Characters / Magnificent Century Pashas

Piri Mehmet Pasha

Piri Mehmet Pasha

(Played by Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu)
At the beginning of the series, he was the Grand Vizier.

• Older Sidekick: He is Suleyman's first grand vizier, and is significantly older than him due to being elected during Selim I's reign.
• Put on a Bus: Disappears after resigning.

Ferhat Pasha

Beyhan Sultan's husband.

• Big Ol' Eyebrows: He has the biggest eyebrows among the Pashas.
• Corrupt Politician: He abused his authority, and not even his wife Beyhan could deny that his execution was warranted despite loving him so much.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: he was an abusive leader, but he was still loved by his wife Beyhan.

Ahmet Pasha

• The Quisling: When assigned as Governor of Egypt, he affiliates with the Mamluks and the Arabian tribes to become a Sultan.

Pargalı İbrahim Pasha

Pargalı İbrahim Pasha

(Played by Okan Yalabık)
(Voiced by: Juan Manuel Echave [Latin American Spanish dub])

"I'm İbrahim, who was taken from Parga and was turned at the age of 10. What is it to be turned? Where does one turn to? Where is that place? Is it possible to turn back, or does destiny only point forward? Does the place you came from wait for you? Would you be able to see it? Would your heart be your compass? Would it be possible, to go back home by following your trails backwards? Or is one still seen only as a convert, in every place one has com from converted and changed, in every language and in every religion? Is conversion not an ability, but a necessity, İbrahim?"

İbrahim is Süleyman's oldest friend, and right hand—grand vizier for much of the story. İbrahim was kidnapped from Parga as a child, and after gaining Süleyman's favor, he rose high when Süleyman became sultan.

• Action Dad: He had two children with Hatice and one with Nigar, and actively participates in wars.
• All of the Other Reindeer: He is occasionally seen with disdain for coming from a Christian upbringing, especially when he became the Grand Vizier. Some of his detractors even think he is a crypto-Christian
• Arch-Enemy: Hürrem loathes him with all her heart for putting her in a situation in which she has to be into a Psychotic Love Triangle to save herself and her children, not to mention he put her and her ex-boyfriend into a situation in which one of them had to eat poison.
• Asshole Victim: While he actually never intended to betray Suleyman and he was loving to Hatice and his offspring, he was a callous man through and through.
• Anti-Villain: He is largely a corrupt man who will cross lines and cover things up, but he does love Süleyman and his family.
• Character Shilling: Episodes around his death are centered on praising Ibrahim. It is egregious when his death is treated by Mustafa or Nasuh as the death of a noble, honest man when he actually was not.
• Corrupt Politician: He was an enabler and an accomplice of Mahidevran and Hafsa's attempts against Hürrem, and otherwise acted shadily, like when he had Iskender Celebi executed just to eliminate him as an opponent.
• Dark and Troubled Past: İbrahim is actually pretty open about his past; in the Welcome Episode and in the episodes surrounding his death, he explains it all. Born in Parga, İbrahim was kidnapped at the age of 10. He very purposely made himself forget so it wouldn't haunt him.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He loved Hatice (although he cheated on her) and his children. He also loved his boss Suleyman.
• Everyone Has Standards: He considers that Ebussuud's parenting is terrible.
• Good Parents: He is not a good man, but he clearly loves his children.
• Happily Adopted: His surrogate mother in Constantinople raised him with love.

• Kick the Dog: Despite knowing Hürrem did not cheat on Suleyman with Leo, he kills Leo just to make Hürrem suffer.
• Long-Lost Relative: Later, when he gets the chance to return to Parga as an adult, he finds his father and brother again.
• Mistaken for Cheating: With Prenses İsabella. He is very miffed when Hatice confronts him about it.
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: Before Suleyman assasinated him, he did not get to give a proper farewell to any of his loved ones: his father, his brother, his wife, his children, his adoptive mother, his friend Nasuh, or Mustafa.
• Number Two: He's Süleyman's.
• Papa Wolf:
  • When he discovers that Hatice hid his daughter Esmanur and made her pass for dead, he becomes upset with her.
  • He gets angry when Nigar kidnaps Esmanur, and after he manages to retrieve her, he prohibits her from seeing her for a while.
• Posthumous Narration: His voice and reflections are still present as of Season 4.
• Promotion, Not Punishment: When Süleyman finds a love poem İbrahim wrote about Hatice, İbrahim think he's dead. But then he's made grand vizier.
• Smug Snake: He was an intelligent man. However, his sadistic demeanor and his pride, both of which increased with time, make him so proud to the point of speaking of Suleyman as a lion he has tamed and as less powerful than him. He believed that being the Grand Vizier and Suleyman's best friend would make him immune to answer for his dishonest actions and protect him from any political enemies, only to be proven wrong when Suleyman is done protecting him. He was aware that this excessive pride could cloud the judgement of people, but never saw this case.
• Suddenly Shouting: İbrahim is very prone to this, especially when he is rebuking someone.
• Taking the Bullet: He does this for Süleyman, with a throwing knife in an assassination attempt.

Boris/Rüstem Pasha/Rüstem Aga

Rüstem Pasha

Mihrimah’s husband and Grand Vizier.

• Awful Wedded Life: He does not get along with Nigar at all after their forced marriage. They remain distant, since Nigar becomes an spy for Hatice and Sah. While his marriage with Mihrimah is not the most loving relationship, it is much healthier than his marriage with Nigar.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: He becomes angry at the mere idea of another man meeting Mihrimah.
• Dark and Troubled Past: He grew up with a father that mistreated him, so he escaped to Istanbul.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He seems to genuinely care for Mihrimah until she shows her love for Pedro. He also deeply loves their two children. He also loves his brother Sinan Pasha.
• Everyone Has Standards: He is as amoral as the other Pashas, but even he is disgusted by rape. He thwarts an Attempted Rape of a Croatian woman and decides to protect her.
• Good Parents: One of his redeeming qualities is being a loving father to Ayse.
• Hypocrite: He is a Crazy Jealous Guy that will act angrily at the mere possibility of his wife cheating on him, but he cheated on Nigar Kalfa with prostitutes and on Mirimah Sultan with Gracia Mendes.
• It Gets Easier: He tells Sehzade Selim that he will eventually get used to killing.
• Jerkass: He tends to treat most people with disdain.
• Sexless Marriage:
  • Rüstem has never had sexual activity with Nigar, especially when she becomes a spy against Hürrem.
  • There is almost no sexual activity with Mihrimah either, since she obviously dislikes being with him.
• Smug Smiler: He does a small smile to show his pride.
• Smug Snake: He is an overly arrogant man who will boast when chance is present and believes himself to be savvy.
• Social Climber: He is affiliated to Hürrem to achieve more political power. That is mistaken for a willingness to betray her, but he actually never does.
• Pet the Dog:
  • He protects a Croatian girl of an attempted rapist.
  • To prevent Selim from puking, Rüstem advises him to cover his eyes, and when he does anyway, Rüstem gives him a morale boost.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: After being anointed as Bey of Diyarbakir, he does not go there for a long time, which has been a scandal among the Pashas.
• Please Wake Up: He remembers that he tried to awaken his mother when she died.
• The Promise: Hürrem made him swear in the Quran that he would protect both of her sons. It falls flat when Selim blackmails him.

Hayreddin Barbaros/Hizir Reis

• And There Was Much Rejoicing: Christian nations understandably celebrated his death.
• Clap Your Hands If You Believe: To stop a hostile wind, he has his fleet throw Quran verses at the water and prays alongside them to stop the wind. It works.
• Father Neptune: He lives in the sea, to the point that he cannot adapt to a married life.
• No Social Skills: He is so accustomed at sea that before getting to be more with Suleyman, he failed to do the proper reverences.

Ayas Pasha

The Council Vizier and later the successor to Ibrahim Pasha.

• Fan Disservice: He is gifted with a concubine who dances with a revealing outfit for him and has sex with him. The problem is that she had the plague and Sah sent her to get him infected.
• Sucksessor: He failed to notice how to handle his role as the Grand Vizier.

Lufti Pasha

Lufti Pasha

Sah Sultan's husband and Grand Vizier.

• The Exile: After his grave act, he is demoted and only escapes execution due to Sah's request. However, he is told not to return to Istanbul ever.
• Hate Sink: Becomes this when he burns the extremity of an adultress and beats up his wife Sah.
• Kick the Dog: To make a point, he burns the vagina of a prostitute. He claimed it was for enforcing Islamic rules, but he denied her any due process and his punishment was not acknowledged by any Islamic law. Many other characters were outraged by this.
• Mistaken for Cheating: Hürrem tries to make one of the maids manipulate him into having sex with her, but fails. However, Sah is convinced that he cheated on her.
• Sexless Marriage: Since Sah has no love for him, she has turned down his sexual advances in no few occasions.
• Unwanted Spouse: Sah was unhappy about having to marry him, since he is not Ibrahim Pasha.

Lala Mustafa Pasha

Sehzade Bayezid's mentor.

• Conflicting Loyalty: He is trapped between Hürrem and Bayezid's orders. Hürrem wants him to tell about whether he is dating Huricihan, while Bayezid forced him to keep silent about the matter.
• Hazy-Feel Turn: Lala Mustafa Pasha decides to join Sehzade Selim and would later help him arrest and kill Bayezid.
• Older Sidekick: He is visibly old. He works for Sehzade Bayezid and later Selim.

Kara Ahmed Pasha

• Adaptational Late Appearance: He should have been married with Fatma Sultan as of Season 1 according to history, but they marry on Season 4.
• Dramatic Irony: He is confident about making Suleyman not kill him, but is unaware that Pargali Ibrahim Pasha was promised the same and Suleyman decided to execute him nonetheless out of fear of a betrayal agenda.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He loves Fatma Sultan and is Happily Married to her.
• Hypocrite: He criticizes Suleyman as being unloyal for breaking the promise not to execute him, even when he asked the promise in bad faith and planned on betraying Suleyman.
• Smug Snake: He shows huge overconfidence, partly due to making Suleyman promise him that he wouldn't execute him. Then his incrimination of Bayezid is proven.
• Stealing from the Till: He embezzles money to help Sehzade Selim to frame Bayezid of bribing Mustafa's impersonator and the rioters.