Hasan Pasha of Morea
This replica exhibited in your room is of one of the 87
talismanic shirts from the Collection of Sultan’s Clothing at Topkapi Palace
and belongs to Hasan Pasha of Morea, one of the grand viziers of the 18th
Century…
I have a request from Sultan
Mustafa… May my love, my affection touch Sultan Mustafa’s heart with this
talisman… May my soul walk on the same path as his
soul…
His story started in Morea… He
was taken into the palace and educated at Enderun School. He was smart,
cautious and generous. He was someone following his dreams. He wanted to be
talked about, respected and have a status. Thus, he started to make his
dreams reality.
He became an armorer during the reign of
Sultan Mehmed IV. Then he was let out of the palace as the Governor of Egypt
during the reign of Sultan Suleiman II.
During these times
it was known that the daughter of Mehmed IV Hatice Sultan married Mustafa Pasha
the Courageous of Merzifon with a glorious wedding. However the young woman
became a widow after the unfortunate death of Pasha during one of his
battles.
Hasan Pasha was now at the top of his ambition for
status and power… After a while, he reached his dreams with a marriage.
Sultan Suleiman II had him marry young, beautiful and smart Hatice Sultan. He
was now one of the grooms of the palace.
Yet he had
never-ending wishes. Years had passed and he still was not made the grand
vizier, his biggest desire. This desire lasted during the reign of Mustafa II
after Suleiman II but it was yet to happen…
Pasha wanted to
have a shirt tailored to tell these feelings and
thoughts…
The Head Augur designated propitious moment for
prayers to be effective according to Sultan Mustafa’s birth date and
horoscope. Cotton fabrics were weaved according to rituals and prepared to be
written on. Black, red and gold coloured inks were used. The words on the
shirt read Hasan Pasha’s calling out Sultan Mustafa and his desire to become
the grand vizier. All the prayers asked for the love and affection of His
Highness, a touch of the heart of his servant. He was begging "Make
my soul walk on the same path as his
soul"…
Finally his dreams came true and he made
grand vizier. However his extreme ambition prevented him from staying there
for so long… He was dismissed from this position and relocated to the
governorship of Tripoli, Egypt. However, he died of plague after a
while…
Hasan Pasha did not see Hatice Sultan only as a step
to his dreams. He truly loved her, he was bound to her with love. There is no
information if he used poetry to tell his deep feelings for her. But for not
to ignore this big love and in the name of respect for love, we used a poem
on the shirt telling the love of Ibrahim Pasha for another Hatice Sultan, the
daughter of Selim I, by asking for your forgiveness…
