Receb Mahallesi eşrâfından es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Ağa bin el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa’nın oğludur. Altmış dördüncü bölükte mukayyed yeniçeri olup akrânı arasında şecâ’at ve cesâreti ile temeyyüz eylediğinden defalarla Amasya serdârı ve Rus harbinde [722] serdengeçtiler ağası oldu.
Avdetde turnacıbaşılık pâyesi ile taltîf edilip meclis-i a’yân a’zâsı olduğu halde 1237 senesi evâhirinde vefât etdi. “Hacıoğlu” demekle meşhûr, nâfizü’l-kelim, mû’tedil bir yeniçeri zâbiti idi. Evlâdına “Küçük Ahmed oğulları” dendi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Seyyid Hacı Mustafa Ağa, one of the notables of Receb neighborhood; Mustafa Ağa was the son of Hacı Ahmed Ağa. He was a Janissary registered in the sixty-fourth company. Because he stood out among his peers for his courage and bravery, he was several times serdar of Amasya and, in the Russian war, ağa of the serdengeçtis.
On returning from the war he was honored with the rank of turnacıbaşı and, as a member of the council of notables, died at the end of 1237 [1822]. He was famous as "Hacıoğlu," an influential and moderate Janissary officer. His descendants are called "Küçük Ahmed oğulları."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: leading families
- mukayyed: registered
- akrân: peers, contemporaries
- şecâ'at, cesâret: valor, courage
- temeyyüz: standing out, being distinguished
- serdengeçtiler ağası: head of the volunteer soldiers called serdengeçti, who were prepared to risk death
- avdet: return
- turnacıbaşılık: the rank of head of the turnacıs in the Janissary corps
- pâye: rank, grade
- nâfizü'l-kelim: whose word carries weight
- mû'tedil: moderate, not given to excess
The Janissary Ağas of Amasya
According to Hüsameddin's account, the life of Küçük Ahmed Ağa shows a Janissary rising through valor. He began as a Janissary registered in the 64th company, served as serdar of Amasya many times, and finally entered the council of notables. The entry does not say in which Russian war he served; since he died in 1237 [1822], it must have been one of the wars of the early nineteenth century, but this is not stated in the source. The Janissary Corps was abolished in 1826; Ahmed Ağa died a few years before this event. No source other than Hüsameddin could be found on him; the epithet "Hacıoğlu" and the name "Küçük Ahmed oğulları" appear only in this work. No information on this person was found in other sources.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 224–224. amasya.bel.tr