A member of the noble Castriot family, he was sent to the Ottoman court as part of the Devshirme, where he was educated and entered the service of the Ottoman sultan for the next twenty years.
Një anëtar i familjes fisnike të Kastriotëve, ai u dërgua si peng në oborrin perandorak osman, ku u arsimua dhe hyri në shërbim të sulltanit për njëzet vitet e ardhshme.