Amasyalıdır. Fethiye Mahallesi eşrâfından esbak Amasya mütesellimi Sefer Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Bevvâbân-ı şehriyârî silkine girip devr-i hidemât ederek Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın sadâretinde dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılarından olarak sipâhiler ağası oldu.
1087 senesi şa’bânında sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin vefâtında ma’zûlen Amasya’ya geldi. Bir müddet sonra Çorum sancağı mütesellimi, 1095’de Amasya mukâta’ât emini oldu. 1097’de tekâ’üd edilip 1099’da vefât etdi. Mahdûmu Sefer Bey ve yeğenleri Elçi Mehmed Paşa ile ricâlden Mustafa Efendi’dir.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya, son of Sefer Ağa, a former mütesellim of Amasya (deputy of the sanjak administrator) and one of the notables of the Fethiye quarter. Entering the ranks of the sultan's gatekeepers and advancing through the stages of service, he became one of the palace kapıcıbaşıs during the grand vizierate of Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha and rose to the post of sipahiler ağası.
In Şaban 1087 [1676], when the said grand vizier died, he was dismissed and came to Amasya. Some time later he became mütesellim of the sanjak of Çorum, and in 1095 [1683-84] mukâtaât emini of Amasya. In 1097 [1685-86] he was retired, and he died in 1099 [1687-88]. His son was Sefer Bey; his nephews were Elçi Mehmed Pasha and Mustafa Efendi, one of the notables.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütesellim: a deputy who ran the administration on behalf of the sanjak governor or the pasha
- eşrâf: the respected families of standing in a place
- esbak: former, previous
- mahdûm: son
- bevvâbân-ı şehriyârî: the sultan's gatekeepers
- silk: class, rank
- devr-i hidemât: advancing by performing duties in turn
- kapıcıbaşı: head of the palace gatekeepers; a high-ranking official sent to the provinces on various missions in the sultan's name
- sipâhiler ağası: the ağa at the head of the sipahi units
- ma'zûlen: having been dismissed
- mukâta'ât emini: the official in charge of the leased revenue sources (mukâtaa) of the state
- tekâ'üd: retirement
- ricâl: notables of the state and the city
Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha and the Agreement of Dates
The grand vizier named in the text is Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha, son of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. He was born in 1045 [1635-36] in the town of Köprü (today Vezirköprü) in Amasya, and died on 26 Şaban 1087 [3 November 1676], on the way to Edirne, at a farm near Çorlu. Hüsameddin's "in Şaban 1087, on the death of the grand vizier" agrees with this date. Sefer Ağazâde Ahmed Ağa's leaving office and returning to Amasya also comes immediately after the death; the text does not state the reason plainly, but only gives the sequence of death and dismissal.
Family and Present State
No information was found in other sources on Sefer Ağa, his son Ahmed Ağa, his grandchildren and his nephews. Who Elçi Mehmed Pasha, one of the nephews, was also cannot be understood from this entry; whether Hüsameddin's book has a separate entry for him could be determined only by surveying the whole book.
Bibliography