Celâlî Mehmed Ağa was a sipahi cavalryman and minstrel poet (saz şairi) who lived in Amasya in the middle of the seventeenth century. He was the son of Türedi Hüseyin Ağa of Tokat and belonged to the family known as Türedioğlu. According to Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's Amasya Tarihi, he would play the saz and bağlama, recite epics, sing poems and draw the whole crowd around him at the "Yüksek Kahve" (the High Coffeehouse) in the Meydan Köprü quarter. Because he joined Abaza Hasan Paşa's rising against Köprülü Mehmed Paşa, he was executed in 1069 (1659). Researchers of the minstrel epic tradition in Amasya regard him as the city's first recorded epic-singing âşık. All the information, however, rests on a short entry by Hüsameddin, no example of his poetry is known, and it is not clear whether the word "Celâlî" in his name is a pen name or an epithet.

Hüsameddin's Entry

In the eighth volume of the Amasya Tarihi, among the people of Amasya whose names begin with the letter "cim", Hüsameddin introduces the poet as follows:

Celâlî Mehmed Ağa-Türedioğlu Amasyalıdır. Tokatlı Türedi Hüseyin Ağa bin Kâsım Ağa'nın oğludur. Pederinin hayâtında sipâhî olup hayli teneffüz etdi. 1058'de pederinin maktûlen vefâtında bir müddet menkûb oldu. Sonra Abaza Hasan Ağa'nın vezâretinde dâ'iresine girip ağalarından oldu. Bu esnâda fevka'l-âde teneffüz ederek Köprülü Mehmed Paşa'nın sadâretine i'tirâz eden Abaza Hasan Paşa'ya uydu. Bundan dolayı 1069 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde der-dest ve i'dâm edildi. Gâyet gürbüz, cesûr bir sipâhî ve sâz şâiri idi. Sesi gür ve muharrik idi. Kad ve kâmeti, tenâsüb-i endâmı güzel, şekil ve sîmâsı kâdınları meftûn ederdi. Amasya'nın Meydân Köprü semtinde "Yüksek Kahve" demekle meşhûr kahve-hânede a'lâ sâz ve bağlama çalar, destânlar okur, şi'irler söyler, bütün halkı başına toplardı. Bununla beraber gâyet binici ve muhârib idi.

In modern English the entry says: Celâlî Mehmed Ağa, of the Türedioğlu family, is a native of Amasya. He is the son of Türedi Hüseyin Ağa of Tokat and grandson of Kâsım Ağa. While his father was alive he served as a sipahi and gained considerable influence. When his father was killed in 1058 he fell from favour for a time. Later, when Abaza Hasan Ağa became vizier, he entered his household and became one of his ağas. At this time, his influence having grown exceedingly, he joined Abaza Hasan Paşa, who opposed the grand vizierate of Köprülü Mehmed Paşa. For this reason he was seized and executed in the month of Cemaziyelahir 1069. He was a very robust and brave sipahi and a minstrel poet. His voice was loud and stirring. He was tall and well proportioned, and his looks and face enchanted women. At the coffeehouse known as the "Yüksek Kahve" in the Meydan Köprü quarter of Amasya he played the saz and bağlama superbly, recited epics, sang poems and drew the whole crowd around him. At the same time he was a fine horseman and fighter.

The entry can be read in the encyclopedia on this site under the heading Celâlî Mehmed Ağa-Türedioğlu.

His Life

Celâlî's date of birth is unknown. His life cannot be separated from his father's. According to the entry "Türedi Hüseyin Ağa-Celâlî" that Hüsameddin gives in the same volume, the father was the son of Kâsım Ağa, a sipahi of Tokat, and had settled in Amasya and made a name there. In 1031 (1621-22) he went over to Abaza Mehmed Paşa and took part in his battles, which is when he acquired the nickname "Türedi". In 1036 (1626-27) he submitted to the state, distinguished himself in the Iraq and Iran campaigns, became kethüdayeri of Amasya in 1045 (1635-36) and served with devotion in the Baghdad campaign. He then became steward to Sarı Mehmed Ağa, the mütesellim (deputy governor) of Amasya, and in 1058 (1648) was executed on the charge of having aided Vardar Ali Paşa, the rebel governor of Sivas. In the same entry Hüsameddin also records that his son Mehmed Ağa was killed in 1069 in the Abaza Hasan Paşa rising.

Out of favour after his father's death, Mehmed Ağa rose again by entering the household of Abaza Hasan Ağa. Abaza Hasan Paşa's rising was one of the severest trials of Köprülü Mehmed Paşa's grand vizierate, which began in 1656. According to Mücteba İlgürel's article "Köprülü Mehmed Paşa" in the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, the rebels defeated the government forces at Ilgın on 15 Rebîülevvel 1069 (11 December 1658), but in Aleppo, where they withdrew to pass the winter, they were seized through a ruse, and Abaza Hasan Paşa and the pashas with him were executed on 23-24 Cemâziyelevvel 1069 (16-17 February 1659). A wide-ranging campaign of reprisals against the Celâlîs then began in Anatolia. The date of execution Hüsameddin gives for Celâlî Mehmed Ağa, Cemâziyelâhir 1069, falls in the first weeks of these reprisals, that is, between the end of February and March 1659. Where the execution took place is not recorded.

Hüsameddin counts Celâlî as a native of Amasya. The family's roots lay in Tokat, but his father had settled in Amasya and held posts in the city such as kethüdayeri and steward to the mütesellim. The place where the poet practised his art was the Meydan Köprü quarter in the heart of Amasya. In later centuries the Türedioğulları became one of Amasya's leading families: according to Hüsameddin, Celâlî's sons Kâsım and Hüseyin Ağa were among the city's notables. From this line came Hüseyin Paşa, who rose from Janissary ağa to vizier, Hacı Süleyman Ağa, founder of the Süleymaniye Madrasa, and Hacı Ali Ağa, who built the Upper Bakacak Madrasa called Hayriyye.

The Yüksek Kahve where Celâlî sang is also described in the article coffeehouse and conversation culture in Amasya on this site. Osman Fevzi Olcay's memoirs mention places called a "yüksek kahve" near the Mustafa Bey Bath and in Selağzı at the beginning of the twentieth century; Cavit Güzel notes that, apart from the similarity of the name, there is no evidence that these were the same place as the seventeenth-century Yüksek Kahve.

His Poetry

Celâlî's poems have not come down to us. Hüsameddin writes that he recited epics and sang poems, but does not quote a single line. Cavit Güzel, in his 2020 article "Amasya'da Âşık Tarzı Destan Geleneği", also states plainly that no example survives of the works of the âşıks Hüsameddin mentions and that his searches in other sources failed to find any. Güzel sees Celâlî as the first epic-singing âşık of the period in the seventeenth century when the label "saz şairi" became distinct. In his view the Janissary units stationed in Amasya, a princely sanjak, and the city's Alevi-Bektashi culture nourished this tradition, and the âşıks who took on the task of raising the soldiers' morale practised their art above all in coffeehouses.

Hüsameddin's phrase "destânlar okur" does not distinguish whether Celâlî recited his own epics or epics known among the people. The words "şi'irler söyler", on the other hand, suggest that he had poems of his own as well. That Hüsameddin calls him outright a "sâz şâiri" shows that his poetry had a place in the memory of his age. The articles the minstrel tradition in Amasya and Amasya folk songs and long songs on this site place Celâlî within this tradition together with Cihâdî Ahmed Ağa and Âşık Ahmed Çelebi, who won fame after him.

State of the Sources

No independent source on Celâlî other than Hüsameddin has been found; later research repeats his record. This leaves two questions open. The first concerns the name. Hüsameddin heads his father's entry "Türedi Hüseyin Ağa-Celâlî"; there "Celâlî" is the general term used in the seventeenth century for those who rose against the state, and it refers to the father's service with Abaza Mehmed Paşa. The son's entry, by contrast, is headed "Celâlî Mehmed Ağa" and is placed directly after the people named Celâleddîn, as if it were part of the name. The word may be a pen name he used in his minstrel poetry, or it may equally be an epithet passed down from his father or attached to his own rebellion. Since no example of his poetry is known, whether it was a pen name cannot be verified; on this page the name is used as it appears in Hüsameddin's heading.

The second question is the date of death. Hüsameddin places the execution in the month of Cemaziyelahir 1069, which runs from late February to late March 1659. In Cavit Güzel's article and in some writings that follow it, however, the year of death is given as 1658. Since the hijri year 1069 began in September 1658, the discrepancy must have arisen in calculating the Gregorian equivalent of the year; taking the month Hüsameddin gives, the correct date is 1659.

Chronology

1031 (1621-22): His father Türedi Hüseyin Ağa joins Abaza Mehmed Paşa.

1058 (1648): His father is executed on the charge of aiding Vardar Ali Paşa, governor of Sivas; Mehmed Ağa falls from favour for a time.

15 Rebîülevvel 1069 (11 December 1658): Abaza Hasan Paşa defeats the government forces at Ilgın.

23-24 Cemâziyelevvel 1069 (16-17 February 1659): Abaza Hasan Paşa and the pashas with him are executed in Aleppo.

Cemâziyelâhir 1069 (February-March 1659): Celâlî Mehmed Ağa is seized and executed.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies