Stephen Bartlett Lakeman
Stephen Bartlett Lakeman, also known as Mazhar Paşa, was an English-born adventurer and soldier who lived from 1823 to 1900. He served in several armies and played a notable role in Romania’s history in the 19th century.
Lakeman was born in Dartmouth, Devon, to a family with Dutch roots. He studied at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He began his military career with the July Monarchy in Algeria, then joined the British Army and later went to the Cape Colony. In South Africa he led the Waterkloof Rangers during clashes with the Xhosa people and was knighted in 1853.
During the Crimean War, Lakeman joined the Ottoman side. He rose to the rank of binbaşı and later became a Pasha, taking the Turkish name Mazhar Paşa. In 1854 he was made police chief in Bucharest as the Danubian Principalities came under Austrian influence.
Lakeman built close ties with Wallachian nationalists and with British officials in Istanbul. He acted as a mediator between Ion Brătianu’s government and the Ottoman Porte at the start of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). He also supported liberal ideas in Romania and hosted influential political meetings at his Bucharest home.
In 1875 Lakeman helped unite moderate and radical liberal factions, contributing to the formation of Romania’s National Liberal Party, known as the Coalition of Mazhar Paşa.
During the Russo-Turkish War, Lakeman was in Istanbul as an unofficial representative of Brătianu’s cabinet. He urged neutrality for Bucharest and asked the Ottoman Empire for help in resisting Russia. After negotiations, Romania declared war on the Ottoman Empire in 1877.
Lakeman married Maria Arion in 1856. They had three children: two sons, George and Dan, and a daughter, Celia. George later became a naturalized Romanian citizen in 1906. The family lived near Enei Church in Bucharest.
In the 1860s Lakeman also spent time in England, where he introduced fish from the Danube basin, including Wels catfish and tench, to English waters.
Lakeman spent his final years in Bucharest, where he died in 1900. His legacy in Romania includes his role in shaping liberal politics and his long-standing connections with Romanian leaders.
Controversies surround his career. Some modern accounts describe harsh actions by Lakeman and his Waterkloof Rangers during the Xhosa Wars, and a 2004 speech by South African President Thabo Mbeki cited war crimes and even reports of severed heads, though historians disagree on the full extent of these claims.
This page was last edited on 1 February 2026, at 20:13 (CET).