Gazi Husrev-beg’s Civilizational and War Strategy
Gazi Husrev-beg’s Civilizational and War Strategy

Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses Gazi Husrev-beg (Turkish beyi), the most famous Bosnian governor and the founder of vakufs in Sarajevo in the 16th century. He was a royal kapidžibaša, then the sanjakbeg (Tur. sancak beyi) of Smederevo from 1519-1521 and from 1534-1536, ruling Bosnia for seventeen years for three periods: from September 1521 until June 1525, from January 1526 until the spring of 1534, and finally from May 1536 until his death, on June 18, 1541. His mother was sultana Selcuka, daughter of Bayazid II. His father was born in Herzegovina and was a sanjakbeg in Serres, where Husrev was born. Under Gazi Husrev-beg’s command, many towns in the westernmost part of the Ottoman Empire were conquered. Nevertheless, he is better remembered as a founder of numerous vakufs (Tur. vaqfs). Only in Sarajevo, his funds were used to construct over 300 buildings, some of which bear witness to the greatness of his work. Having established several endowments, he greatly contributed to the urban development of Sarajevo, having a vision of the city’s development into an administrative, cultural, educational, economic and Sufic center.

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