Stephen Bartlett Lakeman Sir Stephen Bartlett Lakeman , also known as Mazar Paşa or Mozhar Pasha ( 1823 – July 1897 ) was an English - born British and Ottoman adventurer , soldier , and administrator . A mercenary and veteran of several wars , including the Xhosa and Crimean conflicts , he was assigned by the Ottoman military to Wallachia , where he later settled , becoming in time a supporter of the liberal current in Romania . He was an influential figure in local politics during the early 1870s , and a mediator between Ion Brătianu ' s government and the Porte at the start of the Russo - Turkish War of 1877 – 1878 . Lakeman is also noted for having introduced Eastern Europe an fish species to England . Biography . Born into a family of Dutch origins , he was a graduate of the Lycée Louis - le - Grand in Paris , France . Lakeman first saw action with the July Monarchy ' s armies resisting Abd al - Qadir ' s uprising in French Algeria . He later joined the British Army , left for the Cape Colony . A captain and commander of the Waterkloof Rangers in clashes with the Xhosa people , he was made a Knight Bachelor by Queen Victoria , during a ceremony at Windsor Castle ( 25 November 1853 ) . According to his descendant Sybille Manu - Chrissoveloni , Lakeman had unsuccessfully tried to persuade British military officials to generalize the usage of khaki , replacing red coats in the standard uniforms ; when his proposal was rejected , he established his own Waterkloof troops of volunteers ( also known as the " Death Regiment " ) . In his March 2004 address to the University of KwaZulu - Natal , South African President Thabo Mbeki made ample mention of Lakeman ' s activities in the region . Quoting historian Noel Mostert , he indicated that the British commander had engaged in war crime s and atrocities : Lakeman was reported to have cut the throats of women and children prisoners with a sickle . Additionally , Lakeman himself admitted that he ordered his men to boil the severed heads of Xhosa people " for scientific interest " . Volunteers of the Waterkloof unit were described by Lakeman as " brutally cruel [ … ] killing without mercy all that came in their way when engaged in a fight , young as well as old , even braining little children " . Soon afterwards , he opted to join the Ottomans in their Crimean - centered conflict with the Russian Empire , becoming a " binbaşı " , and later a pasha ( becoming known under his Turkish pseudonym " Mazar Paşa " ) . When Russian troops evacuated Wallachia , Lakeman , who was serving under Omar Pasha , was appointed to a command position in the region , becoming police chief in Bucharest ( September 1854 ) . This occurred as the two Danubian Principalities came under Austrian supervision , a measure which was meant to create a buffer area , while allowing for an Ottoman garrison to be maintained . Lakeman kept close contacts with the Wallachian nationalist circles , clashing with the Austrian governor , Johann Coronini - Cronberg , and becoming the subject of the latter ' s complaints to Omar Pasha and to Stratford Canning , the British Ambassador in Istanbul . During the same period , he met Maria Arion , an ethnic Greek , whom he married in 1856 . In December 1854 , Canning agreed to have Lakeman relieved from his post , and he was given instead military assignments on the Crimean front . As the war ended and Austrian troops withdrew , he returned to Bucharest and became the owner of several estates , establishing his main residence in a house next to Enei Church . In June 1857 , Stephen Bartlett Lakeman met with Carroll Spence , the American Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire , who was visiting Wallachia . Spence asked Lakeman to mediate between him and Wallachia ' s " Kaymakam " , Alexandru II Ghica , after being offended that the latter had failed to receive him upon arrival . Lakeman visited the " Kaymakam " , who agreed to meet with the diplomatic envoy and apologize for the lack of courtesy . Around 1864 , on temporary return to England , he introduced there species of Wels catfish and tench , both native to the Danube basin . The Lakemans ' house , also known to Bucharesters as " Mazar Paşa " , remained an important landmark and meeting spot for political figures after the creation of a unified Principality of Romania . Starting in 1875 , Stephen Lakeman was a supporter of the radical groupings inside the liberal trend , while his house hosted anti - Conservative meetings which involved , among others , Ion and Dimitrie Brătianu , Ion Ghica , Mihail Kogălniceanu , Dimitrie Sturdza , C . A . Rosetti , Alexandru G . Golescu , and Nicolae Fleva . Negotiations between the moderate and radical faction resulted in the creation of the National Liberal Party , sealed by the so - called " Coalition of Mazar Paşa " on 24 May 1875 . Shortly after the outbreak of the Russo - Turkish War of 1877 – 1878 , he was present in Istanbul , as an unofficial representative of the Ion Brătianu cabinet . As Romania evaluated joining the Russian side in exchange for independence , Lakeman negotiated with Saffet Pasha , the Grand Vizier , arguing that the Bucharest authorities were to adopt neutrality and resist a Russian offensive in exchange for the official recognition of the name " Romania " . He also called on the Ottoman Empire to offer assistance in the military effort . Despite the secret character of the proceedings , the Romanian press published allegations that Saffet had agreed to the demands , and that it had made other sizable concessions to the Brătianu government . Nevertheless , the negotiations ' only visible outcome was the pledge of Ottoman authorities in Dobruja to aid Romania in the likelihood of an invasion — this offer was ignored by Brătianu , who also opted to reject approaching the Russian side until , in April 1877 , Romania declared war on the Ottoman Empire . According to memoirist James William Ozanne , who was visiting Romania during the period , Lakeman " made no secret of his disgust " in respect to the Russian - Romanian alliance . Following that moment , the pasha withdrew from political life , and returned to his native country . He died in London , in relative obscurity . Stephen Lakeman had three children with Maria : two sons , George ( whose daughter , Georgeta Lakeman , married the banker Nicolae Chrissoveloni in 1941 ) and Dan ( who settled in Argentina ) , as well as a daughter , Celia . George Lakeman was naturalized Romanian in 1906 .