Osman Pazvantoğlu
Osman Pazvantoğlu (Ottoman Turkish: عثمان پازوانتوگلو; 1758 – January 27, 1807 in Vidin) was an Ottoman mercenary, the de facto Vizier of the Sanjak of Vidin after 1794 as a rebel against Ottoman rule, amnestied and recognized in 1799 as pasha by the sultan, continuing rebellion the next year. Initially serving as a mercenary in Wallachia, he wrested the Sanjak of Vidin and ruled in defiance of the Ottoman sultan, and fought other Ottoman pashas and made incursions into the Sanjak of Smederevo, Wallachia, and Revolutionary Serbia during the Serbs' rebellion. BiographyPazvantoğlu was born in Vidin.[1] His father Ömer (fl. 1739–87) was a Janissary Agha of the 31st Janissary orta (as mentioned in 1764 and 1787). His grandfather Ibrahim was probably from the Eyalet of Bosnia, and part of the guards of the city of Sofia, hence Osman's name: pasban-oğlu, "son of the guard".[2] Another view is that his family originated from Vidin.[3] Pazvantoğlu was a mercenary in the service of Wallachian prince and Ottoman vassal Nicholas Mavrogenes. He befriended the Greek Rigas Feraios while in Wallachia, when Feraios became the clerk of Mavrogenes. When Pazvantoğlu disobeyed Mavrogenes on one occasion, he was saved from reprisals through Feraios' intervention. Having gathered a large army of mercenaries, he revolted against the Ottoman sultan Selim III, and, acting as an independent ruler, minted his own coins and had diplomatic relations with foreign states (including the French Republic).[2] In 1793, he undertook a military expedition to the Sanjak of Smederevo but was soundly defeated by the Serbs in Ottoman service at the Battle of Kolari.[4] In 1798, he held territories which spread from the Danube to the Balkan Mountains and from Belgrade to Varna.[2] The 1797-8 military expedition of Küçük Hüseyin Pasha (having 100,000 soldiers)[2] failed in its goal to conquer Vidin and capture Pazvantoğlu partially due to the French invasion of Egypt, and indirectly resulted in the fall and execution of Prince Constantine Hangerli, after Küçük accused him of not having provided the Ottoman Army with enough funds.[5] His power had grown to the point that Napoleon and Talleyrand had hoped to have him become the Ottoman Sultan under French protection.[6] He also attempted to annex the Sanjak of Smederevo but was stopped by Stanko Arambašić and his 16,000 Serbian soldiers in Ottoman service. In 1799, the Ottoman sultan forgave Pazvantoğlu's rebellion and agreed to make him a pasha.[2] For contacting the French regarding the Greek cause in the Ottoman Empire, Rigas Feraios was imprisoned and tortured at Belgrade in the Sanjak of Smederevo, then sent to Constantinople to be sentenced by Sultan Selim III. While in transit, Feraios and his five collaborators were strangled, with the bodies thrown into the Danube, to prevent their being rescued by Pazvantoğlu.  Pazvantoğlu often made violent raids in Wallachia, where he often set on fire the cities which he plundered. In 1800, his troops, colloquially known as pasvangii, set on fire a large portion of the city of Craiova: out of 7,000 houses, only around 300 were still standing after the fire stopped.[7] This caused Prince Alexander Mourousis to hand in his resignation to Sultan Selim, a rare statement of defeat in the context of Phanariote reigns.[8] In late January 1802, Bucharest was gripped by panic after rumors spread that the pasha had sent his army in its direction. Prince Michael Soutzos left the city and ordered its defense by the remaining garrison of Albanians, but disagreements over payment owed led the troops themselves to discard the place; the city soon fell to widespread disorder and the brief rule of beggars and vagabonds (who apparently mimicked a coronation ceremony) which was ended by the violent intervention of Ottoman troops stationed in the vicinity, and ultimately led to Soutzos' deposition.[9] Legacy In Vidin, Bulgaria, the capital of Pazvantoğlu's domain, there are several landmarks built during his rule that still stand today. These include the military facility Krastata Kazarma (from Bulgarian: Cross-shaped Barracks), built in 1801, and a mosque (1801–1802) with a library building (1802–1803), dedicated to the pasha's father. All of them are classed as Monuments of Culture. The mosque-library compound is thought to have also included a madrasah (Islamic school) and a small Muslim cloister, both of which have not survived until today. Notes
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