Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha

Who was Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha?

Mehmed Hüsrev Pasha was an Ottoman Kapudan Pasha and statesman who reached the position of Grand Vizier rather late in his career, between 2 July 1839 and 8 June 1840 in the reign of Abdülmecid I. However, during the 1820s, he occupied key administrative roles in the fight against regional warlords, the reformation of the army, and the reformation of Turkish attire.

He was a protégé of Küçük Hüseyin Pasha, a reformer who became Kapudan Pasha of the Ottoman Navy in 1792. In 1801, he commanded the 6,000 Turkish troops who assisted the British in removing the French from Rashid. For this, he was made governor of Egypt Eyalet, in which position he was charged with assisting Hüseyin Pasha in the killing or imprisoning the surviving leaders of the Mamelukes. Many of these were freed by or fled with the British, while others held Minia between Upper and Lower Egypt.

Amid these disturbances, Husrev Pasha attempted to disband his Albanian bashi-bazouks without pay. This led to rioting that drove him from Cairo to Damietta, where he was ultimately captured by a combined Mameluke-Albanian army. He was later made governor again by Muhammad Ali for 2 days, although he held no real power; he was released later.