Mahmud Pasha Angelovic

Who was Mahmud Pasha Angelovic?

Mahmud Pasha Angelovic was the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1456 to 1466 and again from 1472 to 1474, who also wrote Persian and Turkish poems under the pseudonym Adni.

He was a member of the Byzantine Angelos family and was raised a Christian, but was later abducted as a child by the Sultan according to the devşirme system and raised as a Muslim in Edirne. A capable soldier, he was married to a daughter of Sultan Mehmed II. After distinguishing himself at the Siege of Belgrade, he was raised to the position of Grand Vizier as a reward, succeeding Zagan Pasha. Throughout his tenure, he led armies or accompanied Mehmed II on his own campaigns.