Amasyalıdır. Yeniçeri olup Amasya’da hayli müddet serdâr oldu. Rumeli muhârebâtında yararlıklar gösterdiğinden Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın gözüne girip yeniçeri ocağına kethüdâyeri, ba’dehû muhzır ağası olarak katara girdi.
1077’de zağarcıbaşı ve müte’âkiben kul kethüdâsı olduğu halde Yeniçeri ağası Uzun İbrâhim Ağa ile geçinemediğinden 1078 senesi saferinde azliyle Amasya’ya gönderildi. Vusûlünde tekâ’üd ulûfesi verilip 1084 senesi şa’bânında vefât etdi. Liyâkatlı bir zâbit idi.
Tekâ’üd defterinde “Dâl Ahmed Mustafa Amasya” künyesi bâlâsında “Sâbık kul kethüdâsı” diye yazılı görüldü. Mahdûmları Halîl Ağa ile Çûçû Mustafa Paşa’dır. Amasya’da “Çûçû Paşazâdeler” bunun evlâdıdır. Halîl Ağa Şam Ağası iken 1100’de maktûl oldu.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. A janissary, he served for a considerable time as serdâr (unit commander) in Amasya. Because he showed distinguished service in the Rumelian campaigns, he caught the eye of Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha; he rose to kethüda of the janissary corps and then to muhzır ağası.
In 1077 he became zağarcıbaşı and, right after that, kul kethüdası; but since he did not get along with the Janissary Ağa Uzun İbrahim Ağa, he was dismissed in the month of Safer 1078 and sent to Amasya. When he arrived there he was granted a retirement stipend, and he died in the month of Şaban 1084. He was a capable officer.
In the retirement register, above the entry "Dâl Ahmed Mustafa Amasya," the words "Former kul kethüdası" were seen written. His sons were Halîl Ağa and Çûçû Mustafa Pasha. The "Çûçû Paşazâdes" of Amasya descend from him. Halîl Ağa was killed in 1100 while serving as Şam Ağası.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- serdâr: commander, head
- muhârebât: wars
- kethüdâyeri: an officer rank in the janissary corps
- muhzır ağası: one of the ağa ranks of the corps
- zağarcıbaşı: head of the zağarcıs, the 64th orta of the janissaries
- kul kethüdâsı: deputy of the janissary ağa, the second-ranking officer of the corps
- azl: dismissal from office
- tekâ'üd ulûfesi: retirement pay
- künye: register line, identifying information
- maktûl: killed
- zâbit: officer
Steps of Promotion in the Janissary Corps
The sequence of posts in the text shows a rise within the upper ranks of the janissary corps. The zağarcıbaşı is the ağa at the head of the zağarcıs, who formed the 64th orta of the corps. The zağarcıs were originally a company that raised hounds and greyhounds for hunting; according to the pay registers, in the 17th century about 318-390 foot zağarcıs and thirty-five mounted zağarcıs were registered at the center. The kul kethüdası, for his part, was one of the most influential officers of the corps after the janissary ağa. In rank the kul kethüdası stood below the sekbanbaşı and above the zağarcıbaşı; after the second half of the 17th century the kul kethüdası could be made janissary ağa directly. The order Hüsameddin gives (zağarcıbaşı, then kul kethüdası) is consistent with this practice.
Because he knew the procedures and rules of the corps well, the kul kethüdası served as an assistant, and sometimes as a deputy, to the janissary ağa, who was appointed from outside. The reason this man did not get along with the janissary ağa is not written in the source. No information was found in other sources on the "Uzun İbrahim Ağa" named in the text.
Family
Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha was the son of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha and served as grand vizier in 1661-1676; Ahmed Pasha's biography is given in this volume under entry no. 553. No information was found in other sources on this man's son Çûçû Mustafa Pasha or on the Amasya branch of the family, the "Çûçû Paşazâdes." The meaning of the nickname Dâl also could not be learned from the sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 171–171. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies