Veli Pasha was appointed governor of the Sanjak of Tirhala in 1787, and became Pasha of the Morea Eyalet in 1807.
13 Facts About Veli Pasha
1.
2.
Veli Pasha was a well-educated man and fluent in Albanian, Greek, Turkish and Italian.
3.
In 1787 or 1788, following his father's conquest of Ioannina and formation of the Pashalik of Yanina, a 17-year-old Veli was appointed by Ali as ruler of the Sanjak of Trikala with the title Pasha of Trikala.
4.
On his wedding or soon after, Veli was awarded the title of Pasha.
5.
Veli's father Ali Pasha had plans of conquering the Ionian Islands off of the coast of Epirus, but after the Ottoman Empire joined the Second Coalition against France, they side-lined Ali when a Russian-Turkish fleet moved to capture the Ionian Islands from the French.
6.
Veli Pasha arranged for the surrender of the Souliotes with their leader Fotos Tzavelas.
7.
Under the pretext of defending the region from Russian aggression, Veli Pasha drove out the governor of Preveza, seizing the city and the nearby towns of Vonitsa, Igoumenitsa and Butrint.
8.
Meanwhile, as war on the Danubian front continued against the rebel governor Osman Pazvantoglu who had begun carving out his own polity centred around Vidin in modern Bulgaria, Ali sent Muhtar and Veli Pasha to participate in the Ottoman campaigns in that region.
9.
Nonetheless, Ali Pasha would entrust Preveza to Veli, and Parga to Veli's eldest son Mehmet.
10.
Apart from his appointment as Pasha in multiple regions, Veli Pasha was known for plundering multiple ancient sites.
11.
Veli Pasha unearthed around 25 statues and a marble table.
12.
Veli Pasha had them all transported to Tripolitza where he is said to have thrown out the mortal remains and the gems.
13.
Veli Pasha sold all other findings to western travellers for 80,000.