Amasyalıdır. Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın musâhibi olup Girit mollası iken 1082’de vefât eden Amasyalı Hacızâde Mustafa Efendi bin Abdî Çelebi birâderi Receb Ağa’nın mahdûmudur.
Bilâ-veled vefât eden amcasının metrûkâtına birâderi Habîb Ağa ile beraber vâris olup Sipâhî bölüğüne girmişlerdi. Tefeyyüz ederek sipâhî ocağının kethüdâsı 1115 senesi vak’asında temâyüz edib Rıdvan Ağazâde Ahmed Paşa’nın sadâretinde baş-bâkî kulu oldu.
Ba’dehû azledilip Amasya’ya gönderildi. 1122’de Köprülüzâde Nu’man Paşa’nın sadâretinde İstanbul’a gelip Paşa’nın kethüdâsı Alî Efendi’ye kapılandı. Ba’dehû Alî Efendi’nin Maraş Beylerbeyi olduğu esnâda kethüdâsı oldu. Vefâtında Amasya’ya gelip 1135’de Bâyezîd Paşa Mahallesi’nde bir mescid-i [433] şerîf yaptırdı. Emlâkini bu mescidin mesâlihine vakf edib imâmetine ulemâdan Ömer Efendi bin Resûl’ü ta’yîn etdirdi. Ba’dehû vefât etdi. Ehl-i hayr idi.
In Modern English
He was a man of Amasya. He is the son of Receb Ağa, the brother of Hacızâde Mustafa Efendi of Amasya, son of Abdî Çelebi, who was a companion of Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha and died in 1082 [1671-72] while serving as the molla of Crete.
Together with his brother Habîb Ağa he inherited the estate of his childless uncle, and they entered the sipahi company. Rising and prospering, he became steward (kethüda) of the sipahi corps; he came to prominence in the events of 1115 [1703-04] and became baş-bâkî kulu during the grand vizierate of Rıdvan Ağazâde Ahmed Pasha.
Later he was dismissed and sent to Amasya. In 1122 [1710-11], during the grand vizierate of Köprülüzâde Nu'man Pasha, he came to Istanbul and attached himself to the Pasha's steward, Ali Efendi. Later, when Ali Efendi was beylerbey of Maraş, he became his steward. When he died he came to Amasya and in 1135 [1722-23] had a mosque built in the Bâyezîd Pasha Quarter. He endowed his properties for the expenses of this mosque and had Ömer Efendi, son of Resûl, one of the scholars, appointed as its imam. Then he died. He was a man who did good works.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- musâhib: companion in conversation, a close friend of the sultan or a great statesman
- mollası: a high-ranking judge (here the judge of Crete)
- mahdûm: son
- bilâ-veled: childless
- metrûkât: property left behind by the deceased
- sipâhî bölüğü: a company of the salaried cavalry of the Porte
- kethüdâ: deputy, steward; here the steward of the company or of a notable
- vak'a: event (here the uprising of 1115 [1703-04])
- baş-bâkî kulu: thought to be a rank within the sipahi class; its meaning could not be verified in the sources
- azl: dismissal from office
- mesâlih: expenses, affairs
- ehl-i hayr: a charitable man, one who does good works
The Events of 1115 and Rıdvan Ağazâde Ahmed Pasha
The event of 1115 in the text is the Edirne Incident, which began in July 1703. The resistance that the cebeci corps started over unpaid salaries grew as the janissaries, madrasa students and tradesmen joined it, and ended with Mustafa II being deposed and his brother Ahmed III placed on the throne. The insurgents installed Söhraplı Ahmed Pasha as grand vizier; Ahmed Pasha first became acting grand vizier and about a month later grand vizier, and the official seal was sent on 22 August 1703. His grand vizierate lasted about three months, and the seal was taken from him on 17 November 1703.
It is very likely that the man Hüsameddin calls "Rıdvan Ağazâde Ahmed Pasha" is this pasha; the date and the office agree, but the text does not give the pasha's other name. This is an inference. Ahmed Pasha, also known by the nickname Kavanoz, is introduced in one source, on the basis of Hüsameddin, as a man of Amasya: he is the son of Rıdvan Ağa, a slave of Hacı Ahmed Pasha of Amasya and son-in-law of Hacı Efendizâde Sarı Mehmed Ağa, one of the city's notables. Rıdvan Ağa was killed in 1069 [1658-59] in the Abaza Hasan rebellion. This detail makes it easier to understand how Bâlî Ağa, as steward of the sipahis, came to prominence in 1115: it is not surprising for a sipahi officer from the city to rise under a grand vizier with ties to Amasya. This too is an inference; no source records any direct relationship between Bâlî Ağa and the pasha.
Köprülüzâde Nu'man Pasha
Nu'man Pasha became grand vizier on 16 June 1710 and was dismissed on 16 August 1710; his grand vizierate lasted about two months. He was the son of Fâzıl Mustafa Pasha and was married to Ayşe Sultan, daughter of Mustafa II. Hüsameddin's placing Bâlî Ağa's arrival in Istanbul in 1122 [1710-11] under this pasha's grand vizierate agrees with this short span. No information was found in other sources about the Pasha's steward Ali Efendi or his beylerbeyship of Maraş.
The Mosque and the Endowment
The person who gave his name to the Bâyezîd Pasha Quarter may be Bayezid Pasha of Amasya, the early fifteenth-century grand vizier described in some sources as a native of Amasya; this is a guess. No record could be found as to whether the mosque built by Bâlî Ağa still stands or under what name it is known today. No information was found in other sources about Hacızâde Mustafa Efendi's office as molla of Crete or his relationship with Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha either.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 393–394. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Abdülkadir Özcan, "Edirne Vak'ası", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1994, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/edirne-vakasi
- Abdülkadir Özcan, "Ahmed Paşa, Kavanoz", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2020, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ahmed-pasa-kavanoz
- Abdülkadir Özcan, "Köprülüzâde Nûman Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2002, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/kopruluzade-numan-pasa
Other sources