Amasya’nın Hacı İlyâs Mahallesi halkından Mehmed bin Abdulbâkî oğludur. Yeniçeri olup Prut muharebesinde yararlıklar gösterdiğinden terakkî ederek Amasya serdârı, İran muhârebesinde serdengeçdiler ağası, 1145 târîhinden i’tibâren kır serdârı ve 1157’de Amasya etrâfını muhâfaza şartıyla binbaşı olup 1159 senesi evâ’ilinde vefât etdi. Şeci’, muhârib, hânedân bir zât idi.
Oğulları Mehmed, Abdulfettâh, Abdulbâkî Ağalara ve bunların evlâdına “Kasâb Bekiroğulları” dendi. Hacı Mehmed Ağazâde Ebûbekir Ağa, Abdulfettâh Ağazâde Ârif Mehmed, Abdullah Ağalardır. Serdâr Abdullah-Ağazâde Ebûbekir Ağa’nın oğlu Ârif Mehmed Ağa’dır. Bunun oğlu Abdulhalîm Ağa’dır ki gâyet nükre-gû, aynı mahallede sâkin bir kimse olup 1326 senesi şevvalinde vefât etdi. Oğulları Abdul’azîz, Abdullah Efendilerdir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Mehmed bin Abdülbâkî, from the people of the Hacı İlyas quarter of Amasya. He was a janissary; because he showed valor in the Pruth war he rose to become serdar of Amasya, serdengeçtiler ağası in the Iran war, and from 1145 [1732-33] kır serdarı; after becoming binbaşı in 1157 [1744] on condition of protecting the surroundings of Amasya, he died in early 1159 [1746]. He was a brave, warlike man from a well-rooted family.
His sons, Mehmed, Abdülfettâh and Abdülbâkî Ağas, and their children were called the "Kasap Bekiroğulları". Ebûbekir Ağa, son of Hacı Mehmed Ağa, and Ârif Mehmed and Abdullah Ağas, sons of Abdülfettâh Ağa, are among them. The son of Serdar Abdullah Ağa's son Ebûbekir Ağa is Ârif Mehmed Ağa. His son is Abdülhalim Ağa, who was an extremely witty person, lived in the same quarter, and died in the month of Şevval 1326 [October-November 1908]. His sons are Abdülaziz and Abdullah Efendis.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- serdâr: the commander of the janissaries in a city
- serdengeçdi ağası: commander of the volunteer vanguard units
- kır serdârı: literally the serdar of the countryside outside the city
- muhâfaza şartıyla: on condition of being charged with protection
- evâ'il: the beginning, the first days
- şeci': valiant, brave; muhârib: warrior
- nükre-gû: one who tells witty remarks, quick-witted
- sâkin: resident, dwelling
The Hacı İlyas Quarter
The Hacı İlyas quarter, where Ebûbekir Ağa's family lived, is described in detail by Hüsameddin in the first volume. The quarter lies west of the Mosque of Sultan Bayezid II; it is bounded by this mosque on the east, the Yörgüç Pasha Mosque on the west, the highway on the south and the Yeşilırmak on the north, and it is also called "İmaret Arkası". It took its name from Hacı Nevruz Beyzâde Hacı İlyas Bey, one of the emirs, who lived in the quarter and had a mesjid and school built. The quarter is still among the neighborhoods of the central district of Amasya under the same name. That Hüsameddin says the last representative of the family, Abdülhalim Ağa, was still living "in the same quarter" in 1908 shows that the Kasap Bekiroğulları lived in the same district for about two hundred years.
The Pruth War
The Pruth war, with which Ebûbekir Ağa's rise began, was fought in 1123 [1711]. After the Swedish king Charles XII took refuge in Ottoman lands following the defeat at Poltava and relations with Russia deteriorated, a decision for war was made, and the Ottoman army under Grand Vizier Baltacı Mehmed Pasha, together with Crimean forces, surrounded the army of Tsar Peter I on the bank of the Pruth river (19 July 1711). The next day, with the cannon also coming into play, the Russian army fell into difficulty and asked for peace; the treaty was signed on 21 July and exchanged on 23 July. The sources describe the fighting of the first day, which lasted until evening, and the impatience of the infantry to attack on the following day. In which engagement Ebûbekir Ağa's valor was shown is not written in the text.
The Serdengeçtis
The serdengeçtis, whom Ebûbekir Ağa headed in the Iran war, were volunteers who fought in the very front line of the Ottoman army. The name was used first for akıncıs, and later for fedais among the janissaries who plunged into the enemy or entered a besieged fortress. From the sixteenth century on, the serdengeçtis, generally made up of volunteer janissaries, were organized into units of one hundred twenty men each called a "bayrak" (banner), and because they fought in the foremost position they were also called "men of death". The pay of those who returned alive from battle was raised, and they were granted the right to wear the serdengeçti kavuk (headdress) adorned with valuable feathers; those who wore this kavuk were called serdengeçti ağası. From the end of the sixteenth century, serdengeçtis also began to be enrolled from the provincial eyalets and sanjaks, and the officials sent from the corps opened serdengeçti banners in the places they went and registered volunteers. An Amasya janissary becoming serdengeçti ağası on the Iranian front is a local example of this practice.
His appointment as binbaşı in 1157 [1744] on condition of protecting the surroundings of Amasya falls in the year Nadir Shah besieged Kars. No information on Ebûbekir Ağa or on the Kasap Bekiroğulları family was found in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 93. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vols. 1-4, Amasya Belediyesi e-book, vol. 1, "Hacı İlyâs Mahallesi".
Academic studies
- Kemal Beydilli, "Prut Antlaşması", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/prut-antlasmasi).
- Abdülkadir Özcan, "Serdengeçti", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/serdengecti).
- Azmi Özcan, "Nâdir Şah", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/nadir-sah--iran).
Other sources
- Current neighborhood list of the central district of Amasya (sehirsorgula.com/amasya-merkez-mahalleleri).