Baltacı Mehmet Pasha Baltacı Mehmet Pasha ( also called Pakçemüezzin Baltacı Mehmet Pasha , sometimes known just as Baltacı or Baltaji ; 1662 , Osmancık – July 1712 , Lemnos ) was an Ottoman statesman who served as grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1704 to 1706 , and as Kapudan Pasha ( grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy ) in 1704 . Early years . Mehmet was born in Osmancık , near Çorum ( modern Turkey ) . He was of Turkish origin . He travelled to North Africa , which was then Ottoman territory . He then came to Constantinople , the capital of the empire , where he found a job as a baltacı ( palace employee ) in the palace of the sultan which earned him the epithet " Baltacı " . He also worked as a secretary and muezzin ( person who calls others to prayer in Islamic tradition ) and earned the nickname " pakçemuezzin " . Soon , he was promoted to be the chief stableman ( " imrahor " ) and then Grand Admiral ( Kapudan Pasha ) in 1704 . On 25 December 1704 , he became the grand vizier . First term as Grand Vizier and governor . There are no remarkable feats in his first term as Grand Vizier , and in 1706 he was dismissed . In just four years , he was appointed three times to various remote provinces , namely Erzurum , the island Chios ( ) , and Aleppo ( ) as a governor ( presently , Erzurum is in Turkey , Chios in Greece , and Aleppo is in Syria ) . On 18 August 1710 , he began his second term as Grand Vizier . Second term as Grand Vizier . His second term is quite well known . In 1709 , during the Great Northern War , Charles XII of Sweden had been defeated by the Russians in the battle of Poltava and took refuge in Ottoman territory , with Peter I of Russia in pursuit . The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia . Baltacı Mehmet was named the commander ( " serdar " ) of the army . He was able to encircle the Russian army near the Pruth River ( now forming the border line between Romania and Moldova ) , forcing Peter to sue for peace . The Treaty of Pruth stipulated the return of the fortress Azov , which had been annexed by Russia by the Treaty of Karlowitz , to the Ottomans ; several Russian fortresses were to be demolished ; and Peter I promised not to interfere into the affairs of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth and Charles XII was given a free passage to his country . Some contemporaries , such as Voltaire in his book " Peter the Great " , reported that Mehmet Pasha was involved in an affair with future - Empress Catherine I of Russia , then the consort of Peter . Surrounded by overwhelming numbers of Turkish troops , Catherine suggested before surrendering , that her jewels and those of the other women be used in an effort to bribe Baltacı Mehmet Pasha into allowing a retreat . Mehmet allowed the retreat , whether motivated by the bribe or considerations of trade and diplomacy . The story of Mehmet Pasha ' s relationship with Catherine I and his subsequent punishment by exile has been the subject of several works of literature in both Turkey and Russia , including the 1961 play " Lütfen Dokunmayın " by Turkish playwright Haldun Taner and the book " Baltacı ile Katerina " ( " Baltacı and Catherine " ) by Murat Sertoğlu . From Constantinople to Lemnos . Although the initial reaction of Sultan Ahmet III to the treaty was satisfactory , Baltacı Mehmet Pasha ' s political rivals , as well as Charles XII and Devlet II Giray , the vassal Crimean khan , were dissatisfied with the terms . He was accused of accepting the aforementioned bribe from Peter I of Russia ( through Catherine ) and was dismissed from his post in 20 November 1711 . Baltacı was exiled to the modern - day Greek islands of Lesbos ( " Midilli " ) and later Lemnos ( " Limni " ) , where he died the next year in July 1712 .