Biography of a state man in the 18th century Ottoman political and social context: Hekimoglu Ali Pasha (1689-1758)

This thesis is a historical biography that focuses on the political career, environment and the household of Hekimoglu Ali Pasha, one of the important figures of the Ottoman eighteenth century history who served as grand vizier for two sultans three times in total. Writing comprehensive biographies of grand viziers of the eighteenth century Ottoman Empire is a necessity to draw a historical framework of the century, as some of these viziers are primary elements in shaping the state, society, politics, economy and culture; and although they have emerged from bureaucratic and military institutions their careers were formed independent from these institutions. On this basis, Hekimoglu Ali Pasha's life story, his social role, his relationship with the palace, bureaucracy, the ulama and the military, and his policies were discussed and also many historical issues were examined through the eyes of this prominent figure of the period. At the same time, information and inferences about the personality of Pasha, which are difficult to obtain due to the nature of the sources are presented throughout the study. It was emphasized that having an esteemed family origin is important for political success in this century, and in this context, the father of Ali Pasha, chief physician of the court Nuh Efendi, his extraordinary career, identity and the legacy he left to his sons were studied. This seventy-year life, which started as a silahşor in the Enderun, presents valuable data about the Anatolian geography in the context of the nomad census; the politics of the empire and the course of the wars in the Eastern front in the context of the Iranian Wars, 1722-1746. The essentials of this biographic narrative are the Ali Pasha's administrative, political and military actions during the times of his grand viziership, governorships and supreme military commanderships; his struggles with opponents, his ability to take back twice the seal of grand viziership and his ability to apply a centralized administrative attitude in a period when decentralization came to the fore. The actions of Pasha, both during his grand vizierate periods and especially during the governorships of Bosnia, Egypt and Trabzon, had a widespread impact throughout the eighteenth century. Known with epithets such as Şeyhülvüzerâ and Nizamülmülk in his lifetime Ali Pasha had a remarkable wealth to support his political power and a wide cultural environment which had expanded through his personal involvement and thus he should be regarded as one of the most important personalities to understand and make sense of the Ottoman eighteenth century. The biography of Ali Pasha is a historical description of the age of powerful pashas who shaped the Ottoman politics.