Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Kara Murad Pasha or Kara Dev Murad Pasha was a mid-17th century Ottoman statesman and military officer. He served as Kapudan Pasha and twice as Grand Vizier. His epithets Kara (literally, "black") refer to his courage and Dev ("giant") to his size. Murad was a devshirme of Albanian origin. He distinguished himself in the early phases of Cretan War between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice. He was assigned to various posts in the Janissary corps (the professional regiments that formed the core of the Ottoman army) and in 1648, during the enthronement of Mehmed IV, he was promoted to be commander of the Janissaries (Turkish: Yeniçeri a as ). When the Ottoman Navy was defeated by the Venetians in the Battle of Focchies on 12 May 1649, the Grand Vizier Sofu Mehmet Pasha was blamed for the defeat and he was replaced by Kara Murad Pasha on 21 May.