 67-76.
79 The governor of Rhodes was shifted to the sancak of Mezistre; the governor of
Mezistre to the sancak of Mytilene, and the governor of Mytilene to the sancak of Rhodes.
BOA, A.NŞT.d 1140, 28 Receb 1003 (8 April 1595), p. 77.

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