Nasuh Paşa

Nasuh Pasha was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian origin. He was grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 5 August 1611 until 17 October 1614. He was from Gümülcine (modern Komotini) and was a damat to the Ottoman dynasty, as he married an Ottoman princess. He was executed for corruption by Ahmed I in 1614.

Biography Nasuh Paha was born in Gümülcine. He went to Constantinople at a young age and obtained minor assignments from the menagerie. Due to the support of his friend Mehmed Agha, he quickly rose in rank and was soon appointed voivod of the Qaḍāʾ of Zile, in Anatolia, and then governor of Fülek in Hungary. He married the daughter of Kurdish prince Mir Sheref, becoming rich and powerful, which made him proud and cruel.

In 1602 he was appointed governor of Sivas, in 1603 of Aleppo and in 1606 of Diyarbekir. In 1606, he was appointed third vizier and serasker of the expedition to Persia, but before leaving he was sent to suppress the revolt in Anatolia; for a betrayal by the Kurds he lost a battle and until 1608 he was unable to rejoin the army of the Grand Vizier Kuyucu Murad Pasha who received him coldly.

In 1610 he asked Sultan Ahmed I to be appointed grand vizier in exchange for 40,000 ducats and the expenses of the army, but the sultan communicated this to the grand vizier who requested such sums as a fine. But the Grand Vizier died shortly after (5 August 1611) at the age of 76 and Nasuh was appointed to the post. He married Ahmed I's daughter, Ayşe Sultan (1612). He mercilessly repressed his real or imaginary adversaries. He was brave, eloquent and dynamic but at the same time irritable, violent and unable to speak in a low voice, always looking to humiliate others. He amassed enormous wealth and considered himself chosen to rule. Traveler Pietro Della Valle described him in his accounts of his time in Constantinople:

In 1613, he led a campaign against the rebellious Yazidis of Sinjar although he ultimately failed to subdue them. The sultan decided to remove him from his post and had him strangled by the chief of his bodyguards, the Bostanji-bashi, on October 17, 1614. Nasuh Pasha's properties were confiscated.