Amasyalıdır. Zanalı Mirza Ali Paşa bin Ca’fer Ağazâde el-Hâc Ömer Bey’in mahdûmudur. Gençliğinde amcası Ahmed Bey bin Mirza Paşa’nın yanına gidip oradan Enderûn-ı Hümâyûn’a girdi. Hüsn-i terbiye görüp [706] tedrîcen tefeyyüz ederek rikâb ağalarından oldu. Amcasının kerîmesi ile izdivâc etdi.
Ba’dehû hâs odabaşı olup tûl-i müddet burada kaldı. 1210’da da çuhadâr ve 1215’de silahdâr-ı şehriyârî olduysa da Çuhadâr Halîl Ağa’nın iş-güzârlığıyla 1216’da azl ve tekâ’üde sevk edilip Üsküdar’da konağında ikâmet ve 1219’da rihlet etdi. Kayınpederinin yanında medfûndur.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He is the son of Mirza Ali Pasha of Zana, and of Ca'fer Ağazâde Hacı Ömer Bey. In his youth he went to Ahmed Bey, the son of his uncle Mirza Pasha, and from there entered the Enderun-ı Hümâyûn (the inner school of the sultan's palace). Well trained, and rising step by step, he became one of the rikâb ağas. He married his uncle's daughter.
Later he became has odabaşı and remained in that post for a long time. In 1210 [1795-96] he became çuhadar, and in 1215 [1800-01] the sultan's silahdar, but through the efforts of Çuhadar Halil Ağa he was dismissed in 1216 [1801-02] and sent into retirement; he lived in his mansion at Üsküdar and died in 1219 [1804-05]. He is buried beside his father-in-law.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- Enderûn-ı Hümâyûn: the inner part of the Ottoman palace; the palace school in which state officials were trained
- tedrîcen tefeyyüz: rising step by step and distinguishing oneself
- rikâb ağaları: the palace ağas closest to the sultan
- hâs odabaşı: head of the Has Oda, the highest stage of the Enderun
- çuhadar: the Has Oda ağa who looked after the sultan's garments and raincoat
- silahdar-ı şehriyârî: the sultan's silahdar
- iş-güzârlık: getting things done, effort
- azl ve tekâ'üde sevk: being dismissed and sent into retirement
- rihlet: departing, dying
- medfûn: buried
The Has Oda and the Four Ağas
Training in the Enderun was built on seven stages, and the last of them was the Has Oda. The four well-known officers of the Has Oda were the has odabaşı, silahdar, çuhadar and rikâbdar. The name çuhadar comes from the Persian words çuha, woolen cloth, and dâr, owner; the main task of the başçuhadar ağa was to carry and guard the sultan's raincoat, fur, kaftan and shoes. He also had ceremonial duties, such as receiving officials like the grand vizier and the şeyhülislam at the palace gate at their appointments and bringing them to the sultan.
Until the early eighteenth century the çuhadar came directly after the has odabaşı in protocol, but during the silahdarship of Çorlulu Ali Pasha he fell below the silahdar and came to act as his deputy when there was no silahdar. The silahdar is the palace officer responsible for the sultan's weapons and armory. The order Hüsameddin gives, that is, the passage from has odabaşılık to çuhadarlık and from there to silahdarlık, shows a rise in keeping with this ranking.
The rikâbdar, for his part, was one of the four officers in the Has Oda very close to the sultan, and was unofficially called the "armchair vizier." Rikâbdars who could not become silahdar were retired with an income of 60-100 thousand kuruş a year. Hüsameddin's saying "he became one of the rikâb ağas" describes his entry into this circle.
On the Dates and the Persons
The dates Hüsameddin gives fall between 1795 and 1804-05. In whose reign these posts were held is not stated in the text. In the searches made, no verifiable source was found about Çuhadar Halil Ağa, who is said to have caused Ahmed Ağa's dismissal, or about the identity of his father-in-law and uncle; the details of the family called Mirza Paşazâde rest solely on this entry. The text also has no age or birth year. Whether the ağa was buried in Üsküdar or in Amasya is not clear; Hüsameddin says only "beside his father-in-law."
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 219–219. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Books
- Şerafettin Turan, "Silâhdar", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi.