Amasya’nın Zeytun kazâsı dâhilinde Kâmil karyesinden Mustafa’nın oğludur. “Kâmilî Ahmed Efendi” demekle meşhûrdur. Amasya Müftüsü Çorumlu Ahmed Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib bir müddet Amasya’da ders-i âm oldu.
Sonra Çorum’a gidip orada müderris olarak ikâmet etdi. Ba’dehû Zeytun, Mecidözü, Varay kazâlarına kadı olup 1127’de Çorum kadısı oldu. Orada mütesellim bulunan Kürd es-Seyyid İbrâhim Paşa birâderi Sarı Mustafa ve Mecidözü voyvadası Mihalluzâde Ömer Beyler gibi müteniffizâna istinâd ederek halka zulm ve te’addî etdiği şikâyetlerle anlaşıldı.
1128’de Gelgiras kadısı el-Hâc Osmân Efendi teftîşine me’mûren Mecidözü ve Çorum kazâsına gitdi. Badet-teftîş ba’zı mezâlime cür’et etdiği anlaşılmakla azledilip kudât defterinden kaydı terkin edilerek Zeytun’da [614] ikâmet ve 1138 hudûdunda vefât etdi. Ulemâdan idi.
In Modern English
He is the son of Mustafa from Kâmil village in the Zeytun district (kaza) of Amasya. He is known by the name "Kâmilî Ahmed Efendi." After completing his studies under Ahmed Efendi of Çorum, mufti of Amasya, he gave public lectures in Amasya for a time.
Then he went to Çorum and settled there as müderris. Later he served as kadı in the districts of Zeytun, Mecidözü and Varay; in 1127 [1715] he became kadı of Çorum. It became clear from complaints made that, relying on influential people such as Sarı Mustafa, brother of Kürt Seyyid İbrahim Pasha, who was in Çorum as mütesellim (deputy governor), and Mihalluzade Ömer Bey, voyvoda of Mecidözü, he oppressed the people and committed injustices.
In 1128 [1715-16] Hacı Osman Efendi, kadı of Gelgiras, was assigned to investigate and went to the districts of Mecidözü and Çorum. When, at the end of the inquiry, it became clear that he had dared to commit certain injustices, he was dismissed and his name was struck from the register of kadıs. He lived in Zeytun and died around 1138 [1725-26]. He was among the men of learning.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
- ders-i âm: one who gives lessons open to all, who lectures to the public in a mosque or madrasa
- kazâ: an administrative unit close to today's district
- karye: village
- mütesellim: the deputy who ran an administration on behalf of the governor in a sanjak or kaza
- voyvoda: an official responsible for the taxes and order of a district
- müteniffizân: people whose word carries weight, influential people
- te'addî: injustice, aggression
- teftîş: inspection, investigation
- mezâlim: acts of oppression, injustices
- kudât defteri: the register in which kadıs were recorded
The Places Mentioned Today
Several of the places in the entry are today known by different names. According to a study listing the districts and subdistricts attached to the Sanjak of Amasya in the Ottoman period, Zeytun was a subdistrict attached to Amasya from 1880 to 1924; in 1924 it was attached to the Osmancık district and its present name is Kamil. Hüsâmeddin, however, mentions Kâmil as a village attached to the Zeytun kaza; that is, there is a small distinction between the author and today's records as to which settlement the name belongs to. Kamil today is a small settlement attached to the Osmancık district of Çorum.
Varay in the text is, according to the same study, another name for Gediksaray; Gediksaray was a kaza from 1855 to 1878 and a subdistrict until 1954 and today is a village attached to the Göynücek district. Gelgiras (Gelinkiraz) is a settlement that became a kaza in 1642 and today corresponds to Sarıbuğday village attached to Merzifon. Mecidözü is today the Mecitözü district of Çorum. Thus all the places where Ahmed Efendi served as kadı are today small settlements or districts on the Amasya-Çorum border.
From Kadılık to Dismissal
The entry tells the rise and fall of a kadı (judge) in a short course. He received a madrasa education, gave lectures, served as kadı in several kazas and was finally appointed to Çorum. The charge in Çorum is that he oppressed the people by leaning on local power-holders; İbrahim Pasha, Sarı Mustafa and Ömer Bey, named in the text, make up this circle. The assignment of another kadı (the kadı of Gelgiras) and his dismissal at the end of the inquiry show that the oversight of kadıs was a working channel at that time. No information was found in other sources on this person or the local power-holders named.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 191–191. amasya.bel.tr
Books
- Hamdullah Dedeoğlu, Osmanlı Döneminde Amasya Sancağı'na Bağlı Kaza ve Nahiyeler, Amasya, 2020.
Other sources
- Article on Kamil (Osmancık, Çorum) village, Wikipedia.