Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha’s Fortifications Along the Northern Black Sea Coast
Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha’s Fortifications Along the Northern Black Sea Coast
Author(s): Mahmut Halef CevrioğluSubject(s): History, Archaeology, Cultural history, Comparative history, Economic history, Ethnohistory, History of ideas, Military history, Political history, Special Historiographies:, Theology and Religion, Islam studies, 17th Century, The Ottoman Empire, Sociology of Religion
Published by: Национално издателство за образование и наука „Аз-буки“
Keywords: Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (1656 – 1661); Ottoman frontiers; the Black Sea; Cossacks; Sedd-i İslam, Liutik; Doğangeçidi
Summary/Abstract: Ottoman historiography has focused on the construction activity of the Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha with reference to the castles he got built in Western Anatolia. Nevertheless, his endeavours to fortify the Black Sea coasts of the Ottoman Empire attracted less attention. This study seeks to describe and clarify Köprülü Mehmed Pasha’s defensive construction projects against Cossack naval raids in two separate zones of the Northern Black Sea: the Don and the Dnieper. This study relies on contemporary European reports, Ottoman archival material and related literature. It suggests that Köprülü Mehmed Pasha reinforced the protection of the Don estuary by commissioning the construction of a castle (Sedd-i İslam) on the one hand, and two self-standing towers on the other in 1660. As for the Dnieper, the pasha commanded the Doğangeçidi Castle’s construction in 1661, which was completed in 1662. Highlighting this dynamic building activity, the present essay suggests that Köprülü Mehmed Pasha’s invigoration of the northern frontiers of the Ottoman Empire should not be overshadowed by the conquests he is rather associated with.
Journal: История
- Issue Year: 31/2023
- Issue No: 2
- Page Range: 119-131
- Page Count: 13
- Language: English
- Content File-PDF