Uthman Pasha al-Kurji

Uthman Pasha al-Kurji (also known as Uthman Pasha al-Sadiq, alternative spellings include Othman, Osman or Usman and al-Kurdji or Kurzi), was the Ottoman governor (wali) of Damascus Eyalet between 1760 and 1771.

Early life and career Uthman had Georgian origins. Prior to his appointment to the governorship of Damascus, Uthman Pasha was a mamluk (slave soldier) of Governor As'ad Pasha al-Azm and thus maintained close links with the powerful al-Azm family. When As'ad Pasha was removed from his post by the Sublime Porte, he was succeeded by a number of short-term governors who were unable to halt the violence between the local forces and the Janissary garrison in the city. In 1764, Uthman launched an attack against the Jarrar family under their sheikh, Muhammad al-Jarrar, attacking their throne village of Sanur and the city of Nablus. Uthman's forces were defeated.

Also in 1764, while Uthman was leading the annual Hajj pilgrimage, he had a violent confrontation with Ali Bey al-Kabir, an influential mamluk from Egypt. When Ali Bey was exiled by the governor of Egypt to Gaza (part of Damascus Eyalet) in 1766, Uthman attempted to drive him out. Uthman managed to have his son, Darwish Pasha, appointed as the governor of Sidon in November 1770 and sometime prior to that, had his other son, Muhammad Pasha, appointed as governor of Tripoli. In 1771, Ali Bey, by now the rebellious governor of Egypt, had dispatched an army under commanders Abu al-Dahab and Ismail Bey to subdue Damascus. Together with Daher, the combined armies of Egypt and Palestine defeated Uthman's army outside of Damascus and Uthman fled north to the city of Homs. The city fell shortly thereafter, although they did not capture the Citadel of Damascus, which was subsequently besieged. However, Abu al-Dahab suddenly withdrew from the area, citing his fears of violating Islamic principles since seizing an Ottoman province was in effect a direct challenge to the authority of the Ottoman sultan, who held the highest religious honor as the caliph of Islam.

Removal from office In October 1771, Uthman was removed from governorship of Damascus and also was stripped of his control over the district of Maarrat al-Nu'man. He was succeeded by Muhammad Pasha al-Azm. Uthman was transferred to the governorship of Konya and his sons Muhammad Pasha and Darwish Pasha were dismissed from their posts and subsequently assigned to the governorships of Mosul and Karaman, respectively. Uthman succeeded in protecting the Hajj caravans for ten years as amir al-hajj and consistently attempted to end the autonomous rule of Daher al-Umar, and thus his failure to defend Damascus from the Egyptian army was the likely reason for his reassignment. When Muhammad Pasha al-Azm died in 1783, he was succeeded by Uthman Pasha's son Muhammad Pasha and a year later by his other son Darwish Pasha.