Amasya a’yânından ve dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılarından el-Hâc Ebûbekir Ağa bin Mustafa Ağa bin Sarı Mehmed Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Meşâhîr-i a’yândan olup nakîbü’l-eşrâf kâ’im-makâmı es-Seyyid el-Hâc Zeynelâbidin Ağa’nın dâmâdı ve hâciyân ve a’yân meclisleri a’zâsı ve 1161 senesi muharreminde baş-a’yân ve şa’bânında Amasya mütesellimi oldu.
1166 senesi saferinde sânîyen ve 1167 şa’bânında sâlisen Amasya [677] mütesellimi olup 1170’de tahsîlât vak’asında hüsn-i hizmet ederek kanlı bir muhârebenin önünü aldığından dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılığı rütbesiyle taltîf edildi.
1171 senesi muhareminde ikinci defa baş-a’yân 1182’de hâcıbaşı, 1185’de sâlisen baş-a’yân olduysa da Amasya mutasarrıfı Canikli Hacı Ali Paşa’ya mümâşât edemediğinden kûşe-i uzlete çekildi.
1193’de Çapanzâde Mustafa Bey’e mâddeten yardım edib Caniklileri târ u mâr etdi. 1194’de yine hâcıbaşı olup 1195 şa’bânında Caniklizâde Miktad Ahmed Paşa’nın Amasya mutasarrıfı olarak gelmesiyle Yozgat’a gitdi. 1196 senesi evâ’ilinde vefât etdi.
Meşâhîr-i a’yândan nâfizü’l-kelim, zengin, sahî, müdebbir bir hânedân idi. Vezîrâne yaşar emîrâne söylerdi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ebûbekir, Mustafa Ağalarla mevâlîden es-Seyyid el-Hâc Zeynelâbidin Efendi’dir. Birâderi el-Hâc Mustafa Ağa surre-i hümâyûn emîni olup 1201 senesi rebiü’l-evvelinde hâc yolunda vefât etdi.⁸⁴ Bunun mahdûmu [678] es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ebûbekir Ağa da ricâl-i devletdendir.
In Modern English
He was the son of el-Hâc Ebûbekir Ağa, son of Mustafa Ağa, son of Sarı Mehmed Ağa, one of the notables of Amasya and a kapıcıbaşı of the Imperial Council (Divan-ı Hümâyun). He was among the well-known notables, the son-in-law of es-Seyyid el-Hâc Zeynelâbidin Ağa, deputy of the nakîbüleşraf, and a member of the councils of pilgrims and notables; in Muharrem 1161 [1748] he became head of the notables (baş ayan) and in Şaban of the same year deputy governor (mütesellim) of Amasya.
In Safer 1166 [1752] he became deputy governor of Amasya for the second time, and in Şaban 1167 [1754] for the third time; in the tax-collection incident of 1170 [1756-57] he served well and averted a bloody clash, and was rewarded with the rank of kapıcıbaşı of the Imperial Council.
In Muharrem 1171 [1757] he became head of the notables for the second time, in 1182 [1768-69] hacıbaşı, and in 1185 [1771-72] head of the notables for the third time, but because he could not get along with Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha, governor of Amasya, he withdrew into his corner.
In 1193 [1779] he helped Çapanzâde Mustafa Bey with money and scattered the Canikli family. In 1194 [1780] he became hacıbaşı again, and in Şaban 1195 [1781], when Caniklizâde Mikdad Ahmed Pasha came as governor of Amasya, he went to Yozgat. He died in early 1196 [1781-82].
He was the head of a family, one of the well-known notables, influential, rich, generous, and prudent. He lived like a vizier and spoke like an emir. His sons were es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ebûbekir and Mustafa Ağa, and es-Seyyid el-Hâc Zeynelâbidin Efendi of the rank of Mevâlî. His brother el-Hâc Mustafa Ağa was superintendent of the imperial gift caravan (surre-i hümâyun emini) and died on the pilgrimage road in Rebiülevvel 1201 [1786-87]. His son es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ebûbekir Ağa was also one of the statesmen.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütesellim: official who ran affairs in a city as deputy of the governor
- baş a'yân: head of the notables of a city
- kapıcıbaşı: rank of the official in charge of the palace gates; later a title also given to notables in the provinces
- nakîbü'l-eşrâf kâ'im-makâmı: deputy of the head of the seyyids and sharifs
- tahsîlât vak'ası: incident that arose during tax collection
- taltîf: rewarding
- mümâşât: getting along, coming to terms
- kûşe-i uzlet: withdrawing into a corner and living alone
- târ u mâr etmek: to scatter completely
- surre-i hümâyûn emîni: official in charge of the sultan's gifts sent to Mecca and Medina
- ricâl-i devlet: statesmen
Between the Canikli Family and Çapanoğlu
The second half of Ebûbekir Ağa's life falls in the years when the family of Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha dominated Amasya. The sanjak of Amasya was given to Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha as a life-tenure grant (mâlikâne) on 30 May 1772; Hüsameddin's remark that "he withdrew into a corner because he could not get along with Hacı Ali Pasha" describes this period. It is known that the notables of Amasya, unable to bear the pressure of Mikdad Ahmed Pasha, took refuge in late 1778 with Çapanoğlu Mustafa Bey, governor of Bozok; Ebûbekir Ağa's help to Çapanoğlu in 1193 [1779] is consistent with this development. In the same year Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha and his son Battal Hüseyin Bey fled to Crimea before the forces of Çapanoğlu, and Mikdad Ahmed Pasha was taken into custody in Bursa.
The Canikli family was pardoned in September 1781, and Mikdad Ahmed Pasha was given the sanjak of Amasya as an arpalık together with the governorship of Erzurum. Hüsameddin's record that "in Şaban 1195 Mikdad Ahmed Pasha came as governor of Amasya" is close to this date. That Ebûbekir Ağa then went to Yozgat, that is, to Çapanoğlu territory, shows his apprehension at the return of the Canikli family.
No information was found in other sources on the Ağa's serving several times as deputy governor of Amasya between 1161 and 1167 and on his preventing a clash in the tax-collection incident of 1170. That Nişâncı Abdunnâfî Efendi, son of his brother el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa mentioned in the footnote, died in 1237 [1821-22] and is buried in Haydar Paşa, and that his son was Defterdar Mehmed Sa'id Bey, is learned only from Hüsameddin's note.
Bibliography