AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ahmed Bey — Gazanferzâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 164 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya’da sipâhi meşâhirinden Amasya Kethüdâyeri Alevî köylü Gazanfer Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Züamâdan olup hayli muhârebâta ve hâssaten Girit Muhârebelerine iştirâk ederek yararlık ve şecâ’at gösterdiğinden mîr-livâ oldu.

Bozok Sancağından ma’zûlen Amasya’da mukîm iken Abaza Hasan Paşa’ya uyup Amasya kadısına istinâd-gâh olmuş, Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın taraftarlarını te’dibe kıyâm etmişdi. 1069 senesi cumâdelahiresi sonlarında gelen ferman-ı Padişâhî üzerine birâderi Mehmed Bey’le beraber i’dâm edildi. Mahdûmu Mustafa Bey’dir. Bunlar da müsâdereden geçti.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Gazanfer Ağa, a villager of Alevî, one of the well-known sipahis of Amasya and the kethüdâyeri (local commander of the sipahis) of Amasya. As a zeamet holder he took part in many wars, especially the Cretan wars, and having shown merit and courage he became mîr-livâ (sanjak bey).

While living in Amasya after being dismissed from the sanjak of Bozok, he followed Abaza Hasan Pasha, became a support for the kadı of Amasya, and rose up to punish the partisans of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. Upon an imperial decree that arrived in late Cemâziyelâhir 1069, he was executed together with his brother Mehmed Bey. His son was Mustafa Bey. Their goods too were confiscated.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • sipâhi meşâhîri: well-known sipahis
  • kethüdâyeri: local commander of the kapıkulu sipahis in a place
  • züamâ: zeamet holders
  • muhârebât: wars
  • şecâ'at: courage
  • mîr-livâ: sanjak bey
  • ma'zûl: dismissed from office
  • mukîm: resident, living in a place
  • istinâd-gâh: place of support
  • te'dîb: disciplining, punishing
  • kıyâm: uprising
  • ferman-ı Padişâhî: the sultan's decree
  • mahdûm: son

The Cretan Wars and the Rank of Sanjak Bey

The Cretan wars Hüsameddin mentions are the Cretan campaign begun by the Ottoman state in 1645, which lasted about a quarter century until 1669, when the island was completely conquered. Through the service he showed in these campaigns, Gazanfer Ağa's son rose from a sipahi holding a zeamet to the rank of sanjak bey. Among those who fell as martyrs in Crete is also Mustafa Bey, alaybeyi of Amasya and son of Hoca Pasha in entry no. 535; Hoca Pasha had gone to Crete in 1058 as mutasarrıf of Amasya, and his son fell as a martyr there. The share of the Amasya sipahis in this campaign thus appears side by side in several of Hüsameddin's entries.

The Kadı of Amasya and Abaza Hasan

Hüsameddin separately writes that the Kadı of Amasya, Ahmed Efendi (entry no. 530), took part in this revolt. Read together, these two entries show that in 1068-69 the sipahi and ilmiye circles in Amasya took a stance close to Abaza Hasan. After Köprülü Mehmed Pasha suppressed the revolt, he had a sweep for brigands and weapons carried out in Anatolia; according to the TDV, many people were killed in this process, and among the ilmiye, müderris and kadıs met the same fate. The end Hüsameddin gives for Gazanfer Ağa and his brother is a local example of this general picture. The Cemâziyelâhir he gives as the date of death falls in the month after the end of Cemâziyelevvel (16-17 February 1659), when Abaza and his close circle were killed in Aleppo; it appears that the decree reached Amasya after Abaza's death.

In Other Sources

No other source was found that sheds light on the identity of Gazanfer Ağa and his sons. The village's name is written as "Alevî"; its present-day name and location could not be verified for this entry.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 164–164. amasya.bel.tr
  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 6, p. 166-167 (entry Ahmed Paşa-Hoca Paşa).

Academic studies

Volume 6 contents