Kara Ahmed Pasha

Kara Ahmed Pasha (executed 29 September 1555) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier between October 1553 and September 1555.

Career Ahmed was of Albanian origin. He married Fatma Sultan, the daughter of Sultan Selim I in 1522. That year, his army took three other castles (Veszprém, Szolnok and Lipova) before failing at the siege of Eger.

After Sultan Suleiman executed his eldest son Şehzade Mustafa in October 1553, there appeared some sort of dissatisfaction and unrest among soldiers who blamed Rüstem Pasha for Mustafa's death. Then Suleiman dismissed Rüstem Pasha and appointed Kara Ahmed Pasha as his Grand Vizier in October 1553. Ahmed Pasha had previously been the second Vizier. But almost two years later, Kara Ahmed was strangled to death on Suleiman's order on 29 September 1555. It is said that the reason for the execution was due to political manoeuvrings of Suleiman's legal wife Hürrem Sultan, who wanted her son-in-law Rüstem to become the Grand Vizier again. After the death of Kara Ahmed, Rüstem Pasha became the Grand Vizier (1555–1561) once more.

Legacy In the TV series Muhteşem Yüzyıl, Kara Ahmed Pasha is played by Turkish actor Yetkin Dikinciler.