Bakırcı Ahmed Pasha

Bakırcı Ahmed Pasha (Ahmed Pasha the Coppersmith; also known with the epithet Kara; died 1635) was an Ottoman statesman. He served as the governor of Egypt between 1633 and 1635.

Background Ahmed Pasha was born in the city of Kayseri in the Ottoman Empire. He was made a vizier in 1633, the same year that he was appointed as governor of Egypt. However, the coinage produced by the workmen turned out to only be worth about half of the ancient obol coins. This resulted in severe inflation in Egypt, and furthermore, many of the workmen began to die from the hot conditions of the workhouses. After inspecting the workhouses, Ahmed Pasha cancelled the coinage and sent the workers home. Most citizens received the equal specie for their money, but as the distribution continued, eventually in February 1635, the people were given 80 kuruş for 100 lbs. of copper (instead of the normal 45 kuruş for 100 lbs.), i.e. losing the government money. When leaving Egypt, he refused to pay the customary dues that Ottoman governors of Egypt paid to the provincial treasury for the damage inflicted during their term, instead choosing to submit to the judgment of the sultan Murad IV. When he arrived in Istanbul, Ahmed Pasha was soon afterwards executed on the sultan's orders.