The Ottoman navy of the Napoleonic Era was one of the largest and most modern in the world. In 1800 it numbered 180 warships, including 30 ships of the line. It owed this fleet almost exclusively to the effort of just one manÄGazi Hasan Pasha (1713-90). While he died just as the Napoleonic Era was dawning, his influence would be felt throughout the age.

Gazi Hasan Pasha is considered one of the greatest Kapudan Pashas in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Originally a slave, he joined the Janissary Corps when his master freed him in the 1730s. He took part in the Austrian War of 1737-39 and particularly distinguished himself at the Battle of Krozka (Hisardjik) on July 23, 1739.

At the end of the war he went to Algiers where he made a name for himself as a Corsair, eventually becoming a Dey and finally being appointed Bey of Tlemcen. In time he fell out of favor with the Pasha of Algiers and had to escape to Spain.

Received

Here he was kindly received by Charles IV who recommended him to the king of Naples. As a representative of the king of Naples he was sent to Istanbul in 1760. He immediately impressed Sultan Mustafa III and was accepted into the Sultan's service and given command of a warship. He rapidly rose through the ranks and in 1766 was appointed to command the Kapudana, the fleet's flagship.

In 1770 he took part in the naval war against Russia. Considered an expert seaman, he was one of the few heroes to arise from the Ottoman naval disaster at Cheshme. In the battle, which saw the total destruction of the Ottoman fleet, Hasan destroyed the Russian flagship. Though wounded, he was able to swim to shore and make his way overland back to the Dardanelles. Immediately given a new conunand, on Oct. 10, 1770, he sueceeded in winning back the island of Lemnos from the Russians by a bold stroke. For this brilliant feat, of arms he received the title of Gazi (holy warrior) and the rank of Kapudan Pasha (Lord high admiral).

In 1773-74, as Seraskier (military commander) of Ruschuk, he took part in the war with Russia on land. After the Peace of Kainardja Quly 1774) he resumed his post as Kapudan Pasha. As Grand Admiral he headed a total rebuilding and European-style modernization of the Ottoman navy between 1774 and 1791, including the construction of new European-style shipyards in the Golden Horn, the Black Sea and the Aegean.

Reestablishing Authority

Following the War of 1768-74 he was put in charge of reestablishing the authority of the Sultan within the empire. Many provincial governors had used the chaos of the war to break away from the empire and establish their own kingdoms. In 177576 he crushed the power of Shaikh Omar Al-Tahir and his sons in Syria, taking Acre by siege, an act Napoleon would later fail to emulate.

In 1779 he recovered the Morea, which with Russian aid, had risen in rebellion. He completely routed the Albanian hordes which had settled in the region following the Russian withdrawal. For this service he was named govemor of Morea and did much to improve its industry and give it an honest and capable government.

In 1780 he took his fleet and appeared before Alexandria and collected the Egyptian tribute, payment of which had been refused for several years by the Mamluks. On his return voyage he chastised the rebellious Mainots in the Peloponnese

Reorganization

For the next few years he was primarily involved in the reorganization of the navy. In 1784 he built new barracks at the naval Arsenal in Istanbul, at Sinop on the Black Sea and on the Island of Lesbos in the Aegean, were the sailors were subject to constant discipline and training.

To improve the quality of officers supplied to the fleet he developed a naval engineering school at Aynalikavak in which he served as an instructor. He also saw to the organization and upgrading of the Bosporus forts at the entrance to the Black Sea.

In 1784-85 he led a combined land and sea expedition against Kara Mahmud Pasha, the rebellious governor of Scutari in northern Albania and leader of the powerful Bushatli family, forcing him back into obedience.

He then led a two-year campaign against the Mamluks in Egypt in 1786-87 which restored Ottoman control from Cairo to the sea. He accomplished this with a remarkably small force. With an initial force of only 500 men he fought his way to Cairo, relieved Yegen Mehemmed Pasha who was besieged there (Aug. 8, 1786) and routed the Mamluks. Complete conquest of the Mamluks, though, was cut off by the threatened outbreak of a new war with Russia. He was recalled in August of 1787 to help deal with the coming war.

While Gazi Hasan's recall left the Mamluks still in charge of Egypt, they were so chastened by his war against them that they continued to make their regular tribute payments to the Porte without further prompting. Napoleon would later argue that he had gone to Egypt to bring the Mamluks back into obedience to the Porte and restore the province to the empire. The Porte knew the transparency of this lie because Gazi Hasan had already done it and Egypt in 1798 was no more rebellious than most Ottoman provinces, and more obedient than many.

War of 1787-1792

While he strongly argued against the War of 1787-92, arguing that both the army and navy needed more time to institute reforms, he was an important military commander against the Russians in the conflict. At the outbreak of hostilities he was entrusted with the relief of the important fortress of Oczakov. While he was able to land reinforcements and supplies, he was unsuccessful in several sea battles against the Russians, led by American naval hero John Paul Jones, and, after losing several more ships to storms, he was forced to return to Istanbul at the beginning of December 1788.

In April 1789 Sultan Abd ul-Hamid I, one of Gazi Hasan's greatest supporters, died. The new Sultan, Selim III, dismissed Hasan as Kapudan Pasha and appointed one of his childhood friends to the post. The change was designed to win the favor of Grand Vezir Yusuf Pasha, the leader of the conservatives, the most distinguished Ottoman commander of the war to date and a bitter foe of Gazi Hasan.

But Selim was convinced that Gazi Hasan, one of the most capable commanders of his age, was too valuable a man to lose. So he appointed him governor of Ismail and commander of the land armies in Moldavia with the task of retaking Oczakov and then moving against the Crimea.

It was not long though, before Yusuf Pasha was himself dismissed. He, unfortunately for the empire, was replaced by a total incompetent who allowed the main Ottoman field army to be outmaneuvered and destroyed. Panic gnpped the Empire and Ottoman forces were falling back on all fronts. Only at Ismail, where Gazi Hasan come mended, did the Ottomans hold and successfully resist repeated Russian assaults. Selim then appointed Gazi Hasan as Grand Vezir in October in hopes he could repair the situation.

Novel Strategy

To fight the Russians he had proposed a novel strategy of dividing his army into corps of 10,000 and having each attack separately, but in a coordinated manner. He believed the strength of the Ottoman army was in its wild, furious charges which carried great energy, but were of short duration.

As an example, he proposed dividing an army of 100,000 men into 10 corps which were to attack separately and be so arranged that the retreat of one repulsed corps would not overwhelm and disorder the others. He believed no army in the world could withstand 10 all-out Ottoman attacks, and that an attack of 10,000 was as dangerous as that of 100,000.

While he was able to do much to improve the morale of the army and organized a new supply system, he did not live long enough to lead the troops in battle. A few days after ordering the army's march out from winter quarters he fell ill and died on March 30, 1790. He was buried in the Bektasi monastery which he himself had built before the gates of Shumla.

Gazi Hasan Pasha was preeminently distinguished for his personal valor. His expeditions to Syria, to the Morea and to Egypt show not only great military ability but also a political insight rare in his day.

He was almost unique in the Ottoman bureaucracy of the period in that he was knowledgeable in several European languages including French, English and Italian. He is entitled to great credit for reconstructing the fleet destroyed at Cheshme and for beginning the reorganization of the navy along Western lines.

(As Ottoman names were originally written in Arabic script, there is no definitive English spelling. You will also find Gazi Hasan Pasha's name listed in various documents as Cezayirli Hasan Pasa, Hassan Pasha, Palabiyik, Djezairli Ghazi Hasan Pasha, and Gazi Cezayirli Hasan Pasha, to name only a few.)

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Staff Motivation: Ottoman Style