Amasyalıdır. Esbak Çavuşbaşı Hacı Beyzâde Mehmed Bey’in oğludur. [126] 1068 senesi zilka’desinin gurresinde Abaza Paşa tarafından Amasya beyi olup Kadızâde Muslî Ağa’yı Amasya mütesellimliğinde ibkâ etdi.
Fakat Muslî Ağa, basîretkâr bir zât olduğundan Amasya sancağını devlet nâmına idâre ederek Köprülü taraftarlarını kendisinden memnun ediyor, Mirlivâ Ali Bey’i de kullanıyordu.
Bu sene vaktiyle imâret şeyhi olan Genceli Veli Bey⁶⁵⁵ ile esbak sipâhiler ağası Cebecizâde Ali Ağa vefât etdi. Sâbık kethüdâ-yı sadâret Amasyalı Salih Ağa, İbşirli Mehmed Ağa, sâbık mektûbî-i sadâret Hayreddînzâde Mehmed Efendi İstanbul’a gitdi.
1069 senesi gurre-i muharreminde Abdülfettâh Efendi’nin yerine meşâhir-i kudâttan Tokatlı Ahmed Efendi Amasya kadısı olup vusûlüne kadar nüvvâbdan Osmân Efendi’yi Amasya nâibi tâyin ederek gönderdi. Kadı Ahmed Efendi, hâlis Abazalı bir adamdı.
Köprülü Mehmed Paşa, Abaza’nın isyânını haber almışdı. Yanova Kalesi’nin fethinden sonra dördüncü Sultân Mehmed’in daveti üzerine dönüp muharreminin on dördüncü günü Edirne’ye ve yirmi ikisinde Sultân Mehmed’le beraber İstanbul’a geldi.
Saferin on altısında Şâm Eyâleti’ni Silistre Beylerbeyi Köprülü Kadri Paşa’ya tevcîh edib Tayyar Paşazâde Ahmed Paşa’yı azletdi. Ali Bey’i Amasya’da ibkâ ve takrîr edib Canikli Mehmed Paşa’nın kethüdâ-yı [127] sadâreti olan Bayburd’lu Ahmed Ağa’yı rebîülevvelde Amasya mütesellimi nasb edib gönderdi.
Çünkü Abaza Hasan Paşa’nın cem‘iyet-i bâgiyyesi, pek müthişdi. Serdâr Murtezâ Paşa’nın ordusunu bozduğundan isyân ve istikbârı artmışdı. Köprülü Mehmed Paşa, bu cemiyet-i bâgiyeyi tedâbir-i siyâsiye ile dağıtıp imhâ etmeye çalışıyordu.
Bu esnada Amasya’nın a‘yân ve müteneffizânı iki taraf olmuşdu. Birinci fırka Köprülü taraftarı, ikincisi Abaza taraftarı idi. Abazalıların işe yarayanları Abaza ordusuna gidip fiilen yardım ediyorlardı. Köprülü taraftarları da Köprülü hesabına çalışıyorlardı. Kazâlar da aynı halde idi.
Amasya’da Köprülü taraftarları şunlardı: Şehir kethüdâsı Seyyid Ahmed Ağa, sâbık mütesellim Muslî Ağa, Saçlı Emîr Ömer Ağa, mütesellim-i esbak Sefer Ağa, meşhûr sipâhi Sevincerli Ömer Ağa, buna “Peçelioğlu” denirdi.
Ulemâdan Hacı Efendizâde Ömer Efendi, mahdûmu İbrâhim Efendi, Müftü Yeğenzâde Mehmed Efendi, Yağmur Köylüzâde İsmâil Efendi, Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi, Yeğenzâde Ebussu’ûd Efendi, Şeyhzâde Abdülcelîl Efendi.
Zâdegândan Hacı Paşazâde Abdülkerim Bey, Derviş Beyzâde Hüseyin Bey, Kadızâde Hasan Bey, Yörgüç Paşazâde Mustafa Bey, Seydî Beyzâde Kurd Mehmed Bey. [128]
Abazalıların başında Kadı Tokatlı Ahmed Efendi, nâibi Osmân Efendi, müftü-i esbak Hızır Efendi, Damâd Osmân Efendi, esbak arpa emîni Osmân Efendi, açıktan Abaza taraftarlığı yapıyorlar, Köprülü Paşa’nın zulüm ve gadrinden bahsediyorlardı. Bunların avenesi çoktu.
Abaza Paşa aleyhine serdâr olan Murtezâ, Şam Vâlisi Kadrî, Anadolu Vâlisi Konakçı Ali paşaların tedâbîr-i hakîmânesiyle rebîülâhirde Abaza’nın cemiyeti uyuşduruldu. Aflarını mübşir fermânın vürûduna kadar Halep’te ikâmetleri tasvîb edildi. Bu esnada Amasya sancağı sâbık Rum Sivas Beylerbeyi⁶⁵⁶ Mustafa Paşa’ya tevcîh edildi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of Hacı Beyzâde Mehmed Bey, former çavuşbaşı. On the first day of the month of Zilkade 1068 [1658] he was made bey of Amasya by Abaza Pasha, and he left Kadızâde Muslî Ağa in the mütesellimship of Amasya.
But since Muslî Ağa was a far-sighted person, he governed the sanjak of Amasya in the name of the state, kept the Köprülü supporters content with him, and used Mirliva Ali Bey for his own purposes.
This year Genceli Veli Bey, once imaret sheikh, and the former sipahiler ağası Cebecizâde Ali Ağa died. The former sadâret kethüdâsı Salih Ağa of Amasya, İbşirli Mehmed Ağa and the former sadâret mektûbcusu Hayreddînzâde Mehmed Efendi went to Istanbul.
On the first day of the month of Muharrem 1069 [1658], in place of Abdülfettâh Efendi, Ahmed Efendi of Tokat, one of the well-known kadıs, became kadı of Amasya; until he himself came he appointed and sent Osmân Efendi, one of the nâibs, as nâib of Amasya. Kadı Ahmed Efendi was a staunch supporter of Abaza.
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha had learned of Abaza's rebellion. After the conquest of the fortress of Yanova (Jenő), on the call of Mehmed IV he turned back and on the fourteenth day of Muharrem came to Edirne and on the twenty-second to Istanbul with Sultan Mehmed.
On the sixteenth of Safer he gave the province of Damascus to Köprülü Kadri Pasha, Beylerbeyi of Silistra, and dismissed Tayyar Paşazâde Ahmed Pasha. He left Ali Bey in Amasya and confirmed his post, and in the month of Rebîülevvel appointed Bayburtlu Ahmed Ağa, who had been sadâret kethüdâsı of Canikli Mehmed Pasha, as mütesellim of Amasya and sent him.
For Abaza Hasan Pasha's rebel band was very frightening. Since he had routed the army of Serdar Murtezâ Pasha, his rebellion and arrogance had grown. Köprülü Mehmed Pasha was trying to disperse and destroy this rebel band by political measures.
At this time the notables and influential people of Amasya had divided into two sides. The first group was pro-Köprülü, the second pro-Abaza. Those of the Abaza supporters who were of use went to Abaza's army and actually helped. The Köprülü supporters too worked on Köprülü's account. The districts were in the same situation.
The Köprülü supporters in Amasya were these: the city kethüda Seyyid Ahmed Ağa, the former mütesellim Muslî Ağa, Saçlı Emîr Ömer Ağa, the former mütesellim Sefer Ağa, and the well-known sipahi Sevincerli Ömer Ağa, who was called "Peçelioğlu".
Among the scholars: Hacı Efendizâde Ömer Efendi, his son İbrâhim Efendi, Mufti Yeğenzâde Mehmed Efendi, Yağmur Köylüzâde İsmâil Efendi, Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi, Yeğenzâde Ebussu'ûd Efendi and Şeyhzâde Abdülcelîl Efendi.
Among the noble families: Hacı Paşazâde Abdülkerîm Bey, Derviş Beyzâde Hüseyin Bey, Kadızâde Hasan Bey, Yörgüç Paşazâde Mustafa Bey and Seydî Beyzâde Kurd Mehmed Bey.
At the head of the Abaza supporters were Kadı Ahmed Efendi of Tokat, his nâib Osmân Efendi, the former mufti Hızır Efendi, Damad Osmân Efendi and the former arpa emini Osmân Efendi; they openly supported Abaza and spoke of Köprülü Pasha's tyranny and injustices. They had many followers.
Through the wise measures of Murtezâ Pasha, serdar over Abaza Pasha, Kadrî Pasha, Governor of Damascus, and Konakçı Ali Pasha, Governor of Anatolia, Abaza's band was stalled and pacified in the month of Rebîülâhir. It was thought proper that they remain in Aleppo until the firman announcing their pardon came. At this time the sanjak of Amasya was given to Mustafa Pasha, former Beylerbeyi of Rum (Sivas).
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ibkâ: leaving in office
- basîretkâr: far-sighted, sensible
- nüvvâb: nâibs, deputies of the kadı
- ibkâ ve takrîr: leaving in office and confirming
- cem'iyet-i bâgiyye: rebel band
- istikbâr: haughtiness, arrogance
- tedâbir-i siyâsiye: political measures
- fırka: group, side
- zâdegân: noble families
- avene: supporters
- gadr: injustice
- tedâbîr-i hakîmâne: wise measures
- mübşir: one who announces glad tidings
- tasvîb: approving, thinking proper
A Sanjak Bey Appointed by the Rebels
Ali Bey, who gives the entry its name, represents an interesting situation in the history of Amasya: a bey appointed to the sanjak not by the central government but by Abaza Hasan Pasha, who was in rebellion. According to Hüsâmeddin's account, Köprülü, instead of rejecting this appointment, left Ali Bey in place but sent beside him as mütesellim his own trusted man Bayburtlu Ahmed Ağa. Earlier too the mütesellim Muslî Ağa had in practice administered the sanjak in the name of the state and "used" Ali Bey. Ali Bey's end is told in the next entry: among those executed in Aleppo together with Abaza's other men was "Beyzâde Ali Bey, Bey of Amasya". No information on Ali Bey was found in other sources.
The Return from Yanova and the Defeat at Ilgın
Köprülü's return from the Transylvanian campaign is also related in Mücteba İlgürel's Köprülü entry: the Ottoman army, marching by way of Belgrade to Yanova, had taken this important city, but Köprülü had had to turn back on the rebellion of Abaza Hasan Pasha. A divan on foot had been held in the sultan's presence at Edirne, and after obtaining a fatwa from the şeyhülislam it had been decided to send a force under Murtaza Pasha, Beylerbeyi of Diyarbekir, against the rebels. Murtaza Pasha was defeated at Ilgın (15 Rebîülevvel 1069 / 11 December 1658). Hüsâmeddin's words "since he routed the army of Serdar Murtezâ Pasha his rebellion and arrogance had grown" point to this battle.
In some sources it is related that Köprülü returned to the capital at the beginning of November 1658, that about seven thousand kapıkulu cavalrymen who did not come to the payments had their names struck from the register, and that the cavalrymen fleeing Köprülü's purges joined the rebels. Hüsâmeddin's saying that Köprülü came to Edirne on 14 Muharrem 1069 and to Istanbul on 22 Muharrem falls in the middle of October 1658; the difference of a few weeks may arise from the sources' measuring the date of arrival at the capital differently.
Two Sides in Amasya
Hüsâmeddin's listing of the Köprülü and Abaza supporters name by name is the most valuable aspect of this entry. The list shows what kind of division the struggle for power at the centre caused in an Anatolian city among notables, scholars and noble families. Among the Köprülü supporters are representatives of old dynastic families such as Yörgüç Paşazâde Mustafa Bey, and well-known scholars such as Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi. At the head of the Abaza supporters, on the other hand, are people who held the city's judicial and religious offices, such as the kadı, the nâib and the former mufti. The consequences of this division will emerge harshly in the next entry: the leading Abazacıs will be executed and their goods confiscated.
That Mufti Hızır Efendi is shown on the Abaza side is striking. This scholar, who in earlier entries was dismissed for giving a fatwa on the return of goods after the plunder of 1065, and in the Köprülü period was summoned to Sivas, cleared and returned to Amasya, will be among those subject to confiscation in the next entry, but it will become clear that he had been wronged and in Şaban 1069 he will be restored to the muftiship.
The Settlement at Aleppo
Hüsâmeddin writes that in the month of Rebîülâhir Abaza's band was "numbed" and that it was thought proper that they remain in Aleppo until the firman announcing their pardon came. In some sources this process is related in detail: because of the harsh winter of early 1659 and the shortage of provisions, complaints grew among Abaza's soldiers and thousands went over to the other side; Abaza, realising he could not win, began negotiating with Murtaza Pasha through the mufti of Ayıntap. In return for a guarantee of life and a promise of pardon Abaza and his leading men agreed to enter Aleppo, his army stayed outside the city, and the rebels were put up as guests in the mansions of the loyal pashas. These lines of Hüsâmeddin come immediately before the bloody end to be related in the next entry.
Bayburtlu Ahmed Ağa
Bayburtlu Ahmed Ağa, whom Köprülü sent to Amasya as mütesellim, is one of the principal figures of the next two entries as well. According to Hüsâmeddin he had earlier been sadâret kethüdâsı of Boynuyaralı Canikli Mehmed Pasha. His identity and his relation with Grand Vizier Kara İbrâhim Pasha are dealt with in the notes of the later entries.
On Genceli Veli Bey, the former imaret sheikh mentioned among those who died this year, Hüsâmeddin notes in a footnote that he was the father of Abdülcebbâr Efendi, the great ancestor of the Cebbârzâde family. He also notes separately that he saw the title of Mustafa Pasha, "Beylerbeyi of Rum (Sivas)", to whom the sanjak was given, so in the Amasya register.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 4, pp. 581–582. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources