Esbak kul kethüdâsı olup 1024’de vefât eden [452] Lâdikli Kurt Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. İstanbul’da doğdu. Küçük yaşında pederiyle beraber Amasya’ya gelip yerleşti. Amasya’da büyüdü. 1017’de pederiyle beraber İstanbul’a gitdi.
Pederi gibi yeniçeri olup iki yüz onuncu bölüğe kaydedildi. Lâdikli Mustafa Paşa’nın vezâretinde yanına ta’yîn edilip Bağdâd Harbi’nde fevkalâde yararlıklar gösterdiğinden terakkîler gördü.
1030 tarihli yeniçeri defterinde Bekir Ağa bin Süleyman’ın çorbacısı olduğu iki yüz onuncu bölükte Bayrâm Kurt ve künyesi bâlâsında gayr-ı mevcûd yazılı olup bunun yanında Mustafa Paşa yanında hizmette diye yazılı görüldü.
1030 senesi zilhiccesinde Hâce-i Sultânî Amasyalı Ömer Efendi’nin himmeti sâyesinde muhzır ağası, 1031 cumâdelâhiresinde zağarcıbaşı olup birkaç gün sonra Sultân Ahmed Hân kerîmesiyle izdivâc ederek dâmâd-ı pâdişâhî oldu.
1031 senesi recebinde Genc Sultân Osmân vak’a-i hâ’ilesinde Sultân’ın himâyesiyle belâdan kurtuldu. 1032 şa’bânında kul kethüdâsı, zilka’desinin birinci günü cülûs eden [453] Sultân Murâd-ı Râbi’in cülûsunu müte’âkib yeniçeri ağası oldu. 1033 senesi muharreminde yeniçeri odabaşıları silâhdâr-ı şehriyârî Hüsrev Ağa’nın tahrîkâtıyla ictimâ’ ederek Ocakdan Ağa istemezüz diye azlini taleb etmelerine binâen ma’zûl olup Silahdâr Hüsrev Ağa yeniçeri Ağası oldu.
Fakat işin iç yüzüne vâkıf olan Sultân Murâd-ı Râbi’ bir kaç gün sonra vezâret-i hâsslarıyla tatyîb ve müte’âkiben Niğbolu Sancâğını hâss ta’yîn ederek vezîr-i kubbe-nişîn oldu. Hüsrev Ağa’nın yaptığı yolsuzluk bu sûretle telâfi edildi.
1035 senesi muharreminde Sadr-ı a’zam Hâfız Ahmed Paşa’nın istirkâbı yüzünden Mısır vâlisi olup gitdi. Orada vilâyetin ahvâl-i mâliye ve mülkiyesini ıslâh ve tensîka bezl-i makdûr etmekle üç yıl kadar vilâyette kaldı.
Ancak hasmı bulunan Hüsrev Paşa 1037 şa’bânında sadrâzam olduğuna binâen zilhiccesinde azl ve İstanbul’a da’vet edildi. 1038 saferinde vüsûlünü müte’âkib kubbe-i hümâyûnda altıncı vezîr oldu. [454]
Bu teveccüh-i pâdişâhî Hüsrev Paşa’nın hased ve rekâbet damarlarını tahrîk eylediğinden hazîne-i Mısriyye’nin muhâsebesini vesîle ittihâz ederek 1038 senesi rebiülâhirinde arz ve ısrârına binâen kubbe vezâretinden azliyle Yedikule’de habs ve bütün emvâl ve emlâki müsâdere edildi.
Bir ay sonra Hüsrev Paşa te’dîb edildiğinden afv ve ıtlâk edilerek sâlisen kubbe-i hümâyûn vezîri oldu. Dört yıl kadar kubbe-i hümâyûn vezâretinde mevki’ini hüsn-i muhâfaza ederek bütün ihtirâsât ve teşevvüşât-ı dâhiliyyede muslihâne bir meslek tutdu. Vüzerâ ve erbâb-ı garezin istirkâbından âzâde kalıp teveccühât-ı pâdişâhîye mazhar oldu.
1039 senesi ramazânının gurresinde Amasya sancâğı ber-vech-i hâssı uhdesine tevcîh edilip 1040 tarihli muhâsebe defterinde Amasya’nın bedel-i ze’âmet hâsılâtından 39920 akçenin Geldiklanlı Alî Ağa yedi ile kendisine teslim edildiği görüldü.
1041 senesi recebinde Sadr-ı a’zam Arnavut Tabanı Yassı Mehmed Paşa’nın istirkâbı yüzünden 1042 senesi rebiülâhirinin onuncu günü Rûmeli vâlisi olarak Belgrad’a [455] gönderildi. Vilâyet-i mezbûrede mu’ârızları te’dîb ve umûr-i mülkiyyeyi tensîk ederek muvaffakiyetler gösterdi.
Mukaddemen kendisinin sevk ve ta’rîfiyle yeniçeri ağası olan Amasyalı Köse Mehmed Ağa’nın şefâ’ati ve kendisinin muvaffakiyyeti sâyesinde 1043 senesi rebiülâhirinde sadr-i müşârün-ileyhin serdâr olarak harbe me’mûriyetinde kâ’im-makâm-ı sadr-i âlî olup İstanbul’a geldi.
Sadr-i müşârün-ileyh Mehmed Paşa bundan telâşa düşüp 1044 senesi muharreminde Budin dolayında vücûdu elzem olduğundan bahisle Budin vâlisi nasbetdirmiş ise de bunun bir hile olduğu anlaşılmağla azîmetinden evvel makâmında ibkâsına fermân-ı âlî sâdır oldu.
1044 senesi recebinin gurresinde Sultân Murâd-ı Râbi’ Revân seferine azîmet etdiğinden İstanbul muhâfızı ve saltanât kâ’im-makâmı oldu. 1046 senesi ramazânının yedisinde hasmının azli üzerine sadrâzam oldu. Müte’âkiben vatanı olan Amasya’ya gelip Bağdâd seferi tedârikâtını ikmâle çalışdı. [456]
Amasya’da hayrât ve tedârikâtını ikmâl ederek 1048 senesi rebiülevvelinde Bağdâd’a müteveccihen hareket etdi. Yolda hasta olup Urfa havâlisinde Cüllâb mevki’ine vüsûlünde sene-i mezbûrenin rebiülâhirinde dâr-i bekâya irtihâl etdi. Cenâzesi İstanbul’a gönderilip câmii ve zâviyesi ittisâlinde türbe-i mahsûsâsına defn edildi.
Âkil, reşîd, müdebbir, gayûr, fa’al, basîretkâr ve sâhib-i hayrât idi. Mahdûmları Ahmed, Hasan Beylerle kerîmesi Fatıma Hânım olduğu defter-i muhâsebe-i vakfından anlaşıldı. Birâderi Mahmûd Ağa olduğu da yeniçeri defterinde altmış üçüncü bölükte onuncu Mahmûd Kurt Lâdik diye görüldü.
Amasya’da Kocacık Mahallesi’nde Yeşilırmak’ın kenarında müceddeden bir mevlevîhâne ve mebâliğ-i azîme sarfıyla uzak yerlerden sular getirip çeşmeler yaptırdı. İçerişehir’de Kadı Alî Çelebi mescidini müceddeden binâ ve minber vaz’ıyla câmiye tahvîl etdi. İstanbul’da câmi, zâviye ve kendisine türbe yaptırdı. Evkâfı vefâtından sonra tanzîm edildiğinden vakfiyesi bulunamadı. [457]
Vakfının defter-i muhâsebesinde mestûr olduğu üzere evkâfına ibtidâ büyük mahdûmu Ahmed Bey mütevellî olup 1051’de vefâtıyla ikinci mahdûmu Hasan Bey mütevellî oldu. Bunun da 1066 senesi şa’bânının yirmi altıncı günü vefâtıyla kerîmesi Fatıma Hânım mütevellî oldu.
Kethüdâsı ve dâmâdı Geldiklanlı Köse Alî Paşa ve hazînedârı Amasyalı Kağnılı Alî Ağazâde İbrâhim Ağa ve hâssları muhassılı da diğer Amasyalı Alî Ağa’dır.
Sadr-i müşârün-ileyh gâyet âli-himmet, kerîm, vatan-perver olduğundan sâye-i ikbâlinde hayli Amasyalıları yetiştirdi. Kendisine halef olan Lâdikli Tayyar Mehmed Paşa da bunun sevk ve tavsiyesiyle sadrâzam olmuşdu.
Sadr-ı a’zam Bayrâm Paşa’ya mu’âsır olan diğer iki Bayrâm Paşa daha vardır. Birincisi Bostancı-başı iken 1014’den i’tibâren mîrlivâ, ba’dehû mîr-i mîrân ve vezîr olup 1036’da vefât etdi. Diğer Arnavut Bayrâm Paşa olup 1036’da yeniçeri ağalığından vezîr ve dâmâd olarak 1043’de vefât etdi. “Sicill-i Osmânî”de bu üç Bayrâm [458] Paşa’nın tercemeleri birbirine karışdırılmışdır.
Şâ’ir-i meşhûr Ziya Paşa “Harabât”ında şâir-i ateş-zebân Nef’î Ömer Bey’in maktûl olmasını sâhib-i tercemeyi hicvetmesinden dolayı merhûma isnâd ederek beyhûde ta’arruz etmişdir. Şâ’ir-i mûmâileyh, Sultân Murâd’ı ba’zı ta’rîzât ile hicvetdiğinden bâ-fermân-ı âlî maktûl oldu. Pâdişâh, Bayrâm Paşa’nın hicviyelerini lezzetle okurdu.
In Modern English
He was the son of Ladikli Kurt Ağa, a former kul kethüdası who died in 1024 [1615-16]. He was born in Istanbul. At a young age he came with his father to Amasya and settled there, and he grew up in Amasya. In 1017 [1608-09] he went to Istanbul with his father.
Like his father he became a janissary and was enrolled in the two hundred and tenth company. He was assigned to the staff of Ladikli Mustafa Pasha during his vizierate, and because he showed extraordinary service in the Baghdad war he received promotions.
In the janissary register of 1030 [1620-21], in the two hundred and tenth company, where Bekir Ağa, son of Süleyman, was çorbacı, he is entered as Bayram Kurt, with "not present" written above his entry and, beside it, "in service with Mustafa Pasha".
In Zilhicce of the year 1030, through the efforts of Ömer Efendi of Amasya, the sultan's tutor, he became muhzır ağası; in Cemâziyelâhire of 1031 [1621-22] he became zağarcıbaşı, and a few days later he married a daughter of Sultan Ahmed Han and became the sultan's son-in-law.
In Receb of the year 1031, in the great catastrophe that befell the young Sultan Osman, he escaped disaster through the Sultan's protection. In Şa'bân of 1032 [1622-23] he became kul kethüdası; after Sultan Murad IV, who ascended the throne on the first day of Zilka'de, took the throne, he became agha of the janissaries in the days that followed. In Muharrem of the year 1033 [1623-24] the janissary odabaşıs, incited by the silahdar Hüsrev Ağa, assembled and demanded his dismissal, saying "We do not want an agha from the Corps"; he was therefore removed from office and Silahdar Hüsrev Ağa became agha of the janissaries.
But Sultan Murad IV, who knew the inside of the matter, after a few days consoled him by granting him a vizierate, and then, giving him the sanjak of Niğbolu as a has, raised him to the rank of kubbe vizier. The wrong done by Hüsrev Ağa was thus made good.
In Muharrem of the year 1035 [1625-26], because the grand vizier Hâfız Ahmed Pasha was wary of him, he went as governor of Egypt. There, doing everything in his power to set right and order the financial and administrative affairs of the province, he stayed in the province for about three years.
But since his enemy Hüsrev Pasha became grand vizier in Şa'bân of 1037 [1627-28], he was dismissed in Zilhicce and summoned to Istanbul. After his arrival in Safer of 1038 [1628-29] he became sixth vizier under the dome.
This imperial favour stirred the veins of envy and rivalry in Hüsrev Pasha; taking the accounts of the Egyptian treasury as a pretext and pressing his petition and insistence on the sultan, in Rebîülâhir of the year 1038 he was dismissed from the vizierate under the dome and imprisoned in Yedikule, and all his goods and property were confiscated.
A month later, when Hüsrev Pasha was punished, he was pardoned and released and became vizier under the dome for the third time. Keeping his position well for about four years in the vizierate under the dome, he followed a conciliatory course through all the internal ambitions and disturbances. He remained free of the wariness of viziers and malicious people and earned the sultan's favour.
At the beginning of Ramazan of the year 1039 [1629-30] the sanjak of Amasya was given to him as a has; in the account register of 1040 [1630-31] it was seen that 39,920 akçe from the zeamet-substitute revenue of Amasya had been handed over to him through Geldiklanlı Ali Ağa.
In Receb of the year 1041 [1631-32], because the grand vizier Arnavut Tabanıyassı Mehmed Pasha was wary of him, on the tenth day of Rebîülâhir 1042 [1632-33] he was sent to Belgrade as governor of Rumeli. In that province he punished opponents, set the civil affairs in order and showed successes.
Through the mediation of Köse Mehmed Ağa of Amasya, who had earlier become agha of the janissaries through his sponsorship and introduction, and through his own success, when the grand vizier was commissioned to go to war as serdar in Rebîülâhir of the year 1043 [1633-34], he became deputy of the grand vizier and came to Istanbul.
Grand vizier Mehmed Pasha was alarmed at this and, in Muharrem of the year 1044 [1634-35], claiming that his presence was needed around Buda, had him appointed governor of Buda; but when it was understood that this was a trick, before his departure a lofty decree was issued that he should remain in his post.
At the beginning of Receb of 1044, when Sultan Murad IV set out on the Revan campaign, he became guardian of Istanbul and deputy of the sultanate. On the seventh of Ramazan of the year 1046 [1636-37], on the dismissal of his rival, he became grand vizier. Then he came to his homeland, Amasya, and worked to complete the preparations for the Baghdad campaign.
Having completed his charitable works and preparations at Amasya, in Rebîülevvel of the year 1048 [1638-39] he set out toward Baghdad. He fell ill on the road, and on reaching the place called Cüllâb near Urfa he died in Rebîülâhir of the same year. His body was sent to Istanbul and buried in his own tomb adjoining his mosque and lodge.
He was intelligent, mature, prudent, honourable, active, far-sighted and charitable. That his sons were Ahmed and Hasan Beys and his daughter Fatıma Hanım was learned from the account register of his waqf. That his brother was Mahmud Ağa was also seen in the janissary register, in the sixty-third company, as the tenth, "Mahmud Kurt Lâdik".
At Amasya, in the Kocacık quarter on the bank of the Yeşilırmak, he had a Mevlevi lodge newly built; at very great expense he brought water from distant places and had fountains made. In İçerişehir he rebuilt the mescit of Kadı Ali Çelebi, set a minbar in it and turned it into a mosque. In Istanbul he had a mosque, a lodge and a tomb for himself built. Because his waqfs were arranged after his death, his deed of endowment could not be found.
As written in the account register of his waqf, his eldest son Ahmed Bey was first steward of his waqfs; on his death in 1051 [1641-42] his second son Hasan Bey became steward. On the latter's death on the twenty-sixth day of Şa'bân 1066 [1655-56], his daughter Fatıma Hanım became steward.
His steward and son-in-law was Geldiklanlı Köse Ali Pasha, his treasurer was İbrahim Ağa, son of Kağnılı Ali Ağa of Amasya, and his collector of has revenues was the other Ali Ağa of Amasya.
Since the grand vizier just mentioned was of very high aspiration, generous and patriotic, under his protection he raised a good many men of Amasya. Ladikli Tayyar Mehmed Pasha, who succeeded him, had also become grand vizier through his sponsorship and recommendation.
There were two more Bayram Pashas contemporary with the grand vizier Bayram Pasha. The first was a bostancıbaşı; from 1014 [1605-06] he was a mirliva, then beylerbeyi and vizier, and died in 1036 [1626-27]. The other was Arnavut Bayram Pasha, who in 1036 went from the aghalık of the janissaries to the vizierate and became a son-in-law of the sultan, and died in 1043 [1633-34]. In the "Sicill-i Osmânî" the biographies of these three Bayram Pashas have been confused with one another.
The famous poet Ziya Pasha, in his "Harabât", attributed the killing of the fiery poet Nef'î Ömer Bey to the late Bayram Pasha, because the poet had satirized him, and attacked him in vain. The poet in question was put to death by a lofty decree because he had satirized Sultan Murad with certain allusions. The sultan used to read the satires on Bayram Pasha with pleasure.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kul kethüdâsı: deputy of the agha of the janissaries, the agha's substitute
- çorbacı: head of a janissary company (orta)
- muhzır ağası: official in charge of summoning at the divan and the courts
- zağarcıbaşı: head of the zağarcı companies in the janissary corps
- dâmâd-ı pâdişâhî: the sultan's son-in-law
- vak'a-i hâ'ile: terrible event, great catastrophe
- kubbe vezîri: one of the viziers who met under the dome of the Divan
- istirkâb: being wary of a person and suspicious of him (the meaning is inferred from the context)
- kâ'im-makâm: deputy
- hâss: a high-revenue fief; the revenue of a sanjak is granted to a person as his has
- bedel-i ze'âmet: revenue taken in place of a zeamet
- tevcîh: assigning to a post
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- muhassıl: tax collector
- mütevellî: the official who manages the affairs of a waqf
- ta'arruz: attack, railing
- maktûl: killed
Identity and Origin
Bayram Pasha was originally from Ladik in Samsun, and his father's name is given in the sources as Kurd Ağa; he was born in Davutpaşa in Istanbul and was raised in the janissary corps. Hüsameddin writes the same: he was born in Istanbul, came to Amasya as a child and grew up there. The description of him as "from Amasya" therefore comes from where he settled and grew up rather than from his birthplace. The encyclopedia entry too speaks of Amasya as his "home town".
The Course of His Career and Differences in Dates
The sequence Hüsameddin gives in general agrees with the encyclopedic record: marriage to Hanzâde Sultan, daughter of Ahmed I, during the janissary kethüdâlık; removal from the aghalık of the janissaries when the corps did not want an agha from its own ranks; the vizierate under the dome, the governorship of Egypt, the contest with Hüsrev Pasha, the governorship of Rumeli, the deputy grand vizierate during the Revan campaign, and the grand vizierate. There are differences at a few points. The encyclopedia entry writes that Bayram Pasha, who became janissary kethüdâ in 1623, married while holding that post; Hüsameddin places the marriage in 1031 [1621-22], a few days after the zağarcıbaşılık. For the governorship of Egypt Hüsameddin writes 1035 [1625-26], the encyclopedia says 1625, and in some sources 1626 appears. For the date of the grand vizierate the encyclopedia's entry on Bayram Pasha gives February 1636, while its entry on Tayyar Mehmed Pasha gives Ramazan 1046 (February 1637); Hüsameddin's date of 1046 agrees with the second record.
Some of the persons Hüsameddin reports (Ömer Efendi of Amasya, Köse Mehmed Ağa, Geldiklanlı Köse Ali Pasha, İbrahim Ağa, son of Kağnılı Ali Ağa) and the quarrel over the accounts of the Egyptian treasury do not appear in the sources that were read. These records rest on Hüsameddin's searches of registers and ledgers and could not be verified.
His Death and Tomb
Bayram Pasha died suddenly during the Baghdad campaign, in the sultan's retinue, as it moved from Aleppo toward Baghdad, at the place called Cüllâb near Urfa. According to the record in the campaign itinerary the day of death is 16 Rebîülâhir 1048 (27 August 1638); Hüsameddin gives the same month. It is related that Murad IV wept at his death. His body was carried to Istanbul and buried in his tomb in the Keçi Hatun quarter of the Haseki district today. The line "Eyledi Bayram Paşa adn-i a'lâyı makam" is the chronogram composed for his death. Tayyar Mehmed Pasha succeeded him.
His Charitable Works in Amasya and Istanbul
His service to Amasya is summarized in the encyclopedia entry as follows: seeing that there was a water shortage in his home town, he spent twenty thousand kuruş from his own purse to bring water to the city and had fountains made; he also had a Mevlevi lodge built, and set aside seventy akçe a day for its sheikh and sufficient waqf funds for its expenses. Hüsameddin writes that the new lodge stood in the Kocacık quarter on the bank of the Yeşilırmak. The conversion of the mescit of Kadı Ali Çelebi into a mosque does not appear in the sources that were read.
In the Haseki district, in the Fatih district of Istanbul, he had a complex built consisting of a madrasa, a boys' school, a lodge, a tomb, a public fountain, a drinking fountain and shops; the complex is reported to have been founded in 1634-35 (1044). According to the encyclopedia entry on the complex, it has no mosque within it, whereas Hüsameddin writes that he had a "mosque" built in Istanbul. This difference between the entries may be interpreted as Hüsameddin using the word mosque for the lodge's prayer room or meaning another building; this is an inference. The books he donated to the Pasha's madrasa, seventy-nine in number counting duplicates, were later moved to the Nuruosmaniye Library. In Kayseri he also had a Mevlevi lodge built, and in the Kosun district of Tarsus a caravanserai later called Çakıd Han; Hüsameddin does not mention these.
Three Bayram Pashas and Nef'î
The distinction among three Bayram Pashas that Hüsameddin gives is a correction he made by consulting the registers. The encyclopedia entry does not mention this confusion. On the death of the poet Nef'î, Hüsameddin rejects Ziya Pasha's accusation and writes that the poet was put to death by imperial decree for satirizing Sultan Murad. The encyclopedia entry states that Bayram Pasha is accused of having had the poet Nef'î put to death unjustly because of a satire during his grand vizierate; that is, the accusation is present in the sources, and Hüsameddin is arguing against this widespread view. Some historians argue that a poet very close to the sultan could not have been put to death by the grand vizier.
What Remains Today
Bayram Pasha's complex in Istanbul has come down to the present keeping its essential form, apart from the boys' school. The district that bears the name Bayrampaşa in Istanbul today is associated with his name. No information on the present condition of the fountains and the Mevlevi lodge in Amasya was found in the sources that were read. No other sources were found about his sons Ahmed and Hasan Beys, his daughter Fatıma Hanım and the stewards of his waqf.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 399–400. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Yusuf Halaçoğlu, "Bayram Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1992. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bayram-pasa
- M. Baha Tanman, "Bayram Paşa Külliyesi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1992. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/bayram-pasa-kulliyesi
- Gülnur Hediye Çınar, Sadrazam Bayram Paşa ve İcraatları, master's thesis, FSM Vakıf Üniversitesi, 2016. https://acikerisim.fsm.edu.tr/items/855594f1-e0c2-4324-be2c-5d4cef790456
Books
- "Tayyar Mehmed Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi.
Other sources