Исторически преглед

Издание на Института за исторически изследвания при БАН

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И.Ист.И.

Between Rebellion and Brigandage in War and Politics – about the Actions of Yeğen Osman Pasha in Rumelia

Между бунта и разбойничеството във войната и политиката – за действията на Йеген Осман паша в Румелия

Исторически преглед, 80 (2024) No. 3, pp. 134-174 (ISSN 0323-9748)
DOI:

Dzheni Ivanova / Джени Иванова

Institute for Historical Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

Abstract: Yeğen Osman Pasha was a significant figure in the military-political life of the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 1680s. His fascinating biography and career reveal him as a man of power and influence, capable of affecting various levels of the state.

The aim of this publication is to present the actions of the Pasha in Rumelia during the Ottoman War with the Holy League (1683–1699) and to highlight specific details of wartime uprisings. The research is based on the highly representative works of Silâhdar Mehmed Ağa and Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Pasha, written at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century. The information from these sources is discussed in combination with other European and domestic sources, applying a comparative methodology in data analysis.

The main conclusions of the study emphasize the internal political factors that led to the rise of Christian subjects against the authorities. This issue has not been previously researched in Bulgarian historiography. The portrayal of Yeğen Osman Pasha‘s actions exemplifies one of the chronic problems in the state, related to the support of mercenaries from the army and the sudden looting of settlements near the front. A series of facts reveal the connection between the illegal actions of the troubled pasha and the events in the Bulgarian territories.

The study offers chronological and factual reconstructions of the series of rebellions among the reaya in the Chiprovtsi region during 1688–1690, which according to Ottoman historiography, were prolonged. The opposition between Yeğen and the authorities triggered a series of upheavals in the Ottoman province, leading to a chain reaction of rebellion, including the recruitment and open participation of the Christian population in the Habsburg fighting units during the war.

Keywords: Ottoman historiography, Yeğen Osman Pasha, Holy League War (1683–1699), Chiprovtsi, Sofia, Rumelia, rebellions, nefir-î ʼâmm.