Ottoman Caliphate The term
vizier was originally used in the Abbasid Caliphate in the 8th century AD. This position was later adopted by the Ottomans in the early 14th century, by the Seljuks of Anatolia. During the nascent phases of the
Ottoman state, "vizier" was the only title used. The first of these Ottoman viziers who was titled "Grand Vizier" (French spelling:
grand-vézir{{#tag:ref|
In languages of ethnic minorities: • Armenian: Mec epark‘osi • Velikyi vezyr • (Megalou Vezyrou) • Halil Pasha the Elder reformed the role of the vizier in several ways. Several viziers before him held an equivalent, but differently named office; he was the first who held the position of "Grand Vizier", during the reign of
Murad I. He was the first advisor with a military background – his forerunners had come from a more scholarly class of men. It is also significant that he was the first of a political family that, at the time, rivaled the Ottoman dynasty itself. Several of Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Elder's kin went on to hold the office of Grand Vizier in the decades following his death.
Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger, the grandson of Pasha the Elder, was also highly influential in shaping the role of the Grand Vizier. During the reign of Mehmed II, the Younger opposed the siege of Constantinople and the ongoing hostilities with Christians. Two days after the siege was won by
Mehmed II, the Younger was executed for his opposition. After his death, the position of Grand Vizier was chosen nearly exclusively from the
kul system. Often, the men who were chosen had a Byzantine or Balkan background. According to Gábor, this was usually a political move, designed to appease powerful European factions to Ottoman supremacy. In fact, it was easier for the sultan to control an enslaved and non-Turk administrator. In the Ottoman Empire, executing a Grand Vizier of Turkish origin (in the event they were rebellious) and an enslaved foreigner would also give rise to different reactions. Further, the
devshirme were less subject to influence from court factions. From the very beginning, the Turcoman were a danger that undermined the Sultan's creation of a strong state. In Ottoman legal theory, the Sultan was supposed to conduct affairs of state exclusively via the Grand Vizier, but in reality, this arrangement was often circumvented. As the Ottomanist
Colin Imber writes, the sultan "had closer contact with the pages of the privy chamber, the
kapi agha, the
kizlar agha or with other courtiers than he did with the Grand Vizier, and these too could petition the sultan on their own or somebody else’s behalf. He might, too, be more inclined to take the advice of his mother, a concubine, or the head gardener at the helm of the royal barge, than of the Grand Vizier". After the
Tanzimat period of the
Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, the Grand Viziers came to assume a role more like that of the
prime ministers of contemporary Western monarchies. Forty nine Grand Viziers of Albanian ethnicity served the empire during the Ottoman period and most of them were southern Albanians (
Tosks). File:Koca Sinan Pasha (166345833).jpg|
Koca Sinan Pasha Mughal Empire Bairam Khan was the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire, who led the forces of
Akbar to victory during the
Second Battle of Panipat.
Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Grand Vizier of the
Mughal Empire during the reign of
Akbar.
Saadullah Khan, Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire during the reign of
Shah Jahan made the biggest contribution to the organization and administration of the Mughal Empire, he is considered the best of the long line of Mughal Grand Viziers. During the reign of Aurangzeb,
Ali Quli Khan was bestowed this title. Later general
Zulfiqar Khan Nusrat Jung became Grand Vizier, his fame as one of the most greatest military leaders in the
Mughal Empire would lead to his downfall when rogue generals executed him in a power struggle after the death of Aurangzeb. In 1718,
Balaji Vishwanath, leader of the antagonistic
Maratha Confederacy, secured the right to collect
Chauth and
Sardeshmukhi from the
Subahs of the
Mughal Empire by the rogue Vizier
Syed Hassan Ali Khan Barha, whose grip over the
Deccan had substantially weakened. Asaf Jah I, however, refused to grant
Chauth to the Maratha Confederacy during its onset in 1718 and in 1721, after the nobility of the
Mughal Empire had the two
Sayyid Brothers assassinated. However, the Marathas had already expanded up to the
Narmada River, and entrenched themselves in that region thereafter.
Baji Rao I later instigated war by collecting
Chauth in 1723, and trying to expand Maratha rule in the Deccan and beyond, causing the outbreak of the later
Mughal-Maratha Wars.
Qamaruddin Khan was handpicked to be the Grand Vizier of the Mughal Empire, by Asaf Jah I. He successfully repelled
Baji Rao I during the Battle of Delhi (1737), and negotiated peace after the occupation of the
Mughal Empire by the forces of
Nader Shah. He fell in battle after being struck by a stray artillery shell, in battle against
Afghan forces in the year 1748. After defeating
Ahmad Shah Durrani, the new Mughal emperor,
Ahmad Shah Bahadur, posted
Safdarjung,
Nawab of
Oudh as Mughal Grand Vizier,
Feroze Jung III as
Mir Bakshi and
Muin ul-Mulk (Mir Mannu), the son of late Grand Vizier
Qamaruddin Khan, as the governor of
Punjab.
Safdarjung's efforts to defend the reign of
Ahmad Shah Bahadur from treacherous subjects failed.
Shuja-ud-Daula served as the leading Grand Vizier of the
Mughal Empire during the
Third Battle of Panipat. He was also the
Nawab of Awadh, and a loyal ally of
Shah Alam II. File:Prince Akbar and Noblemen Hawking, Probably Accompanied by His Guardian Bairam Khan.jpg|
Bairam Khan File:ABU'L FAZL IBN MUBARAK (D. 1602 AD) AKBARNAMA.jpg|Abu'l Fazl Ibn Mubarak presenting the Akbarnama to the emperor (D. 1602 AD) File:Sadullah Khan giving audience, c1655.jpg|Sadullah Khan File:Asaf Jah I.jpg|
Qamar-ud-din Khan, Asif Jah I became viceroy of the
Deccan in 1722 (after resigning as Grand Vizier). File:Safdarjung, second Nawab of Awadh, Mughal dynasty. India. early 18th century.jpg|
Safdarjung File:अवध के नवाब शुजाउद्दौला.jpg|
Shuja-ud-Daula ==Notable fictional grand viziers==