AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ahmed Bey — Atabegzâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 121 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya ümerâsından Durmuş Bey bin Hasan Bey bin Ahmed Bey’in mahdûmudur. Yörgüç Paşa’nın akrabâsından olup onun sâye-i ikbâlinde meşâhîr-i ümerâdan ve dâmâdı oldu. Ba’dehû Medrese-i Atabegiyye vakfına mütevellî olup Varna harbinde bulundu. Tokat Beyi oldu. 857’de İstanbul fethinde şehîden vefât etdi. Mahdûmu Kâsım Bey’dir.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Durmuş Bey, one of the beys of Amasya; Durmuş Bey was the son of Hasan Bey, and Hasan Bey the son of Ahmed Bey. A relative of Yörgüç Pasha, he rose under his patronage, became one of the well-known beys and his son-in-law. Then he became mütevelli of the waqf of the Atabekiye Madrasa and was present at the Battle of Varna. He became bey of Tokat. In 857 [1453] he fell a martyr at the conquest of Istanbul. His son is Kâsım Bey.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • ümerâ: beys, emirs (plural of emîr)
  • sâye-i ikbâl: the shadow of someone's fortune or office; patronage
  • dâmâd: son-in-law, one who marries someone's daughter
  • ba'dehû: after this
  • Medrese-i Atabegiyye: the Atabey (Atabekiye) Madrasa
  • şehîden vefât: dying as a martyr

The Atabeyzâdes

The nisba "Atabegzâde" in the article's title ties Ahmed Bey to one of the most deeply rooted families of Amasya. The Atabeyzâdes is the name given to the descendants of Nâsırüddin Ahmed Bey, atabeg of the Seljuk Sultan II. Gıyâseddin Mesud and of his son Gâzi Çelebi Tâceddin Altunbaş. Nâsırüddin Ahmed was governor of Amasya for five years between 1322 and 1327; during that time he had built in the city the madrasa known as the Atabey Madrasa and endowed all his lands and properties to it. Two branches of the family stand out in the Ottoman period: the line of Yörgüç Pasha (Yörgüç Paşazâdes) and the line of his brother Hızır Pasha (Hızır Paşazâdes). In the fifteenth century the office of prince's lala became almost peculiar to this family.

Ahmed Bey's being made mütevelli of the Atabekiye Madrasa is meaningful in this respect: the administration of the waqf remained in the hands of the founder's descendants. The genealogy Hüsameddin gives (Ahmed Bey bin Durmuş Bey bin Hasan Bey bin Ahmed Bey), together with the calling of Yörgüç Pasha a "relative", suggests that Ahmed Bey came not from the main branch of the Atabeyzâdes but from a side branch.

Son-in-Law of Yörgüç Pasha

Yörgüç Pasha, who had been Murad II's lala in his princely days and then beylerbeyi of Rum (Amasya), died in Dhu al-Hijjah 845 [April-May 1442] and was buried in the tomb of the mosque he had built in Amasya. The sources record that he had sons named Hızır, Yûnus and Mustafa and two daughters named Sitti and Hundi Hatun. Hüsameddin does not state which daughter Ahmed Bey married. It must also be recalled that there are different accounts in the sources about Yörgüç Pasha's lineage: while some studies tie him to the line of Nâsırüddin Ahmed, founder of the Atabekiye Madrasa, the writing of his father's name as "Abdullah" in his inscription, gravestone and waqf deed makes the accuracy of these genealogies doubtful; some researchers have suggested that the pasha was of Slavic origin.

From Varna to Istanbul

The Battle of Varna, in which Ahmed Bey took part, was fought on 28 Rajab 848 [10 November 1444] between Murad II and the Crusader army headed by the Hungarian king. The beys of Amasya suffered heavy losses in this battle: it is known that Hızır and Mustafa Beys, sons of Yörgüç Pasha, fell as martyrs at Varna. Ahmed Bey came out of this battle alive, rose to the beylik of Tokat, and nine years later, in May 1453, lost his life at the conquest of Istanbul. Elsewhere in his work Hüsameddin records that other beys of Amasya, such as Osman Paşazâde Durali Bey, also fell as martyrs at the conquest of Istanbul in 857; from these records it is understood that the military families of Amasya had a large place in the conquering army.

No information about Ahmed Bey himself or his son Kâsım Bey was found in other sources.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Volume 6 contents