Tayyar Mehmed Pasha

Tayyar Mehmet Pasha (died 24 December 1638) was an Albanian Ottoman grand vizier. His epithet Tayyar means "flying", referring to his speed in military operations.

In this Ottoman Turkish style name, Mehmed is the given name, the title is Pasha, and there is no family name.

Tayyar Mehmed Pasha
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
In office 27 August 1638 – 24 December 1638
Monarch	Murat IV
Preceded by	Bayram Pasha
Succeeded by	Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha
Personal details
Born	Ladik, Ottoman Empire
Died	24 December 1638 Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq
Nationality	Ottoman
Military service
Battles/wars	Capture of Baghdad (1638) †

Early years

Mehmet was born to Uçar Mustafa Pasha in Ladik, near the Black Sea. He worked under Nasuh Pasha as his kethüda (chamberlain). After the death of Osman II, he joined the rebellious forces of Abaza Mehmet, but during the battle of Kayseri in 1624, he changed sides[1] and was appointed as the beylerbey (high governor) of Diyarbakır (in modern southeast Turkey).

As grand vizier

During the campaign of sultan Murat IV for Baghdad (see Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–1639)), he was tasked with guarding Mosul. But when Bayram Pasha, then grand vizier, died on the way to Baghdad, the sultan appointed Tayyar Mehmet Pasha as the new grand vizier.[2]

The siege of Baghdad took more than 40 days. The impatient sultan reprehended the Pasha, who was directing the siege cautiously to minimize losses. After this incident, Tayyar Mehmet Pasha decided for a general attack and personally took part in the fighting on 24 December 1638 in the capture of Baghdad. Although the attack was successful, Tayyar Mehmet Pasha was killed during the fighting.[3] The sultan expressed his sorrow, saying "O Tayyar, You are worth one hundred castles [cities] like Baghdad." Following Hadım Ali Pasha in 1511 and Hadım Sinan Pasha in 1517, Tayyar Mehmet Pasha was the third Ottoman grand vizier to be killed in battle.[1] His father had also been killed during a siege of Baghdad in 1625.[4]

References

1. Joseph von Hammer: Geschichte der osmanischen Dichtkunst Vol II (translation: Mehmet Ata) Milliyet yayınları, p 184 and 221.
2. Ayhan Buz: Osmanlı Sadrazamları, Neden Yayınları, İstanbul, 2009 ISBN 978-975-254-278-5 p 94
3. Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: Türkiye tarihi Cilt III, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 81-82
4. Historian İlber Ortaylı's essay on Milliyet newspaper (in Turkish)

Political offices
Preceded by Bayram Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 27 August 1638 – 24 December 1638	Succeeded by Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha