Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha

Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha (or simply Lala Mustafa Pasha) (c. 1500-1580) was an Ottoman general and statesman.

He had risen to the position of "Beylerbey" of Damascus and then to that of Fifth Vizier. He commanded the Ottoman land forces during the Siege of Malta in 1565, during the conquest of previously Venetian Cyprus in 1570/71, and in the campaign against Georgia in 1578. He later was (briefly) Grand Vizier from 28 April to 7 August 1580 (see List of Ottoman Grand Viziers).

The honorific "Lala" means "tutor to the Sultan"; he had been tutor to the Sultan's sons. Mustafa was known for his cruelty towards vanquished opponents, a reputation that was amply borne out by his treatment of Marco Antonio Bragadin, the Venetian defender of Famagusta, whom he had skinned alive; in response to Venetian treatment of Turkish prisoners captured during the campaign.

References

*cite book |author=Bradford, Ernle | first= | last= | year=1961 | title=The Great Siege: Malta 1565 | chapter=| editor= | others= | pages= | publisher=Wordsworth 1999 | id=ISBN 1-84402-206-9 | url= | authorlink=
*Bicheno, Hugh. "Crescent and Cross: the Battle of Lepanto 1571." Phoenix, London, 2003. ISBN 1-84212-753-5.
*Currey, E. Hamilton, "Sea-Wolves of the Mediterranean,", London, 1910
*Foglietta, U. "The sieges of Nicosia and Famagusta." London: Waterlow, 1903.
*Pickles, Tim. "Malta 1565, Last Battle of the Crusades;" Osprey Campaign Series #50, Osprey Publishing, 1998. ISBN 1-85532-603-5.
*Spiteri, Stephen C.. "The Great Siege: Knights vs. Turks, 1565." Malta, 2005.