Hadım Şehabeddin

Hadim Şehabeddin Pasha
Native name	Sihàb ed-Dîn
Nickname(s)	Kula Shahin
Died	1453 Bursa, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey)
Buried at	Plovdiv, Ottoman Empire (modern-day Bulgaria)
Rank	Kapi Agha sanjakbey of Albania beylerbey of Rumelia Eyalet
Battles/wars	Siege of Novo Brdo (1440—41) Battle at Ialomița River (1442)

Hadım Şehabeddin Şahın Paşa, Hadim Sihàb ed-Dîn Pasa or Hadim Şehabeddin Pasha or "Khadim Shihabuddin Shahin Pasha", nicknamed Kula Shahin,^[1] was a 15th-century Ottoman military commander.

Probably of Georgian origin, Şehabeddin began his career in the Ottoman hierarchy as a devsirme conscript and a court eunuch (whence his sobriquet Hadim) in the sultan's palace. He was soon promoted to the position of sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Albania and since 1439 he became a beylerbey of the Rumelia Eyalet.^[2][3] Şehabeddin was known as ardent supporter of the expansionist policy of Ottoman Empire. He commanded the Ottoman forces that captured Novo Brdo in 1441.^[4][5] After his forces were heavily defeated in a battle with forces of Janos Hunyadi in September 1442, he was dismissed from the position of beylerbey. After 1444 he was again briefly appointed to the position of beylerbey of Rumelia. Şehabeddin died in 1453 in Bursa.

Name and early life

In some sources his nickname was mistakenly translated as "brown falcon" although "Kula" (not Kule), it is actually a reference to his slave origin, because he was a devsirme conscript.^[6] He was brought to the Ottoman court at very young age, as a slave, and was probably of Georgian descent.^[7] He completed the Enderun School^[8] and served as a court eunuch ("Hadim" in Turkish) in the sultan's harem and palace.^[9]

Military career

Türbe of Hadim Şehabeddin in Plovdiv

He advanced within hierarchy and became Kapi Agha (the head of the Inner Palace and the eunuch gatekeepers) which was the most powerful position a slave could reach at Ottoman court. At this position he was the channel for all petitions to the sultan, which provided him with an opportunity to have certain influence to both sultan and petitioners. The first position of Şehabeddin outside the sultan's palace was in Gjirokastër, as the sanjakbey of Sanjak of Albania. In 1439 he was appointed to the highest military position in the empire, the beylerbey of Rumelia Eyalet. Şehabeddin has been known as one of the "falcons" in the sultan's palace and advocate of the aggressive expansionist Ottoman policy. Being hadim meant that he had access to sultan's family which included his son known as Mehmed the Conqueror, in whom he might have planted the seed of thirst for expansion of the empire.^[10]

Against the orders of Şehabeddin the Ottoman forces captured and garrisoned medieval fortress Žrnov, located on the highest top of Avala, and enforced its fortifications under pasha's direct supervision.^[11][12] On 13 June 1441 Şehabeddin, who was in Vučitrn at the time, wrote a letter to Ragusans in which he guaranteed a safe conduct to Ragusan diplomats. On 27 June 1441 forces under command of Şehabeddin captured Novo Brdo.^{[4][13][14][15]} Şehabeddin received Ragusan diplomat Primović in Dobrijevo near Vučitrn and advised him that Ragusans should "honor sultan" with rich presents if they want to avoid paying tribute to Ottoman Empire. They took his advice and after a lot of efforts reached agreement with veziers and sultan to send them rich presents every year.^[16]

Saraçhane Bridge

On 2 or 6^[17] September 1442 an army commanded by Şehabeddin and sixteen sanjakbeys subordinated to him,^[17] sent by sultan Murad II sent to Wallachia to kill Vlad II Dracul, was heavily defeated near Ialomița River by the forces led by Janos Hunyadi.^[18] After this defeat Şehabeddin was dismissed from the position of beylerbey of Rumelia and vezier, which was also the position he held at that time.^[19] In 1444 Şehabeddin appeared as commander of the forces that fought against Orhan, the challenger of the sultan's throne and again as beylerbey of Rumelia, in Varna. His advocacy of the aggressive expansionist policy made him the main rival of Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger.^[20] He died in 1453 in Bursa^[21] after he had witnessed the success of the expansionist policy he has always been advocating when Ottomans captured Constantinople and executed his main rival Çandarlı Halil Pasha.^[22]

Legacy

Şehabeddin built a mosque in 1436 in Adrianople. It is known as Hacı Şahabettin Camii or Kirazlı Cami (English: the Cherry Mosque).^[23] Evliya Celebi recorded that in Plovdiv Şehabeddin build a mosque, madress, han and caravansaray which were all named after him.^[24] In 1451 the Saraçhane Bridge across the Tunca river in Edirne was built against orders of Şehabeddin.

References

1. name="RogersDeVries2012">Rogers, Clifford J.; DeVries, Kelly; France, John (1 September 2012). Journal of Medieval Military History. Boydell Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-84383-747-3.
2. name="Thuróczy1991">Thuróczy, János (1991). Chronicle of the Hungarians. Indiana University, Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-933070-27-1. The person referred to here by Thuroczy was Hadim Sehabed- din Pasa, a eunuch,
3. John Jefferson. The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444 "Therefore it is logical to assume that veziers in 846 were Halil Pasha, Falzullah Pasha and Şahabettin Pasha"
4. name="Angold2006">Angold, Michael (17 August 2006). The Cambridge History of Christianity: Volume 5, Eastern Christianity. Cambridge University Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-0-521-81113-2. Şihabeddin Pasha was the commander of the Ottoman armies which conquered Novo Brdo in 1441.
5. name="Imber1990">Imber, Colin (1990). The Ottoman empire: 1300-1481. Isis. p. 119. ISBN 978-975-428-015-9. ... Serbian annals record, in July, 1441, Şihabeddin Pasha captured Novo Brdo, the centre of the silver-mining district of southern Serbia.
6. name="otdelRelations2003">otdel, Narodna biblioteka "Sv. sv. Kiril i Metodiĭ. Orientalski; Relations, International Centre for Minority Studies and Intercultural; Culture, Research Centre for Islamic History, Art, and (2003). Inventory of Ottoman Turkish documents about Waqf preserved in the Oriental Department at the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library: Registers. Narodna biblioteka "Sv. sv. Kiril i Metodiĭ. p. 243. Sehabeddin Pasa, devsirme conscript.
7. name="Jefferson2012">Jefferson, John (17 August 2012). The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444. BRILL. p. 84. ISBN 90-04-21904-8.
8. Bey, Mehmet Süreyya; Aktan, Ali (1996). Tezkire-i meşâhir-i Osmaniyye. Sebil Yayınevi. p. 196.
9. Balkan studies. Édition de lA̕cadémie bulgare des sciences. 1988. p. 111. The mint at Novo brdo (in Turkish "Novar"), was the first to start striking Ottoman akçe — as early as 1441, when Murad Il's military commander, the eunuch Sibab ed-Din pasa captured the town, which had the greatest silver deposits and the ...
10. John Jefferson "The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444" "As a Hadım in the Inner Palace Şehabeddin had direct access to the sultan's family. He used this access to endear himself to Murad's son, Mehmet".
11. name="SrejovićGavrilović1982">Srejović, Dragoslav; Gavrilović, Slavko; Ćirković, Sima M. (1982). Istorija srpskog naroda: knj. Od najstarijih vremena do Maričke bitke (1371). Srpska književna zadruga. p. 254.
12. Tasić, Nikola (1995). Istorija Beograda. Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti, Balkanološki institut. p. 68. Послове је непосредно надзирао ру- мелијски беглербег Шехабедин.
13. name="Imber1990">Imber, Colin (1990). The Ottoman empire: 1300-1481. Isis. p. 119. ISBN 978-975-428-015-9. ... Serbian annals record, in July, 1441, §ihabeddin Pasha captured Novo Brdo, the centre of the silver-mining district of southern Serbia.
14. name="SettonHazard1990">Setton, Kenneth M.; Hazard, Harry W.; Zacour, Norman P. (1 June 1990). A History of the Crusades: The Impact of the Crusades on Europe. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 267. ISBN 978-0-299-10744-4. The Ottoman conquest of Novo Brdo, a center of silver production, took place on June 27, 1441; see JireSek, Geschichte der Serben, II, 178.
15. armije, Belgrade (Serbia) Vojni muzej Jugoslovenske marodne (1957). Vesnik. p. 223. Posle toga Novo Brdo su opljaökali i popalild.
16. Godišnjak Društva istoričara Bosne i Hercegovine: Annuaire de la Société historique de Bosnie et Herzégovine. Društvo istoričara Bosne i Hercegovine. 1986. p. 86. Kada je saslušao Primovićevo izlaganje u Dobrijevu kod Vučitrna, Sehabedin je blagonaklono savjetovao da Dubrovčani, ako već neće da plaćaju harač, trebaju naći neki drugi način da »ukažu čast sultanu«. Zato je Malo vijeće naredilo ...
17. Rogers, Clifford J.; DeVries, Kelly; France, John (1 September 2012). Journal of Medieval Military History. Boydell Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-84383-747-3.
18. name="GiurescuMatei1976">Giurescu, Constantin C.; Matei, Horia C. (1976). Histoire Chronologique de la Roumanie. Editura științifică și enciclopedică. p. 88.
19. name="Jefferson2012">Jefferson, John (17 August 2012). The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444. BRILL. p. 280. ISBN 90-04-21904-8. Şehabeddin was not only vezir but also Beylerbey of Rumelia. ... (12 May 1442–30 April 1443 ad) Şehabeddin is listed as beylerbey, a position which he held until his defeat by Hunyadi in 1442 whereupon he was replaced as beylerbey by
20. name="Jefferson2012">Jefferson, John (17 August 2012). The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444. BRILL. p. 85. ISBN 90-04-21904-8.
21. SAHABETTİN PAŞA (Hadım)
22. Jefferson, John (17 August 2012). The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad: The Ottoman-Christian Conflict from 1438-1444. BRILL. p. 85. ISBN 90-04-21904-8.
23. name="Freely2011">Freely, John (2011). A History of Ottoman Architecture. WIT Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-84564-506-9.
24. name="Gradu1940">Gradu, Zbornik za Istocnjacku Istorisku i Knjizevnu (1940). Serija 1. p. 1119.