Grand Vizier
In June 1565, Grand Vizier Semiz Ali Pasha died. Sultan Suleiman had much confidence in Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and promoted him to this position.
In late 1565 and early 1566, tensions between the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II and Sultan Suleiman grew. Maximilian wanted the cities previously taken by Telli Hasan Pasha restored to him. When negotiations failed, Maximilian declared war and Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ordered his nephew, Sokollu Mustafa Bey of Bosnia, to advance against Maximilian. Sokollu Mustafa managed to capture the cities of Krupa and Dvor na Uni. The Sultan immediately declared war against the Holy Roman Empire, and Sokollu Mehmed began the preparations for the army's advance. The Grand Vizier went ahead, preparing for the arrival of the Sultan, who was leading the main part of the Ottoman forces. After 50 days, they arrived in Belgrade.
Passing through Zemun, one part of the army crossed Varaždin and struck Egar before proceeding towards Vienna. Nikola Šubić Zrinski (Miklós Zrínyi) had defeated the sanjakbey Tirhal Mohammed, executing him and his son, and capturing 17,000 ducats. This incurred the Sultan's wrath, and he dispatched Sokollu Mehmed's forces to besiege Szigetvár, while Suleiman remained in Harsang. The commander of Budin, Arslan Pasha, lost the cities of Várpalota, Veszprém and Tata. The Sultan sent a platoon of fifteen troopers to bring him Arslan Pasha's head, but Arslan had already left his forces three days earlier and was on his way to the Sultan. The Sultan showed Sokollu Mehmed a letter in which Arslan had insulted him, and on 3 August, when Arslan reported to Mehmed's tent with 15 heavily armed horsemen, Sokollu Mehmed criticized Arslan for his conduct, accused him of treason and stripped him of his post, giving it instead to his nephew Sokollu Mustafa.
The Sultan arrived with Sokollu Mehmed's sons, Kurt Bey and Hasan Bey, at Pécs. Finally, the large Ottoman force, which numbered between 100,000 and 300,000 soldiers and 300 cannons, laid siege to Szigetvár. The Battle of Szigetvár was an Ottoman victory, with heavy losses on both sides. Both commanders died during the battle: while Zrinsky was killed in the final charge, Suleiman the Magnificent died in his tent from natural causes, before the Turks achieved victory. According to Robert William Fraser, more than 10,000 large cannonballs where shot into the fortress during the siege.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha had all witnesses to the Sultan's death executed, and announced that Suleiman was too sick to perform his duties and that he would be healing in Szigetvár, while he would be acting on the Sultan's behalf. Sokollu Mehmed rewarded those involved in the capture of Szigetvár and increased the soldiers' wages. He sent a part of the army to capture Babócsa. The Tartars, however, spread the news of the Sultan's death, and Sokollu Mustafa Bey wrote to Prince Selim about his father's death. Selim marched immediately towards Srem. Upon his arrival in Vukovar, Sokollu Mehmed wrote him that it would be best if he went to Belgrade to greet his army for a more formal and effective take-over of the Empire. Selim returned to Belgrade, and Mehmed ordered the army to march towards the town. Forty days after the Sultan's death, in October 1566, the army set out for Belgrade. At the fourth stop on the way to Belgrade, forty-eight days after Suleiman's death, Sokollu Mehmed announced the Sultan's death ceremonially, during the traditional reading of the Koran. Sokollu Mehmed had Suleiman's body embalmed and ordered the army to proceed to meet the new Sultan in Belgrade. After three marches, the army arrived in Sremska Mitrovica. Mehmed reminded Selim to send gifts to the viziers, pashas and the army, but Selim's advisors convinced the new Sultan not to do so. Sokollu Mehmed went to Belgrade and swore allegiance to Selim II as his Sultan, and Selim confirmed him as his Grand Vizier.
Expecting a mutiny among the military in the capital, Sokollu Mehmed had Suleiman's body sent to Constantinople to restore order amongst the janissaries and other officials, who now demanded more compensation for their past efforts. In Belgrade, Sultan Selim II called a council, as even some of his closest officials were openly mocking him. Sokollu Mehmed assured him that he would manage everything effectively, and distributed gifts to the troops, rewarding them handsomely to regain their loyalty.
On the fifth day of their stay in Belgrade, the Sultan, Sokollu Mehmed and the army departed for Constantinople. Before they managed to return to the Empire's capital, a mutiny broke out and the road to the city was blocked, and Sokollu Mehmed and Ahmed Pasha had to bribe their way into the city. Order was restored after Sokollu Mehmed convinced the Sultan to promise to send handsome gifts and higher wages to the janissaries. The next morning, each janissary was given standard pay of 40 ducats and an additional 20 ducats as an accession bonus. Soon, the other branches of the military, the sipahis and mercenaries, demanded higher wages as well. Mehmed arrested and replaced their aghas at once, finally stopping all dissent.
Two years after Selim's accession, on 17 February 1568, Sokollu Mehmed succeeded in concluding at Edirne a peace treaty with Emperor Maximilian II, whereby the Emperor agreed to pay an annual "honorary present" of 30,000 ducats.
The Islamic scholars opposed Sokollu, and viewed him as a dictatorial vizier. As hee benefited from Selim II leaving all state affairs to the government and Mehmet.
One of Sokollu's greatest responsibilities was planning an Ottoman invasion of Sumatra in 1567. Historical records from the time show that Sokollu played an active role in the strategic execution of the invasion and that he was extremely detailed in the logistics. Later on, Sokollu would also participate in the expedition as a commander. According to these historical records, between November and December 1567 Sokollu and his expedition took sail to Aceh with fifteen fully armed war galleys and two transport galleys. Upon a seemingly friendly arrival to Aceh, the sultan of Sumatra requested that all the members of the expedition follow his orders. The sultan later offered his loyalty to the Ottoman Empire and forged a bond of mutual understanding between Istanbul and Aceh.
Immediately after the expedition to Sumatra, the Ottoman Empire suffered a major rebellion from one of their most important settlements. An uprising led by Zaydi Imam in Yemen created substantial uncertainty in the region which Sokollu had to give imminent priority before taking any further action in Aceh. While the insurrection in Yemen started in the summer of 1567, it was not taking seriously by the Ottoman regime until later in the year, when most of the major cities in the region came under fire by the rebellious factions. It is believed that the cause of the dissatisfaction in Yemen was the intensified Ottoman involvement in the region as a prelude for an expansion in the Indian Ocean. The unhappiness in the Ottoman Yemen also went back to the rule of Governor Mahmud Pasha, a compatriot of Sokollu, who managed to produce large economic gains in the region at the expense of the wellbeing of the population. After Mahmud's wrongdoings in Yemen had been revealed, Sokollu decided to appoint Koja Sinan, who was assigned the responsibilities to appease the turmoils in Yemen.
Although the rebellions in Yemen once again forced Sokollu to postpone any further military action in Sumatra and the Indian Ocean, it also opened the possibility to promote one of his favorite projects: and attempt to build a canal from the Mediterranean to Suez. He instructed the governor of Egypt to send architects engineers to assess the possibility of this canal, with the purpose of allowing a better connection from Muslims attempting to visit the Holy Cities. Sokollu also was concerned about Muslims from the northeast, Crimea and Anatolia, who had to cross the Black Sea in order to visit the Holy Cities. Thus, he took actions for the construction of an open canal between the Don and the Volga in the north.
Mehmed Pasha had little success against Russia, and the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival presaged the disaster to come. A plan had been devised at Constantinople for connecting the Volga and Don by a canal, and in the summer of 1569 a large force of janissaries and cavalry was sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and begin the canal works, while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov. However, a sortie of the garrison of Astrakhan drove back the besiegers. A Russian army of 15,000 men attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force sent for their protection, and the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm. Early in 1570 the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible concluded at Constantinople a treaty which restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the Tsar.
Although the government was weakening, Sokollu Mehmed Paşa managed to expand the borders of the Ottoman Empire greatly. In 1570 he dispatched Sinan Pasha to conquer Arabia. Sinan Pasha solemnly declared the reign of Sultan Selim II in Mecca upon finishing his military campaign in Hejaz and Yemen.
From 1571 to 1572, on the order of Mehmed's wife Ismihan Sultan (or Esma Han Sultan), the famous architect Mimar Sinan built the Sokollu Mehmed Paşa Mosque, which an authoritative guide to Constantinople states to be "The most beautiful of the smaller mosques in Istanbul, a minor masterpiece by Sinan".
During the rule of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha as Grand Vizier, the Ottoman navy and army took Cyprus in 1571 from Venice. The administration of Cyprus was given to Mehmed's old friend, the Arab Ahmed Pasha. The invasion of Cyprus led to the formation of a so-called Holy League, comprising the Pope, Spain with Naples and Sicily, the Republic of Venice, Genoa, Tuscany, and the Knights of Malta. On 7 October 1571, the coalition's fleet under the command of Don Juan of Austria decisively defeated the Ottoman fleet under Müezzinzade Ali Pasha in the Battle of Lepanto.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha immediately ensured that Piyale Pasha and Uluç Ali Reis, the new Grand Admiral, were provided with all the necessary means and resources to rebuild the Empire's shattered fleet. By July 1572 the Ottoman fleet already numbered 250 fully equipped warships "including eight of the largest capital ships ever seen in the Mediterranean". It is reported in Turkish chronicles that Sokollu Mehmed Pasha had said to the Venetian Ambassador "By conquering Cyprus we have cut off one of your arms; at Lepanto by defeating our navy you have only shaved off our beard. However, you know that a cut-off arm cannot be replaced but shaved-off beard grows thicker." Indeed, the Holy League ships had to retire to ports and Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean was restored. The new Ottoman Navy that started a naval expedition in summer of 1573 under Uluç Ali Reis found no rivals in the Mediterranean and ravaged the coasts of Sicily and southern Italy and in 1574 it captured Tunis from the Hafsids, who for some time had been supported by Spanish troops, thus restoring Ottoman domination in the Western Mediterranean.
On 3 March 1573, the Venetian Republic signed a new peace treaty with the Ottomans under Mehmed Pasha, thereby bringing the Holy League to an end, accepting the loss of Cyprus and increasing the tribute payments. He also extended for eight more years the peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire and maintained good relations with France, Poland-Lithuania and Russia. He was preparing for a fresh attack on Venice when the Sultan's death on 12 December 1574 cut short his plans.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha's wealth reached its peak around 1573, when the value of his personal property (cash, goods, accounts, objects) amounted to 18 million ducats. Mehmed received the standard Grand Vizier's wage of 20 ducats every day. His wealth increased greatly through gifts and taxes of Ottoman officials: anyone who became a vizier had to pay Mehmed Pasha 50,000 to 60,000 ducats, and every Governor-General had to pay 15,000 to 20,000 or even sometimes 30,000 to 40,000 ducats upon ascending to the office. The provincial governor of Egypt at Cairo alone dispatched 100,000 ducats to the Grand Vizier every year.
On 30 August 1574, Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha installed his nephew Antonije Sokolović, then the Metropolitan of Hum, as the new Eastern Orthodox Archbishop of Ohrid. On 23 October the same year, upon the death of Patriarch Makarije, Antonije became the new Serbian Patriarch. Antonije died soon, in 1575, and was replaced by yet another one of Mehmed's nephews, Gerasim Sokolović.
When Sultan Selim II died, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha again kept this secret until Selim's oldest son Murad arrived from his governor's post in Manisa. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha acknowledged the new Sultan, Murad III, and remained Grand Vizier, but now he had to cope with the rising political influence of the palace women, first with Sultan's mother Nurbanu Sultan and then his wife, of Albanian origin, Safiye Sultan. Murad III gradually soured on Sokollu Mehmed's overwhelming power within the Empire, and the Grand Vizier's influence declined.
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was involved in the succession disputes of the Polish Crown in 1576 and 1577, but this did not reach greater measures.
Sokollu Mehmed signed numerous treaties of friendship with Venice, Florence, Spain, England and Switzerland. He also managed to force a number of European states to pay tribute: Austria paid 9,000 ducats; Transylvania 3,000; Wallachia 7,000; Moldavia 3,000. Eventually, even Venice had to pay him 4,000 ducats annually. This altogether gave him an annual income of 31,000 gold ducats.
Mehmed was initially known to be opposed to the war with Persia, which began in 1578, but was overruled upon eventually, amongst the reasons being the constant urgings by Sokollu Mehmed to take advantage of the Ottomans neighboring rival. Sultan Murad III time afterwards, began to limit his Grand Vizier's powers by slowly removing his allies from high offices. The state secretary Feridun, an old companion of Sokollu mehmed's since the siege of Szigetvár, was sent to Belgrade, away from Constantinople. Mehmed's faithful Arab friend, the Governor-General of Cyprus, was lynched by mutinous soldiers. Mehmed's greatest rivals, Hamid Efendi and Piyale Pasha, arranged the execution of the Grand Vizier's Greek protege, Michael Kantakouzenos. On 10 October 1578, Sokollu Mustafa Pasha, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha's nephew and beylerbey (governor-general) of Budin, was assassinated (some sources put it as 30 September 1578). On the anniversary of this day, on 10 October 1579, Sokollu Mehmed had his servant Hasan Bey read to him about the Battle of Kosovo.
