Koca Sinan Pasha

1506 – 3 April 1596) was an Albanian-born Ottoman Grand Vizier, military figure, and statesman. From 1580 until his death he served five times as Grand Vizier.

Koca Sinan Pasha
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
In office 1 December 1595 – 3 April 1596
Monarch	Mehmed III
Preceded by	Lala Mehmed Pasha
Succeeded by	Damat Ibrahim Pasha
In office 7 July 1595 – 19 November 1595
Monarch	Mehmed III
Preceded by	Ferhad Pasha
Succeeded by	Lala Mehmed Pasha
In office 28 January 1593 – 16 February 1595
Monarch	Murad III
Preceded by	Kanijeli Siyavuş Pasha
Succeeded by	Ferhad Pasha
In office 14 April 1589 – 1 August 1591
Monarch	Murad III
Preceded by	Kanijeli Siyavuş Pasha
Succeeded by	Ferhad Pasha
In office 7 August 1580 – 6 December 1582
Monarch	Murad III
Preceded by	Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha
Succeeded by	Kanijeli Siyavuş Pasha
Ottoman Governor of Egypt
In office 1571–1573
Preceded by	Çerkes Iskender Pasha
Succeeded by	Hüseyin Pasha Boljanić
In office 1567–1569
Preceded by	Mahmud Pasha
Succeeded by	Çerkes Iskender Pasha
Personal details
Born	c. 1506 Topojan, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Albania)
Died	3 April 1596(1596-04-03) (aged 89–90) Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey)
Nationality	Ottoman Albanian
Spouse	Esmehan Hanımsultan
Children	Mehmed Pasha Emine Hanim Hatice Hanim Hüma Hanim
Ethnicity	Albanian

Sinan Pasha, also known as Koca Sinan (Sinan the Great), was born in Topojan in Luma territory and was of Albanian origin. In a Ragusan document of 1571 listing members of the Ottoman Sultan's governing council, Sinan is described as coming from a Catholic family that converted to Islam. His father was named Ali Bey and Sinan Pasha had family ties with Catholic relatives such as the Giubizzas. Austrian orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall called him the "unbridled Albanian". Mustafa Ali of Gallipoli repeatedly criticized Sinan for promoting an Albanian clique in the administration.

Sinan Pasha was appointed governor of Ottoman Egypt in 1569, and was subsequently involved until 1571 in the conquest of Yemen, becoming known as Fātiḥ-i Yemen ("Conqueror of Yemen").

In 1580, Sinan commanded the army against the Safavids in the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590), and was appointed grand vizier by Sultan Murad III. Sinan was, however, disgraced and exiled in the following year, owing to the defeat of his lieutenant Mehmed Pasha, at Gori during an attempt to provision the Ottoman garrison of Tbilisi.

Sinan subsequently became governor of Damascus and, in 1589, after the great revolt of the Janissaries, was appointed grand vizier for the second time. He was involved in the competition for the throne in Wallachia between Mihnea Turcitul and Petru Cercel, and ultimately sided with the former, overseeing Petru's execution in March 1590. Another revolt of Janissaries led to his dismissal in 1591, but in 1593 he was again recalled to become grand vizier for the third time, and in the same year he commanded the Ottoman army in the Long War against the Habsburgs. He was faced with massive casualties on the northern front, which was weakened by the death of Bosnian commander Telli Hasan Pasha during the Battle of Sisak. In 1593, he captured Veszprém and Palota after 3–4 days of siege and turned his attention to the Sisak, where Telli Hasan Pasha and Ahmed Pasha had died. He soon captured Sisak and came back to Belgrade through Novi Sad.

 

When the Habsburgs invaded Szécsény and Nógrád he demanded help from Istanbul. The agha of Janissaries, Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Pasha, came to help in a short time. Then he started besieging Györ (Yanuk) and captured the castle. In 1594 during the Uprising in Banat, Sinan ordered for the relics (remains) of Saint Sava to be brought from Mileševa to Belgrade, where he then had them set on fire in order to discourage the Serbs.

In spite of his victories he was again deposed in February 1595, shortly after the accession of Mehmed III, and banished to Malkara. In August, Sinan was in power again, called on to lead the expedition against Prince Michael the Brave of Wallachia. His defeat in the Battle of Călugăreni, the Battle of Giurgiu, and the series of unsuccessful confrontations with the Habsburgs (culminating in the devastating siege and fall of Ottoman-held Esztergom), brought him once more into disfavour, and he was deprived of the seal of office (19 November).

The death of his successor Lala Mehmed Pasha three days later caused Sinan to become grand vizier for the fifth time. He died suddenly in the spring of 1596, leaving behind a large fortune. Sinan Pasha is buried in Istanbul near the Grand Bazaar.

He married Esmehan Hanımsultan, granddaughter of Sultan Selim I. They had a son, Mehmed Pasha, and three daughters, Emine Hanım, Hatice Hanım and Hüma Hanım.

 

Sinan Pasha became grand vizier five times between 1580 and his death in 1596. He had many rivals but he was also a very wealthy man. During his lifetime Sinan Pasha was criticized by Ottoman bureaucrats such as Mustafa Âlî who wrote that Sinan promoted Albanians into the Ottoman government and military. Contemporary Turkish historians also note that he remained close to his heritage and would give those of Albanian stock preference for high-level positions within the empire. In 1586, at his request, Sultan Murad III issued a decree exempting five villages in Luma from all taxes. Sinan Pasha constructed the fortress of Kaçanik in the Kosovo Vilayet with an imaret (soup kitchen), two hans (Inn), a hamam (Turkish bath) and a mosque that still bears his name.

In 1590, he had the Pearl Kiosk built above the seaward walls on the sea of Marmara. It served as Murad III's final residence before his death. One of his final projects in Constantinople was a külliye completed in from 1593 to 1594 by Davut Aga, the chief imperial architect of the time. It is distinguished by the complex masonry and decorations of its türbe and sebil.^{[citation needed]}

He was a major builder of caravanserais, bridges, baths and mosques. These included the town of Kaçanik in Kosovo, important buildings in Sarajevo, Thessalonika and Belgrade, as well as in Istanbul and other countries in the Arab world. He was a big supporter of Queen Mother Safiye Sultan who was also of Albanian origin^{[failed verification]}

• Al-Tujjar Caravansarai (Mount Tabor)
• Sinan Pasha Mosque (Damascus)
• Sinan Pasha Mosque (Kačanik)
• List of Ottoman grand viziers
• List of Ottoman governors of Egypt