Amasyalıdır. Hâce Ahmed Paşa’nın kölesi iken i’tâk edib Hacızâde Sarı Mehmed Ağa’nın kerîmesi Havva Hânım ile tezvîc eylediği Rus Rıdvân Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Havva Hanımdan 1060’da Amasya’nın Hâtunîye Mahallesi’nde doğdu.
1069’da maktûl olan pederi 1058’de i’tâk ve tezvîc [599] edildiği Amasya sicilâtında mestûr iken Sivas vâlîsi Sührab Mehmed Paşa bunu hüsn ü cemâline binâ’en köle şeklinde kendi dâ’iresine alıp 1075’de Silahdâr Hüseyin Paşa’ya takdîm etmesi, sâhib-i terceme hakkında bir ni’met-i mahz olup 1076’da Hüseyin Paşa tarafından enderûn-ı hümâyûna takdîm ü çerâğ edildi. Orada “Sührablı” dendi.
Enderûnda terbiye görüp tefeyyüz ederek hâs odabaşı, ser-kâtibi, güğümbaşı oldu. 1090 cumâdelûlâsının on altıncı günü hazîne-i hümâyûn kethüdâsı olarak enderûnda büyük bir nüfûz ve ikbâle erdi. 1099 senesi muharreminde Sultân Süleyman Hân-ı Sânî cülûsunda vezâretle Basra ve müte’âkiben Musûl vâlîsi olarak İstanbul’dan uzaklaşdırıldı.
Fakat Amcazâde Hüseyin Paşa’nın dâmâdı olduğu münâsebetle Köprülülere intisâbı vardı. 1101’de, Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Mustafa Paşa’nın sadâretinde celb edilip Boğaz Muhâfızı ve Halep vâlîsi, 1102’de Sakız Muhâfızı oldu. [600]
1103 senesi rebîülahirinde kayınpederinin kâ’im-makâmlıkdan azlini müte’âkib Sayda valiliğine gönderildi. 1105’de Bozcaada muhâfızı ve senesi âhirinde Diyârbekir vâlîsi olup 1106 senesi evâhirinde isnâd-ı rehâvetle azledilerek vezâreti ref’ ve yevmî 300 akçe tekâ’üd ulûfesi i’tâ edildi.
1109 senesi rebîülevvelinin ikinci günü sadr-ı a’zam olan kayınpederi Amcazâde Hüseyin Paşa’nın sâye-i ikbâlinde ibkâ-yı vezâretle Hânya muhâfızı, 1110 senesi evâ’ilinde nişâncı olarak İstanbul’a geldi. 1114 rebîülahirinde kayınpederinin sadâretden isti’fâ etmesi üzerine bir mâh sonra sânîyen tekâ’üde sevk edilip Kadıköyü’nde sakin oldu. 1115 senesi rebîülevvelinde Şeyhülislâm es-Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi’nin aleyhinde kıyâm eden cemiyyet-i askeriyyenin talebiyle İstanbul’da sadâret kâ’im-makâmı ve Feyzullah Efendi’nin şehâdeti ve Sultân Ahmed Hân-ı Sâlisin cülûsu üzerine rebîülahirin dokuzuncu günü sadr-ı a’zam oldu.
Tam üç ay makâm-ı sadâreti işgâl edib, sene-i mezbûre recebinin [601] dokuzuncu günü azl ve Sakız’a nefy edilip 1116’da İnebahtı muhâfızı oldu. Orada bir buçuk yıl kadar ifâ-yı vazife edib 1117 senesi cumâdelahiresinin dokuzuncu günü vefât etdi.
Müdebbir, metîn bir zât-ı behîn idi. Biraz da tok sözlü, hodkâm idi. Boyu kısa ve şişmanca olduğundan “Kavanoz” lakâbını almıştı. Halîlesi Ayşe Hânım binti Amcazâde Hüseyin Paşa’dır. Vefâtıyla beraber mâl ü menâli müsâdere edildi.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Rus Rıdvan Ağa, who, while a slave of Hâce Ahmed Pasha, was freed and married to Havva Hanım, daughter of Hacızade Sarı Mehmed Ağa. He was born in 1060 [1650] to Havva Hanım in the Hatuniye neighborhood of Amasya.
Although the Amasya court records state that his father, who was killed in 1069 [1658-59], had been freed and married in 1058 [1648], Sührab Mehmed Pasha, governor of Sivas, took him into his entourage like a slave because of his handsome looks and beauty. His presentation in 1075 [1664-65] to Silahdar Hüseyin Pasha was a complete boon for the subject of this entry; in 1076 [1665-66] Hüseyin Pasha presented him to the Enderun-ı Hümâyun and he was made an apprentice. There he was known as "Sührablı."
Educated in the Enderun, he advanced and became has odabaşı, chief clerk and güğümbaşı. On the sixteenth day of Cemaziyelevvel 1090 [1679], as kethüda of the treasury, he attained great influence and fortune in the Enderun. In Muharram 1099 [1687-88], at the accession of Sultan Süleyman II, he was removed from Istanbul with the rank of vizier, first as governor of Basra and then of Mosul.
However, because he was a son-in-law of Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha, he had a bond with the Köprülüs. In 1101 [1689-90], during the grand vizierate of Köprülüzade Fâzıl Mustafa Pasha, he was summoned and became guardian of the Bosporus and governor of Aleppo, and in 1102 [1690-91] guardian of Sakız.
In Rebiülahir 1103 [1691-92], after his father-in-law was removed from the kaymakamlık, he was sent as governor of Sayda. In 1105 [1693-94] he became guardian of Bozcaada, and at the end of the year governor of Diyarbekir. At the end of 1106 [1695] he was dismissed on the grounds of lax conduct, his vizierate was withdrawn, and a retirement stipend of 300 akçe a day was assigned to him.
In the shadow of the fortune of his father-in-law Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha, who became grand vizier on the second day of Rebiülevvel 1109 [1697], his vizierate was restored and he became guardian of Hanya, and at the beginning of 1110 [1698] he came to Istanbul as nişancı. In Rebiülahir 1114 [1702], when his father-in-law resigned from the grand vizierate, a month later he was retired a second time and lived in Kadıköy. In Rebiülevvel 1115 [1703], at the demand of the soldiery who rose against Şeyhülislam Seyyid Feyzullah Efendi, he became deputy grand vizier in Istanbul. When Feyzullah Efendi was killed and Sultan Ahmed III acceded to the throne, he became grand vizier on the ninth day of Rebiülahir.
He remained in the grand vizierate for exactly three months and on the ninth day of Receb of the same year was dismissed and exiled to Sakız. In 1116 [1704-05] he became guardian of Inebahtı. After serving there for about a year and a half, he died on the ninth day of Cemaziyelahir 1117 [1705].
He was a prudent, solid, worthy man. He was also somewhat sharp-tongued and did as he pleased. Because he was short and rather stout, he had received the nickname "Kavanoz" (Jar). His wife Ayşe Hanım was the daughter of Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha. With his death his property and possessions were confiscated.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- i'tâk: to free a slave
- tezvîc: marrying off
- sicilât: court records
- hüsn ü cemâl: beauty, handsomeness
- ni'met-i mahz: a complete boon, great good fortune
- enderûn-ı hümâyûn: the inner part of the palace; the school where statesmen to serve the sultan were trained
- takdîm ü çerâğ: to present and to take on as an apprentice
- has odabaşı, güğümbaşı: posts on the rungs of advancement in the Enderun
- hazîne-i hümâyûn kethüdâsı: the administrator of the sultan's treasury
- cülûs: accession to the throne
- muhâfız: the governor responsible for defending a fortress or province
- kâ'im-makâm: deputy; deputy of the grand vizier (kaymakam)
- isnâd-ı rehâvet: the charge of lax, negligent conduct
- tekâ'üd ulûfesi: retirement pay
- nişancı: the senior official who drew the sultan's tughra on decrees and headed state correspondence
- nefy: exile
- hodkâm: one who does as he pleases and does not go back on his word
- mâl ü menâl: property and possessions
Who This Pasha Was
The entry concerns the grand vizier known in Ottoman history as Kavanoz Ahmed Pasha, Sührablı Ahmed Pasha and Nişancı Ahmed Pasha. The nickname Kavanoz comes from his short and stout build, the name Sührablı from his having been raised by Sührab Mehmed Pasha, governor of Sivas. The title Nişancı derives from his long tenure as nişancı.
There are two separate accounts of his origin. Dilâverzade Ömer, author of the Zeyl-i Hadîka, writes that he was one of the freed slaves of Silahdar Hüseyin Pasha and of Russian origin. Hüsâmeddin, by contrast, presents him as the son of a freed-slave father from Amasya. The entry in the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi also relays this second information, saying "according to Hüseyin Hüsâmeddin," and cites in its bibliography Hüsâmeddin's work Nişancılar Durağı (İSAM, no. 63810). Some sources say Ruthenian rather than Russian origin.
The two accounts complement each other on the Amasya connection. The encyclopedia entry writes that after his father was killed in the Abaza Hasan rebellion of 1069 (1658), the young Ahmed came under the protection of Sührab Mehmed Pasha, governor of Sivas. The detail Hüsâmeddin gives, that his father was a freed slave married to the daughter of an Amasya family and that this is recorded in the Amasya court records, does not appear in the encyclopedia. The birth year given, 1060 (1650), does not conflict with the information that the pasha died having passed fifty.
Palace and Governorship Years
Hüsâmeddin's chronology largely coincides with the encyclopedia entry. In both he is presented to Silahdar Hüseyin Pasha in 1075, enters the Enderun the next year, and becomes treasury kethüda in 1090. After the accession of Süleyman II he serves as governor of Basra and Mosul, marries the daughter of Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha, and in 1101 is moved from the governorship of Aleppo to the guardianship of the Bosporus. His posts at Bozcaada and Diyarbekir Hüsâmeddin places in 1105, the encyclopedia in 1106. During the grand vizierate of Elmas Mehmed Pasha he is retired. When his father-in-law Amcazade Hüseyin Pasha became grand vizier in 1697, he served at Hanya on Crete, and in 1110 (1698-99), through the intervention of his wife, he was summoned to the center and made nişancı. When Amcazade left office he was retired again and his properties were confiscated. For a time he lived in his father-in-law's waterside mansion at Anadoluhisarı, and during this time an income of 400 akçe a day from the Istanbul Customs was assigned to him.
The Edirne Incident and the Grand Vizierate
The event that carried Ahmed Pasha into history is the Edirne Incident, which broke out in July 1703. The kapıkulu soldiers in Istanbul rose against Sultan Mustafa II at Edirne and his chief adviser Şeyhülislam Feyzullah Efendi; on 10 August 1703 an army of about thirty thousand decided to march on Edirne. The rebels first made Ahmed Pasha deputy grand vizier, and about a month later grand vizier, and set out with him from Istanbul toward Edirne. At a meeting held at Silivri and Çorlu it was decided to depose Mustafa II. A dispute arose over who would become sultan, at one point the enthronement of one of the Sokulluzades was even considered, and in the end agreement was reached on Prince Ahmed. Ahmed Pasha sent word to Moralı Hasan Pasha, guardian of Edirne, asking him to pledge allegiance to Prince Ahmed, and then pledged allegiance himself. The legitimate grand vizier, Râmi Mehmed Pasha, fled at that moment and disappeared. After the accession of Ahmed III, the seal was sent to Ahmed Pasha and his grand vizierate was made official (9 Rebiülahir 1115 / 22 August 1703). Hüsâmeddin's date, "the ninth day of Rebiülahir," agrees with this.
His measures during his short grand vizierate are reported unfavorably from the pen of his contemporary Silahdar Mehmed Ağa: cutting off the food and drink of the palace kitchen, opening the door to bribery and selling an office to three people in two months, and presenting himself almost as a "pharaoh." It is also reported that when receiving the Russian envoy who came to Istanbul he behaved harshly, citing fortress construction contrary to the peace terms. Silahdar describes Ahmed Pasha as ignorant and dissolute; he also counts among the reasons for his dismissal that he appeared in ornate kalavi hats on divan days and in colorful turbans and spangled clothes on other days.
The sultan began looking for ways to dismiss him, and after the ulema stepped in and Şeyhülislam İmam-ı Sultanî Mehmed Efendi said that he could not do justice to the vizierate, the grand vizier's seal was taken from him on 8 Receb 1115 (17 November 1703). Damad Hasan Pasha was appointed in his place, and on 9 Receb (18 November) Ahmed Pasha's vizierate was withdrawn and he was exiled to Sakız. Hüsâmeddin's record, "the ninth day of Receb," corresponds to this last date. It is reported that when dismissed he was bewildered and defended himself, saying, "Had it not been for me, the sedition would not have been put out and the accession would not have taken place." It is also reported that the new grand vizier told him he would not be harmed if he handed over to the treasury, without hiding them, the goods seized during the rebellion.
His Death
After Sakız, Ahmed Pasha was appointed guardian of Inebahtı with the rank of vizier on 15 Şaban 1116 (13 December 1704). Hüsâmeddin too writes that he served in Inebahtı for about a year and a half. The sources diverge on the date of death. Hüsâmeddin gives the ninth day of Cemaziyelahir 1117. According to the encyclopedia entry, news of his death reached Istanbul on 9 Cemaziyelevvel 1117 (29 August 1705); according to another record the news came in the month of Receb of the same year (October-November 1705). In some sources the date of death is given as September 1705. It is reported that the pasha died having passed fifty. Hammer accuses him of taking bribes. Hüsâmeddin, after describing him as a "prudent and solid" man, also mentions his sharp tongue.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 187–187. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Books
- Silâhdar Mehmed Ağa, Nusretnâme; Dilâverzâde Ömer, Zeyl-i Hadîka; J. von Hammer, Büyük Osmanlı Tarihi: cited indirectly from the bibliography of the encyclopedia entry above.
Other sources