Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha
Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha was a member of the renowned Köprülü family originating from Albania, which produced six grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire.
Life
He served as grand vizier from 1661 to 1676 after he inherited the title from his father, Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, the founder of the Köprülü political family. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Ottoman governor of the Damascus Eyalet and the Erzurum Eyalet.
He was dubbed Fazıl, meaning "wise", for reducing taxation and promoting education. On the other hand, he was brutal in war. He led the Ottoman army in the Austro-Turkish War. At the beginning of July 1664, he succeeded in destroying Novi Zrin in the northern part of the Kingdom of Croatia after nearly a month-long siege. Although defeated in the Battle of Saint Gotthard, he was able to gain territory by the Peace of Vasvár in 1664.
Following this treaty, he concentrated on the Cretan War and captured Candia from the Republic of Venice in 1669. At the end of the Polish–Ottoman War against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, he signed the Treaty of Buchach in 1672 and the Treaty of Żurawno in 1676.
Contemporary European observers frequently remarked upon the atheistic tendencies of Fazıl Ahmed's inner circle of courtiers, and particularly those of Fazıl Ahmed himself. Nevertheless, his exact religious views remain unknown.
Fazıl Ahmed Pasha died on November 3, 1676 from complications resulting from his lifestyle of heavy drinking.
