The arrival of the fleet.—Concerning the grand vezír, Yávuz Alí Páshá.
It so happened that the very day on which his majesty’s inauguration was performed the royal fleet arrived from the Mediterranean, and the admiral, Jeghala Zádeh Sinán Páshá, had the honour of kissing the new emperor’s hand. The admiral, by that imperial command, was decorated with a robe of honour.
Yávuz Alí Páshá had been recalled from Egypt with the view of being raised to the premiership; and though the seals of office had been actually sent to him when it was known that he had arrived in Turkey, yet he did not reach Constantinople till the 25th of Rajab. On arriving there he waited on his royal master, and afterwards went to the royal diván where he took his seat in it. The vezírs and the military judges also attended, and sat in their respective places. To the new minister was committed the distribution of the emperor’s munificence on his exaltation to the throne of his fathers, and he, it must be observed, brought with him from Egypt two years’ arrears of taxes; a circumstance, no doubt, which rendered it more easy for him to be liberal than perhaps he otherwise could have been. Seven hundred thousand pieces of gold were accordingly taken from the royal treasury, and sent to the various troops throughout the empire. This fact alone was a sufficient indication of the wide extent of the pecuniary resources of the Ottoman government, and may well excite surprise: but the fact is certain, and Alí Páshá, by whose means this handsome, but vast sum, was allotted for the use of the military and naval services, had no sooner made the necessary arrangements respecting its distribution, than he dressed himself in his ministerial robes, and went to the palace of Siávush Páshá to hold a council. Hereupon Kásim Páshá, the káímakám and second vezír, and Kúrd Páshá, third vezír, by virtue of their offices, entered and took their seats. The result of the deliberations of the council (at which Alí Páshá, the grand vezír, presided), was in the passing of some wholesome regulations with respect to just and equitable government, which materially affected the iron hand of oppression and tyranny in some quarters. The council, after having fixed the tariff or tax to be paid to the government, and settled other points of importance to the due administration of law and justice, the people were regularly warned to take care not to trespass on these and similar regulations.
In the beginning of Shabán, the orthodox emperor went in solemn procession to the tomb of his fathers, and there performed the duty and showed the respect due to their memory. On the second day of the month the money which Alí Páshá brought with him from Egypt was transferred to the imperial treasury. On the same day Mustafa Aghá, the ághá of the kapú, who was very old and infirm, was removed from office, and Kor Mohammed Aghá, the ághá of the seraglio, was appointed in his stead. On the 6th, the mother of the deceased emperor was removed to the old palace. Abdulrezák Aghá, ághá of the royal palace, was removed from office, and replaced by Mustafa Aghá. On the 20th his majesty attended divine service and performed his devotions in the mosque of Soleimáníyeh; and at night a convivial meeting was held in the royal palace in honour of the founder of the Moslem faith, with every demonstration of joy. The same religious ceremony was also observed throughout other cities. But on the festival day, which soon followed, the fear of increasing a disorder with which the emperor was afflicted, prevented his showing himself to the people, a circumstance which turned their joy into sorrow. He was confined the whole of the day to his palace, owing to the great pain he suffered, which, however, soon abated; and he speedily recovered.
Alí Páshá, grand vezír, is appointed Commander-in-chief over the troops employed against Hungary, and Jeghala Zádeh is appointed to the command in the East.
The emperor of Austria continuing to carry on his hostilities in the north, and Sháh Abbás having unfurled the standard of rebellion against the Ottoman empire in the east, it was considered absolutely necessary, in order to support the glory of the empire, to aid in the most vigorous manner the troops which had been sent to both these quarters. Accordingly, on the 1st of Ramazán, the grand vezír, Alí Páshá, was appointed to command the troops employed against the perverse and wicked Hungarians; and, in three days afterwards, he relinquished for a while the premiership. The actual kapúdán, or admiral, Jeghala Zádeh Sinán Páshá, was appointed at the same time to conduct the Moslem armies against the mixed horde of red-heads (i. e. the Persians). These two military heroes made all due preparations for their respective expeditions. Jeghala, with the troops appointed to accompany him from Constantinople, passed over to Scutari on the 15th of Dhu’l hijja. The grand vezír, however, put off his departure till the commencement of the following year. Hasan Beg Zádeh says in his history, that it was in a council held in the grand vezír’s palace that Jeghala Zádeh was appointed to the command of the eastern troops; but that the grand vezír himself, preferring to remain at the helm of affairs, wished some one of the other vezírs to be appointed general against the infidels in the north. He proposed this himself, and added that he would attend to what was necessary for both armies, and send them such a supply of men and arms as they might require. This proposal was not opposed by those who were present on the occasion; but the mufti hearing of it, declared it to be absolutely necessary that the grand vezír himself should take the command; and in a subsequent council, where he was present, maintained that unless the grand vezír took the command nothing would be done. “Therefore,” said he to his face, “you must be the person to take the command of the troops in the north, and setting aside all excuse, you must prepare to set out.” Such was the bold and intrepid way the mufti addressed him, and at length persuaded the emperor to issue his firmán accordingly. The grand vezír, however, tried several methods to rid himself of the appointment; but finding his efforts unsuccessful, he commenced making arrangements for the journey which lay before him.
A variety of changes in the ecclesiastical and military establishments.
Asa’d Effendí succeeded to the spiritual jurisdiction of Romeili in the room of the mufti’s son-in-law. On the 22d of Dhu’l hijja, the cazí of Constantinople, Káfzádeh Feizallah, was degraded, and his office conferred on Yehiá Effendí. Hasan Páshá, beglerbeg of Yemen, was appointed, towards the end of Rajab, to the government of Egypt; and his deputy, Sinán Ketkhodá, was made beglerbeg of Yemen in his room.
Kásim Páshá, lately deputy or governor of the Sublime Porte, who, as we have seen, had been anxious to be made grand vezír, was sadly disappointed in his views. The grand vezírship had been conferred by his late majesty on Alí Páshá; and however fit Kásim might have been for holding that high office, yet it could not, without a breach of faith and the most palpable injustice, be conferred on him. His conduct, in fact, showed him, in every point of view to have been wholly unworthy of the high distinction he so ambitiously and so perseveringly sought. He was, however, appointed to hold some office in the city of Baghdád, but neglecting to set off for that city he awakened the displeasure of the grand vezír, who ordered him forthwith to set out for Scutari. Here again he loitered away his time, and it was not till the expiration of several months that he was again forced to proceed. On reaching Yenísheher, he soon began to oppress and tyrannize over the inhabitants in the most shameful manner, but this he expiated with his life. We shall have to advert to this man’s conduct and death when we come to relate the events of the following year. About the end of Shevál, Mohammed Páshá, son of Sinán Páshá, who had been removed from the government of Shám (Syria), but had become a vezír, was created beglerbeg of Caramania. Hájí Ibrahím Páshá, who had risen from a defterdár to the rank of beglerbeg, was appointed to the government of Mesir (Egypt); and Mustafa Páshá, son of Rázieh Khán, was raised to the government of Shám. Ferhád Páshá, who at first had been only a bostánjí báshí, but was at this time commandant in Shám, was raised to the beglerbegship of Haleb (Aleppo), and the válí of Haleb to that of Sivás. All these appointments were effected by the instrumentality of Alí Páshá, the grand vezír. Evils resulted from some of those appointments, and there were not wanting a class of persons who were much dissatisfied. Murád Páshá, the heroic commander in Buda, was appointed to a special vezírship; and he, with the vezír Hasan Páshá, who had been válí of Yemen, were recalled to the Sublime Porte. Súfí Sinán Páshá, on whom the dignity of vezír had been conferred, but who had not hitherto had the honour of taking his seat in the diván, was now called on to do so. On the 6th of Dhu’l Kadah, Khoja Ahmed Aghá, ághá of the janissaries, was degraded, and the second kapújí báshí, Nukásh Hasan Aghá, was appointed in his stead.