Stavrides|57reign of Mehmed II, he was the second-most-important man in the state after the
sultan, serving as grand vizier and commander of the Army of the Balkans for
twelve years (1456–1468), as admiral of the Ottoman fleet and governor (sancak-
bey) of Gelibolu (Gallipoli) for three years (1469–1472), and as grand vizier again
(1472–1473), before his execution by order of the sultan in July 1474. Concerning
his great power, Ottoman historian Mehmed Neşri writes that “it was as if the
Sultan had entrusted the Sultanate to him, and enjoyed his leisure.” With a total
of fourteen years of service, he was one of the longest-serving grand viziers in
Ottoman history.
As military commander, Mahmud Pasha participated in all significant con-
quests of the period, especially in the Balkans; Serbia, Bosnia, the Morea, Lesbos,
Negroponte, Karaman, and Trebizond were annexed to the Ottoman Empire to
a great extent as a result of his military activity. As grand vizier, he was the main
Ottoman negotiator in all diplomatic contacts with foreign powers. Like all court
officials of his time, he was also a great patron of the arts. He patronized archi-
tectural projects throughout the Ottoman lands, which, beyond their cultural
significance, were also important in promoting the social and economic devel-
opment of the empire. In addition, Mahmud Pasha was a great patron of poets
and learned men and even contributed his own collection of poems (“Divan”) to
Ottoman literature, under the pen name of Adni. The grand vizier’s fame was so
great that it continued after his death with a cult and a legend that earned him the
posthumous nickname of Veli, “the Saint.”
Mahmud Pasha’s Descent
Byzantine historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles writes that Mahmud Pasha was
captured as a child in Serbia by the horsemen of Sultan Murad II. Although there
is no precise date, it is reasonable to assu me t hat t his incident happened in 1427, at
the time of the Ottoman invasion of Serbia, following the death of Despot Stefan
Lazarević (r. 1389–1427).
Sources from that time indicate that Mahmud Pasha, probably a native of
the Serbian city of Novo Brdo, descended, on both parental sides, from some of
the greatest of Byzantine aristocratic families: Chalkokondyles mentions that he
was the son of a certain Mihailos, a Greek, information also confirmed by Krito-
boulos, who writes that he “was of Roman [i.e., Greek] origin both on his father’s
and his mother’s side,” adding that “his paternal grandfather was Philanthrope-
nos, who ruled Greece, and was honored with the rank of Caesar.” In Ragusan
sources, composed during his lifetime, both Mahmud Pasha and his brother Mi-
chael are mentioned with the surname Angelović, which indicates that they must
have been descended from the great Byzantine family of the Angeloi. Descen-
dants of both families—the Angeloi Philanthropenoi—ruled Thessaly toward