Amasya a’yânından Hızır ve Mehmed Paşalar evkâf-ı mütevellîsi el-Hâc Mahmûd Beyzâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed Bey’in mahdûmudur. Pederinin irtihâlinde evkâf-ı mezkûre mütevellîsi 1228’den itibâren dört defa nakîbü’l-eşrâf kâ’im-makâmı, meclis-i a’yân a’zâsı, bir defa da baş-a’yân olup 1251’de vefât etdi. Sahî, âlî cenâb bir hânedân idi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid Hüseyin, Mahmûd, Habib Beylerdir.
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL
Ahmed Bey, Kurdzâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 227 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU
Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)
Our Research Article
Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk
In Modern English
He was the son of es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed Bey, known as Mahmûd Beyzâde, a notable (ayan) of Amasya and trustee of the Hızır Pasha and Mehmed Pasha waqfs. On his father's death he became trustee of these waqfs. From 1228 [1812-13] on he served four times as deputy of the nakîbüleşraf (head of the descendants of the Prophet), was a member of the council of notables, and once became head of the notables; he died in 1251 [1835-36]. His family was generous and highly respected. His sons are es-Seyyid Hüseyin Bey, Mahmûd Bey and Habib Bey.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- a'yân: notables, leading men of a place
- evkâf-ı mütevellîsi: trustee of waqfs
- nakîbü'l-eşrâf kâ'im-makâmı: local deputy of the nakîbüleşraf, the head of the sayyids and sharifs
- meclis-i a'yân a'zâsı: member of the council of notables
- baş-a'yân: head of the notables
- sahî: generous
- âlî cenâb: noble-minded, respected
- hânedân: a noble family
Trusteeship and the Deputy Nakîbüleşraf Office
The two duties named in the entry complement each other. Hızır Pasha and his son Mehmed Pasha were among the leading builders of Amasya. Mehmed Pasha was vizier to Bayezid II and tutor of Prince Ahmed; he died in 900 [1495]. The Mehmed Pasha Mosque on the bank of the Yeşilırmak was completed in Muharram 891 [January 1486]. The grave of Hızır Pasha is the second grave in front of the mosque's tomb. A trustee administered the revenues of such foundations and had them repaired; that the family still held the post in the early nineteenth century shows that managing waqfs in Amasya was a source of wealth and influence.
One inscription of the mosque records a repair dated 15 Şaban 1236 [18 May 1821], and another records a repair carried out in 1280 [1863-64] by "Mahmud Beyzâde Mehmed Bey". This name is the same as that of the father mentioned at the beginning of Hüsameddin's entry. The repetition of a name within the family is likely, but whether the man in the inscription is the Mehmed Bey Hüsameddin speaks of cannot be stated with certainty; it is clear that 1280 belongs to a generation after the death of the son Ahmed Bey (1251).
The nakîbüleşraf is the head of the sayyids and sharifs. In the Ottoman state the nakîbüleşraf resided in Istanbul; in other cities there were deputies (kaymakams) chosen for a fixed term from among the sayyids. Since the deputyship was an important source of influence and income, it was generally given to families of standing. That Ahmed Bey held the post four times and finally became head of the notables shows the weight of the sayyid family of Amasya in the administration of the city.
From the eighteenth century on, the choice of notables went through arrangements shaped by governors and the people, and its rules changed from time to time. The head of the notables (reîs-i a'yân) is named as the chief of these local representatives.
No information on the nickname Kurdzâde or on the branches of the family was found in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 227–227. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- "Mehmed Paşa Külliyesi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mehmed-pasa-kulliyesi).
- "Nakîbüleşraf", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/nakibulesraf).
- "Âyan", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ayan).
Books
- M. Çağlar Keskin, "A Local Patron in Amasya Region During Bayezid II's Reign: Mehmed Pasha the Son of Hızır Pasha", Art-Sanat 5 (2016), p. 63–82.