"Çerkes Bey" demekle meşhûr bir mîrlivâdır. Amasya zu'amâsından iken muhârebelerde gösterdiği yararlıklar üzerine terakkî gördü. 989 senesi evâ'ilinde Amasya sancağı beyi olup geldi.
Arslan Bey'i müte'âkib Amasya kadılığına ta'yîn edilen Selânik'den munfasıl Vankulu Efendi geldi. Amasya müftüsü Küçük Mahmûd Efendi Amasya'ya gelmekden istiğnâ etmekle yerine Aydınlı Ayâs Efendi Amasya müftüsü ve Sultâniyye müderrisi olarak geldi. [328]
990 senesinde Hakala a'yânından ve Âbâdoğulları'ndan Mirzâ Beyzâde Mehmed Bey Amasya'da Kocacık Hamâmı'nın garb tarafında yol üzerinde güzel bir hân yapdırdı. Bunu Hakala'da binâ eylediği medresesi mesâlihine vakf etdi.
Birâderi Mustafa Bey de 985 senesinde Hakala nâhiyesine merbût Kuşcular karyesinde güzel bir câmi-i şerîf ve mekteb yapdırdı. Karye-i mezbûrede kâ'in çiftliğini bunların mesâlihine vakf etmişdi. Kezâlik pederleri olan Mîrzâ Bey de 935 senesinde Hakala'da bir mescid yapdırmışdı.
Kezâlik Geldiklan nâhiyesi a'yânından Abdullah Ağazâde meşhûr sipâhî Rıdvân Ağa da Ilıca köyü civârında Ilıcasu üzerine başlatdığı hamâmını 987 senesinde ikmâl edib evlâdına vakf etdi. Geldiklan Hamâmı demekle meşhûr olan bu hamâm harâbesi şimdiye kadar bâkîdir. Mahdûmu Feyzullâh Bey kendisinden evvel fevt olup hafîdi Abbâs Bey bin Feyzullâh Bey bu esnâda hamâma mutasarrıfdı.
Kezâlik Keçi Beyzâdelerden meşhûr Alî Ağa da bu senelerde bir câmi', mekteb, hamâm yapdırdı. Emlâkini hayrâtının mesâlihine vakf ederek Ziyâre'yi pek güzel şenlendirdi. Ziyâre, bu gibi erbâb-ı hayrın himmetleriyle parlak bir kasaba hâlini aldı.
Fakat erbâb-ı tımâr ve ze'âmet arasında dedikodular çoğalıyor, Türkler her tarafda sinirleniyordu. Çünkü hâricden gelen mîrlivâlar, za'îmler içinde Türkçeyi bilmeyen gayr-i Türkler vardı. Devşirmelerin [329] nüfûz ve iktidârı her tarafda kendini gösteriyordu.
Pek muhtemeldir ki Türklerin asabiyyeti nazar-ı dikkati celb etdiğinden Amasya sancağına senesi muharreminde yerli ümerâdan Mehmed Bey gönderildi. Sivas beylerbeyiliğine de Haydar Paşa ta'yîn edildi.
In Modern English
He is a sanjak bey known by the name "Çerkes Bey" (the Circassian Bey). While one of the zeamet holders of Amasya, he was promoted for the merit he showed in wars. At the beginning of the year 989 [1581–82] he came as sanjak bey of Amasya.
After Arslan Bey, Vankulu Efendi, who had left Thessaloniki, came, appointed to the judgeship of Amasya. When Küçük Mahmud Efendi, the mufti of Amasya, gave up coming to Amasya, Ayas Efendi of Aydın came in his place as mufti of Amasya and professor of the Sultaniye Madrasa.
In the year 990 [1582–83], Mirza Beyzade Mehmed Bey, one of the notables of Hakala and of the Âbâdoğulları, had a fine inn built in Amasya, on the road to the west of the Kocacık Bathhouse. He endowed this inn to meet the expenses of the madrasa he had himself built in Hakala.
His brother Mustafa Bey, in the year 985 [1577–78], had a fine mosque and school built in the village of Kuşcular, attached to the district of Hakala. He had endowed his farm in the said village for their expenses. Likewise their father Mirza Bey had in 935 [1528–29] had a small mosque built in Hakala.
Likewise, Rıdvan Ağa, the well-known sipahi and Abdullah Ağazade, one of the notables of the district of Geldiklan, completed in 987 [1579–80] the bathhouse he had begun on the Ilıcasu near the village of Ilıca and endowed it to his children. The ruins of this bathhouse, known as the Geldiklan Bathhouse, still stand to this day. His son Feyzullah Bey had died before him, and his grandson Feyzullahoğlu Abbas Bey held the right of use of the bathhouse at this time.
Likewise, the well-known Ali Ağa of the Keçi Beyzades also had a mosque, school and bathhouse built in these years. By endowing his properties for the expenses of the charitable works, he made Ziyare flourish greatly. Through the efforts of such benefactors, Ziyare became an imposing town.
But gossip was multiplying among the timar and zeamet holders, and the Turks were growing angry everywhere. For among the sanjak beys and zeamet holders who came from outside there were those who did not know Turkish and were not Turks. The influence and power of the devshirme recruits showed itself everywhere.
Perhaps because this tension of the Turks drew attention, Mehmed Bey, one of the native beys, was sent to the sanjak of Amasya in the month of Muharram of a year (not written in the book). Haydar Pasha was appointed to the beylerbeyilik of Sivas.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mîrlivâ: sanjak bey, governor of a sanjak
- zu'amâ (za'îm): cavalry sipahi holding a large livelihood grant called a zeamet, whose annual revenue was set high
- erbâb-ı tımâr ve ze'âmet: holders of timar and zeamet; mounted soldiers whose income was met from land revenues
- a'yân: the notables of a place
- mühtedî: a person who converted to Islam later in life
- devşirme: persons in the Ottoman Empire collected in childhood and trained for state service
- müftü: official who gives fatwas on religious and legal matters
- vakıf: property or institution whose revenue is set aside for charitable works
- hafîd: grandson
- mutasarrıf: person who holds the right to use and administer a property
Sanjak Beys and the Atmosphere of the Period
While narrating the sanjak beys of Amasya in order, Hüsameddin adds beside each bey the changes of judge, mufti and professor seen in the city in his time and the charitable works carried out. This entry also follows that pattern. Arslan Bey's name appears in the book together with the epithet "Çerkes Bey"; no information on this bey was found in other sources. According to the information the text itself gives, the bey rose from among the zeamet holders of Amasya and was promoted to the sanjak beylik for his service in wars.
The comment in the second half of the entry, that is, the tension between Turkish and non-Turkish administrators, reflects the author's own view. Hüsameddin broadens this subject in later entries, when narrating the quarrels in Amasya and the Turks' reaction. Since the sentence begins with "perhaps," the reason given for Mehmed Bey's appointment is the author's inference, not a transmission of documents. In the last sentence of the entry the year of the appointment is left blank; only "in the month of Muharram" is said. The next entry begins the events of Mehmed Bey's period from the year 991 [1583–84]; it may be thought that the appointment was made at a time close to this date, but that is an inference.
The Buildings of the Âbâdoğulları of Hakala
The text lists buildings of three generations of Hakala's leading family. Their father Mirza Bey had a small mosque built in Hakala in 935 [1528–29], Mustafa Bey a mosque and school in the village of Kuşcular in 985 [1577–78], and Mirza Beyzade Mehmed Bey in 990 [1582–83] an inn whose revenue was set aside for the expenses of his madrasa in Hakala. The inn was in Amasya, west of the Kocacık Bathhouse, on a busy road. In keeping with the waqf arrangement, the inn's income was set aside for the madrasa's expenses. No information on the present state of these three buildings was found in the sources we could read.
For the Geldiklan Bathhouse, Hüsameddin writes that its ruins stand "until now." This is the situation at the time the book was written. No source was reached that establishes whether the bathhouse can still be seen today. As for Ziyare, there is only the information that the mosque, school and bathhouse built by Keçi Beyzade Ali Ağa revitalized the town.
The Administrative Circle of Amasya
In the Amasya Governorship's account of the Ottoman period, the city is presented as a sanjak where princes served from the first half of the fifteenth century and at the same time as the center of the Rum Province. The changes of sanjak bey, judge, mufti and professor in this entry show that after the period as a princely sanjak Amasya still functioned as an important center of learning and administration. The giving of the professorship of the Sultaniye Madrasa together with the muftiship to one person is also a notable detail in this framework.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 514–514. amasya.bel.tr
- T.C. Amasya Valiliği, "Osmanlı Dönemi" page (amasya.gov.tr/osmanli-donemi).