Yunus Pasha

Yunus Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: يونس پاشا; ) (died 13 September 1517) was an Ottoman statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire for eight months in 1517, serving from January 30 until his death on September 13.

Biography Yunus was of Albanian, Greek, Bulgarian or Croatian origin. He was taken into the devşirme system (taken from his family and converted to Islam in order to become an Ottoman bureaucrat/soldier) at a young age, Yunus was raised to become a Janissary, eventually becoming agha (top commander) of the Janissary corps. In 1511, he became a vizier in the divan (the Ottoman government) and the beylerbey (top provincial administrator) of the Anatolia Eyalet.

Because of his successes and the death of the previous grand vizier, Hadım Sinan Pasha, in combat during the Battle of Ridaniya on January 22, 1517, Yunus Pasha was appointed grand vizier eight days later, on January 30. Later, he was simultaneously appointed to be the governor of Egypt. After attaining these double positions, Yunus Pasha allegedly set up a syndicate of bribery and extortion. After the news of the corruption reached the sultan Selim I, Yunus Pasha's governorship was revoked and given to Hayır Bey, leaving Yunus Pasha with the sole office of grand vizier.