Köprülüdür. Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın vâlidesi Ayşe Hânım’ın 1086 târîhli vakfiyesinde anlaşıldığı üzere Dede Yûsuf Ağazâde Büyük Ali Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın hazine kâtibi olup 1087 şa’bânında sadr-ı a’zam olan Merzifonî Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın himmeti ile tersane cânibi oldu. [586]
Hayli müddet bu me’mûriyyeti devam etdiğinden “Cânibî” demekle meşhûr oldu.⁶⁷ 1098’de arpa emini olup Merzifonî el-Hâc Ali Paşa’nın sadâretinde 1103’de baş-defterdâr oldu.
1104 recebinde vâşîlerin si’âyesi yüzünden bağteten azledildi. Sadr-ı müşârün-ileyh ibkâsını niyâz ve Sultân Ahmed Hân-ı Sânî de azlinde ısrâr eylediğinden sadr-ı a’zam da azledildi. 1106’da defterdâr vekili olup Amcazâde Hüseyin Paşa’nın sadâretinde 1112 senesi rebîülahirinde sânîyen baş-defterdâr oldu.
1112 senesi şevvalinde Şeyhülislâm es-Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi’nin irâdesiyle azledildi. 1113’de defterdâr vekili ve İstanbul defterdârı olduğu halde 1114’de vefât etdi. Müstakîm, vazifesine mukdim, umûr-ı defterîde mâhir, gâyet muktesîd bir zât idi. Mahdûmu Mehmed Feyzi Efendi mevâlîden olup 1142 rebîülahirinde vefât etdi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Köprü. As is understood from the 1086 [1675-76] endowment deed of Ayşe Hanım, mother of Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha, he was the son of Büyük Ali Ağa, son of Dede Yûsuf Ağa. He was treasury clerk of Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha, and through the effort of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, who became grand vizier in Şaban 1087 [1676], he became tersane cânibi (steward of the arsenal).
Because he held this post for a long time he became famous as "Cânibî". In 1098 [1686-87] he was barley steward (arpa emini), and in 1103 [1691-92], during the grand vizierate of Merzifonlu el-Hâc Ali Pasha, he became chief defterdar.
In Receb 1104 [1693], because of the gossip of detractors, he was suddenly dismissed. The said grand vizier asked that he remain in office, but since Sultan Ahmed II insisted on his dismissal, the grand vizier too was dismissed. In 1106 [1694-95] he became deputy defterdar, and during the grand vizierate of Amcazâde Hüseyin Pasha he became chief defterdar for the second time in Rebîülâhir 1112 [1700].
In Şevval 1112 [1701] he was dismissed at the request of Şeyhülislam es-Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi. In 1113 [1701-02], while deputy defterdar and defterdar of Istanbul, he died in 1114 [1702-03]. He was an honest man, devoted to his duty, skilled in registry matters, and extremely thrifty. His son Mehmed Feyzi Efendi was among the mevâlî and died in Rebîülâhir 1142 [1729].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- vakfiye: a document showing the founding conditions of an endowment
- hazine kâtibi: the official who kept writing and accounts in treasury affairs
- himmet: effort, support
- tersane cânibi: the official responsible for the clerkship and administration of arsenal affairs
- arpa emini: the official who procured barley for the army and the state's animals
- baş-defterdâr: head of the state's finances
- vâşî: detractor, slanderer
- si'âye: detraction, speaking behind someone's back
- bağteten: suddenly
- sadr-ı müşârün-ileyh: the grand vizier mentioned
- ibkâ: leaving in office
- mukdim: one who does his work quickly and boldly
- muktesîd: thrifty, spending moderately
- mevâlî: high-ranking müderrises and kadıs of the learned class
The Nickname Cânibî and His Name among the People
Hüsameddin attributes the name "Cânibî" to the long duration of Ahmed Efendi's post as arsenal cânib. In a footnote he reports that in the Târih of Silâhdar Mehmed Efendi "Cünüb Ahmed Efendi" is written instead of Cânibî, that is, that he was known among the people by this name. That the person called "Defterdar Cânib Ahmed Efendi" in another source is the subject of this entry is understood from the agreement of the name and the date of dismissal.
The Event That Led to Hacı Ali Pasha's Dismissal
The dismissal of Receb 1104 in the entry also led to the fall of a grand vizier. Merzifonlu Hacı Ali Pasha had become grand vizier on 9 Receb 1103 (27 March 1692). The pasha, who fully trusted Defterdar Cânib Ahmed Efendi, was himself dismissed (20 Receb 1104 / 27 March 1693) when he opposed the defterdar's removal from office on the order of Ahmed II on the ground that the defterdar oppressed the people by demanding excessive taxes. According to the sources, Ali Pasha said that if the defterdar had committed oppression, the responsibility was his own, that if there was truly oppression and treachery, dismissal should not suffice and he should be killed at once, but that this was not right, and he handed the seal to the sultan. Hüsameddin's sentence "the grand vizier too was dismissed" briefly sums up this event, and the two sources confirm each other. The nature of the accusation made against the defterdar appears in Hüsameddin as "gossip", while the other source gives it as excessive tax demands.
The Köprülü Circle and the Şeyhülislam
That Ahmed Efendi was of Köprü, and that his father's name and lineage were drawn from the endowment deed of Ayşe Hanım, mother of Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha, is stated plainly in the entry. This career, stretching from the treasury clerkship of Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha to the arsenal stewardship of Kara Mustafa Pasha, shows the path of a finance official raised in the Köprülü circle. Ahmed Efendi's leaving his second defterdarship in Şevval 1112 at the request of Şeyhülislam Feyzullah Efendi may be read as an example of the şeyhülislam's influence in state cadres shortly before the Edirne Incident. The sources describing the Edirne Incident also note that this influence created discontent among state officials awaiting promotion. The entry does not itself make this connection.
Bibliography