Amasyalıdır. Dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılarından Ali Kaya Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Amasyalı Ammizâde Mehmed Paşa’nın ağalığında dâiresi vekîl-i harcı, vezâretinde kethüdâsı olup 1127 zilka’desinde efendisi tarafından Bender mütesellimi oldu.
1128 senesi evâ’ilinde paşası maktûl olmakla müsâdere edilen emvâlini teslîm-i hazîne edib Amasya’ya i’zâm edildi. 1135’de Amasya havâlisinde zuhûr eden eşkiyânın tenkîl ve istîsâlinde hizmeti görüldüğünden kapıcıbaşılık verildi.
1137 senesi muharreminde Amasya mütesellimi olup bir buçuk yıl kadar sancağı hüsn-i idâre ederek imdâd-ı seferî irsâlinde ibrâz-ı faâliyet etdi. 1138 senesi cumâdelûlâsında infisâl edib 1139 senesi hilâlinde vefât etdi. Müdebbir, şecî bir zât idi. Oğulları el-Hâc Mustafa, Ali, Erdoğdu Ağalardır.⁷⁰ [615]
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He is the son of Ali Kaya Ağa, one of the kapıcıbaşıs of the palace. During the ağalık of Ammizade Mehmed Pasha of Amasya he was deputy for expenditures in his household and, during his vizierate, his kethüda; in Zilkade 1127 [1715] he was made mütesellim of Bender by his master.
When his pasha was killed at the beginning of 1128 [1715-16], he handed the pasha's confiscated property over to the treasury and was sent to Amasya. In 1135 [1722-23], because his service in dispersing and uprooting the brigands who had appeared around Amasya was seen, the kapıcıbaşılık was given to him.
In Muharrem 1137 [October 1724] he became mütesellim of Amasya and for about a year and a half governed the sanjak well and made an effort to provide aid for the campaign. In Cemaziyelevvel 1138 [January-February 1726] he left the post and died at the beginning of 1139 [1726-27]. He was a prudent, brave man. His sons are Hacı Mustafa, Ali and Erdoğdu Ağas.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşısı: the head of the palace gatekeepers, a high-ranking official in palace service
- mahdûm: son
- vekîl-i harc: the deputy who conducted expenditure matters
- kethüdâ: steward, an assistant who ran the affairs of a senior man
- mütesellim: a deputy who governed a place on behalf of the governor
- maktûl: killed
- müsâdere: confiscation of property on behalf of the state
- eşkıyâ tenkîl ve istîsâli: punishing and uprooting brigands
- imdâd-ı seferî: aid of troops and provisions sent for a campaign
- infisâl: leaving a post
- müdebbir, şecî: prudent, brave
The Career of an Ağa
The entry clearly shows how a person rose in the Ottoman provinces. The son of Ali Kaya Ağa first entered the service of Ammizade Mehmed Pasha; as the pasha rose, so did he, becoming the pasha's kethüda and being appointed mütesellim to Bender. With his master's death the connection is cut, the pasha's property is confiscated, and the Ağa returns to his homeland having handed this property over to the treasury. His later kapıcıbaşılık is tied to his service in the brigand incidents, while his mütesellimlik of Amasya lasted a year and a half. Read together with the example of the mütesellim of Çorum in the previous entry, it can be seen that in those same years mütesellims were people both powerful and short in tenure.
Bender is today a fortress town on the Dniester; the Ağa's becoming mütesellim there shows that an official from Amasya could go as far as the empire's distant border fortresses. The heir record mentioned in the footnote (Hacı Ali Ağazade Hacı Hüseyin Ağa dying childless in 1213 [1798-99], his son Hacı Mehmed Ağa in 1214 [1799-1800], and his brother Halil Ağa becoming the heir) shows the family's later generations. No information was found in other sources on Ammizade Mehmed Pasha and the Ağa himself.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 191–191. amasya.bel.tr