The Age of the Köprülüs

Born around 1575 in the village of Radnick in Albania, Mehmed Köprülü was a young Christian boy taken by the devshirme system (abducted and raised in the Muslim faith, just like most Janissary troops). He started his career as a cook, then moved to the Treasury. A pasha in central Anatolia, he gained a name for himself as an excellent and honest administrator - a rare creature in the Ottoman Empire. On 15th September 1656 he was appointed Grand Vizier by the mother of the young sultan Mehmed IV. A fierce fighter of corruption, he enacted many successful reforms, balanced the budget and led the war against Venice. After his death in 1661, his son Fazil Ahmed 'the Virtuous' succeeded him and governed till 1676. Other Grand Viziers such as Kara Mustafa (1676-1683), Mustafa Pasha (1689-1691) and Hussein Pasha (1697-1702) were his direct heirs.