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Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

Type Figure Region Ottoman Empire Time 1506–1579 Also known as Sokollu Mehmed

One of the most outstanding grand viziers of the 16th-century Ottoman Empire, born to a Bosnian Christian family and converted through the devşirme s…

Timeline

  1. 1520–1545Istanbul · Marmara Sea coastConscripted from Bosnia into the devşirme system, he was educated in the palace school and rose steadily through the ranks, serving as an officer of the Janissaries and as a provincial governor among other posts.
  2. 1565–1579Istanbul · Marmara Sea coastServed three reigns—Suleiman, Selim II, and Murad III—overseeing the Cyprus expedition, fiscal reform, and imperial expansion, while coordinating diplomacy with the Habsburgs and Safavids.

Sources