Abaza Mehmet was the governor of Erzurum.

According to historian Joseph von Hammer-

Purgstall, he was a consultant of Osman II in his efforts to abolish the
jannissaries. Shortly after hearing the news about the assassination, he began
expelling and even killing the jannissaries on duty in his province. Although he
was formally dismissed by the Ottoman Porte (government) on 17 November 1622, he
continued to stay in Erzurum and claimed that he was loyal to the Porte but he was
trying to punish those who were responsible for the assassination. The Turkmen
people of Central Anatolia, who were also accusing the jannissaries, readily
accepted his cause and soon he began controlling most of Eastern and Central
Anatolia.[1]

In 1624, finally the Porte decided to fight against Abaza's forces. Commander
(Turkish: serdar) of the army was Hafiz Ahmet Pasha. The clash took place in the
plains near Kayseri on 16 August 1624. During the battle, some troops in Abaza's
army changed sides and Abaza's forces were defeated. Abaza escaped to Erzurum, and
during the ensuing talks he was able to convince the Porte for his good
intentions.Thus he continued as the governor.
During the Ottoman�Safavid War (1623�1639), the Safavid (Persian) army was
threatening the Ottoman city Ahiska (modern Akhaltsikhe in Georgia) in August 1627.
Abaza was ordered to support the Ottoman army. Although Abaza asked for the
commandship of the army, he was refused. He began to move his troops to the
battleground. However, instead of supporting the army, he waited for a suitable
moment to raid the Ottoman army. The raid was successful. In addition to
jannissaries, many Ottoman pashas were killed.

Upon this humiliating defeat, the Grand vizier Halil Pasha was dismissed. The new
grand vizier became Gazi H�srev Pasha. In September 1628, H�srev Pasha laid a siege
on Erzurum. He had cannons at his disposal. On 18 September 1628, Abaza decided to
give up. H�srev Pasha accepted his terms. Thus, he was not punished; but he was
assigned to govern in one of the European provinces of the Empire, where he had no
local support.