Üveys Pasha

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Üveys Pasha (1512–1547) was an Ottoman Prince, son of Selim I (also known as the Grim or the Inflexible).

Background[]

According to the 15th century Ottoman historian Âlî Mustafa Efendi, that Selim had a son born from an unnamed concubine during his early years, who was Üveys Pasha, and that his son Suleiman I was also aware of this.^[1]

Üveys' mother was a harem girl whose name is not known, but because of her undisciplined manners she was expelled from the harem. In Ottoman tradition, such girls were matched to a bey or to a well-to-do man. However, in her case she was already pregnant and Selim's son was born to a stepfather.^[2]

Professional life[]

Selim looked after his son and Üveys soon became a high-ranking bureaucrat of the empire. However, when Selim died in 1520, Üveys laid no claim to throne because of Ottoman tradition which states that princes born to a stepfather have no right to ascend to throne. (This principle was similar to Byzantine tradition of Porphyrogenitos) ^[2] Suleyman I (Later nicknamed the Magnificent) ascended to throne and he was careful to keep Üveys at the far reaches of his vast empire. In 1535, soon after the capture of Baghdad (now capital of Iraq), Üveys was appointed as the beylerbey of Baghdad. In 1545, he was assigned to capture Ta'izz ( a city in Yemen) in which he was successful.

Death[]

In 1547, a marine soldier named Pehlivan Hasan started a rebellion in Yemen. While trying to suppress the rebellion, Üveys was killed by the rebels. (The rebellion was later suppressed by Özdemir Pasha.)^[3] According to Ottoman historian Ali Efendi, upon learning the death of his half brother Suleyman I wept and said "He was my brother"^[2]

References[]