Köprülüdür. Zimmîlerden birinin oğludur. Devşirme usûlü üzere genç iken İstanbul’a götürülüp “gılmân-ı acemiyân” ocağına yerleştirildi. Burada ta’lîm ve terbiye edilip otuz birinci yeniçeri bölüğüne kaydedildiği 999 târihli Yeniçeri Defterinde görüldü.
Bu defterlerden anlaşıldığı üzere 1025’de bölükağası, 1028’de kethüdâyeri 1029’da muhzırağası, ba’dehû zağarcıbaşı oldu. 1031 senesi hâ’ilesinde [486] ma’zûl ve 1033 sâlinden sonra merhûm oldu. Yeniçeri defterinde “Ahmed Köprî” diye yazılan künyesi bâlâsında Kara Ahmed Ağa şerhi verilmiş, cesur bir yeniçeri zâbıtı idi.
Diğer Yeniçeri zâbıtânından İkinci Ahmed Ağa bin Ali olup yirmi yıl kadar Amasya serdârı, ba’dehû kır serdârı olarak hizmet etdi. 1033 senesi hilâlinde vefât etdi. Eşkıya harbinde yararlıklar göstermiş bir zâbıt idi. Mahdûmu meşâhîr-i ulemâdan “İkincizâde” demekle meşhûr es-seyyid Ali Efendi’dir.
Diğer Yeniçeri zâbıtânından Karabulutoğlu demekle meşhûr Ahmed Ağa bin Hasan Ağa da mükerreren Amasya serdârı olup bu târîhlerde vefât etdi. Mahdûmu Mehmed Ağa ve birâderi Üçüncü Hüseyin Ağa da yeniçeri zâbıtânından idi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Köprü. He was the son of a non-Muslim (zimmî). Taken to Istanbul at a young age by the devshirme method, he was placed in the hearth of the "novice boys" (acemi oğlanlar). After being trained and raised there, he was seen in the Janissary Register of 999 [1590-91] to have been enrolled in the thirty-first Janissary company.
As is understood from these registers, in 1025 [1616] he became bölükağası, in 1028 [1618-19] kethüdâyeri, in 1029 [1619-20] muhzırağası, and then zağarcıbaşı. Around 1031 [1621-22] he was dismissed from office, and he died after 1033 [1623-24]. Over his entry written in the Janissary register as "Ahmed Köprî" there is a note "Kara Ahmed Ağa"; he was a brave Janissary officer.
Among the other Janissary officers, İkinci Ahmed Ağa, son of Ali, served for some twenty years as serdar of Amasya and then as field serdar (kır serdarı). He died at the beginning of 1033 [1623-24]. He was an officer who had rendered services in the war against the bandits. His son is the seyyid Ali Efendi, one of the famous scholars, known as "İkincizâde."
Among the other Janissary officers, Ahmed Ağa, son of Hasan Ağa, known as "Karabulutoğlu," was also several times serdar of Amasya and died in these years. His son Mehmed Ağa and his brother Üçüncü Hüseyin Ağa were also among the Janissary officers.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- zimmî: a non-Muslim living under the rule of an Islamic state
- gılmân-ı acemiyân: novice boys; young devshirme recruits trained for the Janissary corps
- bölükağası: commander of a Janissary company (orta)
- kethüdâyeri: deputy to the Janissary kethüda
- muhzırağa: the senior officer who ran the Janissary corps' affairs in the Imperial Council
- zağarcıbaşı: head of the zağarcı company (keepers of hunting dogs) in the Janissary corps
- ma'zûl: dismissed
- merhûm: deceased
- künye: the identity entry in a register
- zâbıt: officer, commander
- serdâr: commander
- mükerreren: repeatedly, several times
The Devshirme and a Janissary from Köprü
Ahmed Ağa's life is a typical example of the devshirme system. According to the encyclopedia entry, the devshirme is the taking of Christian children from among Ottoman subjects into military and palace service; to meet the Janissary corps' need for soldiers, war captives were first used, and then this method was resorted to. Youths between eight and twenty were levied, registered at the Aga's Gate (Ağakapısı) by the Janissary agha, circumcised, and given Muslim-Turkish names. The levied boys would then stay for a while with Turkish villagers to learn the language and customs. Applied at first in Rumelia, the devshirme was also applied in Anatolia from the late fifteenth century. No record stating that a levy was made from Köprü was found in the encyclopedia entry; Ahmed Ağa's being levied is known only from the record Hüsameddin bases on the Janissary registers.
Ahmed Ağa's career shows the order of ranks in the Janissary corps: bölükağalık, kethüdâyerlik, muhzırağalık, and zağarcıbaşılık. According to the encyclopedia entry the zağarcıbaşı is at the head of the zağarcıs, the 64th company of the Janissary corps, and is a natural member of the council of the Janissary agha. The muhzırağa is the high-ranking commander who followed the corps' affairs in the Imperial Council and at the Sublime Porte; this post was established in the time of Selim I.
The devshirme order broke down from the late sixteenth century; the admission of Janissaries' sons into the corps and unlawful recruitments weakened the system. Ahmed Ağa's enrolment in the register of 999 [1590-91] falls in the years when this breakdown was continuing.
The Other Janissary Officers of Amasya
No information was found in other sources on İkinci Ahmed Ağa, son of Ali, on Karabulutoğlu Ahmed Ağa, and on his son and brother. Who the seyyid Ali Efendi, called "İkincizâde," was could not be determined from these sources either.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 154–154. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies