Osman Pazvantoglu of Vidin (1758 – February 5, 1807) is a controversial historical figure who belongs both to Bulgaria’s and Turkey’s past. Although he was an Ottoman soldier, commander and ruler who dreamed of restoring the Suleyman the Magnificent’s rule, the Muslims refused to bury him in a sacred ground.
Osman Pazvantoglu’s Early Life
Osman Pazvantoglu was born to a wealthy Muslim family in the city of Vidin, northwestern Bulgaria. Most scholars trace his family origins back to Bosnian (even Slavic and Christian) ancestors. Being a commander of 31st Janissary unit, Osman Pazvantoglu’s father, Omer, was a respected member of the military elite in Vidin. Osman Pazvantoglu’s mother, Fatma, was a daughter and sister of well-established Muslim clerics who also lived in Vidin.
Osman Pazvantoglu’s Rise to Power
In 1788, Omer Pazvantoglu was executed for planning and leading a revolt against the Ottoman central authority. His son, Osman, was also accused of conspiracy against the sultan and sentenced to death, buthe managed to escape. Shortly afterwards, Osman Pazvantoglu was pardoned by Sultan Selim III. He returned to Vidin and seizes power with the strong support of the local military garrison and the Vidin city’s elite, and started acting as an independent governor.
Osman Pazvantoglu soon strengthened his position and by the end of 1790s he had control over a vast area which spread from Belgrade to Varna and from the Danube to the Balkan Mountains. Sultan Selim III had tried various ways of “the carrot and the stick approach” to cope with the Vidin rebel, but was unsuccessful in all his attempts to gain a victory.
The sultan had granted Pazvantoglu the honorary title “Pasha of Three Horse Tails”. That was the highest grade of Pasha in the Ottoman Empire not counting the sultan who himself was the one and only “Pasha of Four Horse Tails”. Selim III had sent his armies three times to siege the city of Vidin and to capture the rebellious governor. As a result, Pazvantoglu and his army won three glorious victories over the Ottoman central authority.
Osman Pazvantoglu’s Domestic Policy
Pazvantoglu’s secession had been provoked by the reforms which Sultan Selim III was trying to introduce. Concerning taxation, administrationand the ayan ownership of land, the so called “New Order” of Selim III had badly affected not only the ayans but also the Janissary soldiers and the ordinary subjects. As a result of his opposition to the sultan’s unpopular initiatives, Osman Pazvantoglu had been enjoying wide public support including nobles, soldiers and poor people both Muslims and non-Muslims (Christians, Jews, etc.).
According to various diplomatic reports at the time, Bulgarian peasants used to say that “Pazvantoglu was an enemy only of the Turks, who feared him extremely and hid when he was nearby”. Moreover, at harvest time Osman Pasha defended his subjects from the attacks of bandits even personally as he was staying with them. And besides, he had reduced their tax burden. Pazvantoglu had been also admired for his religious tolerance.
The city of Vidin, the capital of Osman Pazvantoglu’s domain, owed its European view much to Pazvantoglu’s construction projects. The remarkable complex including a unique Mosque with a stylized heart instead of crescent on the top of its minaret, a library and a madrasah (Islamic school), the modern post office building with the most up-to-date equipment and the unusual cross-shaped barracks were only a handful of all magnificent structures erected in Vidin under Pazvantoglu’s rule. There are two main theories about the Pazvantoglu’s Mosque: according to the first one the Mosque was dedicated to Osman Pazvantoglu’s father, while the second theory states that the heart had been inspired by a Bulgarian girl with whom Pazvantoglu had been in love.
Osman Pazvantoglu’s Foreign Policy
However, Pazvantoglu had earned the respect of the people who had lived in his territories only – outside his dominion he had been acting like a brutal and merciless bandit. He often carried out violent raids against various cities and villages in Wallachia which had been looted and burned by his troops.
Meanwhile, he maintained diplomatic relations with all European Great Powers including France, Austria and Russia. Thanks to his wide network of agents and spies abroad, Pazvantoglu had always been well informed about their official and secret political maneuvers. The important role of his envoys to the Great Powers had been played mainly by respected Christian merchants.
The Vidin rebel had even minted his own currency – a coin called “pazvatche”. The coins had borne the inscriptions “There is only one God” and “Liberty”. The currency, which was minted by an unknown Venetian in Vidin or in Austria, was circulating not only in the Vidin area but also in the capital of the Empire.
The End of Osman Pazvantoglu
The First Serbian Uprising (1804) turned into the beginning of the end of Osman Pazvantoglu’s rule and life. Almost all of Pazvantoglu’s Christian commanders and soldiers abandoned their allegiance to him and joined the Serbian rebels. He gradually lost his influence and power over his subjects, as well as their admiration, and died of unknown disease on February 17, 1807.
Sources:
Kardzaliisko vreme by Vera Mutafchieva, Nauka I Iskustvo Publishing House, Sofia, 1977
Osman Pazvantoglu of Vidin: Between Old and New by Rossitsa Gradeva, Princeton Papers: Interdisciplinary Journal of Eastern Studies, Vol. 13, The Ottoman Balkans, 1750 – 1830 edited by Frederick F. Anscombe, Markus Wiener Publishers, 2006
Rumyana Mokanova - I am a Bulgarian journalist with a Master's Degree in journalism at St Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia and 15-year practice in daily ...
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