Amasya’da Sultân Bâyezîd evkâf-ı mütevellîsi el-Hâc Veli Ağa mahdûmu olup İstanbul’da tefeyyüz ederek kapıcıbaşı sipâhiler ağası, baş-bâkîkulu olup 1190 senesi hilâlinde vefât etdi. Diğer Amasyalı Ahmed Ağa bin Ali Ağa da 1168’de silahdâr ocağında seksen yedinci bölüğe kaydedilip tedrîcen terakkî ederek silahdâr ocağı kethüdâsı oldu. Bu târîhlerde vefât etdi. “Bâlioğlu” demekle marûf idi.⁸³
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL
Ahmed Ağa — Hacı Velizâde
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 208–209 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU
Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)
Footnotes
- 83 Buna Bâlîzâde denmişdi. Orman Bağlarında bir mescid-i şerîf bina etmişdir. Oğulları Hafız Ahmed, Mehmed Efendiler bu mescide imâm olup, Mehmed Efendi 1204’te vefâtıyla Ahmed Efendi müstakillen imâm oldu.
Our Research Article
Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Veli Ağa, steward (mütevelli) of the Sultan Bayezid waqfs in Amasya. Raised in Istanbul, he became a kapıcıbaşı, ağa of the sipahis, and chief of the bâkîkulu, and he died in early 1190 [1776-77]. Another man of Amasya, Ahmed Ağa, son of Ali Ağa, was enrolled in 1168 [1754-55] in the eighty-seventh company of the silahdar corps, rose step by step, and became steward (kethüda) of the silahdar corps. He died around these dates. He was known as "Bâlioğlu".
A footnote gives the following information: he was also called Bâlîzâde. He had a small mosque (mescit) built in Orman Bağları. His sons Hafız Ahmed and Mehmed Efendi served as imams of this mosque; when Mehmed Efendi died in 1204 [1789-90], Ahmed Efendi served alone as imam.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- evkâf-ı mütevellîsi: administrator of waqfs
- mahdûm: son
- tefeyyüz etmek: to be raised, to gain learning and manners
- silahdâr ocağı: the silahdar companies in palace service
- kethüdâ: deputy administrator of a body, steward
- tedrîcen terakkî: gradual advancement
- marûf: well known, called
- hilâl: new moon; here understood as the beginning of the year
Two Different Ahmed Ağas
The title of the entry brings together two separate people. The first is the son of a father who administered the Sultan Bayezid waqfs in Amasya, and he rose in the palace circle in Istanbul. The second is the son of Ali Ağa, and he advanced step by step in the silahdar corps. The text establishes no kinship between the two; both are mentioned one after the other as men who left Amasya in the same years and took posts in the capital.
The information in the footnote belongs to the second Ahmed Ağa. "Bâlioğlu" and "Bâlîzâde" are understood as two forms of the same nickname. That the imamate of the mosque in Orman Bağları was held by two sons, passing to the survivor when one died, shows that religious services were also often handed down within the family. The location and present condition of the mosque cannot be determined from this record.
No information on these two people was found in other sources.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, pp. 208–209. amasya.bel.tr