ÇİFTELERLİ OSMAN PAŞA’NIN YÜKSELİŞİ: BİR KAPIKULU SÜVARİSİNİN BEYLERBEYİLİĞE GİDEN YOLU (1627-1647)

Yıl 2025, Cilt: 7 Sayı: 2, 186 - 209, 31.12.2025

Emirhan Özçelik

https://doi.org/10.52735/bellek.1831357

Öz

Bu makale, 17. yüzyıl Osmanlı tarihinin gölgede kalmış devlet adamlarından Çiftelerli Osman Paşa’nın hayatını ve kariyerini askerî-siyasî gelişmeler bağlamında değerlendirmektedir. Kapıkulu süvariliğiyle başlayan kariyerinin Anadolu mütesellimliği ve defterdar kethüdalığı gibi görevlerle ilerlediği; asıl yükselişinin ise IV. Murad devrinin güçlü isimlerinden Silahdar Mustafa Paşa ile kurduğu himaye ilişkisi sayesinde gerçekleştiği ortaya konulmaktadır. Osman Paşa’nın Sakarya Şeyhi ayaklanmasının bastırılmasındaki rolü, Bağdad kuşatmasında Kuşlar Kalesi cephesini sevk ve idaresi, Safevilerle yürütülen sulh sürecindeki katkıları ve Şam beylerbeyiliği döneminde Arap-Türkmen eşkıyasına karşı sağladığı düzen, onun askerî ve idarî yetkinliğini gösteren örnekler olarak incelenmektedir. Bununla birlikte, Nasuh Paşazâde Hüseyin Paşa isyanındaki başarısızlığı kariyerinde bir kırılma yaratmış; ancak bu durum Girit seferlerinde yeniden öne çıkmasına engel olmamıştır. Osman Paşa özellikle Resmo kuşatmasında ve 1647’de Venedik ordusuyla meydana gelen muharebede önemli bir kumandanlık başarısı sergilemiştir. Makale, Osman Paşa’nın biyografisi üzerinden 17. yüzyıl Osmanlı bürokrasisinde hizip ilişkileri, askerî kabiliyet ve güç dengeleri arasındaki karşılıklı etkileşimi analiz ederek, bir devlet adamının yükseliş dinamiklerini çok yönlü bir perspektifle ortaya koymaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Çiftelerli Osman Paşa , IV. Murad , Silahdar Mustafa Paşa , Seferler , Hizip

The Rise of Çiftelerli Osman Pasha: A Kapıkulu Cavalryman’s Path to Governorship (1627-1647)

Öz

This study examines the political and military career of Çiftelerli Osman Pasha, a seventeenth-century Ottoman statesman whose life has largely remained on the margins of historiography despite his involvement in major imperial campaigns and provincial governance. By reconstructing his trajectory from a kapıkulu cavalryman to a beylerbeyi and finally a senior commander in the Cretan War, the article offers an analytical perspective on mobility, patronage, and military competence in the Ottoman provincial elite during the reigns of Murad IV and İbrahim.
The article first situates Osman Pasha’s early life and service within the broader context of the kapıkulu cavalry corps. Although archival limitations make the details of his youth difficult to establish, sources such as Kâtip Çelebi indicate his origins in the village of Çifteler near Eskişehir and his affiliation with the six cavalry divisions. His early appointments as defterdar kethüdası and Anadolu mütesellimi reveal both administrative experience and a reputation for reliability in tax collection and local security. His role in quelling abuses committed by mütesellim Hasan and his involvement in the 1627 Erzurum campaign further signal his emergence as a capable military-administrative figure.
Osman Pasha’s rapid rise, however, was closely tied to his entry into the patronage network of Silahdar Mustafa Pasha, one of the most influential statesmen of Murad IV. The study demonstrates how Osman Ağa’s association with this powerful figure, likely formed during the Revan campaign of 1635, secured his appointment as kethüda and later as mütesellim of Damascus. Through letters, financial records, and narrative chronicles, the article reconstructs the workings of this patronage bond and shows how client-patron relations shaped career advancement in the seventeenth-century Ottoman administration.
A major focus of the article is Osman Pasha’s expanding military authority. His first significant command occurred during the suppression of the Sakarya Sheikh uprising in 1638, where he was appointed serasker over several thousand troops. His successful encirclement of the rebels and capture of the self-declared “mahdi” established him as a reliable commander in irregular warfare. Shortly thereafter, he played a critical role in the 1638 Baghdad campaign by directing siege batteries at Kuşlar Castle, across the Tigris River. Contemporary accounts highlight the destructive impact of his artillery positions, which contributed to breaking the morale of the defenders. After the conquest of Baghdad, his promotion to the governorship of Damascus marked the peak of his administrative authority. As governor of Damascus, Osman Pasha’s correspondence with Silahdar Mustafa Pasha reveals his efforts to re-establish security in the province. He suppressed Arab and Turkmen bandits, safeguarded pilgrimage routes, intervened in local power struggles, and reclaimed property seized by rebellious groups. These activities ensured his survival at court during the political turbulence following Murad IV’s death, even as his patron Silahdar Mustafa Pasha was eliminated by Grand Vizier Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha.
The turning point in Osman Pasha’s career came during the rebellion of Nasuh Pashazâde Hüseyin Pasha (1643). Appointed serdar of the imperial forces sent to suppress the revolt, he suffered a major defeat—a result of both the tactical superiority of Hüseyin Pasha’s tüfekçi infantry and the absence of supporting Janissaries. Although this failure led to his removal and brief imprisonment, he soon recovered his position and was appointed beylerbeyi of Aleppo, followed by service in various provincial posts.
In his final years, Osman Pasha became a leading military figure in the Cretan War. As Hanya muhafızı, he contributed significantly to the siege of Rethymno (Resmo) in 1646, directing the Anatolian troops and overseeing the advance of trenches and mining operations. His role was instrumental in both the fall of Resmo and the capture of Milopotamu. In 1647, during the Battle of Harka (Caraca), Osman Pasha achieved one of the most notable Ottoman victories of the early Cretan War by defeating a Venetian field army prior to the large-scale siege preparations at Candia.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Çiftelerli Osman Pasha , Murad IV , Silahdar Mustafa Pasha , Campaigns , Patronage

Kaynakça

• BOA, (Divan-ı Hümâyûn Sicillatı Mühimme Defterleri) A.DVNSMHM.d. 84, 89.
• BOA, (Kamil Kepeci Tasnifi) KK.d. 258, 264, 266.
• BOA, (İbnülemin Tasnifi Belgeleri) İE.TCT. 2/241; İE.EV. 17/2008.
• BOA, (Ruûs Kalemi Defterleri) A.RSK.d. 1503, 1512, 1517.
• (Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Arşivi Evrakı) TSMA.e. 473/21, 533/21, 592/25, 698/39, 706/11, 748/65, 794/8-16-18-19-63, 798/4, 801/2, 862/66, 877/77, 882/40, 894/11, 1044/77, 1062/2