Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşa bin Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa ahfâdından olup Amasya vâlîsi şehzâde Sultân Ahmed'in dâmâdı Nasûh Beyzâde Süleyman Bey'in birâderzâdesi Mehmed Bey'in oğludur. Erbâb-ı ihtilâl arasında "Nasûhoğlu" demekle meşhûrdu. Amasya alaybeyisi iken 1012 senesi [361] rebî'ulevvelinin gurresinde hükûmet-i Osmâniyye tarafından Amasya beyi oldu.⁶⁰⁸
Deli Tâhir Bey cesûr, fa''âl, asîl bir zât idi. Fakat asâletine pek mağrûr idi. İhtilâl himâyesinde mîrlivâ olması gurûrunu biraz daha artırmış, âdetâ gemalmaz olmuşdu. Geldiklan nâhiyesinde cesîm çiftlikleri ve pek çok avenesi vardı.
Fakat Deli Zülfikâr Bey'in inkıyâdı erbâb-ı ihtilâli fenâ hâlde kızdırmışdı. İhtilâl başkumandânı Kara Yazıcı birâderi Deli Hasan Bey, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî'de idi. Bütün ihtilâl başbuğlarını Zülfikâr Bey'in aleyhine da'vet etdi. Hâlbuki Zülfikâr Bey, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî'ye Deli Hasan'ı iknâ' etmek üzere me'mûr olmuşdu.
Bu esnâda Amasya kadısı Mahmûd Efendi, müftüsü Emîr-i Sâhib-i Tâc Alî Efendi, nakîbü'l-eşrâf kâ'im-makâmı es-Seyyid Mustafa Sâfî Çelebi, şehir kethüdâsı Hacı Pîrî Çelebi idi. Amasya kethüdâyeri erbâb-ı ihtilâlden Sarhoş Mehmed Ağa, yeniçeri zâbiti Çakaloğlu Hüseyin Ağa pek meşhûr idi.
1012 senesi recebinin on sekizinci pazar günü Üçüncü Sultân Mehmed vefât edib yerine büyük şehzâdesi Birinci Sultân Ahmed Hân Osmanlı tahtına cülûs etdi. Fakat Amasya'da Deli Tâhir Bey'in [362] ahvâl ve harekâtında Sultân Ahmed'in cülûsundan sonra bir değişiklik hâsıl oldu.
1012 şevvâlinde bin türlü iknâ'ât ve tatmînât ile ihtilâlcilerin başbuğları itâ'at etmekle Deli Hasan Bey'e vezâretle Bosna vâlîliği, Malatyalı Karakaş Ahmed Ağa'ya Revân, Tekeli Mehmed Ağa'ya Tebrîz, Kalenderoğlu Mehmed Ağa'ya Gence beylerbeyiliği verildi. Deli Zülfikâr Paşa Mar'aş beylerbeyi ve Hüseyin Paşa Karahisâr-ı Şarkî mutasarrıfı oldu.
Bu sefer de meydân Amasya beyi Deli Tâhir Bey'e kaldı. Tâhir Bey, bütün sancağın erbâb-ı ihtilâlini başına topladı. 1012 senesi zilhiccesinde i'lân-ı istiklâl ederek "Sultân Tâhir Hân" unvânını aldı. Nâmına hutbe okutdu. Her tarafa "Tâhir Hân" unvânıyla emirler, fermânlar vermeğe başladı.
1013 senesi muharreminde Amasya müftüsü Emîr Alî Efendi'yi fevkalâde tazyîk eylediğinden fetvâdan isti'fâ etmeğe mecbûr olmuşdu. İstanbul'da Amasya fetvâsı Gümüşlü Musliheddîn Efendi gibi birkaç müderrise teklîf edildiği hâlde hiçbiri de kabûl ve azîmete cesâret edemediğinden bizzarûre Alî Efendi ibkâ edildi.
Deli Tâhir Bey, Sivaslı Kara Sa'îd Ağa'yı elde ederek kendisine kethüdâ yapdı. Dündâroğlu Mustafa Ağa'yı ihtilâlcilere serdâr edib Karahisâr-ı Şarkî üzerine gönderdi. İhtilâlciler Karahisâr'ı basıp Balıkesirli Hüseyin Paşa'yı kaçırdılar. Şehri başdan başa yağmâ etdiler.
Çünkü Nasûh Paşa, 1012 senesi evâ'ilinde Haleb vâlîliğine [363] terfî' edilip Sivas'a Yularkısdızâde Ahmed Paşa beylerbeyi olmuşdu. Nasûh Paşa, oldukça kendisini erbâb-ı ihtilâle tanıtmışdı. Haleb'e gidince eşkıyâ yine ayaklanmışlardı.
Deli Tâhir Bey'in harekât-ı bâgıyânesi İstanbul'a aks etdikde Hudâvendigâr emâretine nakl edilerek Amasya sancağı beyliğine Çankırı beyi Yıldızlı İbrâhim Bey ta'yîn olundu. Deli Tâhir Bey'i i'dâma me'mûr oldu.
In Modern English
He was the son of Mehmed Bey, nephew of Nasûh Beyzâde Süleyman Bey, the son-in-law of Prince Sultan Ahmed, governor of Amasya, and descended from Devâtdâr Ahmed Pasha, son of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha. Among the rebels he was known as "Nasûhoğlu." While he was alaybeyi of Amasya, at the beginning of Rabi' al-awwal 1012 [1603-04] he became bey of Amasya by the Ottoman government.
Deli Tâhir Bey was a brave, active and noble person. But he boasted greatly of his lineage. Being made mirliva (sanjak governor) under the rebels' protection had increased his pride a little more; he had become almost unbridled. In the nahiye of Geldiklan he had large farms and many men.
But Deli Zülfikâr Bey's submission had angered the rebels badly. Deli Hasan Bey, the brother of Kara Yazıcı, the commander-in-chief of the revolt, was at Karahisâr-ı Şarkî. He summoned all the ringleaders of the revolt against Zülfikâr Bey. Yet Zülfikâr Bey had been sent to Karahisâr-ı Şarkî in order to persuade Deli Hasan.
At this time the kadı of Amasya was Mahmûd Efendi, the mufti Emîr-i Sâhib-i Tâc Alî Efendi, the deputy of the nakîbü'l-eşrâf (head of the sayyids) es-Seyyid Mustafa Sâfî Çelebi, and the city steward Hacı Pîrî Çelebi. Sarhoş Mehmed Ağa, of the rebels, the kethüdâyeri of Amasya, and the janissary officer Çakaloğlu Hüseyin Ağa were very well known persons.
On the eighteenth Sunday of Rajab 1012 the Third Sultan Mehmed died and his eldest son Ahmed Khan I ascended the Ottoman throne. But in Amasya a change took place in Deli Tâhir Bey's situation and behavior after Sultan Ahmed's accession.
In Shawwal 1012 [1604], when the ringleaders of the rebels submitted through a thousand and one kinds of persuasion and conciliation, Deli Hasan Bey was given viziership with the governorship of Bosnia, Malatyalı Karakaş Ahmed Ağa the beylerbeyilik of Revan, Tekeli Mehmed Ağa that of Tabriz, and Kalenderoğlu Mehmed Ağa that of Ganja. Deli Zülfikâr Pasha became beylerbeyi of Maraş, and Hüseyin Pasha mutasarrıf (administrator of the sanjak) of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî.
This time the field was left to Deli Tâhir Bey, bey of Amasya. Tâhir Bey gathered around him all the rebels in the sanjak. In Dhu al-Hijjah 1012 [1604] he declared independence and took the title "Sultan Tâhir Khan." He had the khutba read in his name. He began issuing orders and decrees everywhere under the title "Tâhir Khan."
In Muharram 1013 [1604] he put such excessive pressure on the mufti of Amasya, Emîr Alî Efendi, that Alî Efendi was forced to withdraw from the fatwa office. Although in Istanbul the fatwa office of Amasya was offered to several müderrises such as Gümüşlü Musliheddîn Efendi, none dared to accept it and set out, so Alî Efendi was perforce left in office.
Deli Tâhir Bey bound Kara Sa'îd Ağa of Sivas to himself and made him his steward. He made Dündâroğlu Mustafa Ağa commander of the rebels and sent him against Karahisâr-ı Şarkî. The rebels raided Karahisâr and put Balıkesirli Hüseyin Pasha to flight. They plundered the city from end to end.
For Nasûh Pasha had been promoted to the governorship of Aleppo at the beginning of 1012, and Yularkısdızâde Ahmed Pasha had become beylerbeyi of Sivas. Nasûh Pasha had made himself quite well known to the rebels. When he went to Aleppo the bandits rose again.
When Deli Tâhir Bey's rebellious conduct reached Istanbul, he was transferred to the sanjak of Hudâvendigâr (Bursa); the bey of Çankırı, Yıldızlı İbrâhim Bey, was appointed sanjak governor of Amasya. İbrâhim Bey was charged with putting Deli Tâhir Bey to death.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Devâtdâr: the palace official who carries the inkwell and is in charge of writing materials
- ahfâd: grandchildren, descendants
- gemalmaz: unbridled, not heeding advice
- avene: helpers, men
- nâhiye: a subdivision of a kaza, a district
- nakîbü'l-eşrâf: the title of the official who keeps the records of, and looks after, the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad
- cülûs: accession to the throne
- i'lân-ı istiklâl: declaration of independence
- fetvâ: giving an opinion on matters of the sharia, the office of mufti
- ibkâ: leaving in place
- mutasarrıf: the official who governs a sanjak
- harekât-ı bâgıyâne: rebellious conduct
The Meaning of the "Sultan Tâhir Khan" Episode
The weight of the event Hüsameddin reports lies in Tâhir Bey's not merely acting as a bandit but claiming sovereignty. In Islamic states having the khutba read in a ruler's name and having coins struck were regarded as the two basic marks of sovereignty; a sanjak governor's giving himself the title "Khan" was also a direct challenge to the state. At the beginning of this section Hüsameddin had said that although he knew from documents that the rebels had coins struck, their having the khutba read did not appear in the documents. Here, however, he writes plainly that the khutba was read in Tâhir Bey's name; that is, there is a discrepancy between his own general observation and this particular account. A document resolving this discrepancy could not be found in the sources we used.
No information about Deli Tâhir Bey himself outside this section could be found. Whether a coin struck under the name "Sultan Tâhir Khan" exists could also not be verified.
Deli Hasan and the Governorship of Bosnia
Deli Hasan, named in the text as Karayazıcı's brother, is one of the well known ringleaders of the Celâlî revolts. After his brother's death he took over the head of the rebel group, besieged Ankara in 1602, then came to terms with the state and became beylerbeyi of Bosnia. The sources write that in April 1603 he crossed into Rumelia with about ten thousand men, that in 1604 he was transferred to the beylerbeyilik of Temeşvar, and that in 1605, after an assassination attempt, he was caught while fleeing to Belgrade and killed. Hüsameddin, by contrast, places Deli Hasan's governorship of Bosnia among the peace initiatives following Sultan Ahmed's accession, in Shawwal 1012. This sequence looks later than the date of the crossing into Rumelia; how to reconcile the two accounts could not be determined here. The "beylerbeyilik of Ganja" given for Kalenderoğlu Mehmed is not mentioned in the general sources; there it is written that he was offered the sanjak governorship of Ankara and that the offer was withdrawn when the kadı of Ankara resisted.
These appointments given by Hüsameddin show the method of removing a rebel ringleader from the region by giving him a distant beylerbeyilik. Mustafa Akdağ too writes that the Celâlî chieftains were generally given the sanjaks of their own region, and beylerbeyiliks in distant provinces, that Deli Hasan was sent to Bosnia and Tavil Mehmed to Şehrizol. He draws attention to the fact that Yıldızlı İbrâhim was given Sivas, that is, the province of Rum.
Nasûh Pasha's Post at Aleppo
The text says that Nasûh Pasha was promoted to the governorship of Aleppo at the beginning of 1012. The TDV entry too records that he was sent from kapıcıbaşılık to the beylerbeyilik of Aleppo in 1012 [1603] and was appointed beylerbeyi of Sivas in Shawwal 1012 [March 1604]. When this sentence is read together with the account in the previous entry that Nasûh Pasha came to Amasya in Safar 1012, a problem arises in the sequence of dates; which is certain could not be determined here.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 525–526. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Zeynep Kemaloğlu, "Amasya Müzesi'ndeki Osmanlı Dönemi Sikkelerinden Örnekler", Amasya İlahiyat Dergisi, 22, 2024, p. 328-374. https://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D04028/2024_22/2024_22_KEMALOGLU.pdf
- Ömer İşbilir, "Nasuh Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 32, İstanbul 2006. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/nasuh-pasa
- Mustafa Akdağ, "Celâlî İsyanlarında Büyük Kaçgunluk 1603-1606: I", Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi, II/2-3, 1964. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/782881
Official sources
Other sources