Arslan Mehmed Pasha

Matarci
Arslan Mehmed
Pasha
Wali of Sidon
In office
1703–1704 or 1706
Preceded by Matarci Kaplan Pasha
Succeeded by Matarci Beşir Pasha
Wali of Tripoli
In office
1702–1703
Monarch Ahmed III
In office
1694–1700
Monarch Ahmed II
Mustafa II
Preceded by Sürmeli Ali Pasha
Wali of Damascus
In office
1703–1704
Monarch Mustafa II
Preceded by Arnavud Osman Pasha
Succeeded by Firari Huseyin Pasha
In office
1701–1701
Preceded by Silihdar Hasan Pasha
Succeeded by Mehmed Pasha Kurd Bayram
Personal details
Born Jableh
Died 1704 or 1706
Relations Matarci Kaplan Pasha (brother)
Religion Islam
Military service
Allegiance Ottoman Empire
Commands Amir al-hajj (1691, 1702–1703)

Matarci Arslan Mehmed Pasha, also spelled Arslan Muhammad Pasha ibn al-Mataraji (died 1704), was the wali of Tripoli in 1694–1700 and 1702–1703, Damascus in 1701 and Sidon in 1703–1704.

Biography

Arslan was the son or grandson of Matarci Ali, a Jannisary of obscure origins who governed Latakia and died there in 1666.[1] Arslan was born in Jableh, between Latakia and Tripoli,[2] and was known to be highly knowledgeable in Islamic jurisprudence. He entered the service of Sürmeli Ali Pasha, a longtime wali of Tripoli who was keen on suppressing the province's rebellious Druze and Shia Muslim clans, namely the Ma'an and Hamada clans, respectively. Ali Pasha became Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire in 1694 and was instrumental in the appointment of Arslan as his successor in Tripoli. This was despite Arslan having no experience in administration. Ali Pasha further decreed that Arslan had authority of all the territory between Killis in the north and Gaza to the south.[1] This was short-lived however, as Ali Pasha was dismissed and executed in 1695.

Arslan Pasha continued Ali Pasha's campaign against the Shia and the Druze, both of whom he had a personal disdain of.[1] The Matarci-oglu (Ibn al-Mataraji) family came to constitute one of Ottoman Syria's most powerful households. Arslan's brother Kaplan Pasha (also known as Qublan Pasha) was appointed wali of Sidon in 1700.[3][1] In late 1701, Arslan Pasha was appointed wali of Damascus and amir al-hajj (commander of the Hajj caravan) after his predecessor Çerkes Hasan Pasha failed to protect the Hajj caravan of 1701, with thousands of pilgrims having been killed in a Bedouin attack. Arslan served as amir al-hajj in 1702, and was replaced as wali of Damascus in 1703 by Mehmed Pasha Kurd Bayram, but kept the post of amir al-hajj in 1703.[4] After concluding the Hajj pilgrimage, Arslan Pasha was reappointed to Tripoli because no one else could "keep the Arabs under discipline" like him, according to Ottoman written records from the time.[1]

Arslan Pasha was appointed as wali of Sidon in 1703, succeeding his brother.[3] During his term, Emir Bashir I was confirmed the tax farmer of Mount Lebanon, and the latter appoint Umar al-Zaydani as the tax farmer of Safad. Emir Bashir was also appointed by Arslan Pasha as the tax farmer of the predominantly Shia-populated Jabal Amil.[5] After the wali of Damascus, Arnavud Osman Agha, was dismissed in the middle of 1703, Arslan Pasha was appointed as his replacement as well as amir al-hajj.[4] However, he died prior to the Hajj pilgrim caravan's departure in early 1704.[1][4] According to historian Ahmad Hasan Joudah, Arslan Pasha was alive and continued to serve as wali of Sidon until 1706.[3] The Matarci-oglu continued to be a prominent household, with one of its members, Beşir Pasha succeeding Arslan Pasha in Sidon in 1706–1712 and 1715–1717.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Winter 2010, p. 107.
  2. ↑ Barbir 1980, p. 62.
  3. 1 2 3 Joudah 1987, p. 144.
  4. 1 2 3 Barbir 1980, p. 68.
  5. ↑ Harris 2012, p. 114.

Bibliography

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