Sadr-ı esbak Merzifonî Kara Mustafa Paşa ağalarından ve Amasya eşrâfından Hacı Mansuroğlu el-Hâc Ma’den Ağa bin Ali Ağa’nın mahdûmu olup pederinin hayatında Amasya a’yânı sırasına girdi. [584]
1094’de Çengelli ve Çamlıbel mevki’lerinde türeyen eşkiyânın def’inde ve 1099’da kıyâm eden emîrler vak’asında fedâkârâne hizmetler etdiğinden dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılığı ile taltîf edildi.
1102’de açılan meclis-i a’yâna ilk re’is olup 1106’da evkâf-ı Sultânîye mütevellîsi, 1108 senesi cumâdelûlâsında Sivas vilâyeti avârız emini, 1110 gurre-i muharreminde Amasya mütesellimi, zilka’desi gâyesinde ma’zûl oldu. 1114 senesinde vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i a’yândan idi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa’dır.
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Mansuroğlu el-Hâc Ma'den Ağa, son of Ali Ağa, one of the ağas of the former grand vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha and one of the notables of Amasya; in his father's lifetime he entered the ranks of the ayan of Amasya.
In 1094 [1682-83], because he rendered selfless services in suppressing the bandits who had sprung up at the places called Çengelli and Çamlıbel, and in the affair of the emirs who rose in revolt in 1099 [1687-88], he was rewarded with the palace kapıcıbaşılık.
In 1102 [1690-91] he became the first head of the council of notables (âyan) that was opened. In 1106 [1694-95] he became trustee of the sultan's endowments; in Cemâziyelevvel 1108 [1696-97] avârız emini of the province of Sivas; at the beginning of Muharrem 1110 [1698] mütesellim of Amasya, and he was dismissed at the end of Zilkade of the same year. He died in 1114 [1702-03]. He was among the famous ayan. His son is el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sadr-ı esbak: former grand vizier
- eşrâf, a'yân: the notables of a place; in the Ottoman Empire, the local notables influential between the people and the administration in the provinces
- eşkıyâ: gangs who waylaid and robbed
- def': warding off, repelling
- kıyâm: uprising
- dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılığı: head of the palace gatekeepers; here a rank given as a reward
- taltîf: rewarding, gratifying
- meclis-i a'yân: the council formed by the ayan
- mütevellî: the person responsible for the administration of an endowment
- avârız emini: the official who carried out the collection of the extraordinary tax (avârız)
- mütesellim: a deputy who ran a city on behalf of the governor
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- meşâhîr: the famous
The Rise of the Ayan in Amasya
The entry is a good example of how, at the end of the seventeenth century, the local notables in the provinces entered the state ranks. The person is the son of a family that came from among Kara Mustafa Pasha's ağas; he entered the ayan of Amasya in his father's lifetime, received the rank of kapıcıbaşı by serving the state at times of bandit suppression and revolt, then took a place in a council of notables of which he was the "first head", and finally became mütesellim of the city. The entry states that such a council was set up in Amasya in this period; its relation to the birth of the official institution of the ayan in the Ottoman Empire could not be verified in other sources.
The places Çengelli and Çamlıbel mentioned appear as places where bandits sprang up in the Amasya region. Hüsameddin also mentions the "affair of the emirs" of 1099, but does not explain here which event this was. His mütesellimship seems to have lasted about eleven months: he took up the post at the beginning of Muharrem and was dismissed at the end of Zilkade of the same year.
Family Connection
Ma'den Ağa's being counted among Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha's ağas can be read together with other records showing that Kara Mustafa Pasha raised men for his circle from Amasya and its surroundings; other men of Kara Mustafa Pasha, such as Ali Ağa of Amasya, are also mentioned in Hüsameddin's book. No information was found in other sources on the person in this entry and his family.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 182. amasya.bel.tr