AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ebûbekir Pasha — Lokmacı el-Hâc

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 98–99 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya a’yânından Çuhadâr oğlu el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa bin Çuhadâr şehriyârî el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Amasya’nın İçerişehr’inde Karatay Mahallesi’nde doğup “Çuhadâroğlu” demekle meşhûr oldu. Genç iken İstanbul’a gidip amcası Hacı Bekir Ağa’nın yardımlarıyla silahdârân zümresine iltihâk etdi.

Ba’dehû Amasyalı Defterdâr İbrâhim Efendizâde Râkım Mehmed Paşa’nın silahdârı oldu. Bunun irtihâlinde Amasyalı Ocak İmâmızâde es-Seyyid Hıfzî İbrâhim Paşa’nın kethüdâlığında hazînedârı olup 1189 zilka’desinde efendisinin azline binâen Amasya mütesellimi olarak geldi. 1190 senesi [298] muharreminde tenzilen Amasya hâsları emîni oldu.

Es-Seyyid Hıfzî İbrâhim Paşa vezâretinde silahdârî olup Erzurum’a gitdi. 1194 şa’bânında müşârün-ileyhin vefâtı üzerine İstanbul’a gelip Halîl Hamîd Paşa’nın dâ’iresine girdi. Müşârün-ileyhin sadâretinde hazînedârı oldu. Bu esnâda dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılığı ile taltîf edildi. Bir müddet Trablusşâm mütesellimi olmuşdu.

1199 senesi cumadelûlâsının yirmisinde sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin infisâl ve ba’dehû irtihâline binâen Amasyalı Ocak İmâmızâde es-Seyyid Mustafa Paşa’nın dâ’iresine girip kethüdâsı oldu. Müşârün-ileyhin sadâret kâ’im-makâmlığında hayli teayyün buldu.

1203 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde vezîr-i müşârün-ileyhin azl ü tekâ’üdüne binâen açıkda kalıp 1204’de İsmâil ordusu defterdârı oldu. Cerbeze-i lisâniyyesine binâen 1205’de Rus cidâline sefâretle gönderildi. 1206 senesinde akd-i sulh edilerek sadr-ı a’zam ve serdâr-ı ekrem olan Yûsuf Paşa ile İstanbul’a geldi. [299]

1207 şa’bânında hasmı bulunan Kâmil Ahmed Paşazâde Hakkı Mehmed Bey kethüdâ-yı sadr-ı âlî oldukta müşârün-ileyhin nüfûzunu kıskandı. 1208 senesi muharreminde Rakka vilâyeti bakâyâ tahsîline me’mûr olduğunu iş’âr ederek sür’atle hareket edib gitmesini emreylediği hâlde isti’fâ ederek azîmetini te’hîr etdi.

Hakkı Mehmed Bey, kendisini harbecilerle cebren Üsküdâr’a geçirdiği esnâda mahall-i me’mûriyyetine gitmediği takdirde nefy ve katl ile tehdîd ederken sâhib-i terceme de silahdâr-ı şehriyârî Lâdikli es-Seyyid Abdullah Ağa’ya ve tersâne emîni ve Sultân Selîm-i Sâlis’in gözdesi olan Amasyalızâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Efendi’ye mürâca’at ve istirhâm-ı şefâ’at etmişdi.

1208 senesi rebiülevvelinin sekizinci günü Üsküdâr’dan bi’z-zarûre hareket etdiği hâlde dönderilip hasmı olan Hakkı Bey’in yerine kethüdâ-yı sadr-ı âlî oldu. 1209 senesi cumâdelûlâsının on dördüncü günü azledilip yirmi birinde vezâretle Anadolu ve 1210 senesi şevvâlinde Mısır vâlis oldu. [300]

Bu esnâda Fransa ordusu başkumandanı Napolyon Bonapart Sûriye’ye tecâvüz ederek Mısır’ı istilâya kıyâm etmişdi. Bonapart’ın müthîş ve muntazam ordusuna karşı kuvâ-yı Mısriyye tâb-âver-i mukâvemet olamadığından 1213 senesi muharreminde Mısır’a girmesi üzerine Bâdiye’ye firâr etdi.1215 hudûdunda vefât eyledi. Mu’tedil, natûk, müstakîm idi. Napolyon’a karşı muvaffakiyetsizliği devlet ve millete bir felâket oldu. Fakat bunda ma’zûr idi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Çuhadaroğlu Hacı Mehmed Ağa, one of the notables of Amasya; Mehmed Ağa in turn was the son of Hacı Ahmed Ağa, the sultan's çuhadar (keeper of the royal cloak). He was born in the Karatay quarter, in the İçerişehir (inner city) part of Amasya, and was known as "Çuhadaroğlu." As a young man he went to Istanbul and, with the help of his uncle Hacı Bekir Ağa, joined the corps of silahdars (arms-bearers).

He later became the silahdar of Defterdar İbrâhim Efendizâde Râkım Mehmed Pasha of Amasya. After his death, while Ocak İmâmızâde es-Seyyid Hıfzî İbrâhim Pasha of Amasya was serving as kethüda, he became that man's treasurer, and when his master was dismissed in Zilkade 1189 [December 1775 – January 1776], he came to Amasya as mütesellim (deputy governor). In Muharrem 1190 [February–March 1776] he was demoted to a lower post and became the superintendent of the crown estates (has) of Amasya.

When es-Seyyid Hıfzî İbrâhim Pasha became a vizier, he served as his silahdar and went to Erzurum. When the pasha died in Şaban 1194 [August 1780], he came to Istanbul and entered the household of Halîl Hamîd Pasha. During the pasha's grand vizierate he became his treasurer. At this time he was rewarded with the rank of kapıcıbaşı (head of palace gatekeepers). For a time he had also been mütesellim of Tripoli in Syria.

On the twentieth day of Cemaziyelevvel 1199 [31 March 1785], when the said grand vizier was dismissed and then died, he entered the household of Ocak İmâmızâde es-Seyyid Mustafa Pasha of Amasya and became his kethüda. During the pasha's tenure as deputy to the grand vizier (sadaret kaymakamı) he came considerably to the fore.

In Cemaziyelahir 1203 [February–March 1789], when the said vizier was dismissed and retired, he was left without a post; in 1204 [1789–90] he became defterdar of the army at Izmail. Because of his skill with words, in 1205 [1790–91] he was sent as an envoy on the matter of the war with Russia. When peace was made in 1206 [1791–92], he came to Istanbul together with Yûsuf Pasha, who had become grand vizier and serdâr-ı ekrem (commander-in-chief).

In Şaban 1207 [March 1793], when his rival Kâmil Ahmed Pasazâde Hakkı Mehmed Bey became the grand vizier's steward (sadaret kethüdası), he grew jealous of his influence. In Muharrem 1208 [August 1793] he was informed that he had been charged with collecting the tax arrears of the province of Raqqa and ordered to set out at once, but he resigned and delayed his departure.

While Hakkı Mehmed Bey had him taken across to Üsküdar by force with halberdiers and threatened him with exile and death if he did not go to his post, the subject of this biography had appealed to the sultan's silahdar, Lâdikli es-Seyyid Abdullah Ağa, and to Amasyalızâde Hacı İbrâhim Efendi, the superintendent of the Arsenal and a favorite of Sultan Selim III, asking them to intercede.

On the eighth day of Rebiülevvel 1208 [14 October 1793] he set out from Üsküdar, unwillingly, but was turned back and became sadaret kethüdası in place of his rival Hakkı Bey. On the fourteenth day of Cemaziyelevvel 1209 [7 December 1794] he was dismissed; on the twenty-first [14 December 1794] he was appointed governor of Anatolia with the rank of vizier, and in Şevval 1210 [April 1796] governor of Egypt.

At this time the commander-in-chief of the French army, Napoleon Bonaparte, had attacked Syria and set about invading Egypt. Since the Egyptian forces were unable to resist Bonaparte's fearsome and disciplined army, when Bonaparte entered Egypt in Muharrem 1213 [June–July 1798], he fled into the desert. He died around 1215 [1800–01]. He was a measured, eloquent and honest man. His failure against Napoleon was a calamity for the state and the nation; yet he was excusable in it.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • çuhadâr-ı şehriyârî: the sultan's çuhadar; an inner-service official who carried the sultan's garments and rain cloak
  • silahdâr: an attendant who carried the weapons of a high dignitary and served in his retinue
  • kethüdâ: the assistant who ran the affairs of a pasha or grand vizier
  • hazînedâr: the official who looked after a pasha's treasury and purse
  • tenzîlen: by demotion to a lower rank
  • hâslar emîni: the official in charge of collecting the state's crown-estate (has) revenues
  • dâ'ire: the retinue, mansion and men of a high dignitary
  • sadâret: the grand vizierate
  • infisâl: leaving office; dismissal
  • sadâret kâ'im-makâmı: the vizier who ran affairs in Istanbul in place of the grand vizier while he was on campaign
  • cerbeze-i lisâniyye: mastery of language; persuasive eloquence
  • cidâl: war, dispute
  • akd-i sulh: making peace
  • serdâr-ı ekrem: the grand vizier who set out on campaign as commander-in-chief
  • kethüdâ-yı sadr-ı âlî: the sadaret kethüdası, chief assistant of the grand vizier
  • bakâyâ: uncollected tax arrears
  • harbeci: a police officer carrying a short lance (harbe)
  • istirhâm-ı şefâ'at: asking for intercession
  • tâb-âver-i mukâvemet: able to withstand, capable of resisting
  • bâdiye: desert
  • natûk: one who speaks well and effectively

From the Karatay Quarter to the Governorship of Egypt

Lokmacı Hacı Ebûbekir Pasha was among those Amasya statesmen in Hüsameddin's book who served over the widest geography. His life is a typical example of how, in the second half of the eighteenth century, a young man from the provinces rose by attaching himself to the great households in Istanbul, that is, the retinues of viziers and grand viziers. This path, from silahdar to treasurer and then to kethüda, depended at every step on a patron; when the patron fell, Ebûbekir was left without a post, and when he found a new door, he rose again. It is also striking that a good many of the patrons Hüsameddin lists were themselves from Amasya. The years spent in the households of Defterdar Râkım Mehmed Pasha, Ocak İmâmızâde Hıfzî İbrâhim Pasha and Ocak İmâmızâde Mustafa Pasha show how the bond of common origin could open a path in Istanbul for a young man from the provinces.

The Karatay quarter where he was born lay, in Hüsameddin's words, in the İçerişehir part of the city. According to the 1840 population register published by Selim Özcan, the quarter had 33 households, all of them Muslim; in the temettuat (income) survey four years later the number of households had not changed.

Treasurer of Halil Hamid Pasha

One of the most important steps in Ebûbekir's career was his post as treasurer to Halil Hamîd Pasha, one of the grand viziers of the reign of Abdülhamid I. Halil Hamîd Pasha became sadaret kethüdası for the second time in 1782 and was appointed grand vizier on 31 December 1782. On the morning of 20 Cemaziyelevvel 1199 (31 March 1785) he was suddenly dismissed and exiled to Gallipoli, all his property was confiscated, and soon afterwards he was put to death on Bozcaada and his severed head sent to Istanbul. The date Hüsameddin gives with the phrase "sadrın infisâli ve ba'dehû irtihâli" (the grand vizier's dismissal and then his death) matches the day of the dismissal exactly. His master's sudden fall must have left Ebûbekir without a post as well; that he entered the household of Ocak İmâmızâde Mustafa Pasha immediately afterwards suggests that the Amasya circle protected him. This is an inference.

An Embassy Before the Peace of Jassy

Hüsameddin writes that Ebûbekir became defterdar of the army at Izmail in 1204 and, "because of his skill with words," was sent in 1205 as an envoy over the war with Russia. In Kemal Beydilli's article on the Treaty of Jassy there is a record that may relate to this. In a letter to the Russian commander-in-chief Potemkin dated 3 Rebiülevvel 1204 (21 November 1789), Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha reported that the Russian envoy had been released and announced that the "nüzul emini (superintendent of provisions) Hacı Bekir Ağa" would be sent, to whom a six-article text for peace negotiations had been handed. Given that Hüsameddin shows Ebûbekir in the same year as "defterdar of the Izmail army," that the superintendency of provisions, which saw to the army's supply, is close to a defterdar's duties, and that the dates coincide, this Hacı Bekir Ağa is probably Lokmacı Ebûbekir. However, since the document gives no lineage or place of origin, this identification remains an inference. The talks produced no result at this stage; the war continued when Selim III wished to exploit the chance of an alliance with Prussia, and peace was signed only in January 1792 at Jassy. Hüsameddin's phrase "peace having been made in 1206" agrees with this date.

The Sadaret Kethüdalığı and a Court Rivalry

The sadaret kethüdalığı was a senior office that served as the grand vizier's closest assistant and, over time, ran the internal affairs of the Sublime Porte. Those from the military class were called "ağa" in this office, those from the scribal class "efendi." The quarrel with Hakkı Mehmed Bey that Hüsameddin describes is a vivid scene of the rivalry at the Porte in the early years of Selim III: Hakkı Bey tried to remove his rival from the center by sending him to Raqqa to collect tax arrears, while Ebûbekir appealed to people with influence at court, such as the sultan's silahdar Lâdikli Seyyid Abdullah Ağa and Amasyalızâde Hacı İbrâhim Efendi, superintendent of the Arsenal and a favorite of Selim III, and in the end took Hakkı Bey's place. These details come from Hüsameddin; they could not be compared with another source in this research.

Facing Napoleon's Egyptian Expedition

Ebûbekir Pasha's governorship of Egypt coincided with the most turbulent period of Egypt under Ottoman rule. In the lists of governors of Egypt he appears as "Lokmacı Hacı Ebubekir Pasha" for the years 1796–1798. According to these records, the Sicill-i Osmânî too says that he was governor of Anatolia in 1794–1796, that as governor of Egypt he "could not hold his position," that he was removed in 1798 and that he died shortly afterwards. During his governorship the real power in the country was in the hands of the Mamluk emirs İbrahim Bey and Murad Bey; the authority of the Ottoman governor was largely symbolic. Hüsameddin's closing remark that "he was excusable in it" shows that he was aware of this reality.

The French fleet appeared off Alexandria on the morning of 1 July 1798. In Seydi Vakkas Toprak's study based on Ottoman archival documents, it is reported that the Governor of Egypt, Ebubekir Pasha, informed Istanbul of the situation in a letter dated 28 July 1798: when the French appeared off Alexandria, the captain of the Ottoman galleon sent an officer to learn the reason for their coming; the French commander did not send this officer back that night, brought ships into the harbor, landed troops and occupied the city. According to a statement record used in another study by the same author, Napoleon entered Cairo 21 days after leaving Alexandria; the Egyptian beys, Şeyhülbeled İbrahim Bey and the Governor of Egypt "Lokmacızâde Ebubekir Pasha," could not take the field, while Murad Bey withdrew to Fayyum after two engagements. The French took Cairo without fighting. Hüsameddin's phrase "he fled to the desert" describes the governor's leaving Cairo in this confusion.

Some of the governor's men also took part in the administration the French set up in Egypt. In the study by Toprak and Metin Işık, it is noted that Ebubekir Pasha's kethüda, Mustafa Bey, was a member of the divan the French formed to administer the province and served as emirülhac (leader of the pilgrim caravan). According to the record based on al-Jabarti, Abdullah Pasha al-Azm was made governor by a letter that reached Egypt on 3 November 1798, so that Ebûbekir Pasha's governorship also officially came to an end.

An Error of Sequence in Hüsameddin's Account

Hüsameddin writes that Bonaparte first "attacked Syria" and then invaded Egypt. The order of events is the reverse. The French army landed at Alexandria in the summer of 1798 and took Cairo; after the British fleet destroyed French sea power in the raid at Abukir, leaving Napoleon virtually trapped in Egypt, he turned his attention to Syria. The Syrian campaign and the siege of Acre follow these developments. The date Hüsameddin gives, Muharrem 1213, does correctly correspond to the French entry into Egypt.

His Nickname and His Death

Hüsameddin calls Ebûbekir Pasha "Lokmacı" in the heading of the entry, but does not explain the origin of this nickname in the text and introduces him as "Çuhadaroğlu." The nickname "Lokmacı" or "Lokmacızâde" is also used in the lists of Egyptian governors and in studies based on Ottoman documents; so it appears that this name was known in his lifetime too. The sources are uncertain on the place and date of his death: Hüsameddin gives around 1215 [1800–01], while the record based on the Sicill-i Osmânî says only that he "died shortly afterwards."

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Volume 6 contents

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