Education
Born to Albanian parents in Merzifon, Mustafa was educated in the household of Mehmed Koprulu and married into the powerful Köprülü family.
Born to Albanian parents in Merzifon, Mustafa was educated in the household of Mehmed Koprulu and married into the powerful Köprülü family.
In 1659, he became governor of Silistria and subsequently held a number of important posts. He served as a commander of ground troops in a war against Poland, negotiating a settlement with January Sobieski in 1676 that added the province of Podolia to the empire. The victory enabled the Ottomans to transform the Cossack regions of the southern Ukraine into a protectorate.
He was less successful in combating a Cossack rebellion that began following the settlement with the Poles.
After some initial victories, intervention by Russia turned the tide and forced the Turks to conclude peace in 1681, effectively returning the Cossack lands to Russian rule with the exception of a few forts on the Dnieper and Southern Bug rivers. In 1683, he launched a campaign northward into Austria in a last effort to expand the Ottoman Empire after more than 150 years of war.
By mid-July, his 100,000-man army had besieged Vienna (guarded by 10,000 Habsburg soldiers), following in the footsteps of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1529. By September, he had taken a portion of the walls and appeared to be on his way to victory.
But on 12 September 1683, a Polish army under King January Sobieski took advantage of dissent within the Turkish military command and poor disposition of his troops, winning the with a devastating flank attack led by Sobieski"s Polish Winged Hussars.
The Turks retreated into Hungary, leaving the kingdom for retaking by the Austrians in 1686. The defeat cost Mustafa his position, and ultimately, his life. On 25 December 1683, Kara Mustafa was executed in Belgrade at the order of Mehmed IV. He suffered death by strangulation with a silk cord, which was the method of capital punishment inflicted on high-ranking persons in the Ottoman Empire.
His last words were, "Am I to die?" and "As God pleases."
The Foundation of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha was one of the largest foundations ever founded both in Ottoman Empire and Turkey.
According to the official records, it was last managed by the descendants of Kara Mustafa Pasha. The "Merzifonlu Karamustafaoğlu" family name ended with the marriage of Yılmaz Merzifonlu"s only daughter, Abide Tuğçe Mit.
Kara Mustafa Pasha"s family and descendant tree can be found via Turkey"s Directorate General of Foundations. In the 2012 Polish and Italian historical drama film September Eleven 1683 about the, Kara Mustafa Pasha is portrayed by Italian actor Enrico Lo Verso.