Nothing is known of Turahan's birth date or early life, except that he was the son of
Pasha Yiğit Bey. His father was a prominent general of
Turkish Yörük origin who conquered
Skopje in 1392 and was the first Ottoman governor of
Bosansko Krajište. Turahan is first mentioned in 1413 as governor of
Vidin, and then again in 1422, when he fought against the
Byzantine governor of
Lamia,
Kantakouzenos Strabomytes. He became governor of
Thessaly in early 1423, and led his first major expedition in May–June of the same year, against the Byzantine and
Latin domains in the
Peloponnese peninsula in southern
Greece. Soon after, the Byzantine historian
Doukas reports Turahan's presence on the shores of the
Black Sea. At about the same time, he also campaigned in
Epirus, defeated local
Albanian tribes and made them
tributary to the Ottoman state. Despite the devastation visited upon the Peloponnese, Turahan's 1423 expedition was only a raid, and the Byzantine
Despots of the Morea were able to restore their position and gradually over the next few years bring the entire peninsula under their control. In 1431, Turahan again breached and destroyed the Hexamilion and took
Thebes in 1435, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Moreot Byzantines. The Despotate of the Morea, under the constant threat of renewed Turkish invasion, clung on to a precarious independence only through continuous gifts and payment of tribute to Turahan. ca. 1444 In November 1443 Turahan participated in the
Battle of Niš against
John Hunyadi, which ended in an Ottoman defeat. Contemporary Ottoman sources blame rivalry between Kasim and Turahan for the defeat at Kunovica, while some claim that the Serbian Despot
Đurađ Branković bribed Turahan not to participate in the battle. Turahan fell from favour as a result and was banished by the Sultan to a prison in
Tokat. Nevertheless, he was soon restored to his position, as he was present in Murad's 1446 campaign against the Despotate of the Morea. Murad was reportedly disheartened by the strength of the Hexamilion, but Turahan insisted on an assault. Aided by an artillery bombardment, the Ottomans again breached the Byzantine defences and ravaged the Peloponnese at will. As a result, the Despotate of the Morea was now officially reduced to an Ottoman vassal state. In early October 1452, Turahan and his sons
Ahmed and
Ömer led a large force into the Peloponnese. Sultan
Mehmed II ordered them to remain there during the winter in order to prevent despots
Thomas and
Demetrios from assisting their brother, Emperor
Constantine XI, during the
Siege of Constantinople in 1453. Turahan again stormed the Hexamilion and penetrated into the Morea, raiding from
Corinth through the
Argolid and
Arcadia to
Messenia. The Byzantines put up little resistance after Hexamilion, although Turahan's son Ahmed was captured in an ambush at
Dervenakia and imprisoned in Mystras. The fall of Constantinople on 29 May 1453 had great repercussions in the Peloponnese. The two despots, the brothers Demetrios and Thomas, heartily detested each other and were unpopular among their own subjects. A
rebellion broke out against them in autumn, supported both by the local
Albanian immigrants and the native Greeks, and spread quickly. As the Sultan's vassals, the despots called upon Turkish aid, and Turahan's son Ömer arrived in December. After a few successes, he departed after securing the release of his brother from captivity. The revolt did not subside, and in October 1454 Turahan himself was forced to intervene. After sacking a few fortresses, the rebellious populace capitulated. Turahan advised the two despots to compose their differences and rule well, and then departed the peninsula. The two brothers were however unable to reconcile themselves, and soon reverted to quarreling and conspiring with Western powers against the Sultan. In retaliation, Mehmed II campaigned in the Peloponnese in 1458 and seized the northwestern half of the peninsula, which became an Ottoman province under Ömer. The rest of the despotate followed in 1460. Turahan himself was recalled to
Adrianople in October 1455 and died ca. August 1456. He was buried at Kirk Kvak near
Uzun Köprü in Thrace, but his memorial tomb () survives to this day in the city. His descendants, the Turahanoğlu, were wealthy landowners in Thessaly until the end of the Ottoman rule there in the late 19th century; with the exception of his sons however, they did not rise to any wider prominence. == Legacy ==