The Persevering Curse of the İblisli Ahmet Pasha Boys School
Part I: How one Ottoman Vizier's twisted passion for Demonology cursed generations of young boys
İblisli (demonic) Ahmet Pasha is a little-known Ottoman vizier whose name has been meticulously erased from history with good reason. There is no record of his life outside the brief period during which he advised Suleiman the Magnificent on military matters between 1522 to 1526. Ahmet Pasha’s rise from obscurity happened during the long and arduous siege of Rhodes in 1522. Since there is no previous record of his name, most historians believe that he was a native of the island who seized an opportunity by advising the Sultan during the siege. But according to occultist sources, he was a native of Bursa, who was in the habit of consorting demons. Allegedly, this is how Ahmet Pasha heard that the Sultan was losing his fight against the potent magic of the Knights Hospitalier and rushed to assist him by offering his services as a powerful summoner of demons.
Historians and occultists once again diverge in explaining the nature of the help he provided the Sultan. Historians believe he used his knowledge of architecture to locate the ancient Hellenic culverts beneath the medieval city and directed Ottoman miners to place explosives under the city’s walls. Occultists, on the other hand, point to the chronicles of a Knight Hospitalier known as Gerard de Villeneuve, commander of the French knights defending the city. In this account, Villeneuve cites Ahmet Pasha by name and claims that he has conjured “a horde of demons who can walk on water and rain fire from the skies.”
The foundations of İblisli Ahmet Pasha Boys School are laid down shortly after the war when Ahmet Pasha requests the Sultan to allow him to open a madrasa to teach young boys the art of war. The madrasa opens the following year and strange stories emerge almost immediately about how it is a place for corrupting youth by leading their minds astray. There are numerous petitions to the Sultan to get the place under control or lose his empire eternally to demonic corruption. Some of these petitions are vividly illustrated with scenes of alleged happenings in the school, depicting a usually naked devil infiltrating the minds of young students.
These petitions continued being delivered long after the mysterious disappearance of Ahmet Pasha in 1526. There are reports of them arriving at the Sultan’s court as late as 1564. The court seems to have been largely dismissive of the plaintiffs’ demands to close the madrasa, implying that it must have been useful to the Empire’s military efforts in one way or another. The madrasa was finally shut down by Murad IV in 1632, along with his decree to ban the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and coffee across the empire. The Madrasa fell into disrepair for 120 years until a wealthy businessman decided to invest in the reconstruction of the school and wage war against the superstitions surrounding Ahmet Pasha. Stay tuned to this newsletter to find out what happened next.