page_title: Gazi Husrev-beg
section_title: Career
hierarchical_section_title: Gazi Husrev-beg / Life / Career
caption_attribution_description: Illustrations of Ottoman soldiers from the Süleymanname
context_page_description: Gazi Husrev-beg was a Bosniak Ottoman sanjak-bey of the Sanjak of Bosnia in 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. He was known for his major contribution to the improvement of the structural development of Sarajevo urban area and his construction of many important buildings there, such as the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque or the medresa Kuršumlija, as well as for his successful conquests and for the launching of further Ottoman expansion into Croatia where he expanded the borders of the Sanjak of Bosnia.
context_section_description: In less than three years, he conquered the fortresses of Knin, Skradin and Ostrovica. He was appointed sanjak-bey of the Sanjak of Bosnia on 15 September 1521, becoming one of Sultan Suleiman I's most trusted men.
  A relentless campaign of conquest followed soon; the fortified towns of Greben, Sokol, Jezero, Vinac, Vrbaški Grad, Livač, Kamatin, Bočac, Udbina, Vrana, Modruč, and Požega fell at his hands.
  He founded, among the many buildings he ordered to construct in the city, the vakuf of Sarajevo, which was active until the 20th century.
  Gazi Husrev-beg played a crucial role to overcome the Christian army at the Battle of Mohács. His 10,000 Akıncıs and his irregular cavalry, composed of Turks, Bosniaks and Crimean Tatars, served as reserve soldiers in that battle. According to the Ottoman military strategy, the Akıncıs circled the European knights while the Turkish infantry made a counterfeit retreat after the first assault.  
  He had many victories against Croatian armies during the Ottoman expansion into Europe serving as a military commander in many battles and wars commanding large and small armies. Husrev was at his period one of the most powerful and well trained military strategist in the Ottoman Empire and 16th century Europe.  
  He was set as the governor of Bosnia many times, he built the famous Gazi Husrev-beg mosque in Sarajevo and boosted the cities economy by building markets and boosted the population of the city to 100.000 which made Sarajevo the largest city in the Balkans behind Istanbul during his rule. He was known as the second founder of Sarajevo after Isa-beg Ishaković due to his development of the city. 
  His mosque today stand at 50 meters and is the largest one in the capital that is located at the center of Sarajevo, it was constructed by Turkish architect Mimar Sinan. 
  He built sewers, bridges, mosques and built the first indoor marketplace in history. He is seen as the biggest Bosniak after the Ottoman conquest of the Kingdom of Bosnia in 1463.
caption: Gazi Husrev-beg served during the Battle of Mohács.
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