[461] Pervâne Bey Mahallesi eşrâfından Osmân Paşa’nın kethüdâsı el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa bin el-Hâc Bayrâm Alî Ağa’nın oğludur. Peder ve amcasının servet ü sâmânına vâris olup Meclis-i a’yân a’zâsından olduğu hâlde 1138 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc İsmâîl Efendi’dir.
Amasya ricâlinden ve Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn kâtiplerinden Bayrâm Vahdetî Efendi bin İbrâhim Ağa’nın tercemesi aşağıda Vahdetî Bayrâm Efendi diye ve Amasya müftülüğünden molla olan Merzifûnî Bayrâm Iydî Efendi bin Mustafa Efendi bin Şâ’ir Abdî Efendi Iydî Bayrâm Efendi diye gelir.
In Modern English
He is the son of Hacı Mehmed Ağa, steward (kethüda) of Osmân Pasha, from among the notables of the Pervâne Bey quarter; Mehmed Ağa was in turn the son of Hacı Bayrâm Alî Ağa. Having inherited the property of his father and his uncle, and while a member of the Council of Notables (Meclis-i a'yân), he died after 1138 [1725-26]. His son is Hacı İsmâîl Efendi.
The biography of Bayrâm Vahdetî Efendi, son of İbrâhim Ağa, one of the leading men of Amasya and a clerk of the Imperial Council, comes below under the name "Vahdetî Bayrâm Efendi"; and the biography of Bayrâm Iydî Efendi of Merzifon, son of Mustafa Efendi, son of the poet Abdî Efendi, who rose from the mufti's office of Amasya to the rank of molla, comes under the name "Iydî Bayrâm Efendi".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: notables, men of standing
- kethüdâ: steward, the deputy who ran the affairs of a notable (kethüda)
- servet ü sâmân: property, wealth
- vâris: heir
- Meclis-i a'yân: council of notables, the body of a locality's leading men
- a'zâ: member
- ricâl: leading persons
- Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn kâtibi: clerk who ran the paperwork of the sultan's imperial council
- terceme: biography, life story
- molla: high-ranking kadı (judge), a senior member of the learned class
His Place in the Family
This entry describes the third generation of the family that begins with Bayrâm Alî Ağa. According to Hüsameddin's record in the first entry, Bayrâm Alî Ağa's sons are Osmân Pasha and Mehmed Ağa. The Bayrâm Ağa mentioned here is the son of Mehmed Ağa, who was Osmân Pasha's kethüda; so Osmân Pasha is his uncle. The statement in the text that he "inherited the wealth of his father and his uncle" fits this kinship. His son İsmâîl Efendi and İsmâîl's son Bayrâm Efendi are dealt with in later entries.
What the Meclis-i A'yân Means
In Ottoman provincial administration, âyan is the name given to people held in esteem by the public of a city or town; members of the learned class such as mollas, kadıs, muftis and madrasa professors, and the leading figures of the craftsmen and merchants, were also counted among the âyan. In every city and town one âyan was chosen from among these notables to handle affairs between the people and the administration; his duties also included supervising the affairs of endowments and fixing prices. It is plausible that the "Meclis-i a'yân" of which Bayrâm Ağa is said to have been a member was such a local council of notables; but the text does not explain the body's name or its sphere of duty. This is an inference and could not be verified against records.
The Cross-References at the End
The second paragraph points to two Bayrâm Efendis who appear in the book as separate entries: Vahdetî Bayrâm Efendi, a clerk of the Imperial Council, and Iydî Bayrâm Efendi of Merzifon, who rose from the mufti's office of Amasya to the rank of molla. The text does not count them as belonging to the Bayrâm Alîzâde family; because they bear the same name, it directs the reader to the relevant entries. No information on Bayrâm Ağa was found in other sources.
Bibliography