Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha

Born around 1495 as an Orthodox Christian, Ibrahim was enslaved in his youth and became close friends with the future Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. In 1523, Suleiman appointed him grand vizier, bypassing the man his father had chosen. For thirteen years Ibrahim wielded authority matched by only a handful of grand viziers in the empire's history, accumulating vast wealth and influence, much of it gifted directly by Suleiman. On 15 March 1536, the sultan ordered his execution and the state seized everything he owned.