Gazi Husrev-beg
Encyclopedia
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
during the first half of the 16th century. He was an effective military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
strategist
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
, and the greatest donor and builder of Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
.
Biography
He was born in Serres, GreeceSerres, Greece
Sérres is a city in Macedonia, Greece. It is situated in a fertile plain at an elevation of about 70 m, some 24 km northeast of the Strymon river and 69 km north-east of the Macedonian capital, Thessaloniki. The Rhodope Mountains rise to the north and east of the city...
, to a Bosniak
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
father (convert from Trebinje
Trebinje
Trebinje is the southernmost municipality and town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is administratively part of the Republika Srpska entity and is located in southeastern Herzegovina, some from the Adriatic Sea....
region) and a Turkish mother, who was the daughter of the Sultan. Thus, Gazi Husrev-Beg was Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Beyazid II's grandson. A brilliant strategist and politician, in 1521 he became the governor of the Ottoman province of Bosnia.
Immediately from Bosnia he launched a number of military campaigns against the Empire's enemies in the region, who at that time were basically Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, and the remnants of the Bosnian kingdom. In less than 3 years, Gazi Husrev-Beg conquered the fortresses of Knin
Knin
Knin is a historical town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at , in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. Knin rose to prominence twice in history, as a one-time capital of both the Kingdom of Croatia and briefly of the...
, Skradin
Skradin
Skradin is a small town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia it has a population about 3,986 . It is located near the Krka river and at the entrance to the Krka National Park, from Šibenik and from Split...
, and Ostrovica
Ostrovica, Croatia
Ostrovica is a village in Croatia in the Zadar County, in the Lišane Ostrovičke municipality at .Near the village there is a ruined medieval castle of the Šubić noble family.- External links :* *...
. With such results, he was appointed the governor of the Ottoman province of Bosnia on September 15, 1521, becoming one of Sultan Suleiman I
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
's most trusted men.
What followed was a relentless campaign of conquering. With Gazi Husrev-Beg at the helm, the Ottoman army quickly made major gains in the region. The last Bosnian capital of Jajce
Jajce
Jajce is a city and municipality located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity...
is conquered in 1525, as is the important city of Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
in the Krajina
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
region. The fortified towns of Greben, Sokol, Jezero, Vinac, Vrbaški Grad, Livač, Kamatin, Bočac, Udbina
Udbina
Udbina is a village and a municipality in the Lika region of Croatia. It is an administratively part of in the Lika-Senj county.-Geography:The village is located in the large karst field called Krbava...
, Vrana
Vrana
Vrana is historic settlement located north of the Vrana Lake, 6 km from Pakoštane, a few kilometers from the Adriatic coast, in Zadar County, Dalmatia, Croatia. Today it is a small rural settlement.-Intro:...
, Modruč, and Požega
Požega, Croatia
Požega is a city in western Slavonia, eastern Croatia, with a total population of 26,403 . It is the administrative center of the Požega-Slavonia County.-Geography:...
all fell at the hands of Gazi-Husrev Beg.
Just as important as his military contributions, Gazi Husrev-Beg made a tremendous domestic impact on Bosnia. If Isa-Beg Isaković
Isa-Beg Isakovic
Isa-Beg Ishaković, or Isa-Beg Isaković, was an Ottoman general and the first governor of the Ottoman Province of Bosnia. He ruled during the 1450s and 1460s. He made much of the initial conquests for the Turkish Empire in the region, and was one of the then Sultan's most trusted generals. He was...
founded Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, it was Gazi Husrev-Beg who made it what it is today. He was responsible for the construction of the famous Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque
Gazi Husrev-beg's Mosque
The Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque , is a mosque in the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is considered the most important Islamic structure in the country and one of the world's finest examples of Ottoman architecture...
, the Emperor's Mosque
Emperor's Mosque
The Emperor's Mosque is an important mosque in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.It was built by Isa-bey Ishakovich-Hranushich, as the first mosque in Sarajevo, in 1457 and it was dedicated to the Sultan Mehmed the 2nd, El-Fatih.First settlements in Sarajevo were built around the mosque, and...
, and numerous other mosques throughout the city. He also constructed the city's first library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
, medresa, school of Sufi philosophy
Sufi philosophy
Sufi philosophy includes the schools of thought unique to Sufism, a mystical branch within Islam. Sufism and its philosophical traditions may be associated with Sunni Islam or Shia Islam. It has been suggested that Sufi thought emerged from the Middle East in the eighth century, but adherents are...
, and clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
(Sahat Kula), along with numerous other important cultural structures. Gazi Husrev-beg also founded the vakuf
Waqf
A waqf also spelled wakf formally known as wakf-alal-aulad is an inalienable religious endowment in Islamic law, typically denoting a building or plot of land for Muslim religious or charitable purposes. The donated assets are held by a charitable trust...
, which was active until the 20th century.
Gazi Husrev-beg and his forces were struggling against a power vacuum in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
after the death of his ally Skanderbeg Crnojević
Skanderbeg Crnojević
Staniša "Stanko" Crnojević, known as Skenderbeg Crnojević, was a 16th-century Ottoman sanjakbey of the Sanjak of Montenegro in 1514—1528.-Biography:...
in 1528. in 1541 during an uprising of nobility in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
, he set out to protect the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Crnojevićs and the local populace. After fighting many battles and maintaining order in the region although ultimately victorious he was killed fighting renegade Christians in a small Montenegrin
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
village Mokro in Drobnjaci, Montenegro. Legend says that he was a big man, so his warriors could not take him back, but to take apart his intestines, and buried them on small hill called The hodža's peak - Hodžina glavica. Because "hodža" means Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
or Muslim priest in Bosnian, its real connection to Gazi Husrev-Beg's place of rest is unclear.
That part of Montenegro, and Montenegrin clan that lives there has a name "Drobnjak" (drob = intestines). His body was taken back to Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, where it remains to this day in a tomb in the courtyard of his mosque. Above it is written, "May the mercy and generosity of god fall upon him every day".