Çandarlı (2nd) Halil Pasha

Çandarlı (Chandarly) Halil Pasha was a highly influential Ottoman grand vizier under the Sultans Murat II and, for the first years of his reign, under Mehmet II (from 1439 to 1 June 1453 precisely). He was a member of the Çandarlı family, considered to have contributed nearly as much as the ruling Ottoman dynasty to laying the foundations of the Ottoman Empire. He is not to be confused with his grandfather who was a namesake (Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha) and who had served under Murat I.

Twice during the reign of Murat II, the sovereign, a religious and artistic mind not very keen on holding power himself, retired to the city of Manisa and Çandarlı Halil Pasha held the effective helm in the capital Edirne with Mehmet II, then still a child, as the nominal sultan. On both occasions, upon the dangers presented by allied European armies attacking Ottoman territories, Çandarlı called back Murat II and deposed Mehmet II to replace him with his father. These two incidents led to lasting resentment by Mehmet II towards Çandarlı. The Çandarlı family having become extremely rich, possibly richer than the Ottomans, did not help ease the tension either.

In 1453, one of the first acts committed by the (then fully reigning) Mehmet II immediately after the conquest of İstanbul (Constantinople) was to execute his grand vizier Çandarlı Halil Pasha and confiscate his property. It is interesting to note that the city had been taken on 29 May 1453 and this execution took place on 1 June 1453, suggesting a design conceived by the sultan for a long time.

Mehmet II has thus ended the period called Çandarlı era in the Ottoman Empire, and the later members of family, whose descendants came to our day, became no more than provincial notables based in İznik, although they were to give yet another, short-term, grand vizier to the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 15th century.

Çandarlı (2nd) Halil Pasha was, as such, the first Ottoman grand vizier to be executed.

Popular Culture

* Halil features in the game Legendary Warriors, where he is portrayed as an Ottoman general who wishes for the whole world to live in peace, and thus has serious doubts about the Ottoman conquests. H is history is changed so that he lives well past Constantinople, and eventually stages a revolt against the Ottomans, in which he is defeated. He is portrayed as hating his fellow general Zaganos Pasha for his warlike ways. It is also insinuated that he is a magician. He wields a staff.