Ishak Pasha

Ishak Pasha (Turkish: İshak Paşa; fl. 1469–died 1497) was an Ottoman general, statesman, and later Grand Vizier.

Origin

Jean-Claude Faveyrial reveals that Ishak Pasha was Albanian.Halil Inalcik believes that Ishak Pasha is created by the confusion between several Ottoman Ishak Pashas (particularly Ishak bin Abdullah and Ishak bin Ibrahim) and Ishak Bey. The confusion can be illustrated with Beltaci's statement that Ishak Pasha was of Croatian or Greek origin and that he served three different sultans.

Career

His first term as a grand vizier was during the reign of Mehmet II ("the Conqueror"). During this term, he transferred Turkmen people from their Anatolian city of Aksaray to newly conquered Constantinople in order to populate the city, which had lost a portion of its former population prior to the 1453 conquest. The quarter of the city where the Aksaray migrants was settled is now called Aksaray.

His second term was during the reign of Beyazıt II. He died in 1497 in Thessaloniki.

Ishak Pasha Palace

Ishak Pasha Palace (Turkish: İshak Paşa Sarayı) is a semi-ruined palace and administrative complex located in the Doğubeyazıt district of Ağrı province of eastern Turkey.

The Ishak Pasha palace is an Ottoman-period palace whose construction was started in 1685 by Colak Abdi Pasha, the bey of Beyazit province, continued by his son İshak Pasha and completed by his grandson Mehmet Pasha. According to the inscription on its door, the Harem Section of the palace was completed by his grandson Ishak (Isaac) Pasha in 1784.

The Ishak Pasha Palace is a rare example of the historical Turkish palaces.

The palace was depicted on the reverse of the Turkish 100 new lira banknote of 2005-2009.

Sections of the palace

The complex consists of following sections:

Pasha

Pasha or pascha (Ottoman Turkish: پاشا‎, Turkish: paşa), formerly anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries and others. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is similar to a British peerage or knighthood, and was also one of the highest titles in pre-republican Egypt. There were three ranks of pashas: the first, or highest class, had the privilege of bearing a standard of three horse-tails, the second of two, and the third of one.

Etymology

Popular view connects it with Turkish baş(-ı) ('head'; cf. "başkan", "president" or "başkent", "capital"), or the similar-sounding compound baş-ağa (the title of an official).

According Josef W. Meri and Jere L. Bacharach, the word is "more than likely derived from the Persian Padishah".

As first used in western Europe, the title appeared in writing with the initial "b". The English forms bashaw, bassaw, bucha etc., general in the 16th and 17th century, derive through the medieval Latin and Italian word bassa. Due to the Ottoman presence in the Arab World, the title became used frequently in Arabic, though pronounced as basha due to the absence of the sound "p" in Arabic.

Eastern Anatolia Region

The Eastern Anatolia Region (Turkish: Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey.

The region and the name "Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi" were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941. It has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and lowest population density of all regions of Turkey. Prior to getting its current name by the Turkish state, most of the region was part of the Six Armenian provinces in the region known as the Armenian Highlands. After the Armenian Genocide, the geopolitical term "Eastern Anatolia" was created to replace what had historically been known as Western Armenia.

Substitution with Armenia

Starting from 1880 the name Armenia was forbidden to be used in official Ottoman documents. The government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II replaced the name Armenia with such terms as "Kurdistan" or "Anatolia". The Sublime Porte was trying to cover up the Armenian Question; if there was no Armenia, then there was no Armenian Question. The process of “nationalization” of toponyms was continued by the Kemalists, who were the ideological successors of the Young Turks, and gained momentum during the Republican period. Starting from 1923 the entire territory of Western Armenia was officially renamed “Eastern Anatolia” (literally The Eastern East).

Palace

A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop.

The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, the hill which housed the Imperial residences in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to ambitious private mansions of the aristocracy. Many historic palaces are now put to other uses such as parliaments, museums, hotels or office buildings. The word is also sometimes used to describe a lavishly ornate building used for public entertainment or exhibitions.

Etymology

The word "palace" comes from Old French palais (imperial residence), from Latin Palātium, the name of one of the seven hills of Rome. The original "palaces" on the Palatine Hill were the seat of the imperial power while the "capitol" on the Capitoline Hill was the religious nucleus of Rome. Long after the city grew to the seven hills the Palatine remained a desirable residential area. Emperor Caesar Augustus lived there in a purposely modest house only set apart from his neighbours by the two laurel trees planted to flank the front door as a sign of triumph granted by the Senate. His descendants, especially Nero, with his "Golden House" enlarged the house and grounds over and over until it took up the hill top. The word Palātium came to mean the residence of the emperor rather than the neighbourhood on top of the hill.