Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha

Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha (Turkish: Tarhuncu Ahmed Paşa; died 21 March 1653) was an Albanian statesman and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 20 June 1652 until 21 March 1653, when he was executed because of the economic reforms he initiated.

Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha was born in the area of modern Mat District, northern Albania in the early 17th century. He was initially a tarragon salesman(tarhoncu) before joining the Ottoman administration. He served as governor of Egypt before attaining the vezirate. During his brief tenure in the middle of the reign of Sultan Mehmet IV (r. 1648–1687), he attempted to forestall decline and reform the Ottoman bureaucracy. Tarhoncu Ahmed was the first grand vizier to draft an annual budget in advance of the coming fiscal year. However, his reforms threatened the conservative forces in the Ottoman elite, who secured his execution on 21 March 1653 by spreading the false rumour that he intended to depose the sultan. This effectively ended the attempts at reform for several years.

See also

• List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
• List of Ottoman governors of Egypt

References

• Stanford Jay Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and modern Turkey, vol. 1, Empire of the Gazis: The Rise and decline of the Ottoman Empire, 1280–1808 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976), 205-206.

Political offices
Preceded by Mostarlı Mustafa Pasha	Ottoman Governor of Egypt 1648–1651	Succeeded by Hadım Abdurrahman Pasha
Preceded by Gürcü Mehmed Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 20 June 1652 – 21 March 1653	Succeeded by Koca Dervish Mehmed Pasha