He was a member of the renowned Köprülü family, originated from Albania, that had produced six Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire (four counting Kara Mustafa Pasha, who was an adopted son).
In 1723, the Safavid Shah Tahmasp II of Iran made an agreement with the Russians, ceding major parts in the Caucasus and the Caspian littoral to the latter.
Since this was against Ottoman interests in the region, an army under Köprülü was dispatched and had easily taken Nahçıvan, Merend, Ardabil, Tabriz, and Karabagh.
[2] Köprülü met the Persian general Nader (soon the Shah of Persia) in the Battle of Yeghevārd in 1735, part of the renewed Ottoman-Persian War of 1730–35.
Ordering his forces to entrench in preparation for the advancing Persian army, he managed to avoid an open battle against Nader.