Amasya’nın Küpceğiz Mahallesi eşrâfından el-Hâc Süleyman Ağa bin el-Hâc Ali Ağa bin el-Hâc Süleyman Ağa’nın oğludur. [735] Pederinin vefâtında teayyün edib hâciyân ve a’yân meclislerine a’zâ, bir defa da hâcıbâşı, Tanzimât-ı Hayriyyeden sonra meclis idâre a’zâsı olduğu halde 1261’de vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i a’yândan gâyet zengin, kerem-kâr idi.
Ahmed Ağa, Sipâhizâde Amasya sipâhilerinden Hasan Ağa bin Mehmed Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Devr-i Selîm Hân-ı Sâlisde ihdâs edilen nizâm ocağına girip güzel ta’lîm ve terbiye-i askeriyye gördü. 1222’de ocağın ilgâsında kaçıp Amasya’ya geldi. Bir iki yıl sonra açılan Rusya muhârebâtında şece’ât ve terbiye-i askeriyyesi ile kendisini tanıtmış olduğundan 1242’de tekrar açılan nizâmiyye askerliğine girip 1244’de yüzbaşı, 1248’de sağ kolağası, 1254’de binbaşı, 1259’da kâ’im-makâm olduğu halde 1262 hudûdunda vefât etdi. Ümerâ-yı askeriyyeden şecî bir zât idi. Mahdûmu Hasan Bey’dir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Süleyman Ağa, one of the notables of the Küpceğiz Quarter of Amasya; Hacı Süleyman Ağa was the son of Hacı Ali Ağa, and Hacı Ali Ağa was the son of Hacı Süleyman Ağa. After his father's death he rose to prominence, became a member of the councils of pilgrims and notables, and once served as head of the pilgrims (hacıbaşı); after the Tanzimat he was a member of the administrative council, and he died in 1261 [1845-46]. He was one of the well-known notables, very wealthy and generous.
Ahmed Ağa was the son of Hasan Ağa, one of the Amasya sipahis known as Sipâhizâde, who was himself the son of Mehmed Ağa. He joined the new-order corps founded in the reign of Selim III and received good military training and discipline. When the corps was abolished in 1222 [1807-08] he fled and came to Amasya. A year or two later, in the wars with Russia that broke out, he made himself known through his courage and military training, so in 1242 [1826-27] he joined the regular army (nizamiye) that had been opened again; he became a captain (yüzbaşı) in 1244 [1828-29], a senior kolağası in 1248 [1832-33], a major (binbaşı) in 1254 [1838-39], and a lieutenant colonel (kaymakam) in 1259 [1843-44], and he died around 1262 [1845-46]. Among military commanders he was a brave man. His son is Hasan Bey.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: the notables of a place, people of standing
- teayyün etmek: to rise to prominence, to stand out
- hâciyân ve a'yân meclisleri: gatherings made up of pilgrims and local notables
- hâcıbaşı: head of the pilgrims, the person who looked after pilgrimage affairs
- meclis idâre: the local administrative council established after the Tanzimat
- kerem-kâr: generous
- mahdûm: son
- nizâm ocağı: the new-style military corps founded in the time of Selim III
- ilgâ: abolition
- şece'ât: bravery, courage
- kâ'im-makâm: kaymakam; as a military rank, the grade corresponding to lieutenant colonel
- ümerâ-yı askeriyye: military commanders
The Structure of the Text
The heading of the entry names Ahmed Ağa as Türedîzâde, but the subject of the first paragraph is not Ahmed Ağa. The person named there is Hacı Süleyman Ağa of the Küpceğiz Quarter, and the office of hacıbaşı and the council membership belong to him. His death date is also given as one year earlier than that of Ahmed Ağa in the second paragraph. The previous entry in the book records that the Süleymaniyye Madrasa in Narlıbahçe was built by Türedîzâde Hacı Süleyman Ağa; it is plausible that this Süleyman Ağa is the man of the first paragraph, but the text does not say so. Ahmed Ağa's link to the Türedîzâde family is likewise not stated, because the second paragraph ties him to another line, that of Sipâhizâde Hasan Ağa. The relation of the name "Türedîzâde" in the heading to these paragraphs is therefore unclear.
From the New-Order Corps to the Regular Army
Ahmed Ağa's military story spans two successive waves of reform in the Ottoman army. The Nizâm-ı Cedîd order founded by Selim III came to an end in 1807 with the uprisings and the coup of Kabakçı Mustafa; the year 1222 [1807-08] in the text coincides with this event. The Janissary Corps was abolished by Mahmud II in 1826 and replaced by the Asâkir-i Mansûre-i Muhammediyye. The year 1242 [1826-27], in which Hüsameddin says Ahmed Ağa entered the army, falls in the first year of this new force. The rank ladder of the new army is given as: mülâzım, yüzbaşı, left kolağası, right kolağası, binbaşı, kaymakam, miralay, mirliva, ferik, müşir. Ahmed Ağa's rise, from captain to right kolağası, then to major and lieutenant colonel, follows this ladder exactly. According to the same source the Asâkir-i Mansûre fought the Russian army in 1829. The "Russian war" in the text may point to this war as well, but Hüsameddin does not say which Russian war he means, so this identification is only an inference.
Local Councils After the Tanzimat
The text says that Süleyman Ağa was a member of the administrative council after the Tanzimat. After the Tanzimat, tax collection was taken from the tax farmers and given to collectors (muhassıl) appointed from the centre (1840), and councils made up of local notables were set up beside the collectors. The 1849 instruction laid down the structure of the provincial councils in detail; in these councils the governor, the treasurer, the judge and the mufti sat as natural members, and Muslim townspeople and non-Muslim representatives were also admitted. Exactly which council Hüsameddin means, when it was set up in Amasya, and how its members were chosen could not be established from the sources consulted.
In Other Sources
No record of Süleyman Ağa or Ahmed Ağa was found outside Hüsameddin. The importance of the year 1261 for Amasya is also visible from the fact that the 1844-1845 temettuat survey falls in the same years. When this survey is compared with the population register of 1840, the numbers of quarters and households are seen to have changed greatly within four years; this is attributed to wars, migrations and epidemics. No reliable source was found for the present name or location of the Küpceğiz Quarter.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 228–228. amasya.bel.tr
- Selim Özcan, "H.1256 (1840) Tarihli Amasya Nüfus Defteri ile H.1260-1261 (1844-1845) Tarihli Amasya Temettuat Defterlerinin Karşılaştırmalı Değerlendirilmesi", Studies of the Ottoman Domain, 6/11 (2016), https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/ohsc/article/285793