Editing Osman Pazvantoğlu (section)

==Biography==
His grandfather was originally from the [[Bosnia Eyalet|Eyalet of Bosnia]], and part of the guards of the city of [[Sofia]], hence Osman's name: ''pasban-oğlu'', "son of the guard".<ref name="Ionescu242">Ionescu, p.242</ref> Initially a mercenary in service to the [[List of rulers of Wallachia|Wallachian prince]] [[Nicholas Mavrogenes]], Osman Pazvantoğlu disobeyed the latter on one occasion, and was saved from reprisals through Feraios' intervention.

Having gathered a large army of mercenaries, he rebelled against the [[Ottoman dynasty|Ottoman sultan]] [[Selim III]], and, acting as an independent ruler, he minted his own coins and had diplomatic relations with foreign states (including the [[French First Republic|French Republic]]). In 1798, he held territories which spread from the Danube to the [[Balkan Mountains]] and from Belgrade to [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]].<ref name="Ionescu242"/> In 1793, he undertook a military expedition to the [[Sanjak of Smederevo]] but was soundly defeated by the Serbs in Ottoman service at the [[Battle of Kolari]].<ref name="Paxton1968">{{cite book|author=Roger Viers Paxton|title=Russia and the First Serbian Revolution: A Diplomatic and Political Study. The Initial Phase, 1804-1807. - (Stanford) 1968. VII, 255 S. 8°|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pKVCAAAAIAAJ|year=1968|publisher=Department of History, Stanford University.|page=13}}</ref>
[[File:Osman_Pazvantoglu_camii_mezarlik.jpg|thumb|240 px|left|Ottoman cemetery in front of the Osman Pazvantoğlu mosque]]

The 1797-8 military expedition of [[Küçük Hüseyin Pasha|Hüseyin Küçük]] (having 100,000 soldiers)<ref name="Ionescu242"/> failed in its goal to conquer [[Vidin]] and capture Pazvantoğlu partially due to the [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|French invasion of Egypt]], and indirectly resulted in the fall and execution of Prince [[Constantine Hangerli]], after Küçük accused him of not having provided the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Army]] with enough funds.<ref>Djuvara, p.72-73</ref> His power had grown to the point that [[Napoleon]] and [[Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord|Talleyrand]] had hoped to have him become the Ottoman Sultan under French Protection.<ref>{{cite book|author=Stanford J. Shaw|title=Between Old and New: The Ottoman Empire under Sultan Selim III 1789-1807|page=254}}</ref> He also attempted to annex the [[Sanjak of Smederevo]] but was stopped by [[Станко Арамбашић|Stanko Arambašić]] and his 16,000 Serbian soldiers in Ottoman service. In 1799, the Ottoman sultan forgave Pazvantoğlu's rebellion and agreed to make him a [[pasha]].<ref name="Ionescu242"/>

Pazvantoğlu often made violent raids in [[Wallachia]], where he often set on fire the cities which he plundered. In 1800, his troops, colloquially known as ''pasvangii'', set on fire a large portion of the city of [[Craiova]]: out of 7,000 houses, only around 300 were still standing after the fire stopped.<ref>Ionescu, p. 254, citing Zilot Românul</ref> This caused Prince [[Alexander Mourousis]] to hand in his resignation to Sultan Selim, a rare statement of defeat in the context of [[Phanariotes|Phanariote]] reigns.<ref>Djuvara, p. 282</ref>

In late January 1802, [[Bucharest]] was gripped by panic after rumors spread that the pasha had sent his army in its direction. Prince [[Mihai Suţu|Michael Soutzos]] left the city and ordered its defense by the remaining garrison of [[Albanians of Romania|Albanians]], but disagreements over payment owed led the troops themselves to discard the place; the city soon fell to widespread disorder and the brief rule of beggars and vagabonds (who apparently mimicked a [[coronation]] ceremony)&mdash;this episode was ended by the violent intervention of Ottoman troops stationed in the vicinity, and ultimately led to Soutzos' deposition.<ref>Djuvara, p.283</ref>

In 1809, retaliation campaign of [[Oltenia]]n ''[[hajduk]]s'' led by [[Iancu Jianu]] culminated in the attack and partial destruction of [[Turnu Măgurele]] (which was officially administered as an Ottoman ''[[qadaa|kaza]]'', but had become a base for the rebellion leader).{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

Pazvantoğlu's incursions soon became infamous in all of Wallachia. The expression "as in the time of ''Pazvante Chioru' ''", rather common in [[Romanian language|Romanian]], was meant to indicate a time of trouble and ill-government; in time, it simply came to mean "extremely old".