Vizier Ahmet Pasha Chopping Meat by Bit by Bit in the Ottoman Empire

We have witnessed various execution and torture methods in Ottoman history. Apart from this, there are also some strange deaths and punishments. But what we will discuss in this article is ““The incident of the murder of the vizier”, It is as good as the third page news of newspapers.

Hezarpare, aka Hezarpare, who attracted reactions with his conspicuous behavior Thousand Pieces Ahmet Pasha, they carried the cup with their deeds, and their meat was cut into pieces and distributed to the public as “medicine”! But what do you think he could have done to have his meat chopped up? Let’s not forget to say that no matter what he did – even at that time – no one deserves such a punishment.

Let’s turn the calendars to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the 1600s.

The state had problems in every aspect during this period. Both internal turmoil and external military defeats both riots and unrest within the palace… As you can see, things were quite complicated. Meanwhile, the head of the state is the 18th Sultan, Sultan Ibrahim, who did not have a very successful sultanate period.

Sultan Ibrahim, He went through an 8-year sultanate period that lasted until 1648. During his time as a prince, the fear of his brothers being killed by Murat IV confined him to the palace. These periods, and the troublesome situations the state was in, seem to have been enough to give Ibrahim a difficult time.

It is known that Sultan İbrahim was not mentally healthy.

His nickname in history “Crazy Ibrahim” You may have heard that it is. When we look at what happened, we understand that this opinion has some truth to it. This is actually a very possible situation for a sultan who had a troubled period as a prince and struggled with the fear of death.

Sultan, who has a lack of attention, is often mother Kösem Sultan He would guide. You may have also heard that Kösem Sultan ruled the palace in a way; The reason is obvious.

The Sultan was spending a lot during this period; It is known that he appointed 8 concubines as haseki. This means spending separately for all of them. However, this was not the only point that attracted attention during this period.

Ahmet Pasha, who is also the subject of our topic, was appointed to the position of treasurer because of his beautiful writing.

In 1646, he was given the duty of treasurer, One year later, he became the grand vizier. The position of grand vizier was a very important position and this person was the person closest to the sultan. Of course, the sultan’s curiosity about samurai and ambergris increased the palace expenses many times over. Such an increase that all the money he spent was going to jewelry. It is not enough; from ulema, janissaries, tradesmen Taxes were collected for these expenditures.

Grand Vizier Ahmet PashaHe also began to confiscate the properties of the rich. In fact, he was doing his best to please the sultan, so to speak. Because he was married to Sultan İbrahim’s only 2-year-old daughter, Beyhan Sultan.

Marrying a baby It was the only element that would preserve his permanence in the sultanate. Over time, he received a share for himself from these goods confiscated for the sultan. Having crossed the border, Pasha began to spend like a sultan. The amount he spent on his own son’s wedding alone was as much as the cost of a palace.

In 1648, the lords of the Kapıkulu Ocağı started a rebellion for this sable and ambergris tax collected from them. When Ahmet Pasha realized the situation, he immediately took heed.

On 7 August 1648, the Janissaries fought against the rule of Sultan Ibrahim. mother Kösem Sultan and was dragged into rebellion by the opposition palace circle. They met at the Sultanahmet Mosque to gather the ulama. Seeing this rebellion, Grand Vizier Ahmet Pasha realized the apparent danger and hid.

The next day, hiding Pasha was caught after an informant named Hacı Behram gave accurate information. Upon this situation, Shaykh al-Islam Hodja Abdurrahim Efendi gave a fatwa that he should be strangled to death.

When Ahmet Pasha was captured, a bag full of gold and jewelery was found with him. All his wealth was confiscated in a motherly way He was left under the plane trees in Horse Square.

Pasha’s body was brutally cut into small pieces and sold to the public for 5-10 silver coins, claiming that old human flesh and fat were good for joint pain!

In the face of this dire situation Janissaries also became owners of a fortune that could be earned in a day. Allegedly, Pasha paid a bribe of 300 thousand kuruş for the position of grand vizier. It is also said that he is unreliable, a liar, a cheat, a briber and an ambitious person. However, this still does not justify receiving this punishment. Because lying, cheating and bribery were practices of most statesmen in the Ottoman Empire.

To meet the demands of the sultan for sable fur and amberwas his first and most important duty. To be in front of the Sultan like a royal boat He embarked on bold expenditures and, far from surprising his opponents, he drove everyone crazy with his closeness to the Sultan.

He tried to increase revenue by collecting high taxes from the rich; Historians of the period even write that he transferred some of the income to his own pocket.

It shouldn’t be too difficult to guess this. He also used this money to finance the mansions and mansions built in various districts of Istanbul. Naima, the famous historian of the Ottoman Empire, recorded interesting details as follows:

• “The state was in poor governance and rebellions were breaking out all over the empire. Klis Castle, very close to Bosnia, was occupied by the Venetians. Ahmet Pasha tried to convince the sultan with the lies he made up to cover up the disaster. He did not hesitate to claim that Klis was actually a small church. He came to the Dardanelles and ignored the Venetian Navy, and did not take precautions against the Venetians who took control of maritime traffic. He made efforts to defeat the claims of his opponents.”

As a result of the events, Sultan İbrahim lost his life after Ahmet Pasha.

Throne after Sultan Ibrahim Mehmet IV passed. Then, with the fatwa of Sheikh al-Islam, it was decided to murder the Sultan due to the heavy taxes he imposed and the expenses he incurred.

“A Thousand Pieces” by Ahmet Pasha period of his grand viziership; As can be seen, it was a period full of internal turmoil, bribery scandals, luxury spending and administrative weakness. This is how Ahmet Pasha, with his unprecedented execution method, lost his life for every penny he took from the public and put into his own pocket. As we said at the beginning, no one deserves such a punishment!

Pasha’s death is depicted differently in the TV series Magnificent Century Kösem. Directly instead of being chopped in the series killed by sword staged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAjiSLjLhmY