Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ( Bosnian: Mehmed -Pasha Sokolović, Serbian: Мехмед паша Соколовић, Turkish: Mehmet Paşa Sokollu; * 1505 in Sokolovići in Rudo, † October 11, 1579 in Istanbul ) was a commander and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.

Life and work

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha came from the eminent family Sokolović from the same village Sokolovići in Rudo, which was established on the left bank of the Drina in Visegrad to the region and was baptized by a Serbian Orthodox clergy in the name Bajica. Through the boy read, he came to Istanbul, where he had to convert to Islam. There he was to be trained as Janissaries. Since he was considered wise, he came to some time in the palace school, where he received a comprehensive education.

He won the confidence of Suleiman I and was in 1546 appointed Kapudan Pasha the Turkish fleet. In 1549 he was promoted to Beylerbey Rumelia. In a campaign against Austria and earth Lien 1551-52 he captured the Banat of Temesvár. 1555 he rose to the third vizier, 1561 to the Second and finally 1565 to the Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. Under his father Selim II Sokollu Mehmed Pasha de facto ruled unrestricted access to the Ottoman Empire. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha patronized a number of relatives and friends, as the chroniclers Aşık Çelebi, and gave them positions in the Ottoman Empire. In his time, was one of the South Slavic language ( Štokavisch ) to the Hofsprachen the Sublime Porte. His most famous protege was Sokollu Mustafa Pasha, the longtime Beylerbey of Buda.

Süleyman married him to Esmahan, a daughter of Sultan Selim later. His sons also went on to Sandschakbeys.

In 1557 the medieval Patriarchate of Peć was upgraded and separated from Ohrid Archiepiskopat, where Sokollu Mehmed Pasha relative Macarius Sokolović was used as a patriarch. Supposedly, this was done due to influence Mehmed Pasha Sokollu, but this could not be proven until now. Under Murad III. Mehmed Pasha Sokollu to political opponents prevailed more and more; Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was assassinated in 1579 by a dervish.

Today Sokollu Mehmed Pasha is mainly known for, donated by his buildings. The most famous is the bridge on the Drina in Visegrad, Ivo Andrić of dedicated a novel. The Arslanagić bridge in Trebinje, the Kozja Bridge in Sarajevo and the Žepa - bridge in the village near Visegrad Žepa were donated by him. Additionally, a few mosques to his legacy, the most famous is named after him Sokullu Mehmet Paşa Mosque in Istanbul.