Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha

Who was Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha?

Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha, Makbul Ibrahim Pasha, which later changed to Maktul Ibrahim Pasha after his execution in the Topkapı Palace, was the first Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire appointed by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.

Born a Christian and having been taken as a slave during his youth, Ibrahim was a close childhood friend of Suleiman when the latter was still a crown prince. In 1523, Suleiman appointed Ibrahim as Grand Vizier to replace Piri Mehmed Pasha, who had been appointed in 1518 by Suleiman's father, the preceding sultan Selim I. Ibrahim remained in office for the next 13 years. He attained a level of authority and influence rivaled by only a handful of other grand viziers of the Empire, but in 1536, he was executed by Suleiman and his property was confiscated by the state.