Amasyalıdır. Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın kethüdâsı olan Hacı Beyzâde Halîl Ağa bin Mehmed Bey’in mahdûmudur. Çeribaşı Mahallesi’nde doğdu. Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa dâiresinde terbiye görüp, 1082’de sadâret kapıcılar kethüdâsı oldu. Sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin irtihâline kadar bu hizmetde bulunup “Kethüdâ Ahmed Ağa” diye iştihâr etdi.
1087 şa’bânında efendisinin irtihâlinde ammizâdesi Murteza Paşa’nın kethüdâsı olup 1089 muharreminde Paşa Amasya mutasarrıfı [573] oldukta tarafından Amasya mütesellimi oldu. Muharremin yirminci günü Murteza Paşa’nın vefâtında Amasya Sancağı Beyi olup Rumeli harbine me’mûren gitdi. Sene-i mezbûre şevvâlinde Adana Beylerbeyi oldu. 1093 senesi evâ’ilinde Mar’aş Beylerbeyi olup Viyana harbine gitdi. Sadr-ı a’zam Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın i’dâmı üzerine sadr-ı a’zam olan Bayburtluzâde Kara İbrâhim Paşa’nın arz ve inhâsıyla 1095 senesi evâ’ilinde Yanova muhâfızı, 1096’da vezâretle Tımışvar vâlîsi, 1097’de Engürüs serdârı olup Macarlarla harb etdi.
1098’de ibtidâ serdârlıktan ba’dehû Tımışvar’dan azliyle İstanbul’a celb edildi. Müte’âkiben asker sevkine me’mûr olup Anadolu’ya gönderildi. 1099 senesi evâ’ilinde Anadolu Müfetdişi olarak eşkiyâyı tenkile me’mûr olduğu halde sene-i mezbûrenin zilka’desinde vefât etdi. Şeci’, müdebbir, sâdık bir zât idi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya, grandson (through his son Mehmed Bey) of Hacı Beyzâde Halîl Ağa, who had been kethüda of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. He was born in the Çeribaşı quarter. Raised in the circle of Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha, he became kapıcılar kethüdâsı of the grand vizier in 1082 [1671-72]. He stayed in that post until the death of the said grand vizier and made his name as "Kethüdâ Ahmed Ağa".
When his master died in Şaban 1087 [1676], he became kethüda of his cousin (son of his paternal uncle) Murteza Pasha, and when the pasha became mutasarrıf of Amasya in Muharrem 1089 [1678], he became mütesellim of Amasya under him. When Murteza Pasha died on the twentieth day of Muharrem, he became sanjak governor of Amasya and went to the Rumelian war on duty. In Şevval of the same year he became beylerbeyi of Adana. At the beginning of 1093 [1682] he became beylerbeyi of Maraş and went to the Vienna war. Upon the representation and recommendation of Bayburtluzâde Kara İbrâhim Pasha, who became grand vizier after the execution of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha, he became guardian (muhafız) of Yanova at the beginning of 1095 [1683-84], in 1096 [1684-85] governor of Temesvár with the rank of vizier, and in 1097 [1685-86] serdar in Hungary, where he fought the Hungarians.
In 1098 [1686-87] he was dismissed first from the post of serdar and then from Temesvár, and summoned to Istanbul. Immediately afterwards he was charged with dispatching troops and sent to Anatolia. At the beginning of 1099 [1687-88], while charged as inspector of Anatolia with punishing bandits, he died in Zilkade of the same year. He was a brave, prudent and loyal man.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- dâ'ire: circle, the entourage of a great man
- kapıcılar kethüdâsı: head of the gatekeepers
- irtihâl: death
- ammizâde: son of a paternal uncle, cousin
- mutasarrıf: senior official responsible for the administration of a sanjak
- mütesellim: the person who ran affairs in place of, and on behalf of, an administrator
- sancak beyi: the administrator at the head of a sanjak
- beylerbeyi: the governor at the head of a province
- muhâfız: guardian of a fortress and its surroundings
- Tımışvar: Temeşvar
- Engürüs: Hungary
- serdâr: commander-in-chief
- i'dâm: execution
- arz ve inhâ: report and recommendation submitted to the sultan
- müfettiş: inspector
- tenkîl: punishment, suppression
- şeci', müdebbir: brave, prudent
A Köprülü Man
According to Hüsameddin, Kethüdâ Ahmed Pasha's rise was spent from beginning to end in the service of the Köprülü family: his grandfather was kethüda of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, and he himself was raised beside Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha. On the death of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, his son Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha was appointed grand vizier on 8 Rebîülevvel 1072 (1 November 1661). Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha died on the road to Edirne on 26 Şaban 1087 (3 November 1676); the year 1087 that Hüsameddin gives agrees with this. The year 1082 in which Ahmed Ağa became the grand vizier's kapıcılar kethüdâsı falls a few years after the end of the pasha's Cretan campaign (Candia was taken on 6 September 1669).
No information was found in other sources on Murteza Pasha's identity or his kinship with Ahmed Ağa. Hüsameddin calls him "amcazâde" (cousin); no record confirming this tie could be found in another source.
Grand Vizierates and Appointments
Kara Mustafa Pasha, named in the text, was executed on 6 Muharrem 1095 (25 December 1683). Kara İbrâhim Pasha, who became grand vizier in his place, was born in a village belonging to Bayburt, fled to Iran after the Abaza Hasan rebellion and returned, and became kethüda of Firârî Mustafa Pasha. According to Hüsameddin, it was this grand vizier who gave Ahmed Ağa the guardianship of Yanova. The course of the war going against the Ottomans on the Hungarian and Morea fronts under Kara İbrâhim Pasha, and cities and fortresses being lost one by one, also form the background of Hüsameddin's sentence "he fought the Hungarians". It is known that İbrâhim Pasha replaced unsuccessful serdars with new ones; Ahmed Ağa's dismissal in 1098 can be read within this general picture. But in which battles Ahmed Ağa took part, and the reason for the dismissal, could not be found in other sources.
There is a noteworthy point about his going to the Vienna war. Hüsameddin gives his beylerbeyilik of Maraş at the beginning of 1093 and writes that he then took part in the Vienna campaign. Kara Mustafa Pasha reached the walls of Vienna on 19 Receb 1094 (14 July 1683); that is, the year of the campaign is 1094, while the year of the appointment falls a year earlier. Hüsameddin gives the year of the appointment and does not separately state the year he joined the campaign; there is about a year between the two dates.
Çeribaşı and Kethüdâ Ahmed Pasha
The Çeribaşı quarter, where Ahmed Pasha was born, is also the quarter where Hüsameddin was born. Çeribaşı is also counted among the quarters of Amasya in the mid-nineteenth century; no quarter by this name was found in today's list of Merkez quarters. The details of Ahmed Pasha's governorship of Temesvár are not found in the sources we surveyed. No further information could be found either on his inspectorship of Anatolia or on his death.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 179–179. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources
- "XIX. Yüzyıl Ortalarında Amasya Şehrinin Sosyo-Ekonomik Yapısı", academic article.