Gazi Hasan Pasha was not only one of the greatest admirals in Ottoman history, he was also one of the most colorful. His nickname was Palabiyik (scimitar-moustache) and he was often accompanied by his tame lion.

As to his leadership style, a story is told of how he enforced order in his navy. He was a firm believer that the captain of the ship was fully responsible for every aspect of it and the crew. After one of his capital ships foundered in 1778 because of poor caulking, he ordered that each captain be present and personally inspect all caulking operations.

One day, during one of his frequent personal inspections of the shipyard, he came upon a ship undergoing repairs. Inspecting the caulking, he found it to be of poor quality. When he called for the captain, he was told the captain was at his home. Gazi Hasan sent one of his servants for his blunderbuss and another to the home of the missing captain demanding his presence.

He then sat down on a small carpet, smoked his pipe and calmly waited. As the captain approached Gazi Hasantook up his blunderbuss and, without speaking a word, shot him dead.

"Take and bury him," he ordered, "and let the other captains attend him to the grave, and suspend the caulking till they return." It is said that the caulking of Ottoman ships was not a problem after that.

Levend Ciftlik

Levend Ciftlik, which would in time become the main base of Sultan Selim's Nizam-i Jedid army, was originally given by Sultan Abdul-Hamid I to Gazi Hasan as an estate in reward for his long and meritorious service. Hasan mainly used men from the navy (Levends) to farm this estate, so it came to be called Levend Ciftlik, or sailors farm. Construction of the Nizam-i Jedid barracks began there in August of 1792.

More Gazi Hasan Pasha

The Fighting Admiral