Amasyalıdır. Sipâhi meşâhîrinden Ali Ağa bin Kazzâz Abdulbaki Ağa bin Hasan Ağa’nın oğludur. Hâtunîye Mahallesi’nde doğup orada büyüdü. Abaza Hasan Paşa mes’elesinde Köprülü Mehmed Paşa taraftarı olduğundan hâs ahûr hademesi meyânına idhâl edildi.
Burada terbiye görüp tefeyyüz ederek salâhûr (ser-ahûr), ba’dehû hâs-ahûr kethüdâsı, buradan mîrâhûr-ı sânî olup 1087 şa’bânında Kara Mustafa [566] Paşa sadr-ı a’zam oldukta bunun hizmet-i şâhâneye liyâkatını tarif ve sevk ederek rikâb-ı hümâyûn kapıcılar kethüdâsı nasb etdirdi.
Bunun yerine de kendi ağalarından Merzifonî Ali Ağa’yı mîrâhûr-ı sânî nasb etdirdiğinden sâhib-i terceme bundan pek ziyâde müte’essir olmuşdu. Paşa’nın sadâretinde terakkîden mahrûmâne yedi yıl bu mesnedde kaldı.
1094 senesi zilhiccesinde Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın i’dâmına me’mûren Belgrad’a gitdi. İdâm edeceği esnâda Paşa’ya hitaben “Hep kendiye cezâ-yı amelindir. Sakın kimseye bahâne bulma” diyerek kinini izhâr ve îfâ-ı me’mûriyyet etdi.
Avdetde mizâcına târi-i illet gitdikçe iştidâd edib 1095 senesi rebîülahirinde vefât etdi. Mehmed Râşid Efendi Târîhi’nde “sadr-ı maktûle karşı yaptığı isâ’et-i edebin cezasını gördü” diyor. Sadr-ı maktûlun buna karşı aldığı vaz’iyyete göre bu kadarcık sözünü hoş görmelidir.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of Ali Ağa son of Kazzâz Abdülbâkî Ağa son of Hasan Ağa, one of the notable sipahis. He was born and raised in the Hâtuniye Quarter. Because he sided with Köprülü Mehmed Pasha in the Abaza Hasan Pasha incident, he was taken among the servants of the imperial stables (has ahır).
Educated there and rising, he became salahur (ser-ahur), then kethüda of the imperial stables, and from there second mîr-i ahûr. When Kara Mustafa Pasha became grand vizier in Şaban 1087 [September-October 1676], explaining that he was suited to the sultan's service, he recommended him and had him appointed kapıcılar kethüdası of the imperial retinue.
Since the pasha had one of his own ağas, Ali Ağa of Merzifon, made second mîr-i ahûr in his place, this man was greatly grieved by it. Deprived of advancement during the pasha's grand vizierate, he remained in this office for seven years.
In Zilhicce 1094 [November-December 1683] he was charged with executing Kara Mustafa Pasha and went to Belgrade. At the moment of the execution, addressing the Pasha, he showed his grudge by saying, "All of it is the penalty for what you yourself did. Do not look for an excuse against anyone," and carried out his duty.
On the return his illness increased gradually, and he died in Rebîülâhir 1095 [March-April 1684]. Mehmed Râşid Efendi in his History says, "he received the penalty for the impropriety he committed against the dead grand vizier." Considering the attitude the dead grand vizier had taken toward him, this little remark should be tolerated.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sipâhi: a mounted soldier living on timar revenue
- hâs ahûr hademesi: the officials of the palace stable who cared for the sultan's horses
- salâhûr (ser-ahûr): a high-ranking official in the stable concerned with the training and care of horses
- mîrâhûr-ı sânî: second imrahor
- rikâb-ı hümâyûn kapıcılar kethüdâsı: head of the gatekeepers serving in the sultan's presence
- sâhib-i terceme: the person whose biography is written
- terakkî: advancement
- i'dâm: execution, putting to death
- târi-i illet: an illness that begins afterward
- isâ'et-i edeb: impropriety, disrespect
- sadr-ı maktûl: the grand vizier who was killed
The Execution of Kara Mustafa Pasha
The weight of this entry lies in the killing of Kara Mustafa Pasha of Merzifon in Belgrade. The pasha, executed on 6 Muharrem 1095 (25 December 1683) after the failed siege of Vienna, was buried in the courtyard of the mosque opposite the palace in Belgrade; his head, or the flayed skin of his head, was taken to Edirne. According to the account of Silahdar Mehmed Ağa, from the sultan's close circle, the execution was carried out by Kapıcılar Kethüdası Ahmed Ağa and Çavuşbaşı Mehmed Ağa. They first asked for the imperial seal, the Sacred Banner and the key of the Kaaba, and the pasha handed them over; then he spread a prayer rug, took off his fur and turban with his own hands, and when the cords were ready he raised his beard and said, "put it on in a pleasant manner." That Kapıcılar Kethüdası Ahmed Ağa is the same person as the Kazzâzzâde Ahmed Ağa Hüsameddin describes is very probable because of the agreement of title and name; but no source was found stating this identity explicitly.
The statement "All of it is the penalty for what you yourself did. Do not look for an excuse against anyone," which Hüsameddin relays as spoken by Ahmed Ağa, does not appear in the account we read. This statement could not be verified in another source; the source on which Hüsameddin relies is also not indicated in the book.
The detail Hüsameddin gives is that Ahmed Ağa stayed in the same office for seven years without advancing; he ties this to the grand vizier's having his own ağa made second imrahor in his place. This information could not be verified in other sources. Ahmed Ağa's death is also tied in this account to the worsening of his illness on the return from Belgrade; Hüsameddin gives the year of death as 1095.
Mehmed Râşid
Mehmed Râşid Efendi, whom Hüsameddin cites, was the chronicler of the period. According to the TDV entry, Râşid relates that the Governor of Buda Uzun İbrâhim Pasha, executed earlier, speaking of the accusation of defeat, said that such a strong vizier should not be killed and that no one else could settle this matter. The sentence Hüsameddin relays as "he received the penalty for his impropriety against the dead grand vizier" could not be found in this reading; Râşid's wording in his History could not be verified from another source.
The Abaza Hasan Pasha Incident
Ahmed Ağa's rise begins with his siding with Köprülü Mehmed Pasha in the Abaza Hasan Pasha rebellion. This rebellion was a major uprising that in 1658 caused Köprülü Mehmed Pasha to break off the Transylvanian campaign and return to Anatolia; Köprülü first appointed Abaza to the governorship of Aleppo to remove him, but Abaza did not go. According to Hüsameddin, Ahmed Ağa took Köprülü's side in this turmoil and was therefore taken into the palace stables. No record confirming this role of Ahmed Ağa was found in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 177–177. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies