Ayas Mehmed Pasha

Ayas Mehmed Pasha (1483–1539) was an Ottoman statesman and grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1536 to 1539.[1] He was an Albanian born in Himare region.[2] His father was from city of Shkodra, in the north of Albania, and his mother was from Vlora, in the south of Albania.[3] He went to Istanbul while his father was living there and following his orders entered Ottoman service under the Devshirme practice (as born Christian) and eventually became Agha of the Janissaries. He participated in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514), and Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17). During 1520–1521 he was beylerbey of Anatolia Eyalet and governor of Damascus. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, he served as beylerbey of Rumelia Eyalet and was made a vizier after the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes in 1522. He also participated in the Battle of Mohács, Siege of Vienna, and the war in Iraq (1534–1535).[2]

He became grand vizier in 1536 after the execution of Pargali Ibrahim Pasha and kept this position until his death in 1539. Under his administration, the Ottomans undertook the Corfu campaign (1537) and waged war against the Habsburgs in Vienna (1537–1540). Additionally, his native Vlore region was put under full Ottoman control, and the Sanjak of Delvina was created. He died of plague in Istanbul and was buried in the Eyüp Sultan Mosque.[2]

Tombstone of Ayas Mehmed Pasha at Eyüp Sultan Mosque Cemetery