[1][2] Born in Bolu,[1][2] in the Ottoman Eyalet of Anatolia, Şemsi Pasha was the son of Mirza Mehmed Pasha, of the princely Candaroğulları dynasty[1][2][3] that reigned in the principality of Eflani, Kastamonu and Sinop, and a descendant of Şemseddin Yaman Candar Bey,[2][3] the dynasty's eponymous founder and first bey.

His paternal grandfather was Kizil Ahmed Bey, son of Ibrahim II of Candar and an unknown consort.

Raised in the imperial residence of the period, Topkapı Palace, Şemsi Pasha attended the prestigious Ottoman Enderun School,[6] and in the family tradition, participated in various Ottoman military campaigns, notably the Siege of Szigetvár in 1566 alongside Suleiman the Magnificent in his capacity as Beylerbey of Rumeli,[1] in addition to the conquest of several fortresses across Europe.

[7] Widely renowned as a hunter of distinction, Şemsi Pasha was appointed hunting companion to Sultan Murad III.

[5] Following his service, he charged pre-eminent Ottoman imperial architect Mimar Sinan with the task of building a mosque and adjoining complex near his main seat, the Şemsi Pasha Palace on the Bosphorus shoreline in Constaninople.