Hadim Haydar Pasha

Forgotten Vizier of Sultan Suleyman the Lawgiver

Abstract

In the literature dealing with the history of the Ottoman Empire, there are many important personalities, whose life and work is very little known or completely unknown. This paper aims, based on available data from different sources, to present the details of the life of Hadim Haydar Pasha, who belongs to the aforementioned group of Ottoman dignitaries. It should be emphasized that he belonged to a narrow group of people who officially represented the very top in the power structure at the time of Sultan Suleyman's rule. In the opinion of most historians, this is the time when the Ottoman state was at the peak of power. Hadim Haydar Pasha was brought to the Ottoman court as a young man, and after having been educated for many years, he was appointed to a significant court office, and later to the high position of the third vizier. He was dismissed for charges of supporting prince Mustapha. After a while, he was recruited as a commander of a sanjak. He was first named as a commander of a sanjak of Smederevo and later was moved to the same position in the sanjak of Herzegovina. Actually, this duty was his last career assignment. Since Haydar Pasha's relationship with the grand vizier, Rustem Pasha has a decisive impact on his career in this paper this issue is also analyzed.