AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Emîn Mehmed Ağa, Yüzbaşıoğlu

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 359 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Esbak Sivas vâlisi Amasyalı Karakulak Mustafa Paşazâde Yüzbaşı Ali Bey’in mahdûmudur. Pederinin hayâtında yeniçeri olup terakkî ederek 1178 senesinden i’tibâren birkaç defa Amasya serdârı, serdengeçti ağası olarak 1184’de Rus harbine gitdi.

1186’da firârîleri teftîş ve sevke me’mûr olup turnacıbaşılık pâyesiyle taltîf edildi. Bade’l-müsâleha İstanbul’a gelip Yeniçeri Ocağına yerleşti. Tedrîcen terakkî ederek Dayıoğlu Süleyman Ağa’nın [314] yeniçeri ağalığında kethüdâsı ve 1195’de muhzır ağası oldu.

Ba’dehû seksuncubaşı, zağarcıbaşı, 1201’de kul kethüdâsı olup 1202 senesi şevvâlinde Yeniçeri ağası oldu. 1203 senesi cumâdelûlâsında yeniçerilerin şikâyetiyle azledilip Amasya’ya gönderildi. Amasya havâlîsinde icrâ-yı şekâvet eden Gölgelioğullarını tenkîle me’mûr edildi.

1204 senesi gurre-i muharreminde Amasya mütesellimi olup ibrâz-ı hizmet eylediğinden iki yıl vazîfesine devâm etdi. 1206’da Tokat Voyvadası ve 1207’de mütekâid olup 1212’de vefât etdi.

Hâfız-ı Kur’ân, muktedîr, cesûr idi. Mahdûmları Sâdık Mehmed, Ali, Abdurrahman Ağalardır. Dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılarından el-Hâc Ali Ağazâde Hâfız el-Hâc Emîn Mehmed Ağa da meşhûr idi. Bunlara da “Yüzbaşıoğulları” dendi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Yüzbaşı Ali Bey, son of Karakulak Mustafa Pasha of Amasya, formerly governor of Sivas. In his father's lifetime he became a Janissary and rose; from 1178 [1764-65] on he was several times serdar of Amasya and serdengeçti ağa, and in 1184 [1770-71] he went to the Russian war.

In 1186 [1772-73] he was charged with inspecting and dispatching the deserters and was rewarded with the rank of turnacıbaşı. After the peace he came to Istanbul and settled in the Janissary corps. Rising gradually, he became kethüda during the ağalık of Dayıoğlu Süleyman Ağa and in 1195 [1780-81] muhzır ağa.

Afterwards he became saksoncubaşı and zağarcıbaşı; in 1201 [1786-87] he became kul kethüdası and in Şevval 1202 [1788] ağa of the Janissaries. In Cemâziyelevvel 1203 [1789], following complaints by the Janissaries, he was dismissed and sent to Amasya. He was charged with punishing the Gölgelioğulları, who were committing banditry around Amasya.

At the beginning of Muharrem 1204 [1789] he became mütesellim of Amasya and, since he showed good service, remained in office for two years. In 1206 [1791-92] he became voivode of Tokat, in 1207 [1792-93] he retired, and in 1212 [1797-98] he died.

He was a hâfız of the Qur'an, powerful and brave. His sons are Sâdık Mehmed, Ali and Abdurrahman Ağa. El-Hâc Ali Ağazâde Hâfız el-Hâc Emîn Mehmed Ağa, one of the kapıcıbaşıs of the palace, was also well known. These too were called "Yüzbaşıoğulları".

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • serdâr: local commander of the Janissaries
  • serdengeçti ağası: head of the volunteer fighters who risked death
  • turnacıbaşı: one of the senior officers of the Janissary corps
  • pâye: title, rank
  • muhzır ağa: one of the senior officers of the corps
  • saksoncubaşı, zağarcıbaşı: senior officers of the Janissary corps
  • kul kethüdâsı: deputy of the ağa of the Janissaries
  • icrâ-yı şekâvet: committing banditry
  • tenkîl: suppressing by punishment
  • mütesellim: deputy of a sanjak bey or beylerbeyi
  • ibrâz-ı hizmet: showing service
  • voyvoda: the official who collected the taxes of a district and kept its order
  • mütekâid: retired

Rising in the Janissary Corps

According to Kemal Beydilli's encyclopedia entry, the senior officers who rose from the Janissaries and held authority in the running of the corps are called "katar ağaları"; the Janissary clerk, the corps imam, the solakbaşı, the bölükbaşı, the baş yayabaşı, the kethüda yeri ağa, the muhzır ağa, the başçavuş ağa, the haseki ağa, the turnacıbaşı, the saksoncubaşı and the kul kethüdâsı belong to this group. After 1515 appointments of the ağa began to be made from within this sequence, ranked as kul kethüdâsı, zağarcıbaşı, saksoncubaşı and turnacıbaşı. The order Hüsameddin gives (the rank of turnacıbaşı, muhzır ağa, saksoncubaşı, zağarcıbaşı, kul kethüdâsı, ağa) agrees with this sequence.

The Rank of Serdengeçti Ağa

According to Abdülkadir Özcan's encyclopedia entry, the serdengeçtis were devotees who plunged into the enemy ranks or entered a besieged fortress; from the sixteenth century they were generally made up of volunteer Janissaries and organised in "banners" of 120 men. Those who returned alive were granted the privilege of wearing the serdengeçti cap, and the capped serdengeçtis were called serdengeçti ağa. In Hüsameddin's narrative in the supplement to volume 4 it is written that during the Russian war the serdengeçti ağas of Amasya, Kutoğlu Hüseyin Ağa and Kulçakoğlu Mustafa Ağa, went to war with their units (p. 673–675, entries "Hasan Paşa" and "Mehmed Emîn Ağa"). This places the subject's going to war as serdengeçti ağa in 1184 within a local tradition.

The Russian War and Amasya

The Ottoman-Russian war that began in 1768 ended with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca on 26 July 1774. In these years the sanjak of Amasya was given to Canikli Ali Bey in 1772. In Hüsameddin's lines on the years 1186-1187 (supplement to volume 4, p. 664–666), Janissaries and deserters who had come from the war zone went to Rumelia under the banner of their leader "Yüzbaşıoğlu Mustafa Ağa". This record shows that the Yüzbaşıoğulları of the entry's title took part in the war.

Whose Son Was He?

In this entry the man is the son of Yüzbaşı Ali Bey. The entry "Mehmed Emîn Ağa" in the supplement to volume 4 (p. 674–675), however, presents him, on the basis of the corps registers, as the grandson of Yüzbaşı Ali Bey, son of Karakulak Mustafa Pasha, and the son of Yüzbaşıoğlu Mustafa Ağa, serdar of Amasya; it writes that he became muhassıl of Amasya at the beginning of Muharrem 1204 and that in that year the bandit groups called "Püsküllü Oğulları" and "Avkatlı Oğulları" were eliminated. Both entries appear to describe the same man (inference), but the distinction between father and grandfather and the title of the office (mütesellim or muhassıl) differ in the two places. Which is correct could not be determined from the sources read. It can also be seen from the same annual narrative that Karakulak Mustafa Paşazâde Ali Bey was alaybeyi of Amasya in 1151 [1738-39] and in 1155 [1742-43] (p. 646–648, entries "Hamis Paşa" and "Cevher Mehmed Paşa").

The Gölgelioğulları and the Office of Mütesellim

The name Gölgelioğulları appears in the book only in this entry; no information on this group was found in sources other than the book. According to Yücel Özkaya's encyclopedia entry, the mütesellim was the deputy who looked after a sanjak when the sanjak bey or beylerbeyi was not there and who collected the taxes; in the eighteenth century the post was mostly taken by local dynasties. The two-year term that Hüsameddin gives exceeds the term of one year that was the rule; according to the entry this was very often the case.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 359. amasya.bel.tr
  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, Supplement to vol. 4, p. 646–648 ("Hamis Paşa", "Cevher Mehmed Paşa"), p. 664–666 ("Hacı Alî Bey"), p. 673–675 ("Hasan Paşa", "Mehmed Emîn Ağa").

Academic studies

Volume 7 contents

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