Amasyalıdır. Meşâhîr-i ümerâ-yı Osmâniyye’den Yahşî Bey bin el-Hâc Îsâ Bey bin Süleyman Bey bin Sunkur Bey’in mahdûmudur. Pederinin adı kendi vakfiyesinde ve ceddînin adı Gülçimen vakfiyesinde ve diğer ecdâdı Altunbaş Gâzi Çelebi vakfiyesinde mestûrdur.
Vâlidesi Safâ Paşa Hâtun binti Amasya emîr-i kebîri Beylerbeyi Hacı Şâdgeldi olduğu vakfiyesinden müstebân olup Amasya’da doğdu. Amasya emîri Mustafa Bey bin Beylerbeyi Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa’nın dâmâdı ve Çelebi Sultân Mehmed Hân’ın ma’iyyet-i ümerâsından oldu.
804’de Topal Timur muhârebesinde Çelebi Sultân Mehmed’in [467] ma’iyyetinde fedâkârâne çalışdı. Ba’de’l-muhârebe beraberce Bolu’ya gidip 805’de Çelebi Sultân Mehmed Hân’ı kemâl-i selâmetle Amasya’ya getirdi. Bundan sonra Türklük vahdetine birinci sâ’ik olan Çelebi Sultân’ın istiklâl-i saltanâtı uğrunda unutulmaz hizmetler etdi.
Amasya hükûmetinden ayrılmak isteyen Sivas’ı muhâsara ederek cebren itâ’at etdirdi. Çelebi Sultân Mehmed’e kuvvetü’z-zahr olarak her muhârebesinde beraber bulundu. Sâdıkâne ve fedâkârâne mesâisi sâyesinde Çelebi Sultân Mehmed Hân 816’da müstakillen Osmanlı pâdişâhı olarak Edirne’de taht-ı saltanâta cülûs etdi.
Bunun için 816’da vezâretle Rûmeli Beylerbeyi olup 820 senesi muharreminde sadrâzam el-Hâc Halîl Paşa’nın vefâtında yerine sadrâzam oldu. Dört yıl kadar Çelebi Sultân Mehmed’e vezâret edib 824’de Sultân Murâd-ı Sânî cülûsunda makâmını muhâfaza etdi.
Ancak vezîr-i sânî olan Çandârlızâde İbrâhim Paşa’nın istirkâbı yüzünden dâ’iye-i saltanâtla kıyâm eden Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa üzerine serdâr ta’yîn edildi. Şehzâde [468] müşârün-ileyh ile yaptığı muhârebede ma’iyyetinin bir kısmı Şehzâde Mustafa tarafına geçtiğinden esîr oldu.
Yıldırım Sultân Bâyezîd’ın şehzâdesi olan bu Sultân Mustafa kendisini ibtidâ vezîr-i a’zam nasbetdiyse de Sultân Murâd-ı Sânî’ye sadâkatini ve kendinin aleyhinde tertibâtını hissetmekle 825 senesi zilhiccesinde Edirne civârında Sazlıdere nâm mevki’de şehîd etdi.
Gâyet şecî’, sâdık, müdebbir, kâmil bir kumândân idi. Amasya’da gâyet mükellef bir câmii ve imâret-hânesi ve câmii derûnunda hucurâtı şâmil medresesi vardır. Bâyezîd Paşa Mahallesi bunun nâmıyla meşhûrdur. Kezâlik Bursa’da câmii, medresesi ve imâreti vardır. Amasya’ya ait vakfiyesi, câmiinin kubbesi aşağısında kuşakvârî mahkûkdur.
Mahdûmları Mehmed, Îsâ, Hamza Beylerdir. Kerîmeleri Hatice, Fatıma, Ayşe Hânımlardır. Dâmâdları da Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşazâde İkinci Şâdgeldi Bey bin Ahmed Paşa ile hemşîrezâdeleri Dâvûd, Sinan Paşalardır. Hatîce Hânım’dan hafîdi Mehmed Bey bin Şâdgeldi Bey’dir. [469]
In Modern English
He is a native of Amasya. He is the son of Yahşî Bey, one of the famous emirs of the Ottomans; Yahşî Bey is the son of Hacı Îsâ Bey, son of Süleyman Bey, son of Sunkur Bey. His father's name is written in his own endowment deed, his grandfather's name in the Gülçimen endowment deed, and his other forebears' names in the endowment deed of Altunbaş Gâzi Çelebi.
His mother is Safâ Pasha Hatun; it is understood from his endowment deed that she was a daughter of Beylerbeyi Hacı Şâdgeldi, the great emir of Amasya. He was born in Amasya. He became son-in-law of Mustafa Bey, emir of Amasya and son of Beylerbeyi Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, and one of the emirs in the retinue of Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Khan.
In 804 [1402], in the war against Timur the Lame, he worked self-sacrificingly in the retinue of Çelebi Sultan Mehmed. After the battle he went with him to Bolu and in 805 [1402-03] brought Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Khan to Amasya in complete safety. After that he rendered unforgettable services toward the independent sultanate of Çelebi Sultan, the first to lead the way toward Turkish unity.
He besieged Sivas, which wished to break away from the government of Amasya, and made it obey by force. He was beside Çelebi Sultan Mehmed in every battle as his mainstay. Thanks to his loyal and self-sacrificing efforts, Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Khan ascended the throne in Edirne in 816 [1413] as an independent Ottoman sultan.
For this reason he became beylerbeyi of Rumeli with the rank of vizier in 816; in Muharram of 820, upon the death of the grand vizier Hacı Halîl Pasha, he became grand vizier in his place. After serving Çelebi Sultan Mehmed as vizier for some four years, he kept his post at the accession of Sultan Murâd II in 824 [1421].
However, through the prompting of the second vizier Çandarlızâde İbrâhim Pasha, he was appointed commander against Prince Sultan Mustafa, who had risen in revolt claiming the throne. In the battle fought with the said prince, a part of his retinue went over to Prince Mustafa's side, and he was taken prisoner.
This Sultan Mustafa, son of Sultan Bâyezîd Yıldırım, first appointed him grand vizier; but when he sensed his loyalty to Sultan Murâd II and his preparations against himself, he had him killed as a martyr in Dhu al-Hijja 825 [1422] at a place called Sazlıdere near Edirne.
He was an extremely brave, loyal, prudent and accomplished commander. In Amasya he has a very magnificent mosque and soup kitchen, and within the mosque a madrasa that includes rooms. The Bâyezîd Pasha quarter is famous by his name. Likewise in Bursa he has a mosque, a madrasa and a soup kitchen. His endowment deed for Amasya is carved into the stone like a belt below the dome of the mosque.
His sons are Mehmed, Îsâ and Hamza Bey. His daughters are Hatice, Fatıma and Ayşe Hanım. His sons-in-law are Hacı Şâdgeldi Pashazâde, the second Şâdgeldi Bey son of Ahmed Pasha, and his sisters' sons Dâvûd and Sinan Pasha. His grandson through Hatice Hanım is Mehmed Bey, son of Şâdgeldi Bey.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- meşâhîr-i ümerâ-yı Osmâniyye: the famous among the Ottoman emirs
- mahdûm: son
- vakfiye: endowment deed, the document recording the founding and properties of a waqf
- mestûr: written, recorded
- müstebân: understood, made evident
- emîr-i kebîr: great emir
- dâmâd: son-in-law
- ma'iyyet: retinue, those in one's company
- Topal Timur: Timur's nickname in Ottoman sources (Timur the Lame)
- serdâr: army commander
- istirkâb: the meaning in the text is not certain; from the context it appears to mean Çandarlızâde İbrâhim Pasha's prompting him into this assignment
- kuşakvârî mahkûk: carved like a belt, engraved in the stone
- hucurât: rooms, cells
- hemşîrezâde: sister's son
- hafîd: grandson
The Life of Bâyezîd Pasha
His father's name is Yahşî. Because he was born in Amasya he is called Amasyalı in the sources; however, an Albanian origin is also considered probable. He was raised in the palace, was given certain military posts in the time of Yıldırım Bayezid, and was among the close retinue of Çelebi Mehmed during his governorship of the sanjak at Amasya. In the Interregnum he also remained loyal to this prince. In 1413, after Çelebi Mehmed had secured order and unity in the country, he was appointed grand vizier and beylerbeyi of Rumeli, and in the same year played a part in the killing of Musa Çelebi. The next year he had Karamanoğlu Mehmed Bey sign a treaty on harsh terms; in 1420 he put down the rebels gathered around Börklüce Mustafa and Torlak Kemal, and then Sheikh Bedreddin. He concealed Çelebi Mehmed's death for forty days until his son Murad arrived, as the sultan's testament required, and so prevented a possible disorder.
Points Where Hüsameddin Differs
On descent, Hüsameddin traces him from Sunkur Bey; the encyclopedia entry above also notes the possibility of Albanian origin. For the start of the grand vizierate Hüsameddin gives Muharram 820 [1417], while the encyclopedia entry places it in 1413. The year of death is 825 Dhu al-Hijja [1422] in Hüsameddin and 1421 in the encyclopedia entry. The rival prince is "Sultan Mustafa, son of Yıldırım Bâyezîd" in Hüsameddin; the encyclopedia entry calls the same person by the nickname "Düzmece" (the Pretender). The details of the battle are close in the two accounts: the old vizier met Mustafa's forces at Sazlıdere near Edirne, surrendered when most of his soldiers went over to the other side, and was killed the next day; the encyclopedia entry adds that he was sent to Rumeli, somewhat deliberately, because of the jealousy of Turkish-born viziers such as Çandarlı İbrahim Pasha and Hacı İvaz Pasha. This agrees with Hüsameddin's word "istirkâb" (inference). His grave is at Sazlıdere.
The Campaign Against Sivas
The event Hüsameddin describes in the words "he besieged Sivas, which wished to break away from the government of Amasya, and made it obey by force" also appears in other sources. After Timur's occupation in 1400, Sivas remained under the rule of Mezid Bey; Çelebi Mehmed, who was in Amasya, sent his commander Bayezid Pasha to take Sivas. After fierce resistance the city was captured in 810 [1407-08]. Hüsameddin does not give the date of the event.
His Works in Amasya
According to the Arabic inscription over its door, the mosque on the bank of the Yeşilırmak was built by Bayezid Pasha in Muharram 817 [April 1414]. A summary of the endowment deed is carved in stone in the belt inscriptions on the arches of the last-congregation portico; this is the inscription Hüsameddin describes as "carved like a belt". A summary of an endowment deed has also been cut in eight lines on a rock near the Kuşköprüsü, and the date of this deed has been read as Dhu al-Hijja 820 [January 1418]. The archive of the Prime Ministry holds an incomplete endowment deed dated 11 Dhu al-Hijja 820 [19 January 1418], together with supplements (821 [1418] and 823 [1420]). In these documents only the title Celâleddin appears.
The mosque bears several craftsmen's signatures: as architect, Yakub b. Abdullah, one of Bayezid Pasha's mamluks (plaque dated 822 [1419]); Zeynüddin b. Zekeriyya, nicknamed "al-muallim"; Ebu Bekir b. Muhammed of Damascus (known as Ibn Müşeymiş ed-Dımaşkî); and Fuka Togan. That the name of the Damascus-born Ebu Bekir also appears on the inscription of the same year (1414) of the Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Madrasa in Merzifon shows, according to Mustafa Çağhan Keskin, that this family of architects worked in the region. No other early Ottoman building carries so many craftsmen's signatures. E. Hakkı Ayverdi notes that the plaque dated 822 [1419] may point to a repair after the earthquake of 818 [1415]; this is a conjecture.
The building is one of the fine examples of the tabhaneli (zaviyeli) mosques common in early Ottoman architecture. The domed rooms on either side are tabhane rooms with hearths and shelves; the section Hüsameddin calls "the madrasa rooms inside the mosque" is most probably these rooms (inference). The courtyard wall and the soup kitchen no longer exist. Evliya Çelebi, around 1646, describes the mosque as "a garden like Iram". In 1887-88 a benefactor named Mazhar had a major repair made, and the mosque was restored in 2006 by the General Directorate of Foundations. The building stands opposite the Künç Bridge, on the east bank of the Yeşilırmak, in the Bayezid Paşa quarter; the quarter still bears his name today, as Hüsameddin says.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 403–403. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Aydın Taneri, "Bayezid Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1992, vol. 5, p. 242-243, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bayezid-pasa
- Semavi Eyice, "Bayezid Paşa Camii", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1992, vol. 5, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bayezid-pasa-camii
- Ömer Demirel, N. Burhan Bilget, "Sivas", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2009, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/sivas
Official sources
Books