Amasya’nın Karatay Mahallesi eşrâfından esbak Çuhadâr-ı şehriyârî el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa’nın oğludur. Erbâb-ı tımârdan olup [283] ba’zı vüzerâya hizmet ve Ragıb Mehmed Paşa’ya intisâb ederek sadâretinde teayyün etdi. İrtihâlinde Amasya’ya gelip a’yân meclisi a’zâsı olduğu hâlde 1178’de vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i a’yân ve ağniyâdan idi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa da “Çuhadâr oğlu” demekle meşhûr a’yândan idi.
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL
Ebûbekir Ağa — Çuhadârzâde el-Hâc
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 94 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU
Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)
Our Research Article
Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk
In Modern English
He is the son of el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa, the sultan's former çuhadar, from the notables of the Karatay quarter of Amasya. He was among the timar holders; he served under certain viziers and, attaching himself to Râgıb Mehmed Pasha, became prominent during his grand vizierate. When the pasha died he came to Amasya and, being a member of the ayan council, died in 1178 [1764-65]. He was among the famous and wealthy of the ayan. His son el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa was also a famous member of the ayan, known as "Çuhadar oğlu".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: notables, persons of noble standing
- çuhadâr-ı şehriyârî: the sultan's çuhadar, one of the palace officials in the sultan's personal service
- erbâb-ı tımâr: timar holders
- intisâb etmek: to enter the retinue of a great man
- teayyün etmek: to stand out, to become known
- irtihâl: passing away, death
- ağniyâ: the wealthy
The Karatay Quarter
The Karatay quarter, where Ebûbekir Ağa's family lived, was according to Hüsameddin's description in the first volume in the İçeri Şehir (Inner City). On its east lay the Câmi-i Enderûn quarter, on its west Kurşunlu, on its south the Hâtuniye quarters, and on its north the mountain. The quarter took its name from Celâleddin Karatay, one of the Seljuk emirs, who served as fortress warden (dizdar) and guardian of Amasya. Hüsameddin writes that the Câmi-i Enderûn quarter was also once split off from the Karatay quarter. Today the name Karatay is not among the forty neighborhoods of the central district of Amasya.
In the Retinue of Koca Râgıb Mehmed Pasha
Râgıb Mehmed Pasha, under whom Ebûbekir Ağa became prominent, is Koca Râgıb Pasha, one of the best-known grand viziers of the eighteenth century. Known also as a diplomat, poet and historian, the pasha, after a long career as a clerk and reisülküttap, became in 1744 governor of Egypt with the rank of vizier and for thirteen years served as governor of Egypt, Aydın, Sidon, Raqqa, Aleppo and Damascus. The years in which Hüsameddin says Ebûbekir Ağa attached himself to Râgıb Pasha after serving "some viziers" most likely fall in this period of governorships, but no record showing this was found.
Râgıb Pasha became grand vizier on 8 Cemâziyelâhir 1170 [28 February 1757], kept his office after the death of Osman III into the reign of Mustafa III, and at the end of a grand vizierate of more than six years died in office on the night of 24 Ramazan 1176 [8 April 1763]. His body was buried in his tomb within the complex he had built at Koska in Istanbul. Hüsameddin's saying of Ebûbekir Ağa "on his passing he came to Amasya" falls at this date: Ebûbekir Ağa, who had lost his support in Istanbul with his master's death, returned to his hometown, entered the ayan council, and died a year or two later, in 1178 [1764-65].
No information on Ebûbekir Ağa and his son Çuhadaroğlu el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa was found in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 94. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vols. 1-4, Amasya Belediyesi e-book, vol. 1, "Karatay Mahallesi" and "Câmi-i Enderûn Mahallesi".
Academic studies
- Mehmet Yılmaz Akbulut, "Râgıb Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ragib-pasa).
Other sources
- Current neighborhood list of the central district of Amasya (sehirsorgula.com/amasya-merkez-mahalleleri).