Zulfikar Pasha Čengić

Pasha
Zulfikar Čengić
Pasha Zulfikar Čengić
Mütesellim of Foča
	In office; 1832–1846
Monarch	Mahmud II Abdulmejid I
Governor	Ali Pasha Rizvanbegović
	In office; 1828–1830
Monarch	Mahmud II
Mutasarrif of Zvornik
	In office; 1823/25–1823/25
Monarch	Mahmud II
Preceded by	Ali Pasha of Zvornik
Succeeded by	Mahmud Pasha Fidahić
Personal details
Born	Unknown date; Miljevina, Foča, Bosnia, Ottoman Empire
Died	1846; Foča, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire
Resting place	Aladža Mosque, Foča, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Relatives	Adil Zulfikarpašić (great-grandson) Bojan Zulfikarpašić
Nickname	Miljevina
Military service
Allegiance	Ottoman Empire
Battles/wars	Bosnian uprising (1831–1832)

Zulfikar Pasha Čengić nicknamed Miljevina (died 1846) was an Ottoman Bosnian nobleman and a military leader. He is known for leading a penal expedition against the Montenegrin Drobnjaci tribe in 1812 and siding with the Sultan against the rebellious Bosnian ayans of Husein Gradaščević during the Bosnian uprising (1831–1832).

Biography

Zulfikar Pasha was born in Miljevina near Foča into the noble Čengić family. His father was Salih Alay-Bey and his grandfather was Zejnil Bey.^[1] He had sons Džafer, Salih, Alija and Jusuf Bey.^[2]

In 1811, Mustay Pasha of the Sanjak of Scutari organised an attack on Montenegro, directing his troops against the Piperi tribe. However, his campaign ended in defeat. The next year he ordered Zulfikar Pasha to attack the Montenegrin Drobnjaci tribe. One part of the Ottoman army was commanded by Smail Agha Čengić. Other Montenegrin tribes joined the Drobnjaci tribe. Although the Ottomans suffered heavy casualties, they managed to defeat the Montenegrins. The houses of the Drobnjaci tribe were destroyed, with many people being killed and hundreds enslaved.^[3]

In 1813 he gained the title of pasha.^[2] Zulfikar Pasha fought against the Serb rebels during the First Serbian Uprising in 1813 and Hadži-Prodan's rebellion in 1814. In 1814 he was appointed a muhafazah and a mütesellim in Valjevo.^[2]^[4] According to Hamdija Kreševljaković, Zulfikar Pasha served as the mutasarrif of Zvornik in 1825,^[2] while Safvet-beg Bašagić writes that he served there in 1823.^[5] From 1828 to 1830 he was the mütesellim of Foča.^[2]

When the Bosnian ayans headed by Husein Gradaščević rebelled against the Sultan in 1831, they expelled the Bosnian governor who moved to Herzegovina in September 1831. Husein Gradaščević proclaimed himself a vizier, which was met with refusal amongst the Herzegovinian magnates. They designated Zulfikar Pasha to report to Aga Pasha that they do not accept Husein Gradaščević as a vizier and ask the Sultan to appoint someone else.^[6]

The Bosnian Muslims that opposed Gradaščević largely fled to Serbia and Zulfikar Pasha was among them. In January 1832, he arrived in Užice and Price Miloš asked the local authorities to take care of them. Serbia also opposed Gradaščević and for this reason, they maintained contact with Zulfikar Pasha and other loyalist nobles.^[7] By May 1832, the loyalist forces were able to re-take the territory around the Drina river which marked the eastern borders of the Bosnia Eyalet with Serbia, and both sides prepared for the decisive battle. Zulfikar Pasha was appointed as the mütesellim of Foča and together with Osman Pasha Gradaščević he was tasked with the reintroduction of Sultan's authority in the re-taken territory.^[8]

After the loyalists won the war in 1833, Ali Pasha Rizvanbegović, the leader of the loyalists, was named the head of the Herzegovina Eyalet which was exempted from the Bosnia Eyalet. Ali Pasha appointed his loyalists to important posts, including Zulfikar Pasha who was re-appointed as the mütesellim of Foča.^[9] By August 1838, however, the relations among the Herzegovinian magnates deteriorated. So much so, that Smail Agha and Zulfikar Pasha reported Ali Pasha's wrongdoings to the Sultan.^[10]

Zulfikar Pasha died in Foča and was buried in the yard of the Aladža Mosque.^[2]

Footnotes

^ Kreševljaković 1959, p. 13.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Kreševljaković 1959, p. 14.
^ Radojević 2013, p. 529.
^ Memić 1998, p. 16.
^ Bašagić 1900, p. 187.
^ Teinović 2019, p. 170.
^ Teinović 2019, p. 173.
^ Čekić 2013, p. 65.
^ Teinović 2019, p. 191.
^ Teinović 2019, p. 246.

References

Books

Bašagić, Safvet-beg (1900). Kratka uputa u prošlost Bosne i Hercegovine (od g. 1463. do 1850.) [A short introduction to history of Bosnia and Herzegovina (from 1463 to 1850)] (in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: Bosanska pošta.
Čekić, Smail (2013). Iskustva odbrane Bosne i Hercegovine [The experiences of the defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina] (in Bosnian). Sarajevo: Institut za istraživanje zločina protiv čovječnosti i međunarodnog prava Univerziteta u Sarajevu.
Kreševljaković, Hamdija (1959). Čengići: prilog proučavanju feudalizma u Bosni i Hercegovini [The Čengićs: a contribution to the study of feudalism in Bosnia and Herzegovina] (in Serbo-Croatian). Sarajevo: Sarajevski grafički zavod.
Memić, Mustafa (1998). Poznati Bošnjaci Sandžaka i Crne Gore: od Ahmed-paše Hercegovića i Vehbi Mehdi Šemsikadića do Rifata Burdžovića i Sefera Hailovića [The famous Bosniaks of Sandžak and Montenegro: from Ahmed Pasha Hercegović and Vehbi Mehdi Šemsikadić to Rifat Burdžović and Sefer Halilović] (in Bosnian). Sarajevo: Matica. ISBN 9958763028.
Teinović, Bratislav (2019). Nacionalno-politički razvoj Bosne i Hercegovine u posljednjem vijeku turske vladavine (1800-1878) [The national-political development of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last century of the Turkish rule (1800-1878)] (in Serbian). Banja Luka: Faculty of Humanities, University of Banja Luka.