Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic (in Turkish Sokollu Mehmet Pasa) (born 1505 or 1506, Sokolovici near Višegrad, Bosnia - died 1579 Istanbul, Turkey) was the Grand Vizier (1565 - 1579) of Suleyman the Magnificent and Selim II.
He was born in the village of Sokolovici near the town of Višegrad in Bosnia of Serbian parents. As a child Sokolovic was taken away from his parents into the Ottoman military at the age of six as part of the blood tax, and was brought up under military discipline within the Turkish military academy in Istanbul. This was a common practice for the Turkish military of the time (see Janissary).
As a young soldier, Sokolovic began a promising career. He excelled in the Battle of Mohács and the Siege of Vienna. He ascended through the ranks, and in 1546 was promoted to High Admiral of the fleet.
He became the governor-general of Rumelia (the European part of the Ottoman empire). While he was visiting the area where he was born, his mother recognized him by the birthmark on his face and once again embraced her child after more than thirty years.
In 1557 he renewed the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Pec Patriarchy with his cousin Makarije Sokolovic as the patriarch.
After Suleyman died, his sons, Selim and Bayezid, fought for the throne. Mehmed led Selim's army and won. He then married Sultan Selim's daughter in 1562.
Selim II was the first Sultan devoid of military virtues and willing to abandon all power to his ministers, provided he was left free in his personal life. This was not bad for the empire however as Mehmed proved to be quite capable in leading it. Two years after Selim's accession he succeeded in concluding at Constantinople an honourable treaty with Emperor Maximilian II, whereby the emperor agreed to pay an annual "present" of 30,000 ducats (February 17, 1568).
He had less success against Russia, and the first encounter between the Ottoman Empire and her future northern rival gave presage of the disaster to come. A plan had been devised at Constantinople for connecting the Volga and Don by a canal, and in the summer of 1569 a large force of Janissaries and cavalry were sent to lay siege to Astrakhan and begin the canal works, while an Ottoman fleet besieged Azov. However, a sortie of the garrison of Astrakhan drove back the besiegers; 15,000 Russians, under Knez Serebianov, attacked and scattered the workmen and the Tatar force sent for their protection; and, finally, the Ottoman fleet was destroyed by a storm. Early in 1570 the ambassadors of Ivan the Terrible concluded at Constantinople a treaty which restored friendly relations between the Sultan and the tsar.
Expeditions in the Hejaz and Yemen were more successful, but the conquest of Cyprus in 1571, led to the calamitous naval defeat at Lepanto in the same year. Mehmed, however, suceeded in restoring the empire's shattered fleets and stared preparing for a fresh attack on Venice, when the Sultan's death cut short his plans. After it he was left with almost no power and was soon assassinated in 1579 by a mad dervish.
Compared to other Ottoman rulers, Mehmed was calm and pacifist in external affairs. He preferred strategic moves to brutal ones; He conquered only strategic points like Cyprus and Rhodes. He started grand works on Suez Canal and Don-Volga Canals; if his dreams had came true, Renaissance, Colonization, Europe and Russia would have been highly affected.
Mehmed Pasha Sokolovic donated a bridge to his own people and to Bosnia: Cuprija na Drini. This is the topic of the well-known book by Ivo Andric - The Bridge on the Drina, for which Andric was awarded the Nobel Prize for literary achivements.
