Amasya a’yânından el-Hâc Ali Bey bin Rahtuvân el-Hâc Mehmed Paşa mahdûmudur. Amcası el-Hâc İbrâhim Bey’in dâ’iresinde büyüdü. Vefâtında a’yân sırasına girdi. Meclis-i a’yân azâsı olup 1160’da baş-a’yân, sene-i mezbûre cumâdelûlâsında Amasya mütesellimi oldu.
1161 senesi saferinde mütesellimlikten ma’zûl olup 1162 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde sânîyen ve 1163 saferinde sâlîsen Amasya mütesellimi oldu. 1170’te tahsîlât vak’asında hüsn-i hizmet eylediğinden [661] kapıcıbaşı, 1172 saferinde râbi’ân ve 1174 ramazânında hâmisen ve 1179’da sâdisen Amasya mütesellimi ve defa’etle baş-a’yân oldu.
1181’de üçüncü defa Hicâz’a gidip menâsik-i hâccı ifâdan sonra avdet ederken 1182 senesi rebîülevvelinde vefât etdi. Âkil, kâmil, sahî, nâfizü’l-kelim bir hânedân idi. Mütevellîsi olduğu Taşhân derûnunda bir mescid-i şerîf ve altında bir şadırvân yaptırıp su getirdi.
Mahdûmu el-Hâc Ali Bey de meşâhîr-i a’yân olup Gümüşlüzâde Câmii şerîfine va’ziye yaptı. Hacı Ahmed Bey’in kölesi el-Hâc Yûsuf Ağa da a’yândan olup mahdûmları Hâfız Mehmed Efendi ile Kâsım Paşa’dır. Ricâl-i devletden, Selîm Sabit Efendi de bunun evlâdındandır. Bunlara “Hacı Yûsuf Ağazâdeler” dendi.
In Modern English
He is the son of Hacı Ali Bey, one of the notables of Amasya, and the grandson of Rahtuvan Hacı Mehmed Pasha. He grew up beside his uncle Hacı İbrahim Bey. On his uncle's death he entered the ranks of the notables. A member of the council of notables, he became chief notable in 1160 [1747], and in Cemaziyelevvel of the same year also mütesellim of Amasya.
In Safer 1161 [1748] he was removed from the mütesellimship; in Cemaziyelâhir 1162 he became mütesellim of Amasya for the second time, and in Safer 1163 for the third time. In 1170 [1756-57], because he rendered good service in the tax-collection affair, he became kapıcıbaşı; in Safer 1172 he was mütesellim of Amasya for the fourth time, in Ramazan 1174 for the fifth, and in 1179 [1765-66] for the sixth time, and he was repeatedly chief notable.
In 1181 [1767-68] he went to the Hejaz for the third time and, after fulfilling the duties of the pilgrimage, died on the return in Rebîülevvel 1182 [1768]. He was from an intelligent, mature, generous family whose word carried weight. Inside the Taşhan, of which he was trustee, he had a mescit built, with a şadırvan beneath it, and brought water.
His son Hacı Ali Bey was also one of the renowned notables and established a waqf (stipend) for preaching at the Gümüşlüzâde Mosque. Hacı Yûsuf Ağa, the slave of Hacı Ahmed Bey, was also one of the notables; his sons are Hâfız Mehmed Efendi and Kâsım Pasha. The statesman Selîm Sabit Efendi is also of his line. They were called the "Hacı Yûsuf Ağazades".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- a'yân: the leading men of a city, representatives of local administration and order
- baş-a'yân: head of the notables
- mütesellim: governor of a city or district
- sânîyen, sâlîsen, râbi'ân, hâmisen, sâdisen: for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth time
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- tahsîlât vak'ası: the tax-collection affair
- kapıcıbaşı: head of the palace gatekeepers; here, a rank
- menâsik-i hac: the duties of the pilgrimage rite
- nâfizü'l-kelim: one whose word carries weight and is heeded
- sahî: generous
- derûn: inside
- şadırvan: an ablution fountain with many taps
- va'ziye: revenue set aside for preaching
- ricâl-i devlet: statesmen
Mütesellimship and Notability
The entry shows the weight of one family in Amasya's administration in the mid-eighteenth century. Ahmed Bey was mütesellim six times from 1160 to 1179, being dismissed in between and returning. Hüsameddin gives each appointment with its ordinal number and often with the name of the month.
The tax-collection affair also appears in entry 661: the Ahmed Ağa there rose to a rank after 1163, while this entry rose to a rank in 1170 through service in this affair. Since there are seven years between the two dates, it cannot be understood from the text whether the events are the same or different.
The Taşhan
Hüsameddin writes that Ahmed Bey had a mescit built inside the Taşhan, of which he was trustee, and a şadırvan beneath it. The Taşhan stands today in Amasya in restored form, and part of it is used as a hotel. The building's date is given differently in the sources: some state that Rahtuvan Hacı Mehmed Pasha, the mutasarrıf of the period, had it built in 1699, while others state that it was constructed between 1626 and 1632. The "Rahtuvân el-Hâc Mehmed Pasha" in Hüsameddin's entry bears the same name as the owner of the building given for 1699; however, it cannot be said with certainty from these sources that the two are one person.
Ahmed Bey's being trustee of the Taşhan shows that the building was then attached to a waqf. The Gümüşlüzâde Mosque for which his son Ali Bey established revenue for preaching bears the same name as the Gümüşlüzâde Mosque in entry 663. No information was found in other sources about the Hacı Yûsuf Ağazades, Selîm Sabit Efendi, Hâfız Mehmed Efendi or Kâsım Pasha.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 206–206. amasya.bel.tr
Official sources
Other sources