Abaza Hasan Pasha, also called Kara Hasan Pasha or Celali Hasan Pasha; (, Abāza Ḥasan Paşa), was an Ottoman provincial governor and celali rebel of the mid-seventeenth century. He launched two rebellions against the Ottoman government, the second and largest of which ended with his assassination in Aleppo on 16 February 1659 following a failed attempt to force the deposition of the Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha.
Abaza Hasan first gained prominence in 1648 by defeating the Anatolian rebel Kara Haydaroğlu, for which he was rewarded with the rank of voyvoda (overseer) of the Yeni Il Türkmen. After this office was taken from him through palace intrigue, he launched his first revolt, occupying territory in northwestern Anatolia. During this time he rallied to his side other military men with grievances against the government as well as thousands of the sekban and sarıca characteristic of the Celali Rebellions. He eventually achieved his goals, recovering his office and reconciling his relationship with the central government. In the following years he was promoted to the rank of pasha and received the governorship of various provinces in the east. In the summer of 1658 he launched a second revolt, this time in response to the wide-ranging purges and executions carried out by Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. Despite being joined by a significant portion of the Ottoman military establishment, Abaza Hasan and his allies were unable to enforce their demand for Köprülü's execution either by winning the support of Sultan Mehmed IV or by achieving a major military victory. Lured into the government-held city of Aleppo by promises of pardon, they were suddenly assassinated by the order of the loyalist commanders who had been sent against them.
As the last of the major Celali rebels, Abaza Hasan's defeat marked the end of a long period of instability in Anatolia. The region had suffered from repeated rebellion by provincial governors ever since the time of the revolt of Abaza Mehmed Pasha in 1622. While some minor outbreaks of rebellion continued to occur during the following era, the province generally benefited from the stability associated with Köprülü rule. Abaza Hasan's failure to depose Köprülü Mehmed enabled that family of viziers to continue administering the empire uninterrupted for another twenty-four years, until Kara Mustafa Pasha's execution following the unsuccessful Siege of Vienna in 1683.
Biography
Early career
Nothing is known of Abaza Hasan's life before 1648, except that he was by origin a member of the sipāhiyān, the first of the six divisions of imperial cavalry (Altı Bölük). He first entered the historical record in 1648, serving Hacı Sinanzade Mehmed Pasha as his mütesellim (deputy-governor) in the Sanjak (sub-province) of Hamid, in southwest Anatolia. There he earned a reputation for bravery and military prowess by defending the city of Isparta from the rebel Kara Haydaroğlu, who had been harassing nearby caravans and villages. While previous commanders sent to subdue him had been thwarted, Abaza Hasan ambushed and captured him in a night attack. Kara Haydaroğlu was delivered to Istanbul and executed on 12 November 1648. For his service, Abaza Hasan was given robes of honor and rewarded with the rank of voyvoda (overseer) of the Yeni Il Türkmen, at that time a lucrative post in Eastern Anatolia.
First revolt
The Ottoman government during the early years of the reign of Sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687) was rife with factional disputes and power struggles. Thus in 1651, after three years of faithfully carrying out service overseeing the Yeni Il Türkmen, he was suddenly removed from office at the insistence of a palace faction of Ocak Aghas (janissary commanders) led by Bektaş Agha. Despite the intercession of the Şeyhülislâm Karaçelebizade Abdulaziz Efendi, he was unable to regain his office. The grand vizier Melek Ahmed Pasha recognized the injustice which Abaza Hasan had suffered, but was too reliant on the support of the Aghas to be willing to help. A contemporary source depicts him fuming with rage and swearing revenge upon the Ocak Aghas. Giving up on the legal means of recompense, he and his supporters left Istanbul and began gathering an army in Anatolia, demanding either the return of his office or 60,000 guruş (silver coins of foreign origin) in compensation.