AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · İKİNCİ FASIL

Bâlî Alî Ağa — Müezzinzâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 396 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Köprülüdür. Orta Câmi-i şerîfin müezzinlerinden Mehmed Çelebi adlı bir sâlihin oğludur. Birâderi Ahmed Paşa ile beraber 1008’de Karayazıcı Abdülhalîm Bey’in dâhil-i cem’iyeti olarak selâtîn ve vüzerânın istibdâdına karşı kıyâm etdi.

1012’de eşkiyânın tecâvüzâtından nefret ederek devlet tarafdârı olup tenkîl-i eşkiyâya çalışdı. 1017’de Kuyucu Murâd Paşa’nın mazhar-ı iltifâtı olup sipâhî kethüdâlığı ile dilşâd oldu. [442]

Durak Ağa’dan sonra bir müddet Köprü voyvadası olup 1032’de Abaza Mehmed Paşa’nın Amasya’yı istilâsında muhâlefet ederek hayli yararlık gösterdi. Ba’dehû vefât etdi. Sipâhî meşâhîrinden bir merd şecî idi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa 1058’de vefât etdi. Bunun mahdûmu vüzerâdan Karakaş Alî Paşa’dır.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He is a man of Köprü. He is the son of a pious man named Mehmed Çelebi, one of the muezzins of the Orta Mosque. Together with his brother Ahmed Pasha, in 1008 [1599-1600] he joined the company of Karayazıcı Abdülhalîm Bey and rose against the tyranny of the sultans and viziers.

In 1012 [1603-04], disgusted by the outlaws' attacks, he went over to the side of the state and worked to punish the outlaws. In 1017 [1608-09] he won the favour of Kuyucu Murâd Pasha and was gladdened by the stewardship of the sipahis.

After Durak Ağa he was for a time voivode of Köprü; in 1032 [1622-23] he resisted Abaza Mehmed Pasha's seizure of Amasya and showed considerable valour. Then he died. He was one of the famous sipahis, a brave and courageous man. His son el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa died in 1058 [1648]. His son is Karakaş Ali Pasha, one of the viziers.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • sâlih: pious, a good person
  • dâhil-i cem'iyet: taking part within a company
  • selâtîn ve vüzerâ: sultans and viziers
  • istibdâd: tyranny, arbitrary rule
  • eşkıyâ: brigands, rebel bands
  • tenkîl: punishing, deterring
  • mazhar-ı iltifât: one who has received favour and praise
  • sipâhî kethüdâlığı: the stewardship of a sipahi company
  • voyvoda: administrator of a town or district, tax collector
  • muhâlefet: opposition, resistance
  • merd-i şecî': a brave and courageous man

Karayazıcı and Amasya

Karayazıcı Abdülhalîm is the first great leader of the Celali rebellions in Anatolia. As a cavalryman of the six divisions he raised the banner of revolt in the Malatya region; in 1599 he took the citadel of Urfa and issued decrees under the title "Halim Şah". Among the Celali chiefs gathered around him are also counted Deli Zülfikar of Amasya and Şaban of Köprü. When he was pressed at Urfa, Karayazıcı had set as a condition of surrender that he be given the sanjak of Amasya or Antep. Later he turned against the state again and was defeated in the Elbistan region in August 1601; news of his death reached Istanbul in 1602. The source does not take Karayazıcı's claim to sovereignty seriously; it says that his real aim was to obtain a sanjak governorship or beylerbeyship.

How Alî Ağa and his brother Ahmed Pasha joined the rising, or in what post they served, could not be found in other sources. Their return to the side of the state in 1012 [1603-04] falls some years after Karayazıcı's death; his brother Deli Hasan's rebellion had been quieted by giving him a beylerbeyship.

Kuyucu Murâd Pasha and Abaza Mehmed Pasha

Kuyucu Murâd Pasha had been charged with suppressing the Celalis in Anatolia. In August 1608, while defeating Kalenderoğlu, he learned that Tavil Halil and his brother Meymun, who were active around Amasya, wished to join Kalenderoğlu, who had fled to Iran; he pursued them for six days and nights and caught them in the sanjak of Karahisar-ı Şarkî. Hüsameddin's date of 1017 [1608-09] falls in this campaign; Alî Ağa's share in this operation is not written in the source.

Abaza Mehmed Pasha, as beylerbey of Erzurum, rebelled against the janissaries after the killing of Osman II; he took Şebinkarahisar and Sivas and besieged Ankara. Defeated near Kayseri, he withdrew to Erzurum, surrendered and was pardoned in 1628, and was executed in 1634. Hüsameddin's date of 1032 [1622-23] fits the early years of the rebellion; but Abaza's seizure of Amasya is not mentioned in the sources consulted. This claim could not be verified.

Köprü, the Orta Mosque and Karakaş Ali Pasha

Köprü was a town attached to Amasya and today bears the name Vezirköprü; the nickname "Köprülü" comes from Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's marrying and living for a time here. According to the same source Köprülü Mehmed Pasha was later twice sanjak governor of Amasya. Where the Orta Mosque is and what its present state is could not be determined from the sources consulted. No information was found in other sources about a vizier named Karakaş Ali Pasha.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 396–396. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

Volume 7 contents