Mahmut Pasha of Begolli

Mahmut Pasha of Begolli or Mahmut Pasha (Turkish: Mahmut Mahmutbeyoglu or Mahmud Beyoğlu ) (Serbian: Mahmutbegovic) was an Albanian military commander of the Begolli family and Pasha of Peja, Sanjakbey of Dukagjin and later Beylerbey of Rumelia between 1688 and 1691. Begolli fought Austrian forces in 1689 during the Great Turkish War (1683–1699). Begolli is reported to have assassinated Jegen Pasha of Romania who used the weakness of the Ottoman Empire to kill and loot people in the Balkan region. In 1689, Count Giovanni Norberto Piccolomini (1650–1689) was notified that Begolli had withdrawn from Skopje with 8000 soldiers and the Imperial Forces pursued the Pasha in the Luma region. In 1692, a Franciscan source stated that Begolli was employing large numbers of Catholics from the Albanian highlands and plains and that the Grand Vizier was horrified to know that some of the soldiers were roasting pigs. In 1735-36, Begolli fought the tribes of Hoti, Kuci, and the Kelmendi. In 1737-40, Begolli fought the Berisha tribe led by Mema of Doda which resulted in the tribe being burnt to the ground. Begolli had a brother named Mustafa Pasha who's son Asllan Pasha built the pazaar of Ioannina. Begolli is mentioned as a heroic figure in Albanian folklore described as a lion.