Omar Pasha by Roger Fenton

Omar Pasha

Omar Pasha (1806 - 1871) was a general in the Turkish army. Omar had begun life in Croatia in 1806 as Michael Lattas. His father Pyotr served in the Austrian Army and in time was appointed military mayor of their home village. Michael was an intelligent and lively if rather sickly child. He developed a passion for soldiering, and on leaving school he was accepted as a cadet in his father's Ogulini Regiment. He had beautiful handwriting, and was assigned to clerical duties. There he might have languished, if his father had not upset someone along the corruption line and suffered a conviction for misappropriation. Michael understandably felt that he couldn't stay with the Regiment, and he took off for Bosnia. He became writing-master to the Ottoman heir, Abdul-Medjid, and on the succession of the latter in 1839 was made a colonel. He was military governor of Lebanon in 1842, won distinction in suppressing rebellions in Albania, Bosnia, and Kurdistan, but his chief services were rendered in the Russian War; he successfully defended Kalafat in 1853, entered Bucharest in 1854, and defeated 40,000 Russians next year at Eupatoria in the Crimea. His capture of Cetinje, Montenegro, in 1862 was a difficult feat. 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... In 1955, Austria declared her Everlasting Neutrality and made neutrality a constitutional law. ... Bosnia and Herzegovina (officially Bosna i Hercegovina, shortened to BiH, also in English variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ... Kurdistan is an area in the Middle East, inhabited mainly by the Kurds, covering parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, and Syria. ... Mayor Unknown Area km² Population  - city  - urban  - density 14,700 in 2003 /km² Time zone Summer Time CET (UTC +1) CEST (UTC +2) founded became capital last independence Unknown 1482 1918 Latitude Longitude ° N ° E Area code +381 86 Car plates CT Official Website Cetinje is a city (population 14...

After living rough for a time, he was offered a position as tutor to the children of a Turkish merchant, on condition that he changed his religion from Orthodox to Moslem. Although an easy enough condition to fulfil in order to get off the streets, it was a huge cultural step that led naturally to his decision that his future lay with the Turks.

The big break came for the newly named Omar when the family moved to Constantinople. By astute networking and doubtless exploiting his curiosity value as an ex-European military man, he was appointed lecturer at the Turkish Military Academy. With this exposure he shone enough to be snapped up as ADC to the Polish Ottoman General Chrzanowski, who was engaged in the reorganisation of the Ottoman Army after the defeat of the Janissaries.

Now a Major, Omar completed a mapping assignment in Bulgaria and the Danube territories, gaining detailed knowledge of the ground which was to serve him well in the future. Chrzanowski also milked his ideas for reorganising the Army; in return he smoothed the way for Omar's introduction into Turkish society. He thereby met and married a rich heiress, the start of his meteoric rise in Turkish military circles. He was shortly afterwards appointed Military Governor of Constantinople. In 1841-42 he led a successful expedition to quell a revolt in Syria, and for a time was Governor of the Lebanon. Length 2,888 km Elevation of the source 1,078  m Average discharge 30 km before Passau: 580 m³/s Vienna: 1,900 m³/s Budapest: 2,350 m³/s just before Delta: 6,500  m³/s Area watershed 817,000  km² Origin  Black Forest (Schwarzwald-Baar, Baden- Württemberg... Map of Constantinople. ...

After the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, he was put in command of the Turkish forces in Moldavia and Wallachia. His firm and effective handling of a powder keg situation involving potential confrontation with the Russian and Austrian Armies, demonstrated that he possessed considerable diplomatic skills. Subsequent successful combat command in Bosnia in 1851 and in Montenegro in 1852 made the 1853 tangle with the Russians seem like just another war to be won. Hungarians investigate a disabled Soviet tank in Budapest The 1956 Hungarian Revolution, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a popular revolt against Soviet influence and control in Hungary. ... Moldavia (Moldova in Romanian) was a Romanian principality, originally created in the Middle Ages, now divided between Romania, Moldovan Republic and Ukraine. ... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ... Serbia and Montenegro  â€“ Serbia    â€“ Kosovo and Metohia        (UN administration)    â€“ Vojvodina  â€“ Montenegro Official language Serbian Capital Podgorica Former Royal Capital Cetinje President Filip Vujanović Prime Minister Milo Đukanović Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % water  13,812 km²  n/a Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ Density  616,258  48. ...

There is no doubt that Omar's marriage had opened all the right doors for him, but equally no doubt that he proved equal to the challenges of high command which resulted. A clear and precise military thinker, he took bold decisions and relentlessly followed them through. Although he had a reputation as a strict and ruthless disciplinarian, he was revered and respected by his men. A true professional, while the other allies struggled to come to grips with local campaigning conditions, he had seen it all too often before. Perhaps for that reason the allied troops found his expression cold and disinterested when seated on his horse plodding round their lines.