About Derviş Mehmed Paşa
Lived 1569 – 1606 (aged 36–37). Derviş Mehmed Paşa was a Turkish politician, military officer and writer.
Derviş Mehmed Pasha (; 1569 – 9 December 1606), an Ottoman Bosnian statesman, served briefly as the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire between 21 June 1606 and 9 December 1606.
Life Origin He was born an Orthodox Christian from Bosnia, being brought away by the Ottomans as part of the devşirme, becoming a Janissary. He rose in the court ranks and became Kapıcıbaşı A telhis of Derviş Mehmed to the sultan spoke of him changing the Voivode of Moldavia from Constantin Movila to Simion Movila (1606).
He was strangled by Ahmed I's order. He was buried at Üsküdar.
Derviş Mehmed Pasha was appointed as Vizier-i Azam on 21 June 1606. The Sultan was given permission to use a part of Lala Mehmed Pasha's wealth to meet the army's needs and give the other part to Lala Mehmet Pasha's orphans. However, Derviş Mehmet Pasha confiscated all of this wealth due to the shortage of treasury. British Ambassador to Istanbul Sir Henry Lello reports that Derviş Mehmet Pasha took the surplus income of the foundations on the pretext of the shortage of treasury and that he had the rich Jews collect silver and jewelry with the promise to pay the price later. It is also claimed that in Istanbul, he received a bribe of 1,000 coins for every chance from the public.
On the other hand, Dervish Mehmet Pasha, who persuaded Ahmed I to force Lala Mehmet Pasha, who did not want to be the vizier of the Iran expedition, with the intention of being the grand vizier back, refrained from going to the Iran campaign when he became the grand vizier. He had Ferhat Ağa, who was the head of the gardener, gave pashalik and sent him as a serdar over the Celalians and to the east. Ferhat Pasha Celali tortured the people of Aydın and Saruhan, where he first went to suppress the rebellion, and large groups of the people of this region filled the streets of Istanbul to make the complaint of this cruelty to the Divan-ı Humayuna. Ahmed I was very impressed by this.
Derviş Mehmet Pasha had his mansion in Demirkapı, near the Palace. Building this mansion kept a Jew safe, but did not pay the construction costs and made this Jewish trust pay all. This Jew also began to spread secretly as a rumor that "he would open a secret road from the mansion cellar to the palace and assassinate the sultan". When these fabricated rumors went to the ears of Ahmed I. Ahmed I, who was inexperienced at the age of 16, suddenly decided to execute Derviş Mehmet Pasha without any investigation. On 9 December 1606, he was invited to the palace by Ahmet I and when the princes entered the teacher house, the palace recruits were drowned and executed by the attack.
The poet Haleti wrote a satirical poem about him called Hadd-i Mestan.
Sir Henry Lello, the British ambassador to Istanbul, states in his memoirs that Derviş Mehmet Pasha is the most competent of all the grand viziers and sedaret district governors he has seen, but also states that he is cruel.
Don’t just read it —
keep it.
Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.
- E-book
- Audio
- Video
Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free
Important facts
People in Derviş Mehmed Paşa's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Derviş Mehmed Paşa's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Derviş Mehmed Paşa?
Ottoman Empire politician
When was Derviş Mehmed Paşa born?
Derviş Mehmed Paşa was born in 1569 in Sanjak of Bosnia.
When did Derviş Mehmed Paşa die?
Derviş Mehmed Paşa died on 9 December 1606 in Constantinople, Istanbul.
What was Derviş Mehmed Paşa's occupation?
Derviş Mehmed Paşa was a politician, military officer and writer.
What nationality was Derviş Mehmed Paşa?
Derviş Mehmed Paşa was Turkish.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Derviş Mehmed Paşa
· DBpedia: Boşnak Derviş Mehmed Pasha
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Derviş Mehmed Paşa. https://biography.guide/dervis-mehmed-pasa/
MLA: "Derviş Mehmed Paşa." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dervis-mehmed-pasa/.
Chicago: "Derviş Mehmed Paşa." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dervis-mehmed-pasa/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
Page generated 2026-09-27 05:15 UTC