RUMELİ VALİSİ MEHMED HAKKI PAŞA’NIN DAĞLI EŞKIYASI MEHMED SİNAB İLE MÜCADELESİ (1796)
MEHMET HAKKI PASHA VERSUS MEHMET SINAB: THE GOVERNOR’S STRUGGLE WITH THE BANDIT IN RUMELIA (1796)

Summary/Abstract: When Selim III took a decision to put an end to the mountain bandits which had caused trouble for Rumelia and the Ottoman Empire for a while, he realized that he was in need of a mighty pasha. For this reason, he appointed Mehmet Hakkı Pasha as the Governor of Rumelia by supplying him with a chance for self-ındependence (istiklâl). But Hakkı Pasha did not have his origin in the military. Therefore, he felt obliged to establish his military authority as soon as possible. He decided that the first thing to do was to eliminate bandits such as Sinab who was widely neglected by the historians yet was a widely-known brigand in Rumelia. Accordingly, he took both the military and social measures required for being successful. This paper aims to answer the questions regarding what these measures were and how they were implemented. Besides, the other goal of this study is to describe Pasha’s struggle with bandits and his relations to the Porte. Consequently, despite his lack of experience, Mehmet Hakkı Pasha succeeded to reduce bandits to submission by means of the measures he took. His securitarian and restrictive policy re-established sultan’s sovereignty in Rumelia, but the same policy led to some disruptiveness in the relations between Hakkı Pasha and Istanbul which paved the way for his dismissal from his position.

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