Amasyalıdır. Esbak Amasya serdârı Murâd oğlu Hamza Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Yeniçeri ocağında alemdâr, yasakcı, yirmi [574] yıl kadar Amasya serdârı oldu. Birçok muhârebelerde isbât-ı vücûd edib Viyana harbinde yararlıklar gösterdiğinden 1095’de yeniçeri ocağında kethüdâyeri, ba’dehû silahdâr ağası oldu. 1097 senesi evâilinde ma’zûl olup Amasya’ya geldi. 1099’da vefât etdi.
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL
Ahmed Ağa — Seksenbir
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 179 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU
Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)
Our Research Article
Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya, son of Hamza Ağa, son of Murâd, who had earlier been serdar of Amasya. In the janissary corps he was standard-bearer (alemdar) and yasakçı, and served about twenty years as serdar of Amasya. He proved himself in many wars; since he showed valour in the Vienna war, he became kethüdâyeri in the janissary corps in 1095 [1683-84], and then silahdar ağası. At the beginning of 1097 [1685-86] he was dismissed and came to Amasya. He died in 1099 [1687-88].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- esbak: former, previous
- serdâr: here, the local commander of the janissary unit in Amasya
- alemdâr: standard-bearer
- yasakçı: the officer who watched over order and prohibitions in the corps
- isbât-ı vücûd: proving one's existence and worth
- kethüdâyeri: the officer who stood in for the kethüda in the corps
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
The Nickname Seksenbir and the Janissaries of Amasya
The name "Seksenbir" (Eighty-One) in the entry's title is not explained in Hüsameddin; the reason for the nickname could not be found in the sources we surveyed. Ahmed Ağa is the son of Hamza Ağa, who had earlier served as serdar of Amasya. A study based on kadı registers has shown that in the first half of the seventeenth century the sipahi and janissary communities were influential in the life of Amasya, for example falling into dispute with the voivode of the imperial estates (has) over lands counted as military farms. It may be thought that a serdarship lasting about twenty years held an important place in the local balance of power; but this is an inference and rests on no document specific to Ahmed Ağa.
According to Hüsameddin, his valour in the Vienna war secured his rise to posts at the centre of the corps. The army of Kara Mustafa Pasha came before Vienna in the summer of 1683, the battle was fought against the allied forces on 12 September, and the Ottoman army was routed. Ahmed Ağa's becoming kethüdâyeri in 1095 [1683-84] falls in the period immediately after the rout. The reason for his dismissal in 1097 is not given in the text.
No information was found in other sources on Ahmed Ağa himself or on his father Hamza Ağa.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 179–179. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- "Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/merzifonlu-kara-mustafa-pasa
Other sources
- Turan Açık, "Medine-i Amasya Sâkinlerinden Kapıkulu Sipahileri: 17. Yüzyılın İlk Yarısında Amasya'da Sosyo-Politik Hayata Bir Bakış".