Amasyalıdır. Fethiye Mahallesi’nde Kadı Hamamı mütevellîsi Mehmed Ağa bin İbrâhim Çelebi mahdûmu olup Muslihîzâde Seydî Ahmed Paşa evlâdındandır. Zümre-i silahdârândan olup devr-i hidemât ederek kapıcıbaşı, 1103’de silahdâr ağası olarak ta’ayyün etdi.
1105 senesi şa’bânında Amasya mütesellimi olup geldi. Amasya havâlîsinde türeyen eşkiyâyı tenkîl ve isti’sâle me’mûr [585] oldu. Vazifesini hüsn-i ifâ eylediğinden 1106 recebinde sipâhiler ağası, 1107’de sânîyen silahdâr ağası olup sene-i mezbûre cumâdelûlâsında Rakka Beylerbeyi oldu.
1107 senesi şevvâlinde Menteşe Sancağıyla Özi Beylerbeyi ve 1109’da Niğbolu muhâfızı oldu. Sene-i mezbûre zilka’desinde harben muvaffak olmadığından azliyle Amasya’ya gönderildi. 1110 saferinin evâ’ilinde Amasya ve Ağcakilise emvâlinden senevî (405126) akçe kendisine tahsisât verildi.
1112 senesi evâilinde Amcazâde Hüseyin Paşa’nın himmetiyle Mar’aş Beylerbeyi olup 1113’de yine azledildi. 1114 senesi evâsıtında vefât etdi. Gayyûr, sâdık, fa’âl ise de talihsizdi. Birâderi Abdullah Ağa’dır.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of Mehmed Ağa, son of İbrâhim Çelebi, trustee of the Kadı Bath in the Fethiye quarter, and a descendant of Muslihîzâde Seydî Ahmed Pasha. Belonging to the ranks of the silahdars, he served in various posts in turn and became kapıcıbaşı; in 1103 [1691-92] he was appointed silahdar ağası.
In Şaban 1105 [1694] he came as mütesellim of Amasya. He was charged with punishing and destroying the bandits who had sprung up around Amasya. Because he carried out his duty well, in Receb 1106 [1695] he became sipahiler ağası, in 1107 [1695-96] silahdar ağası for the second time, and in Cemâziyelevvel of the same year Beylerbeyi of Raqqa.
In Şevval 1107 he became Beylerbeyi of Özi together with the Sanjak of Menteşe, and in 1109 [1697-98] guardian of Niğbolu. In Zilkade of the same year, because he was unsuccessful in war, he was dismissed and sent to Amasya. At the beginning of Safer 1110 [1698] an allowance of 405,126 akçe a year from the revenues of Amasya and Ağcakilise was assigned to him.
At the beginning of 1112, through the efforts of Amcazâde Hüseyin Pasha, he became Beylerbeyi of Maraş, and in 1113 was dismissed again. He died in the middle of 1114 [1702-03]. He was zealous, loyal, hard-working but unlucky. His brother is Abdullah Ağa.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütevellî: administrator of an endowment
- zümre-i silahdârân: the body of palace officials who carried the sultan's weapons
- devr-i hidemât: moving through posts in turn, serving in various duties
- ta'ayyün: appointment to a post
- mütesellim: a deputy who ran a city on behalf of the governor
- tenkîl ve isti'sâl: punishing and uprooting
- sipâhiler ağası: head of the sipahi company among the Kapıkulu cavalry
- sânîyen: for the second time
- beylerbeyi: provincial governor
- muhâfız: a governor charged with protecting a fortress and its region
- harben muvaffak olmamak: not to succeed in war
- senevî tahsisât: annual allowance
- evâ'il, evâsıt: the beginning, the middle of a month
- gayyûr: zealous, one who stands by his work
A Statesman of Amasya Origin
The important aspect of the person in the entry is that he came out of Amasya, entered palace service, and returned to Amasya as mütesellim. As the son of Mehmed Ağa he came from within a family that were trustees of the Kadı Bath in the Fethiye quarter. He is said to be of the line of Muslihîzâde Seydî Ahmed Pasha; this claim of descent is Hüsameddin's statement and could not be confirmed with another document.
His career shows intense mobility from the provinces to the palace and then back to the provinces. He passed from kapıcıbaşılık to silahdar ağalığı, from there to sipahiler ağalığı and again to silahdar ağalığı, and from there to provincial governorships: Raqqa, Özi, Niğbolu, Maraş. His dismissal from the guardianship of Niğbolu, according to Hüsameddin, came from his lack of success in war; which war is not stated in the entry.
He came to Amasya twice. The first time as a mütesellim charged with suppressing bandits, the second as a dismissed pasha who received an allowance of 405,126 akçe a year from the revenues of Amasya and Ağcakilise. This second arrival coincides with the year 1110 in which Ma'denzâde Ahmed Ağa served as mütesellim of Amasya. The duty of suppressing bandits in Amasya also appears in the entry on Ma'denzâde Ahmed Ağa in the same years; that is, in the mid-1090s the Amasya region appears as one where these persons served and where public order was a problem.
Amcazâde Hüseyin Pasha, said to have had a role in his appointment as Beylerbeyi of Maraş, points to the period of Amcazâde's grand vizierate; in giving this detail Hüsameddin also shows how a statesman who came out of Amasya was dependent on the patronage of a grand vizier at the centre. No information was found in other sources on this person and his family.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 182–183. amasya.bel.tr