Kara Mustafa Paşa

Kara Mustafa Pasha (died 1628) was an Ottoman statesman who served twice as the Ottoman governor of Egypt, firstly from 20 July to 9 October 1623 and secondly from 12 February 1624 to 16 May 1626. The new kaymakam delayed them until the next day and at the same time asked them to bring Mustafa Pasha to him, as the kaymakams initial task was to analyze the affairs of Mustafa Pasha; one of the paintings belonging to the seraglio was lost, and it was suspected that Mustafa Pasha had taken it for himself.

When the deputy governor replied that he could not compensate the soldiers until the new governor arrived in Cairo, the soldiers grew enraged and nearly killed him and the kaymakam before they escaped. When a wind accidentally brought his ship back to the port, Mustafa Pasha had his troops fire cannonballs at the ship. Because of unfavorable wind conditions, Ali Pasha was forced to spend the winter in another port before heading back to Constantinople.

No news arrived from the capital confirming or denying whether Mustafa Pasha was the rightful governor, and the populace began to grow uneasy. Finally, on 16 February 1624, a carrier pigeon arrived with a letter from the sultan in Constantinople confirming the reinstatement, and soon afterwards, the chief footman of the sultan arrived to deliver Mustafa Pasha's governor's caftan.

Second term In the first year (1624) of Mustafa Pasha's second term as governor of Egypt, the Nile flooded to higher-than-expected level, but the waters receded in time for sowing, and a successful harvest followed. Mustafa Pasha reportedly confiscated the inheritances of a large number of wealthy Egyptians for himself, growing wealthy from the practice; when heirs existed, he would reportedly fake their seal and claim their money. Furthermore, the province of Egypt experienced a plague from November 1625 to June 1626, which, although largely restricted to affecting those over 60 years old, nevertheless reportedly killed approximately 300,000 people. To mollify and hasten the grieving process (and possibly to avoid further contagion from corpses), Mustafa Pasha banned all funerals, and the bodies were carried through the streets and buried without ceremony. Mustafa Pasha was dismissed from the office of governor for the second and final time on 16 May 1626.

Later life After leaving office, Mustafa Pasha was hounded by his successor Bayram Pasha, who demanded of him a large restitution (reported as 20 sandıks) after auditing the treasury, in a way similar to what Mustafa Pasha himself had done to his own predecessor Silahdar Ibrahim Pasha. Mustafa Pasha, acting as though he could not pay the amount (despite the wealth he had apparently amassed while in office), sold his belongings to further his ruse. However, Bayram Pasha did not let up until Mustafa Pasha paid the entire sum.

In 1623, Mustafa Pasha married Fatma Sultan, a daughter of the late Sultan Ahmed I, but in 1628, he was executed by the reigning 16-year-old Sultan Murad IV (and his newlywed wife's brother) for some action "contrary to the law of God."