Amasya sipâhilerinden Mustafa Ağa’nın oğludur. Gençliğinde yeniçeri, alemdâr olup Kara Ahmed Ağa diye meşhûr oldu. Mükerreren Amasya serdârı yüzbaşı, kır serdârı olarak sancağın muhâfazasına me’mûr oldu.
Amasya mütesellimi Caniklizâde Hasan Bey’in adamı yâr-ı kadîmi olduğundan onun i’damında gaybûbet edib 1220 senesi hilâlinde vefât etdi. Oğulları Mustafa, Ali Ağalar da yeniçeri idiler. Bunlara “Kara Ahmed Oğulları” dendi.
Evlâdından Ahmed Ağa bin Mustafa Ağa 1291’de vefât edib oğulları Yûsuf Azmî, Mehmed Kâmil Efendilerdir. Mehmed Kâmil Efendi Çorum duyûn-ı umûmîye me’mûru iken 1325’de [708] ve eniştem Yûsuf Azmi Efendi de 1329’da vefât etdi. Bunun oğlu Ahmed Şâhabeddîn Efendi ber-hayatdır.
In Modern English
He is the son of Mustafa Ağa, one of the sipahis of Amasya. In his youth he was a Janissary and alemdar (standard-bearer) and became famous as Kara Ahmed Ağa. Many times he was charged with the protection of the sanjak as serdar yüzbaşı and kır serdarı of Amasya.
Because he was the man and old friend of the mütesellim of Amasya (the official who ran affairs on behalf of the sanjak bey), Caniklizâde Hasan Bey, he disappeared at the time of his execution, and died in early 1220 [1805-06]. His sons Mustafa and Ali Ağas were also Janissaries. They were called "Kara Ahmed Oğulları."
Among his descendants, Ahmed Ağa son of Mustafa Ağa died in 1291 [1874-75]; his sons are Yusuf Azmî and Mehmed Kâmil Efendis. Mehmed Kâmil Efendi died in 1325 [1907-08] while official of the public debt administration (duyûn-ı umûmiye) in Çorum, and my brother-in-law Yusuf Azmi Efendi in 1329 [1911]. His son Ahmed Şahabeddin Efendi is living.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sipâhî: a mounted soldier holding a timar
- alemdâr: the soldier who carries the standard
- serdâr yüzbaşı, kır serdârı: local commander titles charged with the protection of a sanjak
- mütesellim: deputy of the sanjak bey
- yâr-ı kadîm: old friend
- i'dâm: execution
- gaybûbet: disappearing, going into hiding
- hilâl: new moon; here in the sense of "early in the year"
- ber-hayât: alive
The Mütesellimship and Local Powers
The mütesellim, as deputy of the beylerbeyi or sanjak bey, attended to affairs and collected taxes when they were not at their posts. The term of office was in principle one year, but in practice it was common to find men staying in the same sanjak for years. In the eighteenth century these posts were given largely to persons from local dynasties and became a stepping stone for the rise of the local powers called ayan. In the nineteenth century, as complaints multiplied, mütesellims began to be appointed from the center, often from Istanbul.
The Kara Ahmed Ağa that Hüsameddin describes is a local Janissary commander serving on a lower rung of this order. His disappearance at the execution of Caniklizâde Hasan Bey shows Ahmed Ağa's close tie with this bey. No verifiable source was found on why Hasan Bey was executed or where Ahmed Ağa was after he disappeared; the information rests solely on this entry.
Family Line
The entry follows a line for four generations: from the Janissary Ahmed Ağa to his sons Mustafa and Ali, from there to the grandson Ahmed Ağa and to his sons Yusuf Azmî and Mehmed Kâmil. Hüsameddin speaks of Yusuf Azmi Efendi as "my brother-in-law"; that is, the author is a relative of this family and wrote while Ahmed Şahabeddin Efendi of the last generation was alive. The family appears in the last generations in civil posts such as the duyûn-ı umûmiye clerkship in Çorum.
Bibliography