Kara Mehmed Paşa

"Öküz" Mehmed Pasha ("Mehmed Pasha the Ox"), also known as Kara Mehmed Pasha ("the Black") or "Kul Kıran" Mehmed Pasha ("the Slave-breaker"), was an Ottoman Turkish statesman, administrator, and military figure of the early 17th century. He served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire twice: October 17, 1614 – November 17, 1616 (during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I), and January 18, 1619 – December 23, 1619 (during the reign of Osman II). He also served as the Ottoman governor of Egypt from 1607 to 1611.

Mehmed's nickname, "Kul Kıran" (slave-breaker), came from his success in crushing the mutiny in Egypt during the early 1600s. Soldiers were often known as kul, meaning slave.

Background Mehmed was born in the Karagümrük district of Istanbul. He was of Turkish ancestry. His father was reportedly an oxen blacksmith. He was nicknamed "Black" and "Ox" by his enemies, referencing his father's profession. Before beginning his career in government, Mehmed served as a silahdar, a high-ranking position responsible for safeguarding the sultan. This event caused three years of instability in Egypt, with the subsequent two governors, Hadım Mehmed Pasha and Yemenli Hasan Pasha, unable to completely quell the rebellion.

Upon assuming office, Mehmed's strong leadership allowed him to suppress the sipahis and abolish the illegal 'tulba''' protection tax they had been imposing on the Egyptian countryside.

Governor of Aidin

Between his two terms as grand vizier, Mehmed held the office of governor of Aidin Vilayet (then a province covering a large part of western Anatolia). His governorship is marked by the construction of a caravanserai in Kuşadası, named the Öküz Mehmed Pasha Caravanserai after him, intended to attract international trade through the port. Over time, trade shifted much more towards the port of İzmir due to the preference displayed by Europe and merchants. The caravanserai in Kuşadası is used as a luxury hotel and shopping center today. He also had another caravanserai built in Ulukışla on the way to a campaign against the Safavids during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1603–18), which eventually ended with a decisive Ottoman defeat.

Second Grand Vizierate When Grand Vizier Halil Pasha was dismissed, Mehmed was appointed in his place on January 18, 1619. During this viziership, Mehmed began coinage reform and finalized the Treaty of Serav with Persia. However, later in 1619, Mehmed fell out with the sultan’s current favorite, Güzelce Ali Pasha. This conflict led to Mehmed’s dismissal and Ali’s appointment as grand vizier by Sultan Osman II on December 23, 1619.

Legacy Mehmed funded and directed civil, religious, and military repair and construction in many of the places to which he was connected, such as ten mosques and mescits, foundation houses (vakıf evler), hamams, wells, water ways, fountains, shops, bakeries, inns, schools, and mills. Some of these works include a complex (külliye) made up of a mosque, fountain, and school in Karagümrük, Istanbul (burned in the Balat fire of 1729, but with the mosque reconstructed in 1987) a complex in Ulukışla, Niğde, with caravanserai, mosque, school, covered market (arasta), hamam, madrasa, fountain, bakery, coffeehouse, soup kitchen, and zawiya (the school, bakery, coffeehouse, soup kitchen and zawiya no longer standing) a caravanserai in Kuşadası, with mosque, school, hamam, han, textile market, bakery, coffeehouse, houses, warehouses, rooms, shops, and a mill (the mosque, hamam, and han still standing) barracks for the Janissary and Azab corps in Cairo mosques in Egypt a vikâle (a kind of "city caravanserai" or "trade center") in Rashid, Egypt facilities for travelers along the roads to Mecca in Egypt and Syria a Mevlevi zawiya'' with shops in Cairo a mosque on Chios fountains in the Çanakkale region, including one in Kilitbahir known as the Damat İbrahim Paşa Fountain