Bayezid Pasha
| Amasyalı Bayezid Pasha |
|
|---|---|
| Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire | |
| In office 1413 – July 1421 |
|
| Monarch | Mehmed I, Murad II |
| Preceded by | Imamzade Halil Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha the Elder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Amasya, Turkey |
| Died | July 1421 Sazlıdere, Keşan, Edirne, Turkey |
| Nationality | Ottoman, Albanian origin |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Bayezid Pasha or Beyazid Pasha (also known as Amasyalı Beyazid Pasha; died July 1421) was an Ottoman statesman who served as grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421.[1]
Biography
Beyazid was born in Amasya as the son of Amasyalı Yahşi Bey, earning him the epithet Amasyalı, meaning "from Amasya." He was of Albanian origin.[2][3] He was raised in the imperial palace. While Beyazid I was sultan, he served in various military positions. When Beyazid I's son, the future sultan Mehmed I (then known as Mehmed Çelebi), was a provincial governor, Beyazid Pasha served as one of his head advisers.
After the disastrous Battle of Ankara in 1402, when Tamerlane defeated the Ottoman Empire and took sultan Beyazid I prisoner, Beyazid Pasha rescued the 15-year-old Mehmed Çelebi from Tamerlane's forces and brought him to his hometown of Amasya. After the subsequent Ottoman Interregnum in 1413, when Mehmed Çelebi finally defeated his brothers' claims to the throne, Beyazid Pasha became the official grand vizier under the now-sultan Mehmed I.
Under Mehmed I, Beyazid Pasha crushed the rebellion of Sheikh Bedreddin in 1420.
After Mehmed I's death on May 26, 1421, upon Mehmed's request, Beyazid Pasha kept the sultan's death a secret for the 40 days it took his son and successor Murad II to arrive in the capital to ascend the throne. This move was in order to avoid a civil war in an empire still reeling from that of the Ottoman Interregnum.
In July 1421, only two months after Murad II's coronation, Beyazid Pasha, still grand vizier, was sent to lead an army against the rebellion of Mustafa Çelebi, Murad II's uncle. Beyazid's forces met with Mustafa in the area of the future village of Sazlıdere in Keşan, Edirne in central Thrace. In the midst of battle, Beyazid Pasha's forces deserted him and joined Mustafa Çelebi's forces, forcing him to surrender to Mustafa. Mustafa's ally Cüneyt Bey of Aydın, distrustful of Beyazid, urged Mustafa to execute him, which Mustafa did promptly by beheading him. Beyazid Pasha's grave is at the site in Sazlıdere.
References
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 1413 – July 1421 |
Succeeded by Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha |
