Amasyalıdır. “Sekbân Ali Ağa” demekle meşhûr bir yeniçeri zâbitinin mahdûmudur. Erbâb-ı tımardan olup muhârebelerde yararlıklar gösterdiğinden 1115 senesi zilka’desinde ser-çeşme olarak temâyüz etdi. 1116 senesi cumadelahiresinin sekizinci günü Amasya sancağı Beyi oldu.
1118 senesi saferinin evâ’ilinde Sadr-ı a’zam Çorlulu Ali Paşa’nın dâmâd ve hazinedârı Amasyalı Hacı Feyzullahzâde Ahmed Ağa’nın sâye-i ikbâlinde Mar’aş Beylerbeyi oldu.
Ba’de’l-azl Kayseriyye mutasarrıfı ve 1123 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde sânîyen Amasya mutasarrıfı olarak Rus harbine me’mûr oldu.
1124 senesi cumâdelûlâsında Rumeli Beylerbeyiliği pâyesi ile Özi Beylerbeyi ve muhâfızı 1127’de Adana Beylerbeyi olarak Mora harbine me’mûr oldu. 1128 senesinde Mora’nın fethinde Kalus muhâfızı oldu. 1130 senesi evâsıtında vefât etdi. Mahdûmu Ali Bey’dir. [611]
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He is the son of a janissary officer known as "Sekban Ali Ağa." He was among the timar-holders and, through his services in wars, came to the fore as serçeşme (head of the vanguard) in Zilkade 1115. On the eighth day of Cemaziyelahir 1116 he became Sanjak Governor of Amasya.
At the beginning of Safer 1118, thanks to the patronage of Hacı Feyzullahzade Ahmed Ağa of Amasya, son-in-law and treasurer of Grand Vizier Çorlulu Ali Pasha, he became beylerbeyi of Maraş.
After being dismissed he became mutasarrıf of Kayseri, and in Cemaziyelahir 1123 he was assigned to the Russian campaign as mutasarrıf of Amasya for the second time.
In Cemaziyelevvel 1124, with the rank of Beylerbeyi of Rumelia, he became beylerbeyi and guardian of Özi, and in 1127 [1715], as beylerbeyi of Adana, he was assigned to the Morea campaign. In 1128 [1716], at the conquest of the Morea, he became guardian of Kalus. He died in the middle of 1130 [1718]. His son is Ali Bey.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- zâbit: officer
- erbâb-ı tımar: timar-holders, timar-holding sipahis
- ser-çeşme: head of the vanguard, a leading man
- temâyüz: coming to the fore
- beylerbeyi: the governor of a province
- mutasarrıf: the governor who administers a sanjak
- ba'de'l-azl: after dismissal
- hazînedâr: treasury official
- sâye-i ikbâl: the shadow of fortune, patronage
- muhâfız: the protective administrator of a fortress or province
- evâsıt: the middle
The Sekban Nickname
Ahmed Pasha's nickname "Sekbanzade" comes from his father Ali Ağa's having been a sekban. The word sekban means "dog keeper" in Persian. Originally these were the people who raised the palace hunting dogs, and later it became the name given to units used for military purposes. The sekbans who joined the Janissary Corps consisted of thirty-four companies and, in due course, could go out to a timar and become sipahis too. This information explains why Ahmed Pasha is described as "among the timar-holders": the son of a father of janissary origin, he rose through the door of the timar-holding sipahi.
Steps in His Career
The posts Hüsâmeddin gives follow this order: sanjak governor of Amasya (1116), beylerbeyi of Maraş (1118), mutasarrıf of Kayseri, mutasarrıf of Amasya for the second time (1123), beylerbeyi of Özi (1124), beylerbeyi of Adana (1127) and guardian of Kalus (1128). As the reason for his appointment to Maraş, the patronage of his fellow townsman from Amasya, Feyzullahzade Ahmed Ağa, is cited.
The campaigns mentioned are the Russian and Morea campaigns of the same period. Hüsâmeddin notes the conquest of the Morea dated 1128 and the guardianship of Kalus there, but no source has been read in this study for the place's present-day name and the details of the post. No information was found in other sources on Ahmed Pasha and his son Ali Bey.
Bibliography