From Makbul to Maktul: who was Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha?
Grand Vizier İbrahim is perhaps one of the most versatile and talented figures in the early modern history of the Ottoman Empire. He was not only an unparalleled politician and military leader, but he was also the confidant and best friend of the greatest ruler of the time, Süleyman I. His career went up at an amazing rate, and he fell just as quickly. İbrahim was executed by Sultan Süleyman on March 15, 1536. How did Makbul, i.e. favorite İbrahim, become Maktul, i.e. victim, in this post I will try to present the pasha's life story as authentically as possible. However, I would like to make it clear in advance that in my writing I am primarily dealing with the person of İbrahim and the information available about him, I will not discuss military historical events in great detail, as I would have to present half of Süleyman's military career with that.
His origin story
İbrahim may have been about the same age as Süleyman, born in the mid-1490s in Parga, in present-day northeastern Greece. However, it is more than likely that he was not of Greek origin, as he spoke a Slavic dialect close to Croatian. There was a large Slavic minority living in the area, so it is conceivable that İbrahim came from them. During his years with Prince Süleyman, the harem registers referred to him as "the fifth slave, İbrahim the Albanian", so many accept him as of Albanian origin. As we know, little is known about the background and family of the enslaved children, in the case of İbrahim, only that his father may have been a fisherman or a sailor. There are many legends about his acquaintance with Prince Süleyman, which live firmly in people's minds to this day, even though there is no evidence for them. According to one of these, the boy was kidnapped by Turkish pirates, and then he found himself on the slave market, where a noble woman bought him and educated him, even teaching him to play violin. Years later, when Prince Süleyman visited Edirne, he heard İbrahim play the violin, met the boy of a similar age and took him with him to his princely court. There, over time, a close friendship developed between them, İbrahim became his falconer and confidant (this thread is also featured in the Magnificent Century series). This story, as beautiful as it is, can certainly be said to be false, as there is no evidence to support it.
Much more plausible and more circumstantial evidence points to another option. According to this, İbrahim, in a war during the reign of Sultan Bayezid II. (sometime between 1499 and 1502), was captured by the Turks, none by other than the Bosnian Begler Beg, İskender Pasha. The Pasha later gave the boy to his daughter, who raised him and gave him a proper education. The Pasha's daughter, Mihrişah (nicknamed Haci) Hatun was the one who raised him. In his later letters, İbrahim often refers to the woman as follows: "may the crown of good deeds and the infinity and purity of good things last until the day of judgment". She finally died in 1527, and İbrahim took long prayers for her spiritual well-being, at that time already as Grand Vizier.
His friendship with Sultan Süleyman
İbrahim's life changed completely when he met Prince Süleyman in Edirne, presumably in 1514. İbrahim was staying there accompanied by the daughter of İskender Pasha, while Prince Süleyman was sent there by his father to protect the western border of the empire while he was at war in the east. İskender Pasha's family was very influential, so it is not surprising that they met the prince during his stay in Edirne. It is not known whether İbrahim and Süleyman simply made friends in Edirne and the prince simply asked him from his previous owners, or whether İskender Pasha's family gave İbrahim to the prince as a gift. One thing is certain, İbrahim left Edirne with Prince Süleyman and went with him to his province in Manisa, where their long and close friendship developed over time. Both were ambitious, intelligent young people. Süleyman had a hard time as a prince, even though he was the only heir, as he had no (legal) brothers, his father kept him under constant control and waited for him to make mistakes. The young prince was in great need of a reliable and understanding companion. This vulnerable period may have been the reason for such a close friendship to develop between them. İbrahim's salary at this time was 3 aspers per day, which was recorded in one of the records from Manisa. İbrahim was mentioned in this regiter as being of Albanian origin.
There is a rumor going around that there was more than just friendship between İbrahim and Süleyman... This is mostly spreading today, and to be honest, I don't know where or from whom the assumption started, but perhaps I understand the reason: İbrahim, as I will mentione below, could have been very close to the Sultan and was able to maintain a relationship with him like no other. As the guard of his suite, he had free access to the Sultan, and later, as Grand Vizier, only he could interact with the Sultan personally, statesmen could not. This may have given rise to the idea that there was a closer relationship between them. However, these are just rumours, there is no proof of this. They were almost children when their friendship developed and Süleyman trusted him alone when he became sultan, nothing more can be said, I would completely reject the possibility of that.
When Süleyman ascended the throne in 1520, all positions were filled by his father's old pashas in the divan. This did not make the takeover of power easy for Süleyman, as the pashas had a hard time accepting Süleyman's novel ideas. In addition, Süleyman had to hide his interest in politics and the throne for years, so as not to arouse doubts in his father about his loyalty, and because of this, the pashas thought him unsuitable. In the meantime, he appointed İbrahim as the head of his residence, who was thus permanently at the Sultan's side. Süleyman probably relied heavily on his friend in this early period, and they certainly discussed the current political situation together. In addition, Süleyman publicly acknowledged and introduced his friend. The Venetian emissary then wrote about İbrahim as the "heart and breath of the sultan". He also reported on İbrahim's appearance: "Ibrahim is a thin, short man, with a small face, very pale".
In June 1523, Süleyman finally recalled Piri Mehmet Pasha, the Grand Vizier who had caused him the most trouble. Everyone expected Süleyman to appoint Ahmet Pasha, whom he otherwise liked, to the post of Grand Vizier, but to everyone's surprise, he appointed İbrahim to the highest office in the empire.
The new Grand Vizier
İbrahim's appointment was clearly due to Süleyman's desire to break free from his father's men and play by his own rules. Moreover, the political battles raging within the divan and the pashas fighting each other were at the expense of the rise of the empire. İbrahim's rise prevented members of the elite from getting close to the sultan at all. With this, not only did all pashas lose their patronage status - thereby becoming equal to the others - but they could no longer share their thoughts and views directly with the sultan, but could only communicate with the ruler through İbrahim. By making İbrahim his contact, Süleyman hoped to insulate himself from the political games between the pashas and at the same time make his own character more formidable and inaccessible.
But he was a groundbreaking Grand Vizier in many other respects. Among other things, the relationship between the Grand Vizier and the Sultan since Mehmet II. was merely formal. Especially after the creation of the new palace (Topkapı), the meeting between the two persons became even more ceremonial. Mehmet's new palace further increased the distance between the sultan and his people. The second court was the one that accommodated the council, so the viziers could enter here under the leadership of the grand vizier, but the third – innermost – court was the private area of the sultan, and no official of the council could enter here, not even the grand vizier. The members of the council could only meet the sultan in a separate room on the border of the two courts, on certain days, after the discussions. In contrast, İbrahim was allowed to freely enter the inner courtyard – the Sultan's private area – even after becoming Grand Vizier, just as he had been before his appointment as the head of the Sultan's residence.
İbrahim's appointment was also unusual in other respects, because he had no previous military or administrative duties, so he rose to the highest position without any experience. Although he participated in Süleyman's first two campaigns, he never held any responsible position, be it logistical, strategic or military, he was only by Süleyman's side during the campaign as his friend and servant. Since it was fundamental until the early 16th century that all positions could only be held by experienced, capable people, İbrahim's sudden rise to prominence was a shock. Although there have been surprising appointments before, they were always preceded by a marriage. If the sultan wanted to elevate a relatively low-ranking pasha to a high rank, he added one of his sisters or daughters to the man. İbrahim's ascension was not preceded by anything, it was not expected, he went straight from a residence inspector to a Grand Vizier, without a dynastic marriage. Never before had there been a Grand Vizier who had won the position only and solely because of the love of the Sultan. İbrahim's appointment was sharply criticized by both the common people and the elite for this very reason, and was even seen as a bad and fatal omen for the Ottoman dynasty. In order to avoid these criticisms and to appease the people, Süleyman nevertheless resorted to the security of marriage.
The marriage of İbrahim Pasha
Süleyman's brilliant plan was to arrange a marriage for İbrahim that would force the people to accept him as Grand Vizier. The theory that İbrahim married Hatice Sultana is not true. This misunderstanding may stem from the fact that the wedding was followed by a very lavish celebration that lasted for two weeks on Hippodrom square. The event was graced by the presence of the Sultan himself. Due to the pomp and the sultan's personal presence, modern historians (mainly Leslie Peirce, among others) believe that İbrahim married one of Süleyman's sisters. The choice fell on Hatice simply because (as no source ever mentioned that İbrahim married a female member of the dynasty, especially the name of Hatice was not written anywhere) the sultana was the only woman in the ruling family who was a widow at the time of İbrahim's marriage, so only she could be the only bride. However, this has now been completely disproved.
Süleyman's choice, İbrahim's wife, Muhsine Hatun was none other than the granddaughter of İskender Pasha, İbrahim's former master. Muhsine was the niece of Mihrişah Hatun, who raised İbrahim, so the two young people must have known each other long before the wedding. At first, Muhsine did not agree to the marriage, which is understandable, since she was supposed to marry a former slave of theirs. However, they finally convinced her that the wedding would bring great glory to their family, so they announced the wedding in October 1523.
After the bride's first rejection, İbrahim and Muhsine's marriage eventually turned into a love marriage over the years. The turns of phrase in their letters, such as "my dear, my love" and "your lover İbrahim, who is dying for you", all indicate that they eventually developed a sincere relationship. They also had one child, Mehmet-Şah. Contrary to the legends, Süleyman did not execute İbrahim's young son, the child died of illness a few years later, in 1539. Muhsine lived out the rest of her life as a widow, having a small mosque built in the Kumkapi district of Istanbul, known as the "Mosque of İbrahim Pasha's Wife".
His career
After his wedding, İbrahim soon had to go on a long journey, because the Begler Beg of Egypt, Ahmet Pasha, rebelled against the Sultan and appointed himself Sultan of Egypt. There was also a personal conflict between İbrahim and Ahmet, as everyone expected the appointment of Ahmet Pasha after the retirement of Piri Pasha. Finally, İbrahim put down the uprising and executed Ahmet Pasha. However, he did not go home immediately, but traveled around the province, reformed the very backward military and administrative situation, and modernized Egypt.
During his grand viziership, İbrahim was very open to Western culture and tried to make a peaceful agreement with the Western states. Because of this, many people condemned the Pasha and suspected that, despite converting to Islam, he never denied his roots. This latter was certain, but the fact is that the interests of the empire coincided with those of İbrahim. The empire was not in such a financial, military and political situation that it had to go to war with the Western states. Of course, the common people did not see it that way and criticized İbrahim for this.
İbrahim had an extraordinary annual income: 150,000 ducats, which Süleyman raised annually. With this amount of money, he was able to easily implement construction projects, including mosques, schools, dervish lodges, and baths throughout the empire from Mecca to the Balkans. He had a special talent and interest in architecture, which he was able to make profitable even in Istanbul. One of Süleyman's first activities as a sultan was to order the renovation of the Topkapı Palace, in which İbrahim took a strong part and the majority of the renovations were carried out based on his ideas. In addition, he was particularly committed to the arts, so he was considered a supporter of poets and writers.
During his grand viziership, he could not stay out of the fights between the mothers of Süleyman's sons either. Since he stood next to Prince Mustafa (and therefore his mother, Mahidevran), it was clear that he had a bad relationship with Hürrem, Süleyman's favorite. As a close friend of Süleyman, he may have known Mahidevran from Manisa, and he was also present around the time of Mustafa's birth, taking part in the prince's upbringing. It was only natural that he sided with Mustafa. However, the alliance between the two was not always clear. As a child, Mustafa was particularly jealous of İbrahim for spending so much time with his father, while he and his mother were known to be extremely neglected by Süleyman. There is a known incident when, at a joint meal, İbrahim was the first to got spoon by the sultan, which offended Mustafa. According to another story, the sultan gave İbrahim an ornate, bejeweled saddle as a gift, which also greatly pleased Mustafa. İbrahim, understanding the situation, presented the saddle to the prince. The grand vizier's excellent situational awareness and intelligent conflict management softened Prince Mustafa and eventually their relationship was settled, but it is difficult to say whether this alliance was also politically active, but in his letters İbrahim referred to himself as Prince Mustafa's friend.
His fall and execution
İbrahim was never really popular among the people, after a while no one dared to speak against him because they saw how much the Sultan liked him. Already in 1525, during a Janissary rebellion, his palace was also in the crosshairs. And in 1526, this happened again, but at that time, in addition to the janissaries, ordinary people also rebelled against him because he placed bronze statues from Buda, forbidden in Islam, in the garden of his palace. He regularly gave more and more examples of his excessive westernization, and besides, during his grand viziership, it was constant that someone accused him of secretly continuing to live as a Christian and adopting the Islamic religion only as a disguise.
İbrahim added plenty of fuel to the fire: his power gained from nothing quickly went to his head, he regularly referred to himself in diplomatic meetings as "the real power behind the Ottoman Empire". In addition, despite İbrahim's best efforts, he could not sufficiently fill the imperial treasury, rather he emptied it. Certainly, Hürrem Sultana - who was already the Sultan's legal wife - also tried to make sure that the Sultan became aware of all İbrahim's wrongdoings. It must have been difficult for the Sultan to recognize the situation and see what his loyal friend had become, so he probably complained about this to his wife, who tried to convince him that İbrahim had no more place in the political life of the empire. However, we have to see that Hürrem did not bring about his execution, nor anyone else's. It would be an exaggeration and gross bias to say that Hürrem was the master of life and death in the palace. We also have to see that Süleyman always had only one fear: that his throne and even his life would be attacked, as his father did at the time with Sultan Bayezid II. Seeing İbrahim's power and his conceit that developed in parallel, as well as hearing rumors abroad that the Sultan was actually İbrahim, he began to fear his former confidant.
In 1536, during Ramadan, Süleyman invited İbrahim Pasha to feast. The pasha unsuspectingly accepted the invitation, and then wanted to return home to his palace after dinner. However, Süleyman convinced him to stay in his old room that night. İbrahim agreed. Not long after, the executioners entered his room and strangled him with a silk cord. This method of execution was customary for members of the dynasty, pashas were usually not executed in this way, but by beheading. Süleyman certainly intended to execute him quietly and quickly, leaving İbrahim's honor with the silk cord, presumably as a reminder of their friendship. İbrahim's body was secretly taken from the palace and buried in an unmarked grave, probably near a dervish lodge.
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