AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ahmed Ağa — Taşçızâde el-Hâc

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 177 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasyalıdır. Eşrâfdan Taşçızâde el-Hâc İsmâil Ağa’nın oğludur. Amasya’da ta’ayyün edib 1086’da şehir kethüdâsı, 1089’da ma’zûl oldu. Yedi yıl kadar mahkeme ve meclis azâlığında bulunarak 1096 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Hânedân idi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of Taşçızâde Hacı İsmâil Ağa, one of the notables. Coming to the fore in Amasya, he became city kethüda in 1086 [1675-76] and was dismissed in 1089 [1678-79]. After serving for about seven years as a member of the court and council, he died after 1096 [1684-85]. He was from a long-established family.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • eşrâf: the influential, respected families of a town
  • ta'ayyün etmek: to emerge, to become known and prominent
  • şehir kethüdâsı: the administrator who mediated between the townspeople and the state and oversaw the distribution of taxes
  • ma'zûl: dismissed from office
  • azâlık: membership
  • hânedân: a noble, long-established family

What the City Kethüdaship Was

The city kethüda was an administrator in district centers who maintained relations between the state and the people and who generally came to office by election. His main task was to distribute and collect the tax the state demanded in a lump sum according to the wealth and standing of the people. These men came from among the notables of the town and bore titles such as ağa, çelebi and hacı. Their appointment took place by a berat obtained from the center on the notification of the kadı and sometimes of the sanjak bey.

From the 17th century on, the kethüdas' duties expanded to include providing lodging and provisions for officials passing through the town and for soldiers on campaign, and supplying post horses. City kethüdas were also present in the councils where the kadı, the mütesellim and representatives of the guilds met; their knowledge and testimony were frequently sought in the courts, and their names appear under the records in the sharia court registers, in the section of witnesses. Hüsameddin's saying "about seven years of membership in the court and council" shows that Ahmed Ağa continued to sit in the city councils and the court after leaving the kethüdaship. It is possible that this information was drawn from the witness lists in the register entries, but the text does not say so.

No information on Taşçızâde İsmâil Ağa and his son was found in other sources. This family is one of the many Amasya notable families that appear in Hüsameddin's book.

Bibliography

Volume 6 contents