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Zaganos Pasha

زاغانوس باشا

Zaganos Pasha — spelled 'Zughnush' in al-Salabi's text — a commander in Mehmed II's army whom the book describes as an Albanian-born convert 1. At the war council before the final assault, when the vizier Khalil Pasha urged withdrawal, he cried out in his Albanian-accented Turkish: 'God forbid, O Sultan — we came here to die, not to return,' and argued Alexander's army was no larger than theirs; Tarkhan, Aq Shams al-Din and al-Kurani backed him, and joy showed on the Conqueror's face 2.

Depth

At a glance

Roles
military-leader · grand-vizier
Era
The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region
Anatolia
Identifiers
Wikidata
Review
Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Overview

Zaganos Pasha — 'Zughnush' in al-Salabi's text — a commander in Mehmed II's army, described by the book as an Albanian-born convert to Islam 1.

At the war council

On the eve of the general assault on Constantinople the vizier Khalil Pasha counselled withdrawal; Zaganos cried out in his Albanian-accented Turkish: 'God forbid, O Sultan — I will never accept what Khalil Pasha said, for we came here to die, not to return,' arguing that Alexander's army which conquered half of Asia was no larger than theirs 2.

The outcome

Commander Tarkhan and the shaykhs Aq Shams al-Din and al-Kurani backed him; gladness showed on the Conqueror's face, and the council ended with the assault imminent 3.

Connections

Explore the connections

Participated in
Conquest of Constantinople in 857 AH

People and things also explored

Ahmad ibn Ismail al-Kurani· آق شمس الدين· Baltaoglu· Candarli Halil Pasha the Younger· Constantine XI Palaiologos· Gennadios II (Scholarios)· Giovanni Giustiniani· السلطان محمد الفاتح

Sources

  1. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 105
  2. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 105-106
  3. al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 106
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Zaganos Pasha”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/zagan-pasha/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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Wing

People

Prophets, companions, scholars, rulers, scientists, poets, travelers: women and men who shaped the story. Related

Ahmad ibn Ismail al-Kurani

Ahmad ibn Ismail al-Kurani, 'the godly scholar' whom Murad II appointed to teach his son Mehmed when the prince was governor of Manisa; earlier tutors had failed — the boy had not even finished a Qur'an recitation — so the sultan gave al-Kurani a rod to beat him if he disobeyed. The scholar entered, rod in hand: 'Your father sent me to teach you and to beat you if you disobey'; the prince laughed, and was beaten so soundly he feared him and completed the Qur'an soon after. Al-Salabi describes him as one who would tear up a sultanic order that contravened the shari'a, address the sultan by name and never kiss his hand, and he backed Zaganos at the final war council.