Hacı Raşid Paşa

Hacı Râşid Paşa, whose date of birth could not be determined, was one of the Nizamiye mirlivas among the Ottoman military elite of Circassian origin. Mirliva was the rank between miralay and ferik in the Ottoman military hierarchy and marked the beginning of the title of paşa; today it corresponds to the level of brigadier general.

Hacı Râşid Paşa spent a long period of his life in military service in Yemen. For about twenty-five years he struggled in the region against Arab tribes and local rebellions that opposed Ottoman authority.

The struggle in Yemen was not only a battlefield war; it was also an exhausting military service fought against climate, distance, supply difficulties, disease and mountainous geography. During these duties, Hacı Râşid Paşa became disabled, and the Yemen service left heavy marks on his body.

Nizamiye Mirlivası Hacı Râşid Paşa died on 3 Dhu al-Qa‘da 1321 (21 January 1904), when his body could no longer bear this illness, and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.