The Kapudan Pasha (, Modern Turkish: Kaptan Paşa), also known in Turkish as Kaptan-ı Derya ("Captain of the Seas"), was the commander-in-chief of the navy of the Ottoman Empire. Around 160 captains served between the establishment of the post under Bayezid I and the office's replacement by the more modern Ottoman Ministry of the Navy (Bahriye Nazırlığı) during the Tanzimat reforms.
The title of Kapudan Pasha itself is only attested from 1567 onwards; earlier designations for the supreme commander of the fleet include derya begi ("beg of the sea") and re'is kapudan ("head captain").
Name Appointed Vacated NotesKara Mürsel Bey1324Saruca Pasha1390Turk?İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, pp. 172 ff. Türkiye Yayınevi (Istanbul), 1971. Çavlı Bey1412Turk?Suleiman Baltoghlu14511453Bulgarian?Hamza Bey14531456AlbanianHas Yunus Bey14561459Kasım Bey14591460Kadim İsmail Bey14611462Devşirme?Yakub Bey 14621463AlbanianZagan Pasha14631466Albanian,Franz Babinger, Princeton University Press, 19 October 1992, p. 47 Greek or Serb;Ellis Goldberg, Reşat Kasaba, Joel S. Migdal, "Rules and rights in the Middle East" (1993), p. 153 previously grand vizier.Veli Mahmud Pasha14661478Serb, Devşirme; later grand vizier.Gedik Ahmed Pasha14781480Albanian or Serb, Devşirme; invaded Mediterranean and seized Santa Maura, Kefalonia, and Zante; later grand vizier.Mesih Pasha14801491Greek, converted member of the Palaiologoi; later grand vizier.Güveği Sinan Pasha14911492Albanian, Devşirme, founder of Vlora dynasty of Albanian generals and politicians.Kara Nişancı Davud14921503Devşirme?Küçük Davud Pasha15031506Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha15061511Slav; later grand vizier.İskender Ağa Pasha15111514Devşirme? Sinan Bey15141516Devşirme? Frenk Cafer Ağa Pasha15161520DevşirmeParlak Mustafa Pasha15201522BosniakBayram Pasha1522 Kurdoğlu Muslihiddin ReisSüleyman Pasha1531 Kemankeş Ahmed Bey15311533Devşirme?Hayreddin Barbarossa15331546AlbanianBorn in Mytilene around 1466 to a, Hayreddin, then called Hizir., Niccolò Capponi, Victory of the West: The Great Christian-Muslim Clash at the Battle of Lepanto, Da Capo Press, 2007, , p. 30.Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol 1, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1972, p. 147. or Turk;Kiel, Machiel. "The Smaller Aegean Islands in the 16th–18th Centuries According to Ottoman Administrative Documents". Op. cit. Davies, Siriol & Davis, Jack L. Between Venice and Istanbul: Colonial Landscapes in Early Modern Greece, p. 36. ASCSA, 2007. .Encyclopædia Britannica, 14th Edition, Revised, p. 147. "Barbarossa." Encyclopædia Britannica Co., Ltd., 1963. position raised to beylerbey, granted Eyalets of the Islands of the Mediterranean and Ottoman Algeria.Sokollu Mehmed Pasha15461550Serb, Devşirme; invaded Libya; later grand vizier.Sinan Pasha15501554Croat; supported Turgut Reis's western raids; later grand vizier.Piali Pasha15541567Held the title of Kapudan Beg. Hungarian or Croatian.The companion guide to Istanbul and around the Marmara John FreelyEurope and Islam Franco Cardini captured Corsica with the French in 1554, defeated Spanish at Piombino in 1555, raided Calabria, Salerno, Tuscany, Spain, and seized the Balearics in 1558, won crushing Battle of Djerba in 1560; captured Naples in 1563.Müezzinzade Ali Pasha15677 October 1571First to hold the title of Kapudan Pasha. Effected conquest of Cyprus from Venice, but killed at Lepanto. Hasan Pasha (son of Barbarossa) 15671572Born in Algiers in 1517. He was called to Constantinople and named Kapudan Pasha (Commander-in-Chief) of the Ottoman Navy in 1567, like his father before him. Hasan Pasha was at the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, and Battle of Lepanto in 1571. He died in Constantinople in 1572.Kılıç Ali Paşa157121 June 1587Italian, born Giovanni Dionigi Galeni, known after conversion as Uluç and Uluç Ali Reis; rebuilt Turkish fleet, recaptured Tunis from Don Juan and ended War of Cyprus, raided Calabria and put down numerous revolts.Uluç Hasan Paşa15881591Italian, born Andrea Celeste, also known as Hassan Veneziano, served as Beylerbey of Algiers through the patronage of former master Uluç Ali between 1577 to 1580, then from 1582 to 1587; he was Kapudan Pasha from 1588 until his death in July 1591. Hasan owned Miguel de Cervantes as a slave during part of his captivity in Algiers from 1575 to 1580. Antonio Fabris, Hasan “Il Veneziano” tra Algeri e Costantinopoli, in Veneziani in Levante. Musulmani a Venezia, («Quaderni di Studi Arabi», suppl. 15) 1997, pp. 51–66. Cigalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha15911595Italian, born Scipione Cicala; first term; later grand vizier.Cigalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha15991604Second term; previously grand vizier.Derviş Pasha1604Bosnian SerbGüzelce Ali Pasha 1617 ?Cataldjali Hasan Pasha16251631Gazi Hüseyin Pasha16321635Turk; later grand vizier.Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha17 October 163524 December 1638Albanian, later grand vizier.Gazi Hüseyin Pasha16391641TurkYusuf Pasha164X164XDalmatian Slav; executed by Sultan.Koca Musa Pasha16451647Bosniak; died at Kandiye during Cretan War before he could receive his promotion to grand vizier.Kara Musa Pasha164721 September 1647Kılavuz Köse Ali Pasha16471648Koca Dervish Mehmed Pasha16521653Circassian; later grand vizier.Kara Murad Pasha165311 May 1655Albanian; effected the breakout First Battle of the Dardanelles during the Cretan War; prior and later grand vizier.Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha16661670Turk;Bérenger, Jean (2003). Tollet, Daniel (ed.). Guerres et paix en Europe centrale aux époques moderne et contemporaine mélanges d'histoire des relations internationales offerts à Jean Bérenger. Paris-Sorbonne University Press. p. 103. ISBN 9782840502586. French: Il [Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pacha] était d'origine turque et fut élevé dans la famille des Köprülü. (English: He [Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha] was of Turkish descent and was brought up in the Köprülü family.Veiga, Francisco (2006). El turco diez siglos a las puertas de Europa. Debate. p. 262. ISBN 9788483066706. Spanish: A él le sucedería Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasa, de origen turco. (English: He would be succeeded by Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasa, of Turkish origin.Şimşir, Nahide (2004). Osmanlı araştırmaları makaleler · Volume 1. IQ Kültürsanat. p. 111. ISBN 9789752550056. Kara Mustafa Pasha, who was of Turkish origin and was brought up in the Köprülü family, was a passionate, ambitious and authoritarian personWheatcroft, Andrew (2009). The Enemy at the Gate Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe. Basic Books. ISBN 9780786744541. While the other Köprülü were all of Albanian origin, the first of them brought to Istanbul in the youth levy, Kara Mustafa was a pure Anatolian.Sevinç, Necdet (1992). Osmanlının yükselişi ve çöküşü sosyal ve ekonomik inceleme. Burak Yayınevi. p. 111. ISBN 9789757645009. Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha - Ethnicity: TurkishDilek, Zeki (2000). Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa Uluslararası Sempozyumu 08-11 Haziran 2000, Merzifon. Merzifon Vakfı. p. 4. ISBN 9789759744700. Even later, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, one of the Grand Viziers of Turkish origin in the Ottoman Empire [...] later grand vizier.Bozoklu Mustafa Pasha16801684Later grand vizier.Mezzo Morto Hüseyin Pasha16951701Turk or Aragonese;Panzac, Daniel. La Marine ottomane. De l’apogée à la chute de l’Empire (1572–1923). commanded at Andros in 1696 during the Morean War, attempted moderate reforms and published the Kannunname.Baltacı Mehmet Pasha17041704Turk; later grand vizier.Veli Mehmed Pasha17061707TurkMoralı Ibrahim PashaNovember 17071709Küçük Ali Pasazade Mehmed Pasha17091711TurkCanım Hoca Mehmed PashaDecember 1714February 1717Turk from Koroni, former galley slave in the Venetian fleet. Led the Ottoman navy in the Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–18); first term.Ibrahim Pasha17171718Defeated in the Battle of Matapan.Süleyman PashaApril 5, 17181721Kaymak Mustafa Pasha17211730BosniakCanım Hoca Mehmed Pasha17301730Second term, lasted for only a few days.Hacı Hüseyin Pasha17321732Koca Bekir Pasha17321732Turk; first term.Canım Hoca Mehmed Pasha17321736Third term.Hacı Mehmed Pashac. 1735. Turk?Hatibzade Yahya Pasha17431743Râtip Ahmed Pasha17431744TurkKoca Bekir Pasha17501753Turk; second term.Macar Hacı Hasan PashaFebruary 1761December 1761Ahıskalı Mehmed PashaDecember 1761August 1762Eğribozlu İbrahim Pasha1769Turk?Mandalzade Hüsameddin Pasha17701770Removed following the disastrous naval defeat at Chesma during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774.Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha17701789 or 1790 Georgian;King, Charles (2004), The Black Sea: a History, p.159. Oxford University Press, . dislodged Russians from Aegean, commanded forces during the Russo-Turkish Wars of 1768–1774 and 1787–1792; later grand vizier.Koca Yusuf Pasha19 December 1789Georgian; former grand vizier.17891792Küçük Hüseyin Pasha11 March 17927 December 1803Georgian; commanded the Turkish invasion fleet of French-occupied Egypt.Inalcık, Halil. Trans. by Gibb, H.A.R. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Ed., Vol. V, Fascicules 79–80, pp. 35 f. "Khosrew Pasha". E.J. Brill (Leiden), 1979. Accessed 13 September 2011.Mehmed Kadri Pasha18031804Hafız İsmail Pasha18041805Later grand vizier.Hacı Salih Pasha18051805Turk; later grand vizier.Hacı Mehmed Pasha II21 November 18061808TurkSeydi Ali Pasha1807 or 18081808GeorgianAbdullah Ramiz Efendi18081808Crimean TatarKoca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha18111818Abazin; later grand vizier.Deli Abdullah Pasha1821Turk; later grand vizier.Nasuhzade Ali Pasha18217 June 1822Albanian; also known as Kara-Ali Pasha; commanded Turkish fleet during the Greek War of Independence: directed Massacre of Samothrace, killed by fireship directed by Konstantinos Kanaris following Massacre of Chios;Woodhouse. The Story of Modern Greece. Faber and Faber, 1968. ancestor of Turkish author Nasuh Mahruki.Kara Mehmet1822Koca Hüsrev Mehmed PashaDecember 18221826Aghan Ephrikian Pasha1828Probably Armenian; GovernorDamat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha18301832Çengeloğlu Tahir Mehmed PashaNovember 18321836TurkAhmed Fevzi Pasha10 November 18361839Greek, defected to Egypt.Topal İzzet Pasha1840ReformerDamat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha18431845Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha18471848unknownLost administrative control of the Eyalet of the Islands c. 1848.Mahmud Pasha18531854Damat Gürcü Halil Rifat Pasha18541855Damat Mehmed Ali Pasha 13 March 1867Office abolished.Bernd Langensiepen, Ahmet Güleryüz, The Ottoman Steam Navy, 1828–1923, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 1995, , p. 197.
See also List of fleet commanders of the Ottoman Navy, for the Kapudan Pasha's replacements after 1877 List of Ottoman admirals, for Turkish commanders beneath the rank of the Kapudan Pashas
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