Halit Serkan Simen THE GRAND VIZIERATE(S) OF KOCA SINAN PASHA: A REASSESSMENT OF THE OTTOMAN COURT POLITICS AND INTRA-ELITE RIVALRY IN THE LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY MA Thesis in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies. Central European University Budapest June 2020 CEU eTD Collection THE GRAND VIZIERATE(S) OF KOCA SINAN PASHA: A REASSESSMENT OF THE OTTOMAN COURT POLITICS AND INTRA-ELITE RIVALRY IN THE LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY by Halit Serkan Simen Turkey Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ Chair, Examination Committee ____________________________________________ Thesis Supervisor ____________________________________________ Examiner CEU eTD Collection ____________________________________________ Examiner THE GRAND VIZIERATE(S) OF KOCA SINAN PASHA: A REASSESSMENT OF THE OTTOMAN COURT POLITICS AND INTRA -ELITE RIVALRY IN THE LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY by Halit Serkan Simen Turkey Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Reader CEU eTD Collection THE GRAND VIZIERATE(S) OF KOCA SINAN PASHA: A REASSESSMENT OF THE OTTOMAN COURT POLITICS AND INTRA-ELITE RIVALRY IN THE LATE SIXTEENTH CENTURY by Halit Serkan Simen Turkey Thesis submitted to the Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University, Budapest, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Master of Arts degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies. Accepted in conformance with the standards of the CEU. ____________________________________________ External Supervisor CEU eTD Collection I, the undersigned, Halit Serkan Simen, candidate for the MA degree in Comparative History, with a specialization in Late Antique, Medieval, and Renaissance Studies declare herewith that the present thesis is exclusively my own work, based on my research and only such external information as properly credited in notes and bibliography. I declare that no unidentified and illegitimate use was made of the work of others, and no part of the thesis infringes on any person‘s or institution‘s copyright. I also declare that no part of the thesis has been submitted in this form to any other institution of higher education for an academic degree. Budapest, 02 June 2020 _____________________ Halit Serkan Simen CEU eTD Collection Abstract This thesis examines Koca Sinan Pasha (d. 1596) and his five-time grand vizierate in the context of the crises and changes that took place within the Ottoman imperial-political system during the late sixteenth century. After the assassination of the all-powerful Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha in 1579 during the reign of Murad III (r. 1574-95), the Ottoman imperial court witnessed an ever-increasing factionalism among the governing ministers, complicating the decision-making processes at the sultan‘s government. Sinan Pasha was one of the most important figures in this new political setting as a wealthy and powerful grand vizier. This thesis offers a new perspective on Sinan Pasha through a detailed analysis of his grand vizieral petitions to Murad III, known as telhises, and aims to shed light on the critical question of how Sinan Pasha managed to sustain his political standing and influence as grand vizier when he was constantly challenged by a number of rival viziers and courtiers. CEU eTD Collection i Acknowledgements I am really grateful to many wonderful people who supported me physically and mentally during the writing process of this thesis. Otherwise, spending more than three months in quarantine without someone else, I could not manage to finish my project. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to my dear friends and colleagues from my department, the university, and the neighbors in the Residence Center. I wish to thank all of them for being united, strong, and supportive during these challenging days. Among my friends, I really owe a debt to my close friends that made me feel home and stay strong and hopeful; namely Cevat Sucu, Burak Yazıcı, Berker Tunçer, Flora Khazarian. I will always be grateful to our memories at the campus, the backyard, and the city. Without them, however, I would have finished the thesis at least a month ago… My professors in Medieval Studies and History departments helped me to get through this thesis with their valuable feedbacks, care, critiques, and way of teaching that changed my interpretation of history and how to approach it. Tijana Krstić, Tolga Esmer, Robyn Dora Radway, and Jan Hennings did not hesitate to help me whenever I asked for. Of course, I cannot skip mentioning my supervisor from alma mater, Kayhan Orbay, for believing me and supporting me through my B.A. and M.A. years. Without him, I could not be here. I owe lasting gratitude to my supervisor Günhan Börekçi. What he did for me and other Ottomanist peers here is more than being a supervisor but a friend and guide. I am so much grateful to him because of all conversations we had in the cafeteria or the front of the CEU eTD Collection campus, all sources and ideas he shared with me, and all feedbacks he gave to my thesis. Every sentence, literally, has something from him. I met with someone here and my whole world changed. We saw lots of things, spoke a lot, walked, listened, and shared all feelings together. I would like to thank my kuzu, ii Natalia, wholeheartedly for her diamond heart and her strong character that never hesitated to show her compassion and love to me. Thank you for being. Obrigado. I am always grateful to my parents who were always proud of me and did not refrain to support me. I always felt my mother‘s love and support with me even there are thousands of kilometers between us. For me, she is the one who deserves all credits for the thesis. I dedicate my project to her. Thank you for believing, loving, and caring me that much. Lastly, I would like to thank to my friends and ―companions‖ in Turkey who mentally and physically supported me through this adventure of two years. I am really grateful to every each of them. Teşekkür ederim. CEU eTD Collection iii Table of contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter I - Comparative Perspectives on the Political Career of Koca Sinan Pasha ..... 11 1.1 The Life and Career Trajectory of Sinan Pasha ............................................................. 12 1.2 The Office of Grand Vizierate and the Outlines of Ottoman System in the Late Sixteenth Century ................................................................................................................. 21 1.3 An Overview of Post-Sokollu Grand Vizier Profiles .................................................... 32 Chapter II - The Making of Koca Sinan Pasha ................................................................... 38 2.1 Standardization of the Courtly Communication: Emergence of the Grand Vizieral Petitions ................................................................................................................................ 39 2.2 The Pasha‘s Methods of Power Accumulation .............................................................. 44 Chapter III - Sinan Pasha in Action: The Daily Politics at the Imperial Court .............. 64 3.1 The Factionalist Rivalry from the Point of Sinan Pasha ................................................ 65 3.2 The Relationship between the Pasha and the Sultan ...................................................... 76 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 87 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 91 Appendices ............................................................................................................................ 102 I - The Profiles of the Grand Viziers Appointed during the Reign of Murad III (1579 – 1595) .................................................................................................................................. 102 II – The Portraits of Sinan Pasha ....................................................................................... 110 III – A Telhis Sample ......................................................................................................... 112 CEU eTD Collection iv Introduction In early modern Eurasian dynastic states, ruling elite composed a fundamental group within the larger body politic. As agents of power acting on behalf of their dynasts, they played a number of important roles in the business of state. The Ottomans were no exception to this observation. However, unlike their western European counterparts which depended on hereditary aristocracy in the medieval and early modern eras, the Ottoman rulers utilized different