Ayas Mehmed Paşa

He went to Istanbul while his father was living there, and following his orders entered Ottoman service under the Devshirme practice (as he was born Christian) and eventually became Agha of the Janissaries. He participated in the Battle of Chaldiran (1514) and the 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). Under his administration, the Ottomans undertook the Corfu campaign (1537) and waged war against the Habsburgs in Vienna (1537–1540). Additionally, his native Vlorë 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. • Illustration — Tombstone of Ayas Mehmed Pasha at Eyüp Sultan Mosque Cemetery

• Honorific Prefix — Ayas • Name — Mehmed • Honorific Suffix — Pasha • Office1 — 29th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire • Monarch1 — Suleiman I • Term Start1 — 14 March 1536 • Term End1 — 13 July 1539 • Predecessor1 — Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha • Successor1 — Lütfi Pasha • Born — 1483 • Birthplace — Delvinë, Sanjak of Avlona, Ottoman Empire (modern Albania) • Died — 1539 • Place of death — Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (modern Turkey) • Blank1 — Ethnicity • Data1 — Albanian