Lâdiklidir. Dâru’s-sa’âde ağası kâtibi Hacı İsma’il Efendi bin Mehmed birâderi İbrâhim Efendi’nin oğludur. Enderûn-ı hümâyûnda tahsîl-i ilm ü edeb ederek tefeyyüz edib çuhadâr ve 1174 cumâdelâhiresinde silahdâr-ı şehriyârî oldu.
Amcası Hacı İsma’il Efendizâde çavuşbaşı Mehmed Sâ’id Efendi’nin kerîmesi Fatıma hanımla evlendi. 1175 evâilinde silahdârlıktan azledilip bâ-rûtbe-i hâcegânî 1177’de Haremeyn muhâsebecisi oldu.
1178’de azledilip 1179’da cizye muhâsebecisi oldu. 1180’de azledilerek hâcegânlık rütbesinin ref’iyle dergâh-ı âlî kapıcı başılığına tahvil edib ordu-yu hümayûna me’mûren Rumeline gitdi. Ba’dehû devr-i hidemât ile 1189’da Kaftan ağası olarak Hicâz’a gitdi. Avdetde 1190 senesi rebîülevvelinde Ereğli’ye vusûlünde vefât etdi.
Mehmed Rıfat Efendi adlı bir küçük oğlu kaldı. Kadıköyü’nde kâin, menzil ve bağçesini vakfedib tevliyeti kayın-vâlidesi Zeynep Hânım’ın vakfı tevliyetiyle birlikte zevcesi Fatma Hânım’a tevsi’ edildi. 1232’de bu vakfın kâ’im-makâmı sadr-ı a’zam kethüdâsı Amasyalı Selîm Sabit Efendi idi.
In Modern English
He was from Ladik. He is the son of İbrahim Efendi, brother of Hacı İsmail Efendi, son of Mehmed, clerk of the chief of the Abode of Felicity (the chief harem eunuch). Having acquired learning and manners in the Imperial Enderun, he rose, and became çuhadar and, in Cemaziyelâhir 1174 [1761], silahtar of the sultan.
He married Fatma Hanım, daughter of the çavuşbaşı Mehmed Said Efendi, the son of his uncle Hacı İsmail Efendi. At the beginning of 1175 [1761-62] he was dismissed from the silahtarship and, with the rank of hâcegân, became in 1177 [1763-64] accountant of the Two Holy Cities.
In 1178 [1764-65] he was dismissed, and in 1179 [1765-66] became accountant of the cizye. In 1180 [1766-67] he was dismissed and his hâcegân rank was abolished; he was turned into a kapıcıbaşı of the Sublime Porte and went to Rumelia on duty with the imperial army. Then, with the transformation of posts, in 1189 [1775-76] he went to the Hejaz as Kaftan ağası. On the return he died on reaching Ereğli in Rebîülevvel 1190 [1776].
He left a young son named Mehmed Rıfat Efendi. He endowed his house and garden in Kadıköy as a waqf and gave the trusteeship, together with the trusteeship of the waqf of his mother-in-law Zeynep Hanım, to his wife Fatma Hanım. In 1232 [1816-17] the deputy of this waqf was Selim Sabit Efendi of Amasya, steward of the grand vizier.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Daru's-saade ağası: the head of the harem section of the palace, the chief harem eunuch
- Enderûn-ı hümâyûn: the palace school, the sultan's inner service and training institution
- çuhadar: the palace official who carried the broadcloth garments of the sultan and viziers
- silahdâr-ı şehriyârî: the official who carried the sultan's weapons
- bâ-rûtbe-i hâcegânî: with the high rank of Imperial Council clerkship called hâcegân
- Haremeyn muhasebecisi: the official overseeing the accounts of the waqfs and revenues of Mecca and Medina
- cizye muhasebecisi: the official who kept the account records of the non-Muslim tax
- kapıcıbaşı: a high official in charge of the palace gates, sent to the provinces on certain duties
- Kaftan ağası: appears in this text as the name of a post going to the Hejaz; its details could not be found
- kâ'im-makâm: deputy, one who stands in
- tevliyet: the duty of managing a waqf
A Palace and Imperial Council Career
Hüsameddin describes Hâfız Ahmed Efendi's path as beginning as the nephew of a palace clerk and running through his training in the Enderun and then posts of silahtarship, accountancy and kapıcıbaşıship. All the posts are given with dates; they come as dismissals and reappointments in quick succession. The reasons for dismissal are not written. No information was found in other sources about this person.
His Death and Waqf
His death at Ereğli on the return from the Hejaz is given in the text only as a fact. The endowment of the house and garden in Kadıköy shows that the family was settled in Istanbul. The last sentence of the entry names Selim Sabit Efendi of Amasya as the waqf's administrator in 1232; this suggests that the man's tie with Amasya continued after Ladik, where he was born. This interpretation is an inference based on the text.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 206–207. amasya.bel.tr