History of the Building

Patron, Date and Architect

Khan al-Wazir is one of the revenue-generating properties endowed in 1682 by the grand vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha. [1] Merzifonlu (d.1683) was an important Ottoman statesman of the 17th century. Different accounts exist of his origins and early life but all of them agree on his close relationship with the Köprülü family, which influenced his long career and helped him to hold many prestigious positions until he became grand vizier in 1676. In 1683, he led the unsuccessful Ottoman siege of Vienna and was defeated by the Austrian-Polish army. Subsequently, the sultan ordered him beheaded in Belgrade. After his death, his descendants acquired the sobriquet "Maktulzade" (the offspring of the slain). [2]

Kara Mustafa Pasha established several charitable complexes in Istanbul, Kayseri and Merzifon and endowed hundreds of properties all across the empire. One of his numerous deeds dates to September 1682 and lists Khan al-Wazir and other buildings in Aleppo as supporting his mosque in Karaköy, Istanbul. [3]

Footnotes

[1] Kasmo, Tafi’l Dawr Wath’iq al-Arshif al-‘Uthmani, 305. For a long time, however, there was a debate about the patron of the khan and its date because of the absence of any inscriptions or trust deeds relating to the building. For more details, see al-Ghazzi, Nahr al-Dhahab, 2:150 and 3: 225-227, al-Tabbakh, I’lam al-Nubala’, 3: 233, Masters, The Origins of Western Economic Dominance, 124 and Watenpaugh, The Image of an Ottoman City, 189-191.

[2] For more information on the life, career and endowments of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, see Heywood, Kara Mustafa Pasha, 514-515 and Özcan, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa, 246-249.

[3] This deed is registered in Istanbul, which explains its absence from Aleppo’s records. The patron’s mosque in Karaköy does not exist today. For more details on the mosque see Esmer, 1956-1960 İmarı, 57.