:''For other Pashas, see
Sinan (disambiguation) ''
'Sinan Pasha' (d.
April 3,
1596) was an
Ottoman military commander (''
pasha'') and statesman, of
Albanian origin from city of Vlora.
In
1569, he was appointed governor of
Ottoman Egypt, and was subsequently involved until
1571 in the
conquest of Yemen. In
1574 he commanded the great expedition against
Tunis, which, in spite of the resistance of the
Spanish garrison, was added to the Ottoman Empire.
In
1580, Sinan commanded the army against the
Safavids in the
Ottoman-Persian wars, and was appointed
grand vizier by
Sultan Murad III. He was, however, disgraced and exiled in the following year, owing to the defeat of his lieutenant
Mehmed Pasha, at
Gori (during an attempt to provision the Ottoman garrison of
Tbilisi).
He subsequently became governor of
Damascus and, in
1589, after the great revolt of the
Janissaries, was appointed grand vizier for the second time. He was involved in the competition for the throne in
Wallachia between
Mihnea Turcitul and
Petru Cercel, and ultimately sided with the former (overseeing Petru's execution in March 1590). Another revolt of Janissaries led to his dismissal in 1591, but in 1593 he was again recalled to become grand vizier for the third time, and in the same year he commanded the Ottoman army against the
Habsburgs (''see
Battle of Sisak'').
In spite of his victories he was again deposed in February
1595, shortly after the accession of
Mehmed III, and banished to
Malghara; in August, Sinan was in power again, called on to lead the expedition against
Prince Michael the Brave of Wallachia. His defeat in the
Battle of Călugăreni and the series of unsuccessful confrontations with the Habsburgs (culminating in the devastating siege and fall of Ottoman-held
Esztergom), brought him once more into disfavour, and he was deprived of the seal of office (
November 19).
The death of his successor,
Lala Mehmed Pasha, three days later, was looked on as a sign from heaven, and Sinan became grand vizier for the fifth time. He died suddenly in the spring of 1596, leaving behind a large fortune.
References
★