Köprü Kedağra'da Orta Câmi mü'ezzini Mehmed Efendi'nin oğludur. Kardaşları Alî Bâlî, Hasan Ağalarla beraber sipâhî iken erbâb-ı ihtilâle uydu. Fakat ihtilâlin şekâvete inkılâbında hükûmet tarafdârı olup 1014 senesi şa'bânında Amasya beyi oldu.
Köprülü Ahmed Bey, diğer rü'esâya nisbetle oldukça âdil, munsif, ma'ârifden behredâr idi. Amasya a'yânı Ahmed Bey'in ibrâz eylediği fermâna [367] itâ'atle İbrâhim Bey'e yol verip Ahmed Bey'i kabûl ederek İbrâhim Bey'in uygunsuzluğuna meydân vermediler.
Amasya'nın sâbık kadısı Hayreddîn Efendi, alaybeyisi Sarı Mehmed Bey, şehir kethüdâsı Hacı Pîrî Çelebi, Kale dizdârı Memî Bey, Topçular kethüdâsı Topçu Mehmed Ağa, Sipâhî kethüdâyeri Alî Ağa, yeniçeri serdârı Çakaloğlu Hüseyin Ağa zî-nüfûz adamlardı. Hacı ve Çelebi Efendiler bunlardan da üstündü.
Çünkü bu âna kadar Anadolu a'yânı ve Türkleri, yalnız Türklüğü, Türk hukûk-ı medeniyyesini gayr-i Türkler'e karşı müdâfa'a etmek üzere kıyâm etmişlerdi. Sultân Ahmed'in cülûsundan sonra Türk makâsıd-ı asliyyesi kabûl edilmiş, erkân-ı ihtilâle mansıblar verilmişdi.
Bunun üzerine ihtilâle artık hitâm vermek lâzım gelirken erbâb-ı ihtilâl arasına karışan birtakım şerîrler ihtilâli şekâvete tahvîl ederek Anadolu'yu ve devleti fevkalâde ızrâr etmeğe koyulmuşlar, eşkıyâ nâmını almışlar, Sivas beylerbeyi Mustafa Paşa'yı öldürmüşlerdi.
Çünkü Îrân hükümdârı Abbâs Şâh ceddi Şâh İsmâ'il kadar muktedir adamdı. Âzerbaycân'ı Osmanlı Türkler'den istirdâd ederek muttasıl Anadolu'ya doğru yürüyor, Anadolu derebeylerini kendisine celb ve imâle ederek icrâ-yı nüfûz ediyordu.
Bu derebeylerinin en dişlisi Ankaralı Kalenderoğlu Mehmed Paşa, Kilisli Canpoladoğlu Alî Paşa ile Sivaslı Kara Sa'îd Bey'di. Bunların her biri binlerce eşkıyâya kumanda ediyorlardı. [368]
İstanbul ricâli mesned kavgâsından, ta'yîn sevdâsından Anadolu ahvâlini lâyıkıyla takdîr edemiyorlardı. Nasûh Paşa gibi zâbit, muktedir bir vezîri bozan eşkıyâ üzerine Deli Ferhâd Paşa gibi bir abdâlı serdâr gönderdiler. Deli Paşa daha eşkıyâ ile henüz temâs ederken bozulup kaçdı.
Bundan cür'et alan Yıldızlı İbrâhim Bey başına topladığı eşkıyâsıyla Amasya'yı ansızın basıp 1015 senesi saferinin evâhirinde zabt etdi. Amasya sancağı bana verildi diye bir fermân gösterip Ahmed Bey'i çıkardı.
In Modern English
He was the son of Mehmed Efendi, muezzin of the Orta Mosque at Köprü Kedağra. Together with his brothers Alî Bâlî and Hasan Ağa, while still a sipahi he followed the rebels. But when the revolt turned into banditry he sided with the government and in Shaban 1014 [1605-06] became bey of Amasya.
Köprülü Ahmed Bey was, compared with the other ringleaders, a rather just, fair-minded and cultured person. The notables of Amasya, obeying the decree Ahmed Bey showed, gave way to İbrâhim Bey in accepting Ahmed Bey, and did not leave room for İbrâhim Bey's improper conduct.
The former kadı of Amasya Hayreddîn Efendi, the alaybeyi Sarı Mehmed Bey, the city steward Hacı Pîrî Çelebi, the castle dizdar Memî Bey, the steward of the artillerymen Topçu Mehmed Ağa, the sipahi kethüdâyeri Alî Ağa and the janissary commander Çakaloğlu Hüseyin Ağa were persons whose word carried weight. Hacı and Çelebi Efendis were above even these.
For until this time the notables of Anatolia and the Turks had risen only to defend Turkishness and the civil rights of the Turks against non-Turks. After Sultan Ahmed's accession the Turks' real demands had been accepted and posts had been given to the leaders of the revolt.
Thereupon, when the revolt ought now to have been ended, some wicked people who had mixed in among the rebels turned the revolt into banditry and set about doing extraordinary harm to Anatolia and the state; they took the name of bandits and killed Mustafa Pasha, beylerbeyi of Sivas.
For the ruler of Iran, Shah Abbas, was a man as strong as his ancestor Shah Ismail. He took Azerbaijan back from the Ottoman Turks and marched ceaselessly toward Anatolia, drawing the lords of the Anatolian fiefs to himself and exerting influence by affecting them.
The fiercest of these lords were Ankaralı Kalenderoğlu Mehmed Pasha, Kilisli Canpoladoğlu Alî Pasha and Sivaslı Kara Sa'îd Bey. Each of them commanded thousands of bandits.
The notables of Istanbul, out of the struggle for office and the zeal for appointments, could not assess the situation of Anatolia as it deserved. Against the bandits who had defeated an able, powerful vizier such as Nasûh Pasha, they sent a commander of dervish-like temper, Deli Ferhâd Pasha. The Mad Pasha, while only just making contact with the bandits, was routed and fled.
Encouraged by this, Yıldızlı İbrâhim Bey suddenly raided Amasya with the bandits he had gathered around him and took it at the end of Safar 1015 [1606-07]. Showing a decree saying "the sanjak of Amasya has been given to me," he drove Ahmed Bey out of the city.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mü'ezzin: the official who calls the adhan
- munsif: fair-minded, just
- ma'ârifden behredâr: one who has had his share of knowledge and culture
- zî-nüfûz: influential, one whose word carries weight
- dizdâr: fortress commander
- şerîr: wicked, mischievous person
- şekâvet: banditry
- derebeyi: a local power holder acting on his own in his region
- istirdâd: taking back
- mesned kavgası: struggle for office
The Revolt Turning into Banditry
On this page Hüsameddin divides the revolt into two phases. In the first phase the rebels in Anatolia rose to defend Turkishness and Turkish rights, and with Sultan Ahmed's accession their demands were accepted. In the second phase wicked people who mixed into the revolt gave it the character of plunder and oppression. Present-day research does not make this distinction in the same way. The Celâlî revolts are generally remembered in the sources from the start for tax pressure, plunder and oppression; for the local uprisings after 1608, the sources of the period no longer use Celâlî but the term "bandit" or "upstart bandit." The line Hüsameddin draws between "revolt" and "banditry" should therefore be read as the author's own assessment.
Iranian Influence
The warning about Shah Abbas in the text reflects a real concern of the period. It is mentioned in the sources that the Safavid ruler Abbas I took Tabriz. It is written that Safavid encouragement was also a factor in the Celâlî revolts from the beginning. Kalenderoğlu Mehmed crossed into Iran in 1608 and joined Shah Abbas's armies. It is also recorded that Canpoladoğlu Alî Pasha, around Kilis and Aleppo, cooperated with the Shah of Iran and the Grand Duke of Tuscany, and had coins struck and the khutba read in his name. Hüsameddin's mentioning Kalenderoğlu, Canpoladoğlu and Kara Sa'îd in the same sentence brings together the three most dangerous chieftains of this period.
Deli Ferhâd Pasha's Failure
The news of failure from the direction of Konya and Kayseri, concerning the commander-in-chief Ferhâd Pasha named in the text, led to Grand Vizier Derviş Pasha being held responsible and dismissed. Kuyucu Murad Pasha became grand vizier in Derviş Pasha's place. Hüsameddin's complaint about "the men of Istanbul and their struggle for office" is better understood in view of this development. The report that Mustafa Pasha, beylerbeyi of Sivas, was killed could not be verified in other sources.
Köprülü Ahmed Bey
The text states that Ahmed Bey's father was muezzin of the Orta Mosque at Köprü Kedağra; for this reason he is called Müezzinoğlu elsewhere. No information on him was found in other sources. Hüsameddin's describing him as "just, fair-minded, cultured" shows that he set him apart among the rebels.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 528–528. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Official sources