Amasya hânedânından el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa bin el-Hâc Hüseyin Ağa bin Abdülcelil Efendi mahdûmudur. Mumcuzâde Seyyid Ahmed Paşa’nın hemşîrezâdesi olduğundan “Yeğen Ahmed Ağa” demekle meşhûr oldu. Vâlidesi tarafından sâdât-ı Hüseynîyedendir.
Dayısının harem kethüdâsı olup sâyesinde servet ü yesâr edindi. 1102’de Seyyid Paşa’nın i’dâmında menkûbâne Sofular Mahallesi’nde oturdu. Sonra ammizâdesi Hüseyin Paşa’ya [603] intisâb edib mukata’ât mültezimi, nüzul emini olarak Amasya a’yân meclisine girdi. A’yân azâsı olduğu halde 1121 hudûdunda vefât etdi.
In Modern English
He is the son of Hacı Mehmed Ağa of the Amasya dynasty of notables; Hacı Mehmed Ağa was the son of Hacı Hüseyin Ağa, who in turn was the son of Abdülcelil Efendi. Because he was the son of the sister of Mumcuzade Seyyid Ahmed Pasha, he became famous as "Nephew Ahmed Ağa" (Yeğen Ahmed Ağa). On his mother's side he is among the seyyids descended from Hüseyin.
He became harem kethüda to his maternal uncle and through him attained wealth and comfort. In 1102 [1690-91], when Seyyid Pasha was executed, he was struck by calamity and lived in the Sofular neighborhood. Later he attached himself to Hüseyin Pasha, his paternal uncle's son, and, as mukataa tax-farmer and nüzul steward, entered the council of notables (âyan) of Amasya. While a member of the âyan he died around 1121 [1709-10].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- hemşîrezâde: a sister's son, nephew
- sâdât-ı Hüseynîye: seyyids descended from Hz. Hüseyin
- harem kethüdâsı: the official who managed harem affairs in a pasha's mansion
- menkûbâne: as one struck by calamity
- i'dâm: execution
- ammizâde: a paternal uncle's son
- mukata'ât mültezimi: a person who undertook state revenues by contract
- nüzul emini: the official responsible for supplying the food and drink needs of the army and state officials
- a'yân meclisi: the local advisory council made up of the leading men of a city
The Place of Nephew Ahmed Ağa
The entry shows how a family's wealth and political standing rested on the relationship between maternal uncle and nephew. Ahmed Ağa's maternal uncle, Mumcuzade Seyyid Ahmed Pasha, is the man whose harem kethüda he was; when the pasha was executed in 1102, his nephew too led a troubled life in the Sofular neighborhood. Later, under the protection of his paternal cousin Hüseyin Pasha, he became mukataa tax-farmer and nüzul steward and took a place on Amasya's council of notables. Hüseyin Pasha's identity is not stated explicitly in the text; he should not be confused with Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha, because Hüsâmeddin refers to him as "ammizade."
No information was found in other sources on Mumcuzade Seyyid Ahmed Pasha, the Abdülcelil Efendi family, or the Sofular neighborhood. How offices such as the council of notables and mukataa tax-farming operated in Amasya in the early 18th century requires separate research.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 188–188. amasya.bel.tr