Gazi Husrev-beg - Biography

Biography

He was born in Serres, Greece, to a Bosniak father (convert from Trebinje region) and a Turkish mother, who was the daughter of the Sultan. Thus, Gazi Husrev-Beg was Sultan Beyazid II's grandson. His name is composed of the Ottoman honorific prefix Gazi and the royal name Husrev.

In less than three years, Gazi Husrev-Beg conquered the fortresses of Knin, Skradin, and Ostrovica. He was appointed the governor of the Ottoman province of Bosnia on 15 September 1521, becoming one of Sultan Suleiman I's most trusted men.

What followed was a relentless campaign of conquest. The fortified towns of Greben, Sokol, Jezero, Vinac, Vrbaški Grad, Livač, Kamatin, Bočac, Udbina, Vrana, Modruč, and Požega all fell at the hands of Gazi-Husrev Beg.

Gazi Husrev-beg also founded the vakuf, which was active until the 20th century.

Gazi Husrev-beg and his forces were struggling against a power vacuum in Montenegro after the death of his ally Skanderbeg Crnojević in 1528. In 1541 during an uprising of nobility in Montenegro, he set out to protect the Muslim Crnojevićs and the local populace. After fighting many battles and maintaining order in the region although ultimately victorious he was killed fighting renegade Christians in a small Montenegrin village Mokro in Drobnjaci, Montenegro. Legend says that he was a big man, so his warriors could not take him back, but to take apart his intestines, and buried them on small hill called The hodža's peak - Hodžina glavica. Because "hodža" means Imam or Muslim priest in Bosnian, its real connection to Gazi Husrev-Beg's place of rest is unclear.

That part of Montenegro, and Montenegrin clan that lives there has a name "Drobnjak" (drob = intestines). His body was taken back to Sarajevo, where it remains to this day in a tomb in the courtyard of his mosque. Above it is written, "May the mercy and generosity of god fall upon him every day".

Gazi Husrev Beg also played a crucial role to overcome the Crusaders at the Battle of Mohac. His 10,000 special Akınji soldiers (In Turkish language they are called "deli" meaning "crazy" literally, they were unregular cavalryman of Turks, Bosnians and Crimean Tatars) served as reserve soldiers in that battle. According to the Turkish military strategy, they circled the European knights and terminated while Turkish infantry were making a counterfeit retreat after first assault. Turkish army were composed of Ottoman Turks, Crimean Turks and Bosnians while Crusaders were an ally of all European nations at that war.