This paper will analyze the career of the Grand Vizier Mahmud Pasha (c. 1456-74), who became a famous patron but also had a significant impact on early Ottoman historiography as someone who supported the careers of most of the historians of Mehmed the Conqueror's time. The presentation will highlight his and his protégés’ careers, as well as his enduring legacy, not only as member of the Ottoman governing class but also as a popular public figure. Mahmud Paşa was enslaved as a child from a distinguished Serbian family, converted to Islam and educated at the Ottoman court. In 1456 he became the Ottoman Grand Vizier and was ranked above all other bureaucrats of his time in terms of public charities, financing nine mosques, three medreses and two mektebs. He also emerged as a well-known poet who composed a divan in Persian and Turkish, under the pen name of Adni. Mahmud Paşa influenced the careers of a number of bureaucrats who became the earliest Ottoman historians. They were Şükrullah, who wrote a version of his Behçetüttevarih specifically for Mahmud Paşa; Enveri, who composed his controversial Ottoman history titled Düsturname for him; and Nişancı, who wrote Risale and Tursun Bey who composed Tarihi Ebul-Feth. Additionally, historians Kritoboulos, Chalkokondyles, Aşıkpaşazade, Kemalpaşazade, Saadeddin and Latifi wrote explicit praises about Mahmud Paşa in their works. And, historian Kabuli was a member of Mahmud Paşa’s court for a time being. Among these historians, Nişancı and Tursun Bey were Mahmud Paşa’s protégés, and they too achieved remarkable success during their careers. Nişancı became a grand vizier (1477-1481) and Tursun Bey was appointed as the secretary of the Ottoman imperial council, during Mehmed II’s reign. In 1474, Mahmud Paşa was executed due to a conflict which involved Ottoman prince Mustafa and Mahmud Paşa’s wife. Afterwards, his legacy and tragic end gained a literary life of its own, as it was incorporated into an anonymous novella titled Menakıbnamei Mahmud Paşa. The novella re-imagined Mahmud Paşa’s dramatic rise and his tragic demise, as someone who was loved by people but victimized by the state.