Merzifonludur. Sipâhi Hasan Ağa’nın oğludur. Hayli zaman tatar, postacı olduğu münâsebetle “Tatar Ahmed Ağa” dendi. Abaza Hasan Paşa’nın Türkmen Ağalığında sipâhi oldu. Ba’dehû Tatar Ahmed Çavuş oğlu Abdullatîf Ağa’ya tekarrüble ona dâmâd [525] olup teneffüz etdi. 1057’de Amasya mukâta’ası emini, 1058’de Gümüş madeni emini, 1061’de Merzifon voyvodası oldu.
İbşir Paşa’nın sadâretinde Gümüş madeni emâneti de uhdesine ilâveten verildi. 1067 senesi evâilinde Köprülü Mehmed Paşa tarafından azledildiyse de 1068’de Abaza Hasan Paşa’nın arz ve inhâsıyla yine Merzifon voyvodası oldu.
Bundan dolayı Abaza Hasan Paşa’ya uydu. Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’dan korktuğu cihetle aleyhine kıyâm edib Abaza Hasan’ın isyânına iştirâk ve ma’iyyet-i mevcûdesiyle ordusuna iltihak eylediğinden 1069 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde Halep’te i’dâm ve emvâl ve emlâki müsâdere edildi. Mahdûmu Abdullatîf Ağa da Merzifonî Kara Mustafa Paşa ağalarından olup 1094’de harbe giderken sa’ika urub helâk etdi.
In Modern English
He was from Merzifon. He was the son of Sipahi Hasan Ağa. Because he was for a long time a tatar (official courier) and postman, he was called "Tatar Ahmed Ağa". He became a sipahi during Abaza Hasan Pasha's tenure as agha of the Turkmens. Later he drew close to Abdullatîf Ağa, son of Tatar Ahmed Çavuş, and gained standing by becoming his son-in-law. In 1057 he became steward of the mukâta'a of Amasya, in 1058 steward of the Gümüş mine, and in 1061 voivode of Merzifon.
During İbşir Pasha's grand vizierate the stewardship of the Gümüş mine was also given to him in addition to his post. Although he was dismissed by Köprülü Mehmed Pasha in early 1067, in 1068, on the petition and recommendation of Abaza Hasan Pasha, he again became voivode of Merzifon.
For this reason he followed Abaza Hasan Pasha. Fearing Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, he rose against him and joined Abaza Hasan's revolt, uniting with his army with the men he had. In Cemâziyelâhir 1069 he was executed in Aleppo and his goods and property were seized. His son Abdullatîf Ağa was also one of the aghas of Kara Mustafa Pasha of Merzifon, and in 1094, while going to war, he died struck by lightning.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- tatar: official courier carrying state news and orders
- sipâhi: mounted soldier, cavalryman holding a timar or zeamet
- Türkmen ağalığı: post of administrator over the Turkmen tribes
- tekarrüb: drawing near, forming a close tie
- dâmâd: son-in-law
- teneffüz: breathing, taking relief, gaining standing
- mukâta'a emini: official overseeing the operation of a tax revenue
- madeni emini: official managing the operation of a mine
- voyvoda: official in charge of the administration and taxes of a place
- arz ve inhâ: reporting a matter and recommending
- iltihâk: joining, uniting
- ma'iyyet-i mevcûde: the men at hand with him
- sa'ika: lightning
The Stewardship of the Gümüş Mine
The mine at Gümüşhacıköy is a rich silver and lead field that was worked in Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman times. The stewardship of the mine was an important post in the Ottoman period: Hacı Halil Pasha, who had the Halîliye Madrasa built, was appointed steward of the Gümüş mine in 1403-1404; in 1797 Çaparzâde Süleyman Bey took the mine's operating rights and carried out the same duty. Tatar Ahmed Ağa's becoming steward of the Gümüş mine in 1058 is an example of this post in the seventeenth century. That the post was given to him again, additionally, in İbşir Pasha's time shows that in Hüsameddin's account Ahmed Ağa took on several of the financial duties of the sanjak of Amasya at the same time.
Abdullatîf Ağa and Kara Mustafa Pasha
Kara Mustafa Pasha of Merzifon was born in 1044 (1634-35) in the village of Marınca in Merzifon (today's Karamustafapaşa). When his father, the timar-holding sipahi Oruç Bey, died at the siege of Baghdad, he was orphaned at the age of four; under the protection of his father's friend Köprülü Mehmed Bey, he received a good madrasa education together with his sons. After becoming grand vizier he led the Siege of Vienna of 1683; they arrived before Vienna on 19 Receb 1094 (14 July 1683). Hüsameddin writes that Abdullatîf Ağa died in 1094 while going to war; this date is the year of the Vienna campaign, but the text does not say which war is meant. That Abdullatîf Ağa is mentioned among the aghas of this grand vizier who came from Merzifon is consistent with Hüsameddin's giving persons belonging to Merzifon together.
The End in Aleppo
The end of the party that acted with Abaza Hasan came in Aleppo. Abaza was seized through a plot and killed at the end of Cemâziyelevvel 1069 (16-17 February 1659). The month Hüsameddin calls "cumâdelâhire" follows this; it appears that Ahmed Ağa's execution took place right after this event, in the following month.
In Other Sources
No information was found in other sources about Tatar Ahmed Ağa himself. The relationship of the two persons named Abdullatîf Ağa in the text (the son of Tatar Ahmed Çavuş and the son of Ahmed Ağa) cannot be determined with certainty from Hüsameddin's wording.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 165–165. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Official sources
- Gümüşhacıköy Kaymakamlığı, "Gümüşhacıköy Maden-i Hümayunu" (Çaparzâde Süleyman Bey and the 1797 operating record).