Amasya’nın eski Kethüdâ Mahallesi’nde sipâhi Mehmed Ağa’nın oğludur. Yeniçeri olup sonra Unkapanı’nda uzun müddet kapancı, ba’dehû Unkapanı kethüdâsı olarak teayyün ve kapancı diye iştihâr etdi. Kazandığı servet ü sâmânı sâyesinde meclis-i hâciyâna azâ olup 1157 senesi evâhirinde vefât [631] etdi.
Oğulları el-Hâc Mehmed, İsmâil Ağalardır. Hacı Mehmed Ağa’nın oğulları el-Hâc Abdullah, Ömer Efendilerle el-Hâc Ahmed Ağadır. Hacı İsmâil Ağa’nın oğulları da Hâfız Hasan, Hüseyin, Süleyman Ağalardır. Hacı Abdullah Efendi mahdûmları el-Hâc Hüseyin Zeki, Ahmed Efendilerdir. Bunlara “Kapancızâdeler” dendi.
Hacı Hüseyin Efendi mahdûmu el-Hâc Ömer Efendi 1244’de ve diğer mahdûmu el-Hâc Abdullah Efendi 1243’de ve Hacı Ömer Efendizâde el-Hâc Osmân Efendi 1273’de vefât etdiler. Hacı Ahmed Efendizâde Mehmed Kâmil Efendi 1335’de vefât edib oğulları ulemâdan Mehmed Şerîf Efendi ve avâmdan Ahmed İhsan Efendi ber-hayatdır.
In Modern English
He was the son of the sipahi Mehmed Ağa, who lived in the old Kethüdâ quarter of Amasya. He became a janissary, then worked for a long time as a kapancı at Unkapanı, and later came to the fore as kethüda of Unkapanı and became known as the kapancı. Through the wealth and goods he earned he became a member of the council of pilgrims, and he died at the end of the year 1157 [1744].
His sons are el-Hâc Mehmed and İsmâil Ağas. The sons of Hacı Mehmed Ağa are el-Hâc Abdullah and Ömer Efendis and el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa. The sons of Hacı İsmâil Ağa are Hâfız Hasan, Hüseyin and Süleyman Ağas. The sons of Hacı Abdullah Efendi are el-Hâc Hüseyin Zeki and Ahmed Efendis. They were called the "Kapancızâdes".
El-Hâc Ömer Efendi, son of Hacı Hüseyin Efendi, died in 1244 [1828-29], his other son el-Hâc Abdullah Efendi in 1243 [1827-28], and el-Hâc Osmân Efendi, son of Hacı Ömer Efendi, in 1273 [1856-57]. Mehmed Kâmil Efendi, son of Hacı Ahmed Efendi, died in 1335 [1916-17]; of his sons, Mehmed Şerîf Efendi of the scholarly class and Ahmed İhsan Efendi of the common people are alive.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sipâhi: Ottoman cavalryman; here a soldier holding a revenue grant, living in Amasya
- kapancı: one who deals with kapan (weighing) business at Unkapanı; the name Unkapanı comes from the place in Istanbul where flour was weighed and sold, but Ahmed Ağa's exact duty cannot be understood from the text
- kethüdâ: steward, head of a community or of a trade
- meclis-i hâciyân: council of pilgrims; the advisory body formed by the pilgrims in Amasya
- evâhir: the end
- mahdûm: son
- ber-hayât: alive
- avâm: the common people, those not of the scholarly or state-service class
A Family Record
The entry is an example of the sections in which Hüsameddin lists the pilgrim and ayan families of Amasya. The man described was the son of an Amasya sipahi who passed into the janissaries, earned wealth by working in the Unkapanı district of Istanbul, and entered the council of pilgrims. Because the years in which the book was written were near, the family tree is brought down to 1335 [1916-17], and the situation of some of the grandsons at that time is also recorded with the words "is alive". That one of the last two grandsons is described as "of the ulema" and the other as "of the common people" shows that Hüsameddin also distinguished persons according to whether they belonged to the scholarly class.
No information on Ahmed Ağa or the Kapancızâde family was found in other sources. An Ahmed Ağa called "Kapâni Hacı" at Unkapanı in Istanbul, who had a square fountain built, appears in an entry of an Istanbul encyclopedia, but since that record's dates are inconsistent and it gives no other information, it cannot be said that he is the same person.
Bibliography