Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

2025-06-04T21:59:37Z

191.57.19.128: add

{{Short description|Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1565 to 1579}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Sokollu Mehmed
| honorific-suffix = [[Pasha]]
| image = Mehmed Sokolović (ca 1505-1579) Glasoviti Hrvati 1886.png
| office = 35th [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire]]
| 1blankname = [[Sultan of the Ottoman Empire|Sultan]]
| 1namedata = [[Suleiman the Magnificent|Suleiman I]] [[Selim II]] [[Murad III]]
| term_start = 28 June 1565
| term_end = 11 October 1579
| predecessor = [[Semiz Ali Pasha]]
| successor = [[Semiz Ahmed Pasha]]
| birth_date = 1505
| birth_place = [[Rudo]], [[Sanjak of Herzegovina]], [[Ottoman Empire]] (modern-day [[Rudo]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]])
| birth_name = Bajica Nenadić
| death_date = 11 October 1579 (aged 72–73)
| death_place = [[Constantinople]], [[Ottoman Empire]] (modern-day [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]])
| nationality =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Ismihan Sultan]]|1562}}
| children = Safiye Hanımsultan Sultanzade Ahmed Bey Sultanzade Sokolluzâde Ibrahim Pasha Sultanzade Piri Mehmed Bey
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[Enderun School]]
| profession =
| blank2 = Religious affiliation
| data2 = [[Islam]] (prev. [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]])
| allegiance = {{flag|Ottoman Empire}}
| branch = {{army|Ottoman Empire}} {{navy|Ottoman Empire}}
| serviceyears = 1541–1579
| rank = Commander of the Imperial Guard (1543–1546) [[Kapudan Pasha]] (Grand Admiral; 1546–1551) [[Rumelia|Governor-General of Rumelia]] (1551–1555) [[Vizier|Third Vizier]] (1555–1561) [[Vizier|Second Vizier]] (1561–1565) [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire|Grand Vizier]] (1565–1579)
| battles = [[Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–73)]] [[Ottoman–Hungarian Wars]] [[Russo-Crimean War (1571)]] [[Croatian-Ottoman Wars]] [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55)]] [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–90)]]{{sfn|Sicker|2001|pp=2-3}}
| awards =
}}

'''Sokollu Mehmed Pasha''' ({{langx|ota|صوقوللى محمد پاشا|Sokollu Mehmet Paşa}}; {{Lang-sr-Cyrl|Мехмед-паша Соколовић|Mehmed-paša Sokolović}}; {{IPA|sh|měxmet pâʃa sokǒːloʋitɕ|pron}};<ref>''Mehmed''/''Мехмед'' in isolation: {{IPA|sh|měxmed|}}.</ref> 1505 – 11 October 1579) was an [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] statesman of [[Serbs|Serb]] origin most notable for being the [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire]]. Born in [[Sanjak of Herzegovina|Ottoman Herzegovina]] into an [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christian]] family, Mehmed was recruited as a young boy as part of so called "blood tax" to serve as a [[janissary]] to the Ottoman [[devşirme]] system of recruiting Christian boys to be raised as officers or administrators for the state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Andric |first1=Ivo |title=The Bridge on the Drina |date=1945 |publisher=Dereta |isbn=978-86-7346-819-8}}</ref> He rose through the ranks of the Ottoman imperial system, eventually holding positions as commander of the imperial guard (1543–1546), [[List of Kapudan Pashas|High Admiral of the Fleet]] (1546–1551), [[Governor-General]] of [[Rumelia]] (1551–1555), Third [[Vizier]] (1555–1561), Second Vizier (1561–1565), and as [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire|Grand Vizier]] (1565–1579, for a total of 14 years, three months, 17 days) under three sultans: [[Suleiman the Magnificent]], [[Selim II]], and [[Murad III]].<ref name=Imamovic>Imamović, Mustafa (1996). Historija Bošnjaka. Sarajevo: BZK Preporod. {{ISBN|9958-815-00-1}}</ref> He was assassinated in 1579, ending his near 15-years of service to several [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|Sultans]], as sole legal representative in the administration of state affairs.<ref name=Imamovic/>

Although Sokullu was Muslim, he remembered his Serbian Orthodox roots and his family. He persuaded the Sultan to restore the [[Serbian Patriarchate of Peć]] as a "gesture of reconciliation".<ref name=Judah/> He appointed members of his family (both Muslim and Christian) to important positions in Ottoman Empire, including [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha]], [[Makarije Sokolović]], [[Ferhad Pasha Sokolović]], [[Sinan-beg Boljanić]], [[Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Pasha]] and [[Lala Mustafa Pasha]].<ref name=family>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Sokollu family|author=Sefik Peksevgen|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire|date=21 May 2010|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&q=sokollu|pages=535–6|isbn=9781438110257}}</ref>

==Biography==

===Early years===
[[File:Sokullupasa.jpg|thumb|175px|left|Miniature of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]]
Sokollu's birth name was probably ''Bajica'',<ref name=Samarcic/> and he was of ethnic [[Serbs|Serb]] origin.{{sfn|Malcolm|1994|p=46}}{{sfn|Hastings|1997|p=132}}<ref name=":1">Gilles Veinstein (2012). “[https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/sokollu-mehmed-pasha-SIM_7090?s.num=10 Soḳollu Meḥmed Pas̲h̲a]”, in: ''Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition'', Ed. P. Bearman, et al.</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=Ana S. Trbovich| title=A Legal Geography of Yugoslavia's Disintegration| year=2008| publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]| place=Oxford| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ojur7dVoxIcC&pg=PA69| isbn=9780195333435| page=69| mode=cs1}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=Emine Fetvacı| chapter=Sokollu Mehmed Pasha's Career| title=Picturing History at the Ottoman Court| year=2013| publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]| place=Bloomington, Indiana| chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f67qIxJrpTMC&pg=PA102| isbn=9780253006783| page=102| mode=cs1}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=İlber Ortaylı| author-link=İlber Ortaylı| title=Osmanlı'yı Yeniden Keşfetmek| trans-title=Rediscovering the Ottoman Empire| language=tr| year=2006| publisher=[[Timaş Yayınları]]| place=Istanbul| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=05srCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA119| page=119| quote=Sokullu Mehmet Paşa ... Sırp asıllı bir ruhban ailesinden gelir.| mode=cs1}}</ref><ref>{{Citation| author=Peter Bartl| title=Grundzüge der jugoslawischen Geschichte| trans-title=Basics of the Yugoslav History| year=1985| publisher=[[Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft]]| place=Darmstadt| language=de| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=22JKAQAAIAAJ| isbn=9783534080823| page=38| quote=des serbischstämmigen Großvezirs Mehmed Pascha Sokolli| mode=cs1}}</ref> He was said to be born into a modest shepherd family,<ref name=Samarcic>Samarčić, Radovan (2004). Sokollu Mehmet Paşa (3rd ed.) Istanbul: Aralik. {{ISBN|975-8823-62-0}}</ref> adherent to the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]],<ref>{{cite book| last=Dvornik| first=Francis| year=1962| title=The Slavs in European History and Civilization| url=https://archive.org/details/slavsineuropeanh0000dvor| url-access=registration| publisher=Rutgers University Press| location=New Brunswick, New Jersey| isbn=0-8135-0799-5| page=[https://archive.org/details/slavsineuropeanh0000dvor/page/356 356]}}</ref> in or near [[Sokolovići, Rudo|Sokolovići]] (tr. ''Sokol'') in the vicinity of modern-day [[Rudo]].<ref name=Imamovic/> "Sokollu" is a [[demonym]], derived from his place of birth, whereas the suffix ''-lu'' means "from" in Turkish.<ref name=Imamovic/> His father was named Dimitrije.<ref name=Imamovic/> He had two brothers and a sister, who married the older brother of [[Hüseyin Pasha Boljanić]], as well as at least one uncle.<ref name=Imamovic/> However, details about his family and relations are disputed on two major counts. One is his relationship to [[Makarije Sokolović]]. Traditionally identified as his brother, today some historians consider him to have been either a nephew or distant relative.<ref name=Imamovic/> The second is the matter of Mehmed's uncle. By some accounts, his uncle was a monk at the [[Mileševa monastery]] who had his two nephews, Bajica and Makarije (taken to be brothers according to this view), educated there.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} Other sources suggest that his uncle converted to [[Islam]] early.<ref name=Imamovic/>

Though Sokollu had embraced Islam, he remembered his family and Serbian Orthodox roots.<ref name=Marcus>{{cite book|title=Croatia: A Nation Forged in War|author=Marcus Tanner|page=41}}</ref><ref name=Judah>{{cite book|title=The Serbs: History, Myth, and the Destruction of Yugoslavia|author=Tim Judah|page=45}}</ref> He would appoint his relatives (both Muslim and Christian) to important positions, including [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha]], [[Makarije Sokolović]], [[Ferhad Pasha Sokolović]], [[Sinan-beg Boljanić]], [[Sokolluzade Lala Mehmed Pasha]] and [[Lala Mustafa Pasha]].<ref name=family/>

===Janissary education===
He was renamed Mehmed and, first in [[Edirne]] and then in [[Istanbul|Constantinople]], received a thorough Ottoman indoctrination as a recruit, first as an apprentice [[Janissary]] (in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''Acemi Oğlan''); then in the ''[[Enderun]]'' or palace school in [[Topkapı Palace]].

As proclaimed in [[Baghdad]] on 13 March 1535, Mehmed was sent to be one of the seven retainers of the Imperial Treasurer [[Iskender Çelebi]]. Upon Iskender's death, Mehmed returned to Constantinople. In addition to [[Ottoman Turkish language|Turkish]], he spoke [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Italian language|Venetian-Italian]] and [[Latin language]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}}

===Early career===
Mehmed in 1541 first became an Imperial Chamberlain and then the head of the Sultan's [[squire]]s. In these positions he became very close to Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] and learned from him.<ref name=":0" />

As a soldier, Mehmed excelled at the [[Battle of Mohács]] and the first [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|Siege of Vienna]]. In 1546 the [[Kapudan Pasha]] [[Hayreddin Barbarossa]] died and Mehmed was appointed his successor. In this capacity he was present at the naval expedition against Trablus (present-day [[Tripoli, Libya|Tripoli]] in [[Libya]]). During his five years in this position, Mehmed Pasha greatly strengthened the arsenal of the naval fleet.

Mehmed became ''[[Beylerbey]]'' (Governor-General) of [[Rumelia]] in 1551, headquartered in [[Sofia]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mehmed-Pasa-Sokollu|title=Mehmed Pasa Sokollu {{!}} Ottoman vizier|work=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2017-09-14|language=en}}</ref> While he was visiting the area of his birth, his mother recognized him by the [[birthmark]] on his face and embraced her child for the first time in more than thirty years.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

After the death of [[John Zápolya]], king of [[Hungary]] as an Ottoman vassal, in 1540, [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor]] looked to annex Zápolya's lands (the [[Eastern Hungarian Kingdom]]). The Hungarian diet had elected infant [[John Sigismund Zápolya]], the son of Zápolya and [[Isabella Jagiellon]], as King of Hungary, which broke the [[Treaty of Nagyvárad]], and Ferdinand I invaded Hungary. Queen Isabella struggled to rule Hungary for her son. Frater [[George Martinuzzi]], appointed by John as regent, opposed her (he would later be created a Cardinal as reward for his accomplishments in this conflict). Ferdinand I sent mercenary leader (''[[condottiero]]'') Bartolomeo Castoldo with more than 7,000 mercenaries who beat a contingent led by [[Péter Petrovics]], killing more than 2,500 of them, near [[Csanád]]. The Sultan immediately ordered Sokollu Mehmed Pasha to move into [[Hungary]], so he assembled an army of 90,000 soldiers and fifty-four cannons and also summoned the [[pasha]]s of [[Sanjak of Smederevo|Smederevo]], [[Sanjak of Vidin|Vidin]] and [[Sanjak of Nicopolis|Nicopolis]]. When his forces reached [[Stari Slankamen|Slankamen]] in [[Syrmia]], George Martinuzzi begged Mehmed not to attack Transylvania, arguing that it had remained in the possession of the Sultan. Mehmed rejected negotiation proposals, led Ottoman forces into Transylvania and soon captured 16 cities, including [[Bečej]], [[Zrenjanin|Becskerek]], [[Csanád]] and [[Lipova, Arad|Lippa]]. In this campaign, Sokollu won over to his side local Serb-manned garrisons by pointing out to his common ethnicity with them.<ref name=":1" /> Martinuzzi responded by raising a rebellion in Transylvania, mustering one soldier from every household. Mehmed had to fall back and once again laid siege to [[Temesvár]] on 14 October with the main part of his army and 50 cannons. Mehmed demanded surrender, but the city's commander, István Losonci, replied with a recommendation for Mehmed's return to Rumelia.

Mehmed besieged the city until 28 October but could not seize it. Retreating to [[Belgrade]], he initiated peace negotiations with the Monk-Viceroy. Martinuzzi was assassinated on 17 December 1551, and peace talks ended. Sokollu Mehmed renewed his military campaign in 1552, seizing [[Temesvár]] (see [[Siege of Temesvár (1552)]]), [[Hollókő]], [[Buják]], [[Rétság]], [[Balassagyarmat]], the whole of [[Banat]] and [[Szolnok]]. Sokollu Mehmed's forces then joined with those of [[Kara Ahmed Pasha|Ahmet Pasha]] advancing towards [[Eger]]. Mehmed's army assembled on the Hill of Egid but [[Siege of Eger (1552)|could not take the city itself]].

In 1532, Sultan Suleiman [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55)|had declared war]] on [[Safavid Persia]] following two decades of peace after the climactic [[Battle of Chaldiran]], when the Persian Shah [[Tahmasp I|Tahmasp]] wanted to take advantage of the Sultan's preoccupation with Hungary and started making armed incursions into Ottoman territory. Sokollu Mehmed was dispatched to spend the winter of 1553/1554 in [[Tokat]] to take charge of the final stages of the war against Persia. In June 1554, Mehmed Pasha and the Rumelian troops joined the Sultan's army and took part in the [[Safavid Campaign (1554–55)]].

===Vizier===

====Third Vizier====
Impressed by Sokollu Mehmed's skills, the Sultan made him the Third Vizier in 1555 and he was given a place in the Imperial Council (''[[Divan]]''). His position as Governor-General of Rumelia was given to a [[Serb clans|Herzegovinian]] Janissary ''[[Agha (Ottoman Empire)|agha]]'', Pertev Pasha, an old companion of Mehmed's from when they had both served under [[Iskender Çelebi]].{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Almost immediately Sokollu Mehmed had to quell a rebellion around [[Thessalonika|Salonica]], led by Mustafa Bey, who pretended to be the Sultan's late son Mustafa. Sokollu Mehmed took 4,000 horsemen and 3,000 janissaries and quelled the rebellion. Mustafa Bey was hanged.

Mehmed's brother, Topuzli-Makarije, became a monk of the Serb [[Hilandar|Chilandar Monastery]] on [[Mount Athos]]. Makarije Sokolović paid a visit to his brother's palace in Constantinople in 1557, where the two brothers discussed the possibility of re-establishing the [[autocephaly]] of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]]. Later that same year, Sokollu Mehmed issued an edict (''[[firman]]'') declaring the restoration of the [[Serbian Patriarchate of Peć]], with Makarije Sokolović as [[Serbian Patriarch]] Makarije I. The edict also guaranteed the rights and religious freedom of all inhabitants of the Ottoman Empire.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

When the former Grand Vizier Ahmet Pasha was deposed and hanged, he was replaced by [[Rüstem Pasha]], who had numerous enemies. One of them was [[Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha|Lala Mustafa]], who instigated the Sultan's third son, Bayezid, then ''Beylerbey'' of [[Karaman]], to raise a rebellion against his brother and heir-apparent [[Selim II|Selim]]. Sokollu Mehmed mustered an army and went to [[Konya]], where he decisively defeated Bayezid's forces in May 1559. Bayezid fled to Persia. Sokollu Mehmed remained in Asia and spent the winter negotiating with the Persian Shah regarding Bayezid's extradition. After long negotiations, the Shah handed over Bayezid and his four sons, who were subsequently executed.{{Citation needed|date=September 2017}}

====Second Vizier====
In 1561, Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha died and was succeeded by the Second Vizier, [[Semiz Ali Pasha]]. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha in turn became Second Vizier, while Pertev Pasha became Third Vizier.

On 17 August 1562, Sokollu Mehmed married Sultan Suleiman's granddaughter – Prince Selim's daughter – Ismihan Sultan (some sources read her name as Esma Han Sultan) .<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and The Apogee of Empire1561–1579 - Oxford Scholarship|year=2010|url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377828.001.0001/acprof-9780195377828-chapter-6|language=en|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195377828.001.0001|last1=Casale|first1=Giancarlo|isbn=9780195377828|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Mehmed spent the following years in peace, governing and administering the realm.

In 1563, Mehmed's nephew, [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha|Sokollu Mustafa Bey]], became sanjakbey of the [[Sanjak of Bosnia]].<ref>Dakic, Uros. (2012). ''The Sokollu Family Clan and the Politics of Vizierial Households in the Second Half of the Sixteenth Century.'' (MA Thesis). Department of Medieval Studies, Central European University.</ref>

===Grand Vizier===
In June 1565, Grand Vizier Semiz Ali Pasha died. Sultan Suleiman had much confidence in Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and promoted him to this position.{{sfn|Tezcan|2010|p=98}}

====War with the Habsburgs====
[[File:Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and Feridun Ahmed Beg.jpg|thumb|left|170px|[[Feridun Ahmed Beg]] and Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (right). Ottoman illustration c. 1568. (See also:[[Pirot carpet|Pirot kilim]])]]
[[File:Česma Mehmed Paše Sokolovića (1).jpg|thumb|250px|Fountain of Mehmed Pasha Sokolović in Belgrade from 1578. ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMb5WndgCbc Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Caravanserai with Bedestan in Belgrade - 3D Animation])]]
In late 1565 and early 1566, tensions between the Holy Roman Emperor [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]] and Sultan Suleiman grew. Maximilian wanted the cities previously taken by [[Telli Hasan Pasha]] restored to him. When negotiations failed, Maximilian declared war and Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha ordered his nephew, [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha|Sokollu Mustafa Bey]] of Bosnia, to advance against Maximilian. Sokollu Mustafa managed to capture the cities of [[Siege of Krupa|Krupa]] and [[Dvor na Uni]]. The Sultan immediately declared war against the Holy Roman Empire, and Sokollu Mehmed began the preparations for the army's advance. The Grand Vizier went ahead, preparing for the arrival of the Sultan, who was leading the main part of the Ottoman forces. After 50 days, they arrived in Belgrade.

Passing through [[Zemun]], one part of the army crossed [[Varaždin]] and struck [[Egar]] before proceeding towards [[Vienna]]. [[Nikola Šubić Zrinski]] (Miklós Zrínyi) had defeated the ''[[sanjakbey]]'' [[Tirhal Mohammed]], executing him and his son, and capturing 17,000 [[ducat]]s. This incurred the Sultan's wrath, and he dispatched Sokollu Mehmed's forces to besiege [[Szigetvár]], while Suleiman remained in [[Harsang]]. The commander of [[Budin Eyalet|Budin]], Arslan Pasha, lost the cities of [[Várpalota]], [[Veszprém]] and [[Tata, Hungary|Tata]]. The Sultan sent a platoon of fifteen troopers to bring him Arslan Pasha's head, but Arslan had already left his forces three days earlier and was on his way to the Sultan. The Sultan showed Sokollu Mehmed a letter in which Arslan had insulted him, and on 3 August, when Arslan reported to Mehmed's tent with 15 heavily armed horsemen, Sokollu Mehmed criticized Arslan for his conduct, accused him of treason and stripped him of his post, giving it instead to his nephew [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha|Sokollu Mustafa]].<ref>Efendi, Nahifi Mehmed. (2019). ''Cevahiru'l-Menakib: Sokollu Mustafa Paşa'nın Hayatı''. T. C. Türkiye Yazma Eserler Kurumu Başkanlığı. {{ISBN|978-975-17-4249-0}}</ref>

The Sultan arrived with Sokollu Mehmed's sons, Kurt Bey and Hasan Bey, at [[Pécs]]. Finally, the large Ottoman force, which numbered between 100,000<ref name="Shelton">{{cite book | last=Shelton | first=Edward | title=The book of battles: or, Daring deeds by land and sea | publisher=Houlston and Wright | location=London | year=1867 | pages=82–83 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7oBAAAAQAAJ}}</ref> and 300,000 soldiers and 300 cannons, laid siege to [[Szigetvár]]. The [[Battle of Szigetvár]] was an Ottoman victory, with heavy losses on both sides. Both commanders died during the battle: while Zrinsky was killed in the final charge, Suleiman the Magnificent died in his tent from natural causes, before the Turks achieved victory.<ref name="Turnbull, 57">{{Cite book | last=Turnbull | first=Stephen R | title=The Ottoman Empire, 1326–1699 | url=https://archive.org/details/ospreyessentialh1699turn_353 | url-access=limited | publisher=Osprey Publishing Ltd | location=New York (USA) | page=[https://archive.org/details/ospreyessentialh1699turn_353/page/n53 57] | year=2003 | isbn=0-415-96913-1}}</ref> According to Robert William Fraser, more than 10,000 large cannonballs where shot into the fortress during the siege.
[[File:Bajraklidzamija.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[[Bajrakli Mosque, Belgrade]] from 1575 (See also: [[Belgrade printing house]] from 1552.)]]
Sokollu Mehmed Pasha had all witnesses to the Sultan's death executed, and announced that Suleiman was too sick to perform his duties and that he would be healing in Szigetvár, while he would be acting on the Sultan's behalf{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}. Sokollu Mehmed rewarded those involved in the capture of Szigetvár and increased the soldiers' wages. He sent a part of the army to capture [[Babócsa]]. The [[Tartars]], however, spread the news of the Sultan's death, and Sokollu Mustafa Bey wrote to Prince Selim about his father's death. Selim marched immediately towards [[Srem]]. Upon his arrival in [[Vukovar]], Sokollu Mehmed wrote him that it would be best if he went to Belgrade to greet his army for a more formal and effective take-over of the Empire. Selim returned to Belgrade, and Mehmed ordered the army to march towards the town. Forty days after the Sultan's death, in October 1566, the army set out for Belgrade. At the fourth stop on the way to Belgrade, forty-eight days after Suleiman's death, Sokollu Mehmed announced the Sultan's death ceremonially, during the traditional reading of the [[Koran]]. Sokollu Mehmed had Suleiman's body embalmed and ordered the army to proceed to meet the new Sultan in Belgrade. After three marches, the army arrived in [[Sremska Mitrovica]]. Mehmed reminded Selim to send gifts to the viziers, pashas and the army, but Selim's advisors convinced the new Sultan not to do so. Sokollu Mehmed went to Belgrade and swore allegiance to Selim II as his Sultan, and Selim confirmed him as his Grand Vizier.{{sfn|Tezcan|2010|p=98}}

Expecting a mutiny among the military in the capital, Sokollu Mehmed had Suleiman's body sent to Constantinople to restore order amongst the janissaries and other officials, who now demanded more compensation for their past efforts. In Belgrade, Sultan Selim II called a council, as even some of his closest officials were openly mocking him{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}. Sokollu Mehmed assured him that he would manage everything effectively, and distributed gifts to the troops, rewarding them handsomely to regain their loyalty{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}.

On the fifth day of their stay in Belgrade, the Sultan, Sokollu Mehmed and the army departed for Constantinople. Before they managed to return to the Empire's capital, a mutiny broke out and the road to the city was blocked, and Sokollu Mehmed and Ahmed Pasha had to bribe their way into the city. Order was restored after Sokollu Mehmed convinced the Sultan to promise to send handsome gifts and higher wages to the janissaries. The next morning, each janissary was given standard pay of 40 ducats and an additional 20 ducats as an accession bonus. Soon, the other branches of the military, the [[sipahi]]s and mercenaries, demanded higher wages as well. Mehmed arrested and replaced their ''aghas'' at once, finally stopping all dissent{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}.

Two years after Selim's accession, on 17 February 1568, Sokollu Mehmed succeeded in concluding at [[Edirne]] a peace treaty with Emperor Maximilian II, whereby the Emperor agreed to pay an annual "honorary present" of 30,000 ducats.

====Expedition to Sumatra====
One of Sokollu's greatest responsibilities was planning an Ottoman invasion of [[Sumatra]] in 1567. Historical records from the time show that Sokollu played an active role in the strategic execution of the invasion and that he was extremely detailed in the logistics.<ref name="Ortega">{{Cite book|last=Casale|first=Giancarlo|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/340961426|title=The Ottoman age of exploration|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-537782-8|location=Oxford|oclc=340961426}}</ref> Later on, Sokollu would also participate in the expedition as a commander. According to these historical records, between November and December 1567 Sokollu and his expedition took sail to Aceh with fifteen fully armed war galleys and two transport galleys.<ref name="agoston">{{cite journal|last1=Agoston|first1=Gabor|title=Military Transformation in the Ottoman Empire and Russia|journal=Kritika|date=2011|volume=12|issue=3|pages=281–319|doi=10.1353/kri.2011.0018|s2cid=19755686}}</ref> Upon a seemingly friendly arrival to Aceh, the sultan of Sumatra requested that all the members of the expedition follow his orders.<ref name="Ortega" /> The sultan later offered his loyalty to the Ottoman Empire and forged a bond of mutual understanding between Istanbul and Aceh.<ref name="Ortega" />

====Expedition to Yemen====
Immediately after the expedition to Sumatra,<ref name="Ortega" /> the Ottoman Empire suffered a major rebellion from one of their most important settlements. An uprising led by Zaydi Imam in Yemen created substantial uncertainty in the region which Sokollu had to give imminent priority before taking any further action in Aceh.<ref name="Ortega" /> While the insurrection in Yemen started in the summer of 1567, it was not taking seriously by the Ottoman regime until later in the year, when most of the major cities in the region came under fire by the rebellious factions. It is believed that the cause of the dissatisfaction in Yemen was the intensified Ottoman involvement in the region as a prelude for an expansion in the Indian Ocean. The unhappiness in the Ottoman Yemen also went back to the rule of Governor Mahmud Pasha, a compatriot of Sokollu, who managed to produce large economic gains in the region at the expense of the wellbeing of the population. After Mahmud's wrongdoings in Yemen had been revealed, Sokollu decided to appoint Koja Sinan, who was assigned the responsibilities to appease the turmoils in Yemen.<ref name ="fetvaci">{{cite journal|last1=Fetvaci|first1=E.|last2=Necipoglu|first2=Gulru|title=Viziers and Eunuchs: Transition in Ottoman Manuscript Patronage|journal=ProQuest|date=2005|issue=1566–1617}}</ref><ref name="Ortega" />

====Suez Canal====
Although the rebellions in Yemen once again forced Sokollu to postpone any further military action in Sumatra and the Indian Ocean,<ref name="Ortega" /> it also opened the possibility to promote one of his favorite projects: and attempt to build a canal from the Mediterranean to Suez.<ref name="rossi">{{cite journal|last1=Rossi|first1=N.|last2=Rosand|first2=David|title=Italian Renaissance Depictions of the Ottoman Sultan: Nuances in the Function of Early Modern Italian Portraiture|journal=ProQuest|date=2013}}</ref> He instructed the governor of Egypt to send architects engineers to assess the possibility of this canal, with the purpose of allowing a better connection from Muslims attempting to visit the Holy Cities.<ref name="Ortega" /> Sokollu also was concerned about Muslims from the northeast, Crimea and Anatolia, who had to cross the Black Sea in order to visit the Holy Cities. Thus, he took actions for the construction of an open canal between the Don and the Volga in the north.

====Wars with Russia, Venice and the Holy League====
Mehmed Pasha had little success against [[Tsardom of Russia|Russia]], and the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival presaged the disaster to come. A plan had been devised at Constantinople for connecting the [[Volga]] and [[Don (river)|Don]] by a canal, and in the summer of 1569 a large force of janissaries and cavalry was sent to lay siege to [[Astrakhan]] and begin the canal works, while an Ottoman fleet besieged [[Azov]]. However, a sortie of the garrison of Astrakhan drove back the besiegers. A Russian army of 15,000 men attacked and scattered the workmen and the [[Tatars|Tatar]] force sent for their protection, and the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm. Early in 1570 the ambassadors of [[Ivan the Terrible]] concluded at Constantinople a treaty which restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the [[Tsar]].<ref>{{Citation| author=Nikolas K. Gvosdev, Christopher Marsh| title=Russian Foreign Policy: Interests, Vectors, and Sectors| year=2013| publisher=CQ Pres| url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1483322084| isbn=9781483322087| pages=293–4}}</ref>

Although the government was weakening, Sokollu Mehmed Paşa managed to expand the borders of the Ottoman Empire greatly. In 1570 he dispatched [[Sinan Pasha]] to conquer [[Arabia]]. Sinan Pasha solemnly declared the reign of Sultan Selim II in [[Mecca]] upon finishing his military campaign in [[Hejaz]] and [[Yemen]].

In 1571–1572, on the order Mehmed's wife Ismihan Sultan (or Esma Han Sultan), the famous architect [[Mimar Sinan]] built the [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (Kadırga)|Sokollu Mehmed Paşa Mosque]], which an authoritative guide to Constantinople states to be "The most beautiful of the smaller mosques in Istanbul, a minor masterpiece by Sinan".<ref name=freely>J.Freely (1998) ''Istanbul: The Imperial City'', Penguin</ref><ref>[http://newmanservices.com/turkey/thumbs.asp?sokollu Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Mosque 1572 photos] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427052933/http://newmanservices.com/turkey/thumbs.asp?sokollu |date=2006-04-27 }}</ref>

During the rule of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha as Grand Vizier, the Ottoman navy and army [[Turkish–Venetian War (1570–1573)|took]] [[Cyprus]] in 1571 from [[Republic of Venice|Venice]]. The administration of Cyprus was given to Mehmed's old friend, the [[Arab]] Ahmed Pasha. The invasion of Cyprus led to the formation of a so-called [[Holy League (1571)|Holy League]], comprising the [[Pope]], [[Habsburg Spain|Spain with Naples and Sicily]], the [[Republic of Venice]], [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]], and the [[Knights Hospitaller|Knights of Malta]]. On 7 October 1571, the coalition's fleet under the command of [[John of Austria|Don Juan of Austria]] decisively defeated the Ottoman fleet under [[Müezzinzade Ali Pasha]] in the [[Battle of Lepanto (1571)|Battle of Lepanto]].

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha immediately ensured that [[Piyale Pasha]] and [[Uluç Ali Reis]], the new Grand Admiral, were provided with all the necessary means and resources to rebuild the Empire's shattered fleet. By July 1572 the Ottoman fleet already numbered 250 fully equipped warships "including eight of the largest capital ships ever seen in the Mediterranean".<ref>S.J.Shaw, [1976] History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, pp.178</ref> It is reported in Turkish chronicles that Sokollu Mehmed Pasha had said to the Venetian Ambassador "By conquering Cyprus we have cut off one of your arms; at Lepanto by defeating our navy you have only shaved off our beard. However, you know that a cut-off arm cannot be replaced but shaved-off beard grows thicker." Indeed, the Holy League ships had to retire to ports and Ottoman naval supremacy in the Mediterranean was restored. The new Ottoman Navy that started a naval expedition in summer of 1573 under Uluç Ali Reis found no rivals in the Mediterranean and ravaged the coasts of Sicily and southern Italy and in 1574 it captured [[Tunis]] from the Hafsids, who for some time had been supported by Spanish troops, thus restoring Ottoman domination in the Western Mediterranean.

On 3 March 1573, the Venetian Republic signed a new peace treaty with the Ottomans under Mehmed Pasha, thereby bringing the Holy League to an end, accepting the loss of Cyprus and increasing the tribute payments. He also extended for eight more years the peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire and maintained good relations with [[Kingdom of France|France]], [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Poland-Lithuania]] and Russia. He was preparing for a fresh attack on Venice when the Sultan's death on 12 December 1574 cut short his plans.

====Final years====
[[File:Sokullu Mehmed Paşa Türbesi.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha in Eyup Sultan]]

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha's wealth reached its peak around 1573, when the value of his personal property (cash, goods, accounts, objects) amounted to 18 million ducats. Mehmed received the standard Grand Vizier's wage of 20 ducats every day. His wealth increased greatly through gifts and taxes of Ottoman officials: anyone who became a vizier had to pay Mehmed Pasha 50,000-60,000 ducats, and every Governor-General had to pay 15,000-20,000 or even sometimes 30,000-40,000 ducats upon ascending to the office. The provincial governor of Egypt at [[Cairo]] alone dispatched 100,000 ducats to the Grand Vizier every year.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

On 30 August 1574, Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha installed his nephew [[Antonije Sokolović]], then the [[Bishop|Metropolitan]] of [[Herzegovina|Hum]], as the new [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] [[Archbishop of Ohrid]]. On 23 October the same year, upon the death of Patriarch Makarije, Antonije became the new [[Serbian Patriarch]]. Antonije died soon, in 1575, and was replaced by yet another one of Mehmed's nephews, [[Gerasim Sokolović]].

When Sultan Selim II died, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha again kept this secret until Selim's oldest son Murad arrived from his governor's post in [[Manisa]]. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha acknowledged the new Sultan, [[Murad III]], and remained Grand Vizier, but now he had to cope with the rising political influence of the palace women, first with Sultan's mother [[Nurbanu Sultan]] and then his wife, of Albanian origin, [[Safiye Sultan (wife of Murad III)|Safiye Sultan]]. Murad III gradually soured on Sokollu Mehmed's overwhelming power within the Empire, and the Grand Vizier's influence declined.

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was involved in the succession disputes of the Polish Crown in 1576 and 1577, but this did not reach greater measures.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

Sokollu Mehmed signed numerous treaties of friendship with Venice, [[Florence]], Spain, [[Kingdom of England|England]] and [[Switzerland]]. He also managed to force a number of European states to pay tribute: Austria paid 9,000 ducats; Transylvania 3,000; [[Wallachia]] 7,000; [[Moldavia]] 3,000. Eventually, even Venice had to pay him 4,000 ducats annually. This altogether gave him an annual income of 31,000 gold ducats.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}}

Mehmed was initially known to be opposed to the [[Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590)|war with Persia]], which began in 1578, but was overruled upon eventually, amongst the reasons being the constant urgings by Sokollu Mehmed to take advantage of the Ottomans neighboring rival.{{sfn|Sicker|2001|pp=2-3}} Sultan Murad III time afterwards, began to limit his Grand Vizier's powers by slowly removing his allies from high offices. The state secretary Feridun, an old companion of Sokollu mehmed's since the siege of Szigetvár, was sent to Belgrade, away from Constantinople. Mehmed's faithful Arab friend, the Governor-General of Cyprus, was lynched by mutinous soldiers. Mehmed's greatest rivals, [[Hamid Efendi]] and Piyale Pasha, arranged the execution of the Grand Vizier's Greek protege, [[Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu|Michael Kantakouzenos]]. On 10 October 1578, [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha]], Sokollu Mehmed Pasha's nephew and [[beylerbey]] (governor-general) of [[Budin Eyalet|Budin]], was assassinated (some sources put it as September 30, 1578<ref>Altayli, Yasemin. (2009). "Macarca Mektuplariyla Budin Beylerbeyi Sokollu Mustafa Pasa (1566–1578)". ''Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi''. '''49''' (2): 157-171.</ref>). On the anniversary of this day, on 10 October 1579, Sokollu Mehmed had his servant Hasan Bey read to him about the [[Battle of Kosovo]].

==Death==
On 11 October 1579, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was assassinated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://psi424.cankaya.edu.tr/uploads/files/Agoston%20and%20Masters,%20Enc%20of%20Ott%20Empire.PDF|title=Encyclopedia of the OTTOMAN empire|website=cankaya.edu.tr}}</ref> Ending his near 15-year rule serving as the [[List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire|sultan]] sole legal representative in the administration of state affairs. There are some{{who|date=March 2013}} who claim that the assassin was a janissary in disguise in employment of Safiye Sultan, the wife of Murad III. Also, some sources{{who|date=March 2013}} claim that Sokollu Mehmed was a target of [[Hashshashin]] agent, as he was opposed to war with Persia where this order was stationed, which was not in their interest, although this is a very controversial claim as this order was destroyed by [[Mongol campaign against the Nizaris|Mongols]] long time before. In 1579, he was succeeded as grand vizier by Semiz Ahmed Pasha.<ref name="TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi">{{cite web |title=SEMİZ AHMED PAŞA |url=https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/semiz-ahmed-pasa |access-date=2021-04-26 |website=TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi |language=tr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Türkçe Bilgi: Semiz Ahmed Paşa |url=https://www.turkcebilgi.com/semiz_ahmed_paşa |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Türkçe Bilgi |language=tr}}</ref>

He is buried at his complex, ''Sokollu Mehmed Paşa Külliyesi'' at the back of [[Eyüp Sultan Mosque|Eyüp Mosque]], in Istanbul, at the ''Sokollu Mehmed Paşa Türbe'' built by famous architect [[Mimar Sinan]] for him c. 1572. His wife Ismihan (or Esma Han) is buried near him and in the little garden of the Türbe are buried the family and descendants of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha.

===Aftermath===
After his death Sultan Murad III changed grand viziers ten times in sixteen years. These frequent changes in government were part of the general instability in the Ottoman government that followed the death of Sokollu Mehmet Pasha, evidence of a decline in the empire that he had at its pinnacle while he was in office.{{sfn|Freely|2016|p=80}}

==Heritage and legacy==
[[File:Mehmet pasa bridge boat.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge]] in [[Višegrad]], Mehmed's most famous endowment from 1577. Masterpiece of architect Mimar Sinan.]]

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha has left numerous architecturally well known buildings in Constantinople and throughout Ottoman territories.{{which|date=October 2013}} Foundations of his buildings are spread over [[Edirne]], [[Aleppo|Halep]], [[Medina]], [[Bečkerek]], [[Belgrade]] and alongside{{clarify|date=August 2012}} Bosnia, where he is especially remembered for his bridges. [[Mecca]] and [[Istanbul|Constantinople]] alone contained a number of his [[mosques]].

The [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (Kadırga)|Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque]] and the complex built at Kadirga district of İstanbul by architect [[Mimar Sinan]] is considered to be the most beautiful of the smaller mosques in İstanbul.<ref name=freely/> It is known for its unusually fine ordering of [[medrese]] over the entry stairs, its lofty elegant interior, the first hooded fountain, [[Ogival arch#Architecture|ogival]] arches of the arcades, and especially, the fine and well preserved [[İznik pottery|Iznik]] tiles.

His most renowned endowment is the eleven-arched [[Višegrad bridge]] in his hometown of [[Višegrad]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://islamicartsmagazine.com/magazine/view/sokollu_mehmet_pasha_and_his_mosque_complex_in_istanbul/|title=Sokollu Mehmet Pasha and His Mosque Complex in Istanbul|work=Islamic Arts Magazine|access-date=2017-09-14|language=en}}</ref> The construction and history of the bridge is the topic of the novel ''[[The Bridge on the Drina]]'' (Serbian: ''Na Drini ćuprija - На Дрини ћуприја''), written by [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel]] laureate [[Ivo Andrić]], a [[Yugoslavia|Yugoslav]] novelist<ref name="Radovan Popović page 240">Radovan Popović: ''Andrićeva prijateljstva'', Službeni glasnik Beograd
{{ISBN|9788651901846}}, p. 240</ref> His life also interested the Yugoslav writer [[Meša Selimović]]. There were numerous [[Serbs|Serbian]], [[Croat]]ian and [[History of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnian]] legends about the bridge's construction. According to one, Mehmed Paşa built the bridge in his son's name. Another is the tale of its architect Rade, which is described in "Bridge on the Drina".

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha is often credited as the mastermind of the Ottoman Empire's last great push into the Indian Ocean. Aside from his political achievements, Sokollu was also very interested in the arts and sciences, which led to several important contributions. For example, he often funded paintings by renowned Veronese artists as well as imported glassware from Italian artisans. He also worked together with prominent Ottoman geographers and historians of his time, including [[Feridun Ahmed Beg]], [[Sipahazade Mahmed]], and [[Kutbeddin Mekki]].<ref name="Ortega" />

Other elements of his architectural legacy include:

*The ''Azapkapi Mosque'', built by Sinan in 1577–1578 in the Azapkapi district of İstanbul, is considered most important Ottoman monument in Galata.<ref name=freely/>
*The ''Sokollu Mehmed Paşa Kulliyesi'', built by Sinan in ca. 1572 in the Eyub district of İstanbul, is a complex including a medrese, a school and his tomb
*The ''Sokollu Mehmed Paşa Complex'' built in 1549 and extended at 1569, both times by Sinan. Located on the main highway between the two Ottoman capitals of İstanbul and Edirne, at Luleburgaz, it is a complex of [[caravanserai]], bathhouse, mosque, madrasah, a school, market streets and later, private apartments for Sultan's use.
*Complexes built at Havsa, a city on the Istanbul-Edirne highway and in Payas, in southern Turkey near Antakya.
*Bridges at Alpullu, Luleburgaz and Corlu, built by Sinan
*The bridge at [[Arslanagića Most]] in [[Trebinje]]
*''Vizier's bridge'' in [[Podgorica]]
*The bridge on [[Žepa]] and the [[Goat's Bridge]] (''Kozija ćuprija'') in [[Sarajevo]]
*Public bathhouses in Havsa, Yesildirek (İstanbul), Edirne and Luleburgaz public bathhouses, built by Sinan
*The [[Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church|Black Mosque in Sofia]], built by Mimar Sinan during the years when Sokollu Mehmed Pasha was governor of Rumelia and later converted into a church in the 19th century
*A Road of four paces{{clarify|date=January 2014}} and a castle between [[Višegrad]] and [[Sarajevo]], on Glasinac. Of the castle, only a drinking-fountain remains, which is known as the ''Mehmed Sokolović's han''.
*A mosque, [[Maktab (education)|maktab]] and musafirhana (guest house) in his native village of Sokolovići

==Issue==
On 17 August 1562, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha married [[Ismihan Sultan]], daughter of future Sultan [[Selim II]] and [[Nurbanu Sultan]] and granddaughter of Sultan [[Süleyman I]] and Haseki [[Hürrem Sultan]]. <ref name="Peacock">{{cite journal|last1=Peacock|first1=A.|title=The Ottomans and the Funj sultanate in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries|journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies|date=2012|volume=75|issue=1|pages=87–111|doi=10.1017/s0041977x11000838}}</ref>

Only two of Sokollu's nine children from Ismihan would survive after infancy.

Sokollu's royal wife, [[Ismihan Sultan]] had given birth to nine children, six of whom had died one after another in infancy before 1574 from "falling sickness" when the couple finally abandoned their residence at Kadırgalimanı, adjacent to their co-endowed mosque complex as reported by Gerlach in his 1576 report:<ref>Gülru Necipoğlu: The Mangalia Mosque in the Waqf Empire of an Ottoman Power Couple- Princess İsmihan Sultan and Sokollu Mehmed Pasha</ref>
*Sultanzade Ahmed Bey (1564 - 1567). Died in infancy, probably of smallpox.
*Sultanzade Piri Mehmed Bey (1566 - 1567). Died in early infancy, probably of smallpox.
*four other unknown children, most probably sons who died in infancy before 1574.

Antonio Tiepolo’s (1576) report states that they had three surviving infants, two daughters and one son who were born after their move to a newly-built palace closer to the [[Hippodrome of Constantinople| Hippodrome]] from the previous residence which they deemed "haunted by evil spirits causing the deaths of their children one by one":<ref>Gülru Necipoğlu: The Mangalia Mosque in the Waqf Empire of an Ottoman Power Couple- Princess İsmihan Sultan and Sokollu Mehmed Pasha</ref>
*Safiye Hanımsultan (1574/5 - 24.1.1594<ref>The Business of State Ottoman Finance Administration and Ruling Elites in Transition (1580s –1615); p. 139, n. 303: "The widowed daughter of the once mightly grand vizier, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (who had died on January 24, 1593), received a daily allowance of 50 akçes from one of her father's endowments."</ref>): Ismihan's only surviving daughter. She was firstly married to her father's cousin Sokollu Mustafa Pasha, governor of Buda. After his execution in 1578, she married the new governor of Buda, Silahdar Cafer Pasha. After his death in 1587, she gave birth to their twin sons, Mehmed Bey and Cafer Bey, who died as children. She married thirdly to Sultanzade Abdülbaki Bey, son of her mother's cousin [[Hümaşah Sultan (daughter of Şehzade Mehmed)|Hümaşah Sultan]]. She died widowed on January 24, 1593.
*Unknown daughter (1574/5 - ''post'' 1576): She died after Antonio Tiepolo’s (1576) report as Safiye would be Ismihan's only surviving daughter.
*Sultanzade Sokolluzâde Ibrahim Han Pasha (1576 - 1621). Ismihan's only surviving son. In 1924, one of his descendants, Sokolluzade Abdülbâki Ihsân Bey, married another Ottoman princess, [[Rukiye Sultan]], granddaughter of Sultan [[Mehmed V]].

==Personal life==
Mehmed spent the following years in peace, governing and administrating the realm. Mehmed's nephew, [[Sokollu Mustafa Pasha]], was also a prominent politician, was sanjakbey of [[Sanjak of Bosnia|Bosnia]] and later the longest-serving governor of [[Budin Eyalet]]. It is said that Sokollu learned many lessons and refined his expansionist strategies under the influence of Seydi Reis. One of the most important pieces of knowledge that was passed on to Sokollu was that the Ottoman Empire was an all-time high across the region.<ref name="Ortega" />

==See also==

* [[Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge]]
* [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque (disambiguation)|Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque]]
* [[List of Ottoman grand viziers]]

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Sources==
* [http://www.etd.ceu.hu/2012/dakic_uros.pdf The Sokollu Family Clan and the Politics of Vizierial Households in the Second Half of Sixteenth Century by Uros Dakic, Central European University, Budapest, 2012]
*{{cite book|title=The Ottoman Age of Exploration: Sokollu Mehmed Pasha and the Apogee of Empire 1561-1579|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199798797|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xf3h3Z1YQtIC&q=Sokollu+Mehmed+Pasha+and+the+Apogee+of+Empire&pg=PA117|author=Giancarlo Casale}}
*{{cite book|title=The Sultan and the Queen:The Untold Story of Elizabeth and Islam|year=2016|publisher=Viking|isbn=978-0525428824|author-link1=Jerry Brotton|author=Jerry Brotton}}
*[http://hunghist.org/index.php/component/content/article/83-articles/260-2014-3-molnar A Forgetten Bridgehead between Rome, Venice, and the Ottoman Empire: Cattaro and the Balkan Missions in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries by Antal Molnár, 2014]
* {{cite book
| last = Tezcan
| first = Baki
| author-link = Baki Tezcan
| year = 2010
| title = The Second Ottoman Empire: Political and Social Transformation in the Early Modern World
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| location = [[Cambridge]]
| isbn = 978-0521519496
| url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0521519497
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Hastings
| first = Adrian
| year = 1997
| title = The Construction of Nationhood: Ethnicity, Religion and Nationalism
| publisher = Cambridge University Press
| location = [[Cambridge]]
| isbn = 978-0-52162-544-9
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uMJDaelOpsgC
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Imber
| first = Colin
| author-link = Colin Imber
| year = 2009
| edition = 2nd
| title = The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power
| publisher = Palgrave Macmillan
| location = [[New York City|New York]]
| isbn = 978-1137014061
| url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1137014067
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Crowley
| first = Roger
| year = 2009
| title = Empires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean, 1521-1580
| publisher = Faber & Faber
| location = [[London]]
| isbn = 9780571250806
| url = https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0571250807
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Malcolm
| first = Noel
| author-link = Noel Malcolm
| year = 1994
| title = Bosnia: A Short History
| publisher = New York University Press
| location = [[New York City|New York]]
| isbn = 978-0-8147-5520-4
| url-access = registration
| url = https://archive.org/details/bosniashorthisto00malc
}}
* {{cite book | last = Sicker | first = Martin | title = The Islamic World in Decline: From the Treaty of Karlowitz to the Disintegration of the Ottoman Empire | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | year = 2001 | isbn = 027596891X }}
* {{cite book
| last = Freely
| first =John
| year = 2016
| title = Inside the Seraglio: private lives of the sultans in Istanbul
| publisher = Tauris Parke Paperbacks
| location = [[London]], [[New York City]]
| isbn = 9781784535353
}}
*Gülru Necipoğlu (Brill): The Mangalia Mosque in the Waqf Empire of an Ottoman Power Couple- Princess İsmihan Sultan and Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

==Bibliography==
* R. Samardžić, Mehmed Sokolović, t. 1–2, Łódź 1982

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091027141616/http://www.geocities.com/famous_bosniaks/MEHMED_PASA_SOKOLOVICH.html]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060427052933/http://newmanservices.com/turkey/thumbs.asp?sokollu Photos of Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Mosque at Kadirga, Constantinople]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeUzIyBXNwQ A lecture about Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (in Serbian)]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
| title = [[Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire]]
| before = [[Semiz Ali Pasha]]
| after = Semiz Ahmed Pasha
| years = 28 June 1565 – 11 October 1579
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Grand Viziers of Ottoman Empire}}
{{Seamen of the Ottoman Empire}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sokolovic, Mehmed Pasha}}
[[Category:1505 births]]
[[Category:1579 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Pashas]]
[[Category:Converts to Sunni Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy]]
[[Category:Former Serbian Orthodox Christians]]
[[Category:People from the Ottoman Empire of Serbian descent]]
[[Category:Serbs from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims]]
[[Category:Slavs from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Devshirme]]
[[Category:Suleiman the Magnificent]]
[[Category:Grand viziers of Suleiman the Magnificent]]
[[Category:Kapudan Pashas]]
[[Category:Ottoman governors of Rumelia]]
[[Category:Janissaries]]
[[Category:Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars]]
[[Category:Assassinations in the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:People from Višegrad]]

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Sokollu Mehmed Pasha