His epithet Kara ("black") refers to his courage and Dev ("giant") to his physical size.

He distinguished himself in the early phases of Cretan War between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice.

In 1653, he returned to Istanbul and was appointed Kapudan Pasha (grand admiral) and tasked with transporting reinforcements and ammunition to Crete by sea.

He was then appointed to the governorship of the Damascus Eyalet in Syria, but along the way to take up the post, he fell ill and died.

In the five years between his two terms as Grand Vizier, six different pashas were appointed to the office, an indication of the political instability of the empire in the mid-17th century.