Amasya eşrâfından Abdî Beyzâde Mehmed Bey’in mahdûmudur. [494] Züamâdan olup Estergon ve Rumeli muhârebelerinde, sonra eşkiyâ musâdemelerinde hayli yararlıkları görüldüğünden mükerreren Amasya Alaybeyi, ba’dehû Mîr-livâ oldu.
Lehistan muharebesinde Sinop Sancağı Beyi olarak hizmet ve Bağdâd ve İran muhârebâtında ibrâz-ı şecâ’at etdi. Ancak Hâfız Paşa ma’iyyetinde yaralandığından tekâ’üde sevkedildi. 1041’de Sevâdiye Mahallesi’nde vefât etdi. Şecî’, cesûr idi. Mahdûmları Mehmed, İbrâhim Beyler de züamâdandır. Bunlara “Abdî Beyzâdeler” denir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Mehmed Bey of the Abdî Beyzâde family, one of the notables of Amasya. As one of the zeamet-holding sipahis (züamâ), he proved considerably useful in the wars of Estergon and Rumeli and later in the clashes with brigands, and so he became the alaybeyi of Amasya several times and afterwards a mirliva (sanjak bey).
He served as Sanjak Bey of Sinop in the Polish war and showed valor in the wars of Baghdad and Iran. However, because he was wounded while serving under Hâfız Pasha, he was sent into retirement. He died in the Sevâdiye quarter in 1041 [1631-32]. He was brave and courageous. His sons Mehmed Bey and İbrâhim Bey were also zeamet-holding sipahis. These are called "the Abdî Beyzâdes."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: the leading, respected families of a city
- mahdûm: son
- züamâ: sipahis holding large timars known as zeamets
- alaybeyi: head of the sipahi units in a sanjak
- mîr-livâ: sanjak bey, in today's terms the military and administrative head of a province
- ibrâz-ı şecâ'at: showing valor
- tekâüd: retirement
- ma'iyyet: being under someone's command, serving at someone's side
A Sipahi Career
The entry briefly sums up a typical military career in seventeenth-century Amasya. A zeamet-holding sipahi first took part in campaigns, then as alaybeyi gathered the sipahis of the region, and finally rose to the rank of sanjak bey. When the wars mentioned in the text are read together with the dates Hüsameddin gives, the Baghdad and Iran campaigns fall in the period stretching from the mid-1620s to the early 1630s. Hâfız Ahmed Pasha was appointed commander of the Baghdad campaign in January 1625, marched the army by way of Mosul and Kirkuk, and besieged Baghdad on 13 November 1625. The siege failed, and the pasha was dismissed at the end of 1626. The phrase "he was wounded under Hâfız Pasha" most likely refers to this campaign; but since the text does not give Hâfız Pasha's full name or the year, this is an inference.
The text does not make clear which campaign is meant by the "Polish war." That Hüsameddin lists fronts from Poland to Baghdad in a single sentence shows that the man was a sipahi who had seen many years of campaigning; more than that requires further sources.
The Abdî Beyzâdes
The name "Abdî Beyzâde" comes from the same root as Abdîzâde, the author's own epithet. Since the text does not state any kinship between them, this similarity cannot be put forward as a connection. The same name also appears in the chain describing the lineage of Yörgüç Pasha in a later entry, where it is notable that Abdî Bey is shown as Yörgüç Pasha's son (see 6-512). The relationship of the family called "Abdî Beyzâde" in Hüsameddin's book to the lineage of Yörgüç Pasha is not explained in this entry.
The Sevâdiye quarter, where Mehmed Bey died, is mentioned in other entries of Hüsameddin as well as a district where the notables of Amasya lived. No further information on Mehmed Bey was found in other sources.
Bibliography