Kutahye

From Phantis
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Mehmet Reshid Pasha, better known to Greeks as "Kutahye" (Κιουταχής), was a major Ottoman figure during the Greek War of Independence.

Kutahye was born in 1780 in Georgia, the son of a Christian priest. He espoused Islam and became Pasha of Kutahya.

In 1821, Kutahye was sent by the Porte to Epirus to assist Hursid Pasha against Ali Pasha of Albania. After that operation was successful, Kutahye was sent to suppress the Greek Revolution which had broken out on March 25, 1821.

Kutahye managed to defeat the Greeks at the Battle of Peta but was unsuccessful in the first siege of Mesolonghi and pulled out on December 31, 1822. Later, aided by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt, Kutahye would manage to enter the city after its third siege.

After the Greek War of Independence, Kutahye became commander of Turkey's trans-Danube provinces (present-day Romania) and later Grand Vizier. He died in 1839 in Anatolia.