Lâdiklidir. Sadr-ı esbak Tayyar Mehmed Paşa bin Mustafa Paşa bin Hüseyin Bey’in mahdûmudur. Pederinin vezâretinde züamâdan olup Anadolu valiliğinde Canik Sancağı beyi olarak ümerâdan ve şehâdetinde 1048 senesi recebinde Kars Beylerbeyi oldu.
1051’de Karahisar-ı Şarkî mutasarrıfı olup 1052’de [517] ma’zûlen vatanına gelip menkûbâne ikâmet etdi. 1057’de Urfa Sancağı mutasarrıfı olup 1058 senesi recebinde Sultân Mehmed-i Râbi’nin cülûsunda Musûl Beylerbeyi oldu. Fakat 1059 senesi evâ’ilinde azl edilip Lâdik’e geldi.
Burada mensî bir halde kalıp Köprü’de ikâmet eden Abaza Hasan Ağa ile çok görüşürdü. Bu yüzden Köprülü Mehmed Paşa ile araları açıktı. İbşir Mustafa Paşa sadr-ı a’zam oldukta 1065 senesi muharreminde vezâretle Halep ve 1066’da Diyârbekir vâlîsi olup sene-i mezbûrenin recebinde azledildi.
1067 senesi rebîülevvelinde sabıka-ı ma’rifete binâ’en ve pederinin kendisine yaptığı lutfa mükâfâten Sadr-ı a’zam Köprülü Mehmed Paşa tarafından ikinci defa Diyârbekir ve 1068’de Şam vâlîsi olup 1069 senesi saferinde Macaristan Harbine me’muren ma’iyyet-i mevcûdesiyle ordu-yı hümâyûna iltihâk etmesi emr ü da’vet edildi.
Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın kendisine karşı adâvetinden ve tîg-i siyâsetinden korkardı. Gidip orduya iltihâk [518] etdiği anda kendisini i’dâm edeceğini kurardı. Abaza Hasan Paşa da aynı vaziyetde idi. Bu yüzden her ikisi de Köprülü Mehmed Paşa sadâretde oldukça harbe gidemeyeceklerini bildirmişler, Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’yı azletdirmek için kıyâm etmişlerdi.
Köprülü Mehmed Paşa da bunların aleyhine serdâr tayin etdiği Zileli Murteza Paşa’ya lâzım gelen ta’lîmâtı verip gönderdi. Murteza Paşa’nın letâ’ifü’l-hiyel tertibâtına aldanıp fırka-i âsiye ile birlikte Haleb’e geldiği akşam 1069 senesi cumâdelahiresi evâ’ilinde rüfekâsıyla birlikte i’dâm edildi.
Gâyet asîl, cesûr, müteharrik, mağrûr bir vezîr idi. Lâdik’de mahallesi olan Mes’ûd Bey’in ahfâdından olduğu münâsebetle Selçuk hânedânına nisbeti vardı. Abaza Hasan’a uyması can korkusundan neş’et etmişdi.
In Modern English
He was from Lâdik. He was the son of the former grand vizier Tayyar Mehmed Pasha; Tayyar Mehmed Pasha was the son of Mustafa Pasha, who in turn was the son of Hüseyin Bey. During his father's vizierate he held a zeamet (züamâ). He entered the ranks of the sanjak beys as bey of the sanjak of Canik in the province of Anatolia, and in Receb 1048 [1638], at the time his father fell as a martyr, he became beylerbeyi of Kars.
In 1051 [1641-42] he became mutasarrıf (governor of a sanjak) of Karahisar-ı Şarkî; in 1052 [1642-43] he was dismissed, came back to his homeland and lived there in misfortune. In 1057 [1647-48] he became mutasarrıf of the sanjak of Urfa, and in Receb 1058 [1648], at the accession of Sultan Mehmed IV, he became beylerbeyi of Mosul. But in early 1059 [1649] he was dismissed and came to Lâdik.
Remaining forgotten there, he often met with Abaza Hasan Ağa, who lived at Köprü. For this reason he was on bad terms with Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. When İbşir Mustafa Pasha became grand vizier, in Muharrem 1065 [1654] he became governor of Aleppo with the rank of vizier, and in 1066 [1655-56] governor of Diyarbekir, and was dismissed in Receb of the same year.
In Rebîülevvel 1067 [1656-57], in return for their earlier acquaintance and for the kindness his father had shown to him (Köprülü), the grand vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha appointed him governor of Diyarbekir for the second time, and in 1068 [1657-58] governor of Damascus. In Safer 1069 [1658-59] he was assigned to the Hungarian campaign; he was ordered and summoned to join the imperial army with the forces at his disposal.
He feared Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's enmity and the sword of siyaset (the death penalty). He thought that the moment he went and joined the army, Köprülü would have him executed. Abaza Hasan Pasha was in the same position. For this reason both declared that they could not go to war as long as Köprülü Mehmed Pasha remained grand vizier, and they rose in revolt to have Köprülü Mehmed Pasha removed from office.
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha gave the necessary instructions to Zileli Murteza Pasha, whom he had appointed serdar against them, and sent him off. Deceived by Murteza Pasha's various schemes of trickery, he came to Aleppo together with the band of rebels, and on the evening of his arrival, in early Cemâziyelâhir 1069 [1659], he was executed together with his companions.
He was a very noble, brave, energetic and proud vizier. Since he was a descendant of Mes'ud Bey, after whom a neighborhood in Lâdik is named, he had a connection with the Seljuk dynasty. His following Abaza Hasan arose from fear for his life.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- sadr-ı esbak: former grand vizier
- züamâ: cavalrymen holding a zeamet (large timar)
- ümerâ: sanjak beys, beys
- şehâdet: falling as a martyr
- beylerbeyi: provincial governor
- mutasarrıf: official governing a sanjak
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- menkûbâne: struck by disaster, in a state of misfortune
- cülûs: accession to the throne
- mensî: forgotten
- adâvet: enmity
- tîg-i siyâset: the sword of siyaset, that is, the death penalty
- serdâr: commander of the army during a campaign
- letâ'ifü'l-hiyel: various tricks
- fırka-i âsiye: band of rebels
- rüfekâ: traveling companions, comrades
- ahfâd: grandchildren, descendants
His Father Tayyar Mehmed Pasha and the Family of Lâdik
Ahmed Pasha's father, Tayyar Mehmed Pasha, was a statesman who is named as the son of Uçar Mustafa Pasha and is reported to have come from the Lâdik family of Yeni Bey. He became grand vizier on 27 August 1638 upon the death of Bayram Pasha and fell as a martyr on 23 December 1638 during the siege of Baghdad. He served as grand vizier for nearly four months. It is also recorded that he had a part in the training of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha. His sons Mustafa, Ahmed and Hüseyin Pasha also held posts as beylerbeyis. In Urfa there are the Palace of Tayyar Mehmed Pasha and the Palace of Ahmed Pasha built in his son's name. The encyclopedia entry also records that in some sources he is called "Mustafa Paşaoğlu"; this agrees with Hüsameddin's calling him "Mustafa Paşazâde". In his own entry on Tayyar Mehmed Pasha, Hüsameddin likewise gives the line of descent as "Uçar Mustafa Pasha son of Hüseyin Bey", and writes that he became sanjak bey of Urfa in 1028, defended Sivas against Abaza Mehmed Pasha in 1031, and became grand vizier in Rebîülevvel 1048 upon Bayram Pasha's death. In another entry Hüsameddin also writes that Tayyâr Ahmed Bey, a nephew of Tayyar Mehmed Pasha, was the kethüda (steward) of the vizier Ahmed Pasha Tayyar Paşazâde, and that in 1069 he was executed together with his uncles for following Abaza Hasan. It thus appears that the relatives around Ahmed Pasha shared the same fate as he did.
The Revolt of Abaza Hasan
Abaza Hasan was a kapıkulu cavalryman belonging to the Silâhdar corps. He came to prominence by suppressing the revolt of Kara Haydaroğlu; in 1648 he was appointed voivode of the Yeni İl Turkmens, and when he was dismissed because of the jealousy of the ocak ağas, he rose in revolt with the crowd that had gathered around him. Allying with İpşir Mustafa Pasha, Abaza defeated Katırcıoğlu near Aksaray, and during İpşir Pasha's grand vizierate (1654) he came to Istanbul with thousands of sipahis at his side. When İpşir Pasha was executed, Abaza was appointed voivode of the Turkmens and then governor of Diyarbekir, and was thus removed from Istanbul. When Köprülü Mehmed Pasha became grand vizier, he first reassigned Abaza from Diyarbekir to the governorship of Aleppo; when Abaza did not go there, he summoned him to the Transylvanian campaign, wishing to do away with him. Abaza did not join the campaign, and the situation grew more tense as many senior officials fleeing Köprülü's harsh measures took refuge with him.
To suppress the revolt in Anatolia, a force was placed under the command of Murtaza Pasha, beylerbeyi of Diyarbekir, and Murtaza Pasha was defeated by Abaza at Ilgın (11 December 1658). To pass the winter, Abaza withdrew first to Antep and then to Aleppo. There, together with the anti-Köprülü pashas who were with him, he was seized through a plot, and all were executed on 16-17 February 1659 (23-24 Cemâziyelevvel 1069). Hüsameddin's account, "deceived by Murteza Pasha's tricks, he came to Aleppo together with the rebels on the evening...", corresponds to this event. There is a small difference in date: Hüsameddin places the execution at the beginning of Cemâziyelâhir, while the encyclopedia entry puts it at the end of Cemâziyelevvel (23-24). In the encyclopedia entries that could be read, the pashas executed together with Abaza are mentioned collectively, and Ahmed Pasha's name does not appear separately.
Hüsameddin's Interpretation
Hüsameddin attributes Ahmed Pasha's joining Abaza to fear for his life. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha is known to have not hesitated to eliminate his opponents and to have been noted for his harsh measures, and the senior officials who took refuge with Abaza confirm this. Two different assessments of Köprülü circulate in the sources: in some accounts he is remembered as a vizier who shed much blood, in others as a beneficent administrator who cleansed the country of traitors. The claim that Ahmed Pasha descended from the Seljuks, and his connection with the Mes'ud Bey Neighborhood in Lâdik, could not be verified in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies