Amasya Beylerbeyi Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşa bin Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa bin Hacı Kutluşâh kerîmesidir. Zevci anlaşılamadı. Meydan Köprüsü başında ceddi Hacı Kutluşâh Mescid-i Şerîfi’nin taraf-ı garbîsinde kâin yolun garbında güzel bir zâviye, imârethâne ve kendisine bir türbe binâ ederek 874’de emlâkini bu hayrâtının mesâlihine vakfetdi.
Dervîş Mehmed nâmında bir zâtın elinde bu hâtunun vakfiyesi [372] görüldü. İstinsâhına bir türlü muvâfakat etmediğinden yalnız tevliyet şartını not edebildim.¹⁷⁷ Tevliyeti Burak Bey’in oğulları Ahmed, Mehmed Çelebiler’e ve evlâdına meşrûttur. Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşazâde Burak Bey bin Emîr Mehmed Bey bin Emîr-i Kebîr Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşa Bey oğulları olan bu Çelebiler Ehlî Hâtun’un kardeşinin oğlunun oğulları olur. Bunlar Beyzâde, Devâtdâr Paşazâde demekle ma’rûflardır. Burak Oğulları da bunlardır.
In Modern English
She was the daughter of Devâtdâr Ahmed Pasha, Beylerbeyi of Amasya; Ahmed Pasha was the son of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, who was in turn the son of Hacı Kutluşâh. Her husband could not be determined. Beside the Meydan Bridge, to the west of the road that lies west of the Mosque of her ancestor Hacı Kutluşâh, she had a fine zâviye (small dervish lodge), a soup kitchen and a tomb for herself built, and in 874 [1469-70] she endowed her properties to meet the expenses of these charitable works.
The endowment deed of this lady was seen in the hands of a man named Dervîş Mehmed. Since he would in no way agree to a copy being made, I was able to note down only the condition on the administrator (mütevelli). The administration is stipulated for the sons of Burak Bey, Ahmed and Mehmed Çelebi, and for their children. These Çelebis are the sons of Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşazâde Burak Bey; Burak Bey was the son of Emîr Mehmed Bey, who was the son of Emîr-i Kebîr Devâtdâr Ahmed Pasha Bey. They are therefore the sons of the son of Ehlî Hâtun's brother. They are known as Beyzâde and Devâtdâr Paşazâde. The Burak Oğulları are these same people.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- beylerbeyi: the highest administrator of a region, governor
- devâtdâr: bearer of the inkwell and pen set; the title of a high court and state official
- kerîme: daughter
- zevc: husband
- zâviye: a small lodge where dervishes gathered
- imârethâne: a place where the poor and travellers were fed
- emlâk: properties
- mesâlih: affairs, expenses
- vakfiye: the founding document of a waqf
- istinsâh: making a copy
- tevliyet: the duty of administering a waqf, the office of mütevelli
- meşrût: stipulated
- ma'rûf: well known
The Line of Descent
Hüsameddin links Ehlî Hâtun to the house of Hacı Kutluşâh. The middle link of this line is Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha. In the sources he appears as the second eldest son of Hacı Kutluşâh; he was made emir of Amasya in 1359, was a pupil of Mevlânâ Fahreddin İlyas and a classmate of the famous scholar Aksarayî. At first he remained loyal to Eretna, and after the latter's death he acted autonomously. In 1361 he was driven out of Amasya, regained power a few months later, and remained emir until his death in 1381. Among the works cited for this information is Hüsameddin's own book. That Ahmed Pasha was Şadgeldi's son, however, could not be found in any other source read; this link rests on Hüsameddin alone.
No further information on Ahmed Pasha's title of "devâtdâr" or his beylerbeyship of Amasya was found in the sources read. One inference can be drawn from the dates taken together: Ehlî Hâtun's father's father died in 1381, while her endowment was made in 1469-70. There are eighty-eight years between these two dates; Ehlî Hâtun must have been quite elderly when she founded the waqf, or a generation may have been skipped in Hüsameddin's line of descent. This is only an inference; no document points to it.
The Deed and the Administrator Clause
The Arabic passage of the deed that Hüsameddin quotes in a footnote confirms what the text says. According to it, the administration belongs to Ehlî Hâtun herself for as long as she lives, after her death to Ahmed Çelebi and Mehmed Çelebi, the young and esteemed sons of the late Burak Bey, and after them to their children. The chain "Burak Bey bin Emîr Mehmed Bey ibni'l-Emîr Devâtdâr Paşa" appears in the text unchanged. The Arabic phrase itself ("ibney ibni ehîhâ") means "the two sons of the son of her brother", which agrees with the explanation in Hüsameddin's main text. The editors' Turkish gloss in square brackets says "the sons of her brother", which suggests a relationship one generation closer than the Arabic; because it does not fit Hüsameddin's own lines, the Arabic phrase has been taken as the basis.
Hüsameddin saw the deed himself, but because its owner would not let it be copied, he could note down only this clause. That the deed bears the date 874 [1469-70] and concerns the revenues of the lodge, the soup kitchen and the tomb also rests on this record. Whether the buildings still stand is not stated in the sources read. Searches on the Meydan Bridge and the Mosque of Hacı Kutluşâh likewise turned up no record of the present state of these buildings.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 376. amasya.bel.tr
- "Shadgeldi" entry (citing Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Târîhi, 1927, p. 35-40 and İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, "Sivas - Kayseri ve Dolaylarında Eretna Devleti", Belleten 32/126, 1968, p. 161-190). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadgeldi