To the Problem of Use of the Paşa Title by the Members of the Ottoman Dynasty: Alâaddin “Paşa” and Süleyman “Paşa”

Abstract

To The Problem of Use of The Paşa TiTle by the MeMbers of the ottoMan Dynasty:alâaddin "Paşa" and süleyman "Paşa"T here are various opinions of the origin and etymological roots of the word Paşa. Some scholars state that this word originates from the Turkish word "baş ağa" or "beşe" 1 (older brother); however, others assert that it derives from "pây-i şâh" or "pâd-i şah" which means the foot of the sultan. Since the Turkish Oghuz (Turkmen) called the older brother ağa 2 , ağabey, it is also possible that the eldest brother was called başağa and in some time this word trandformed into paşa 3 . Müneccimbaşı, one of the Ottoman historians, states, "Since the older brother was called paşa in the Turkmen dictionary, Prince Alâaddin, the eldest son of Osman Gazi, was called paşa" 4 when he referred to Alâaddin. Hüseyin Hüsameddin states that the word paşa does not originate from the word beşe in the discussion whether the word "paşa" derives from "beşe" or "peşe"5 . Thereafter, he puts emphasis on the fact that the term paşa was used not only by the military officers, but also by many people from the civil services, Muslim preachers and Sufism masters; and this term must be of Turkish origin 6