Kara Mustafa Pasha (; ; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and grand vizier, who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Central and Eastern Europe.
Early life and career
thumb|left|250px|The 17th-century Ottoman northern frontier, where Kara Mustafa Pasha led his early campaigns
Kara Mustafa Pasha was of Turkish origin. However, he was brought up in the Köprülü family, of Albanian origin. How he entered the family and the details of his marriage are unclear. Within the household's inner service (enderun), he held the positions of letter-carrier (telhisci, or assistant to the grand vizier) He was particularly "unbearable to Europeans", especially for the heavy taxes that he imposed (a "stream of avanias in the years 1676-1683"). Even though his adoptive siblings also imposed notable avanias, their reputation with Europeans was not as bad.
In 1659, he had become a governor of Silistria and subsequently held a number of important posts. Within ten years, he was acting as deputy for his brother-in-law, the grand vizier Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha when absent from the Sultan's court.
During his campaign, he successfully conquered the fortress of Chigirin. He pursued Grigory Romodanovsky and met him in the battle of the Dnieper River between August 14 and 20. Despite the losses on both sides, neither commander achieved a decisive victory over the other, and both were forced to retreat. Mustafa was forced to retreat because of severe logistical difficulties incurred from campaigning in the steppe and so was convinced by his commanders to retreat. After the battle, he conquered the powerful fortress of Kaniv by siege.
Battle of Vienna
thumb|left|Imaginative portrait of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha
In 1683, he launched a campaign northward into Austria in a last effort to expand the Ottoman Empire after more than 150 years of war. That was under his own initiative, and Mehmed IV was unaware of his plans. Because the siege was unplanned, his army lacked heavy siege cannons, which could help to capture Vienna . By mid-July, his 100,000-man army had besieged Vienna (guarded by 10,000 Habsburg soldiers) and followed in the footsteps of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1529. By September, he had taken a portion of the walls and appeared to be on his way to victory.
However, on 12 September 1683, a Polish army under King John III Sobieski took advantage of dissent within the Ottoman military command and the poor disposition of his troops to win the Battle of Vienna by a devastating flank attack led by Sobieski's Polish Winged Hussars. The Ottomans retreated into Hungary, much of which was subsequently conquered by the Habsburgs and their Holy League allies. It is said that he had many enemies because of his stubbornness, pride and general disrespect of others, and that contributed to his defeat since the other Ottoman generals and vassals would not help him during his troubles on the battlefield. Also, he had attacked Vienna on his own initiative without permission from the sultan, who had believed that the Ottoman campaign was against other smaller forts.
The defeat cost Mustafa his position and ultimately his life. On 25 December 1683, Kara Mustafa was executed in Belgrade at the order of Mehmed IV. He suffered death by strangulation with a silk cord, which was the method of capital punishment inflicted on high-ranking persons in the Ottoman Empire. His last words were, "Am I to die?" and "As God pleases." Kara Mustafa Pasha's family and descendant tree can be found via Turkey's Directorate General of Foundations.
Kara Mustafa Pasha's legacy in modern Turkey is mixed. Whereas historians describe him as either a capable tactician or a reckless commander, Kemal Atatürk held a sympathetic view of the man. It is said that while attending a lecture at an Ankara institution in 1933 at which a professor spoke disparagingly of Kara Mustafa Pasha, Atatürk spoke up in favour of him by arguing that marching an army of 173,000 men from Constantinople to Vienna, the "heart of Europe", was a colossal undertaking for any commander and that the only other person who came close to such a feat was Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent himself.
Kara Mustafa's birthplace near Merzifon district was renamed Karamustafapaşa in his honour.
In media
In the 2012 Polish-Italian historical drama film September Eleven 1683 about the Battle of Vienna, Kara Mustafa Pasha is portrayed by Italian actor Enrico Lo Verso.
See also
- Köprülü era of the Ottoman Empire
- Köprülü family
- List of Ottoman grand viziers