Edirnelidir. Enderûn’da tefeyyüz ederek kilâr kethüdâsı iken 1223 senesi şevvâlinde silahdâr-ı şehriyârî oldu. Üç yıl kadar makâmını muhâfaza edib 1226’da [330] infisâl etdi. 1227’de Hicâz’a gidip 1228’de avdeti üzerine vatan-ı sânîsi olan Merzifon’da ikâmete me’mûr ve Evkâf-ı Sultâniye mütevellîsi oldu.
On altı yıl kadar tevliyet vazîfesiyle imrâr-ı hayât edib 1244’de Tatar Hasan Ağa vak’asında yararlığı ve büyük hizmeti görüldüğünden Merzifon voyvadası oldu. Üç yıl kadar bu kazâyı idâre edib Nezir Ağa’nın tasallutu üzerine çekildi.
Ba’dehû Hazine-i hümâyûn kethüdâsı Merzifonî Ebûbekir Efendi’nin ricâ-yı avfı üzerine 1249’da İstanbul’a geldi. 1252 senesi rebiülâhirinin üçünde vefât etdi. Üsküdar’da medfûndur. Mahdûmu Es’ad Mehmed Efendi mevâlîdendir.
In Modern English
He was from Edirne. Trained in the Enderun, while serving as steward of the pantry he became in Şevval 1223 [1808] the sultan's sword-bearer (silahdâr-ı şehriyârî). He held the post for about three years and left it in 1226 [1811-12]. In 1227 he went to the Hijaz, and on his return in 1228 he was assigned to live in Merzifon, his second homeland, and became administrator (mütevelli) of the sultanic waqfs (Evkâf-ı Sultâniye).
He spent about sixteen years in the post of administrator, and in 1244 [1828-29], because his usefulness and great service were seen in the affair of Tatar Hasan Ağa, he became voivode of Merzifon. He governed the district for about three years and withdrew when Nezir Ağa seized power by force.
Later, at the request of Ebûbekir Efendi of Merzifon, steward of the imperial treasury (Hazine-i hümâyûn), who asked for his pardon, he came to Istanbul in 1249 [1833-34]. He died on the third of Rebîülâhir 1252 [1836]. He is buried in Üsküdar. His son Es'ad Mehmed Efendi is of the mevâlî.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Enderûn: the inner service and training school of the sultan's palace
- tefeyyüz: benefiting from instruction, being trained
- kilâr kethüdâsı: the head of the palace pantry (the provisions office)
- silahdâr-ı şehriyârî: the sultan's sword-bearer (weapon-carrier)
- infisâl: leaving a post
- vatan-ı sânî: second homeland, a place settled in later
- Evkâf-ı Sultâniye mütevellîsi: administrator of the sultan's waqfs
- tevliyet: the office of mütevelli, waqf administration
- imrâr-ı hayât: passing one's life
- voyvoda: the administrator and tax collector of a district
- tasallut: domination, imposing oneself by force
- Hazine-i hümâyûn kethüdâsı: steward of the imperial treasury
- ricâ-yı afv: a request for pardon
- mevâlî: the upper ranks of the learned (ilmiye) class, the mollas; "mevâlîdendir" means belonging to this group
Merzifon
Merzifon, the "second homeland" of Silahdar Emîn Mehmed Ağa, was a district center under Ottoman administration. According to the tax survey of the 1840s, 929 taxpaying households were registered in thirteen neighborhoods of the town, and a large part of the population worked in trades that can be called textiles. The town grew steadily in population and buildings throughout the nineteenth century; its population in the middle of the century is estimated at about 10,000. According to the census of 1860 the district had more than 160 villages and a population of about 25,000. The town's largest waqf buildings are the complex that Kara Mustafa Pasha of Merzifon had built in the seventeenth century (mosque, caravanserai, covered market, library, two baths and shops); whether the "Evkâf-ı Sultâniye" Hüsameddin mentions had any connection with these waqfs could not be established from the sources read.
What Could Not Be Verified
No information was found in the sources read on the "affair of Tatar Hasan Ağa" or on "the domination of Nezir Ağa"; these events could not be verified. No information was found in other sources on Ebûbekir Efendi of Merzifon, steward of the imperial treasury, or on the son Es'ad Mehmed Efendi. The dates of Silahdar Emîn Mehmed Ağa's posts in the palace and in Merzifon rest on Hüsameddin alone.
Bibliography