Pazvantoglu, Osman Pasa

(also Pazvandoğlu). Born 1758; died Jan. 27, 1807, in Vidin. A Turkish feudal lord.

Beginning in 1794, Pazvantoğlu was the semi-independent ruler of Vidin District of the Ottoman Empire. Gathering a large mercenary army and relying upon janissaries who were not obedient to the Turkish sultan, he opposed the centralizing reforms of Selim III and achieved de facto independence. After several unsuccessful attempts to bring Pazvantoğlu to submission, the sultan was forced to confirm him as pasha of Vidin.

Pazvantoğlu minted coins in his own name and maintained diplomatic relations with foreign states, establishing especially close relations with France. His power began to weaken after the regular troops sent in from Istanbul defeated the insurgents he had supported known as Kurdzhali, who had rebelled against the sultan. Pazvantoğlu’s authority was especially shaken in connection with the beginning of the Serbian revolution of national liberation, which in its first stage was directed mainly against the janissaries, upon whose support Pazvantoğlu relied.