Köprülü Mehmed Pasha
Albanian Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1580-1661)
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (Ottoman Turkish: كپرولی محمد پاشا, Turkish: Köprülü Mehmet Paşa, pronounced [ˈcœp.ɾy.ly mehˈmet paˈʃa]; Albanian: Mehmed Pashë Kypriljoti or Qyprilliu, also called Mehmed Pashá Rojniku; c. 1575, Roshnik,– 31 October 1661, Edirne) was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire of Albanian origin and founding patriarch of the Köprülü political dynasty. He helped rebuild the power of the empire by rooting out corruption and reorganizing the Ottoman army. As he introduced these changes, Köprülü also expanded the borders of the empire, defeating the Cossacks, the Hungarians, and most impressively, the Venetians. Köprülü's effectiveness was matched by his reputation.
Biography
Early life
He was born in the village of Roshnik in the Sanjak of Berat, Albania to ethnic Albanian parents.
Rise through the imperial service
He eventually rose to the rank of pasha and was appointed the beylerbey (provincial governor) of the Trebizond Eyalet in 1644. Mehmed Pasha's early rise was facilitated by his participation in patronage networks with other Albanians in the Ottoman administration. His main patron was the Albanian Grand Vizier Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha who secured Köprülü Mehmed's appointment as mirahor.
Later he was to rule the provinces of Eğri in 1647, of Karaman in 1648, and of Anatolia in 1650.
The public source identifies “Köprülü Mehmed Pasha” as albanian Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1580-1661). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Köprülü, Mehmed and Pasha.
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Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q728324. VIAF identifies the subject as 23534883. The Library of Congress control number is n84037237. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1575, 1661, 1644 and 1647.
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This entry incorporates text from “Köprülü Mehmed Pasha” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.