During his rule, he had over 1,200 people executed, not including those that he killed by his own hand. Despite his cruelty, Hüseyin Pasha was an able commander and leader of the local troops, which was a particularly difficult task in Egypt. He was attentive to government details in the divan and successfully decreased robbery and burglary in Egypt. After his dismissal from office in 1637,Sultan Murad IV demanded of him an audit of the Egyptian provincial treasury and public revenues, and for him to pay what he owed to the treasury. When he refused, the kaymakam (acting governor) who replaced him until the arrival of his successor jailed Hüseyin, and he was freed only when he paid a large sum. After Egypt During the Baghdat Campaign of Murad IV he was successful in capturing several forts. Sultan forgave him and appointed him as a member of his divan. He later on was appointed as the admiral of the Ottoman fleet. He was able to capture 30 corsair galleys in the Black sea. His next missions were in Ochakiv (now in Ukrania), Baghdad and Budapest. Cretan War Conquest of the Aegean island Crete from Venice was uncharacteristically trying for Ottoman Empire. While the Ottoman Empire was in stagnation, the military and naval technology of the Europeans was on the rise. Although Chania, a major Cretan city, had been captured in 1645, the rest of the island, especially Heraklion, was able to resist the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire was unable to send reinforcements to Crete because the strait of Dardanelles (Çanakkale) was blocked by the Venetian navy. (see Cretan War (1645–1669)) Thus, the Ottoman army in Crete was deadlocked. Even under these circumstances, Hüseyin captured several forts including Rethymno and laid a siege to Heraklion. He also reconstructed many buildings and the fort of Chania. Sultan Mehmed IV promoted him to be the Grand Vizier on 28 February 1656. However he never exercised the post. Long before Huseyin's return to Constantinople, the sultan changed his mind and appointed Hüseyin's rival Zurnazen Mustafa Pasha as grand vizier on 6 March 1656 (although Zurnazen's term was even shorter than that of Hüseyin). Later years Hüseyin was assigned to be the beylerbey (governor) of Rumeli, a post inferior to that of grand vizier, but superior to those of the beylerbeys of other provinces. Nevertheless, the new grand vizier Köprülü Mehmet Pasha was afraid of