AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ahmed Pasha — Hacı Eyvâd Paşazâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 163 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya’nın Fîrûz köyünden Tura bin Hacı Eyvâd Süleyman Paşa’nın mahdûmu olup pederinin yeniçeri ağalığında [519] Seydişehir dâhilinde yirmi bir bin akçe ze’âmete na’il oldu. 1043 senesi cumâdelûlâsında pederi maktûl oldukta ze’âmeti alınıp Amasya’da birkaç yıl menkûbâne oturdu.

1046’de sadârete gelen Bayram Paşa’nın sâye-i ikbâlinde ze’âmeti kendisine i’âde edilip 1048’de Bağdâd Harbinde yararlığı görüldüğünden mîr-livâ ve sadr-ı maktûl Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın himmetiyle Batum beylerbeyi, 1053’de Teke Sancağı mutasarrıfı oldu.

Ba’dehû ba’zı eyâlât-ı sağîrede beylerbeyi ve İçel, Eskişehir gibi sancaklara mutasarrıf olup 1065’de menkûbâne Amasya’da ikâmet etmekte iken Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın sadâretinde bir mansıb ümid ederdi. Buna da muvaffak olamadığından Abaza Hasan’a uydu. 1069 senesi hengâmesinde i’dâm edildi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was from the village of Fîrûz in Amasya. He was the son of Tura oğlu Hacı Eyvâd Süleyman Pasha. During his father's tenure as agha of the janissaries, he held a zeamet (large fief) of twenty-one thousand akçe within the borders of Seydişehir. When his father was killed in Cemâziyelevvel 1043 [1633-34], his zeamet was taken from him, and for several years he lived in Amasya as one fallen from favor.

Thanks to the protection of Bayram Pasha, who became grand vizier in 1046, his zeamet was given back to him. In 1048, since his services at the Battle of Baghdad were noted, he became mîr-livâ (sanjak bey); through the efforts of the slain grand vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha he became beylerbeyi of Batum, and in 1053 mutasarrıf of the sanjak of Teke.

Later he served as beylerbeyi in some small provinces and as mutasarrıf in sanjaks such as İçel and Eskişehir. In 1065, living in Amasya in disfavor, he hoped for a post under the grand vizierate of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. When he did not obtain it, he followed Abaza Hasan. He was executed around 1069 [1658-59].

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • mahdûm: son
  • peder: father
  • ze'âmet: a large military fief with an annual income between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand akçe
  • na'il oldu: was granted, came to possess
  • maktûl: killed
  • menkûbâne: struck by disaster, as one fallen from favor
  • sâye-i ikbâl: the shadow of fortune, that is, the protection of a person in high office
  • i'âde: giving back
  • mîr-livâ: sanjak bey
  • sadr-ı maktûl: slain grand vizier
  • eyâlât-ı sağîre: small provinces
  • hengâm: time, occasion
  • i'dâm: execution

A Zeamet of Twenty-One Thousand Akçe

In Ottoman law codes, zeamet is the name of a fief whose annual income falls between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand akçe. A fief one akçe short of twenty thousand was not called a zeamet but a timar. The twenty-one thousand akçe given by Hüsameddin therefore corresponds to the lowest rung of the zeamet. The holder of a zeamet was called a zaîm; zaîms supervised the timar-holding sipahis in their regions and stood at their head when going on campaign. For a sanjak bey's post, one generally had to hold a much larger zeamet, of eighty thousand akçe. In this respect Ahmed Pasha's rise to mîr-livâ was an important step.

The Political Climate of the Time

The "slain grand vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha" in the text is most probably Kemankeş Kara Mustafa Pasha, who served as grand vizier between 1638 and 1644 and was executed in early 1644; since Hüsameddin does not write the name in full, this is an inference. Abaza Hasan was a kapıkulu sipahi belonging to the silâhdar corps. In 1648 he became voivode of the Turkmens, and acting together with İpşir Mustafa Pasha he forced the state to come to terms with him. When Köprülü Mehmed Pasha became grand vizier on 26 Zilkade 1066 (15 September 1656), he first appointed Abaza governor of Aleppo; but Abaza did not join the Transylvanian campaign and rose in revolt in 1658. Many senior officials fleeing Köprülü's harsh measures came to him. Abaza was killed in Aleppo through a plot at the end of Cemâziyelevvel 1069 (16-17 February 1659), after which a wide sweep for weapons and brigands was carried out in Anatolia.

The year 1065 given by Hüsameddin draws attention here. Since Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's grand vizierate began at the end of 1066, Ahmed Pasha's hoping for a post from that grand vizierate cannot be placed in 1065. From the sources at hand it is not clear whether this inconsistency stems from a one-year shift or from some other event.

In Other Sources

No information was found in other sources about the village of Fîrûz, Hacı Eyvâd Süleyman Pasha or Ahmed Pasha. Hüsameddin's record remains the only detailed account known concerning this family.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 163–163. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

Volume 6 contents