Mahmud Pasha (1420–1474)
Born 1420 CE, died 1474 CE.
Mahmud Pasha Angelović (Serbian: Махмуд-паша Анђеловић/Mahmud-paša Anđelović; Turkish: Veli Mahmud Paşa; 1420–1474) was a major military leader and the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1456 to 1466 and from 1472 to 1474. He also wrote Persian and Turkish poems under the takhallus (pen name) Adni (the "Eden-like"). Born in the Serbian Despotate, he was a descendant of the Byzantine Angelos family that had left Thessaly in 1394. According to biographers, he was conscripted as a child by the Ottomans employing the devşirme system. Raised as a Muslim in Edirne, he was a capable soldier and was married to a daughter of Zaganos Pasha. After distinguishing himself at the Siege of Belgrade in 1456, he was raised to the position of grand vizier as a reward, succeeding his father-in-law Zaganos Pasha. Throughout his tenure, he led armies or accompanied Mehmed II on his own campaigns.
Text from the Wikipedia article Mahmud_Pasha_Angelović, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.