Amasyalıdır. “Deli Emîr Mehmed Paşa” demekle meşhûrdur. 1084 senesi muharreminin üçüncü günü Amasya ve Kayseriyye sancaklarına birlikte mutasarrıf oldu. Kendisi Kayseriyye’de oturup tarafından Geygelli Hasan Ağa Amasya mütesellimi oldu.⁶⁷¹
Rebîülevvelde Dizdâr Hamza Ağa’nın ref‘inden Ziyareli Mehmed Çelebi yine şehir kethüdâsı ve mütesellim Hasan Ağa, güzel idâreye muvaffak olamadığından kethüdâyeri Topçuzâde Mehmed Ağa bin Hasan Ağa Amasya mütesellimi oldu.
Cumâdelâhirenin yedisinde mirâhur-ı evvel Kara İbrâhim Ağa’nın tâbi‘i Bektaş Ağa evkâf-ı Sultâniyye mütevellîsi olup İstanbul’dan geldi. Murâd Beyzâde Ahmed Ağa Tokat voyvodası ve Amasya beytü’l-mâl emîni oldu.
Gurre-i ramazânda Kadı Mustafa Efendi’nin yerine Rıdvan Efendi Amasya kadısı olup geldi. Müteâkiben Alaybeyi Hüseyin Bey’in ref‘inden İbrâhim Beyzâde Mahmûd Bey alaybeyi oldu.
Zilka’de evâilinde Amasya Müftüsü Müfessir Hızır Efendi hastalandığından tilmîzi emînü’l-fetvâ Yahya Efendi müftü vekili olup zilhiccenin sekizinci günü dâr-ı naîme intikâl eylediğinden vekil Yahya Efendi, Amasya müftüsü ve Merzifonî Bayram Iydî Efendi Sultân [161] Bâyezîd müderrisi oldu.
1085 senesi muharreminde Kadı Rıdvan Efendi’nin harekâtı şikâyetlere bâdî olduğundan azliyle safer gurresinde sâbık Musul Kadısı Amasyalı Dâniş Mehmed Efendi Amasya kadısı oldu.
Cumâdelûlâda sâdâtın harekât-ı müfritasından bîzâr olan nakîb es-Seyyid Abdurrahmân Efendi’nin isti’fâsı üzerine Koca Emîr demekle meşhûr Mahmûd Ağa nakîbü’l-eşrâf kâ’im-makâmı oldu.
Çoktan Sultân Bâyezîd Câmi-i Şerîfi’nin i’mârına devam edildiği halde ikmâl edilemediğinden cumâdelûlânın dokuzunda ikinci defa Murâd Beyzâde Ahmed Ağa evkâf-ı Sultâniyye mütevellîsi olup bir an evvel ikmâline gayret etmesi ekîden tenbîh edildi.
Cumâdelâhire evâilinde kethüdâyeri Mehmed Ağa’nın ref‘inden Kuloğlu Halil Ağa kethüdâyeri ve şa’bânda Ziyareli Mehmed Çelebi yerine a‘yândan Nasûh Ağazâde Hamza Ağa şehir kethüdâsı ve şevvâlde Mehmed Bey’in ref‘inden Veli Bey alaybeyi oldu.
Zilhicce gurresinde Müftü Yahya Efendi’nin yerine Sultân Bâyezîd Müderrisi Merzifonî Bayram Iydî Efendi Amasya müftüsü ve evâhirinde Mutasarrıf es-Seyyid Mehmed Paşa da Mar’aş beylerbeyi olduğundan Amasya sancağı sâbık Van Beylerbeyi Mehmed Paşa’ya tevcîh edildi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was known by the name "Deli Emîr Mehmed Pasha." On the third day of Muharram 1084 [1673] he became mutasarrıf (holder and administrator of the sanjak) of the sanjaks of Amasya and Kayseri together. He himself resided in Kayseri; in his name Geygelli Hasan Ağa became mütesellim of Amasya (the person who administered the sanjak as deputy).
In Rabi' al-Awwal, when Dizdar Hamza Ağa was dismissed, Ziyareli Mehmed Çelebi again became city kethüda. And since the mütesellim Hasan Ağa had not succeeded in administration, the city steward Topçuzâde Mehmed Ağa bin Hasan Ağa became mütesellim of Amasya.
On the seventh day of Jumada al-Thani, Bektaş Ağa, a man of the mîrâhur-ı evvel (chief of the palace stables) Kara İbrâhim Ağa, came from Istanbul as trustee of the Sultan waqfs (evkâf-ı Sultâniyye). Murâd Beyzâde Ahmed Ağa became voivode of Tokat and beytülmal emini of Amasya.
On the first day of Ramadan, Rıdvan Efendi came as kadı of Amasya in place of Kadı Mustafa Efendi. Then the alaybeyi Hüseyin Bey was dismissed and İbrâhim Beyzâde Mahmûd Bey became alaybeyi.
At the beginning of Dhu al-Qa'da, since the Mufti of Amasya, the Exegete Hızır Efendi, fell ill, his pupil Yahya Efendi, the emînü'l-fetvâ (the assistant who conducted the mufti's fatwa business), became deputy mufti. When Hızır Efendi passed to the eternal world on the eighth day of Dhu al-Hijja, the deputy Yahya Efendi became mufti of Amasya, and Bayram Îdî Efendi of Merzifon became professor of the Sultan Bâyezîd Madrasa.
In Muharram 1085 [1674], since Kadı Rıdvan Efendi's conduct led to complaints, he was dismissed; on the first day of Safar, Dâniş Mehmed Efendi of Amasya, former kadı of Mosul, became kadı of Amasya.
In Jumada al-Ula, when the nakîb es-Seyyid Abdurrahmân Efendi, weary of the sayyids' excessive behavior, resigned, Mahmûd Ağa, known as "Koca Emîr," became deputy of the nakîbü'l-eşrâf (the Amasya deputy of the nakîb who looked after the affairs of the descendants of the Prophet).
Since the repair of the Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque, though long under way, could never be completed, on the ninth of Jumada al-Ula Murâd Beyzâde Ahmed Ağa became trustee of the Sultan waqfs for the second time, and he was strictly instructed to try to finish the repair as soon as possible.
At the beginning of Jumada al-Thani the city steward Mehmed Ağa was dismissed and Kuloğlu Halil Ağa became city steward. In Sha'ban, in place of Ziyareli Mehmed Çelebi, Nasûh Ağazâde Hamza Ağa, one of the notables, became city kethüda, and in Shawwal Mehmed Bey was dismissed and Veli Bey became alaybeyi.
On the first day of Dhu al-Hijja, Bayram Îdî Efendi of Merzifon, professor of Sultan Bâyezîd, became mufti of Amasya in place of Mufti Yahya Efendi. Toward the end of the month, since the governor es-Seyyid Mehmed Pasha became beylerbeyi of Maraş, the sanjak of Amasya was given to Mehmed Pasha, the former Beylerbeyi of Van.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mutasarrıf: the person to whom the revenue and administration of a sanjak were given
- mütesellim: the deputy who administered the sanjak in place of the sanjak's holder
- ref‘: dismissal from office
- kethüdâyeri: the official who looked after the affairs of the timar-holding sipahis in the sanjak
- şehir kethüdâsı: the representative chosen from among the notables of the city, who mediated between the people and the administration
- mîrâhur-ı evvel: the chief of the palace stables
- tâbi‘: a man in the retinue of a great person
- evkâf-ı Sultâniyye: the sultans' waqfs in Amasya, especially the waqf of the Bayezid II complex
- beytü'l-mâl emîni: the official who collected ownerless estates on behalf of the state
- gurre: the first day of a lunar month
- evâil / evâhir: the beginnings / ends of the month
- tilmîz: pupil
- dâr-ı naîme intikâl: to die (to move to the abode of bounty)
- bâdî: the one who caused
- sâdât: sayyids, those descended from the Prophet
- harekât-ı müfrita: excessive, immoderate behavior
- bîzâr: weary, fed up
- nakîbü'l-eşrâf kâ'im-makâmı: the provincial deputy of the nakîb who looked after the affairs of the sayyids
- ekîden tenbîh: warning strictly
- tevcîh: granting a post or sanjak to someone
Deli Emîr Mehmed Pasha
This entry tells of the third term of Deli Emîr Mehmed Pasha, who was brought to the administration of the sanjak of Amasya four times. In the previous entries Hüsameddin wrote that he was the son of Hacı Kâsımzâde es-Seyyid Mustafa Ağa, of the Rifâ'î sayyids, that he received the sanjak of Çorum while kapıcıbaşı of the Sublime Porte, and that he was governor of Amasya in 1078 [1667] and 1082 [1672]. He had entered this third term while governor of the sanjak of Kayseri, when Amasya, vacated by the promotion of Sevincerli Ömer Pasha to the beylerbeyilik of Kars, was added to his charge. The Pasha will return to Amasya for the fourth time in 1087. According to the biographical volumes of the work, his brother Sa'dullâh Ağa became his treasurer and then for a long time mütesellim of Adana; Celâlzâde Mehmed Çelebi, Fazlızâde Hâfız Hasan Efendi, and Bâlîzâde Resîm Ahmed Efendi, well-known calligraphers and scribes of Amasya, served as his divan secretaries and accompanied him in the places where he served as beylerbeyi. His son Deli Emîr Paşazâde es-Seyyid Mustafa Bey was alaybeyi of Amasya several times at the end of the seventeenth century, and his grandson Seyyid Mehmed Bey held the same post in the eighteenth century.
No information was found in any source other than Hüsameddin about Deli Emîr Mehmed Pasha. There was another statesman called "Seyyid Emîr Mehmed Pasha" who served as governor of Egypt at the end of the sixteenth century; the similarity of the names should not mislead, for the two are separate persons.
Geygelli Hasan Ağa and Küçük Kızılca
Hüsameddin says in a footnote that this Hasan Ağa was the ancestor of the Geygellioğulları family in Amasya, that the vizier Ağazâde İsmail Hakkı Pasha came from this family, and that "Geygelli" was the old name of the village of Küçük Kızılca near Amasya. In the biographical section of the work the same man is described under the heading "Geyiklili Hasan Ağa": he is the son of Sipahi Mehmed Ağa of the village of Geyikli, otherwise called Küçük Kızılca. He was known for his valor on Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's Hungarian campaign, and because he was kethüda of Deli Emîr Mehmed Pasha he was several times mütesellim of Amasya and trustee of the Sultan waqfs; he retired in 1091 and died at the end of 1092. The family name is thus written in two forms, "Geygelli" in the text and "Geyiklili" in the biography. Küçük Kızılca is today the village of Küçükkızılca in the central district of Amasya, 38 kilometers from the city; in the 1928 records its name appears as "Kızılcasagir," that is, "little Kızılca."
The Exegete Hızır Efendi
Hızır Efendi, whose death is reported in the entry, is the best-known scholar of seventeenth-century Amasya. According to Hüsameddin's biography, he was born in 1006 [1597-98] in the Hacı İlyas quarter, became a hafız at the Sultan Bâyezîd School, and, after being muîd (teaching assistant) at the Sultan Bâyezîd Madrasa and professor at the Yörgüç Pasha Madrasa, was appointed mufti of Amasya four times. He was dismissed for opposing the governor Köprülü Mehmed Pasha on a shar'i matter, was exiled to Cyprus because of the complaints of the city kethüda Mumcuzâde Seyyid Ahmed Ağa and false testimonies, and was brought back to Amasya with honor under the grand vizierate of Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha. His grave is in the Halifet Gazi cemetery. Hüsameddin also mentions his mansion with its garden and pool at the head of the Maydanos Bridge.
Hızır Efendi's works are still being studied today. His summary on the principles of jurisprudence, Gusûnü'l-usûl, is an abridgment drawn from Nesefî's Menârü'l-envâr, and one copy is in the Süleymaniye Library (Nuruosmaniye, no. 4432); the commentary he wrote on this work, Tehyîcü Gusûni'l-usûl, was examined in 2025 in comparison with a similar work by Akhisârî. Unbûbü'l-belâğa on rhetoric and its commentary el-İfâza, and the gloss he wrote on the Beyzâvî commentary up to the sura al-An'am, are his other main works. The date of his death is given in the sources as widely differing years such as 1060, 1062, 1084, 1086, and 1100. Hüsameddin's record, which agrees in this entry and in the biography, 8 Dhu al-Hijja 1084 [March 1674], appears the most detailed and most reliable date; the early dates also do not agree with his posts after the 1060s.
The Unending Repair of the Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque
The noteworthy record of the entry is that the repair of the Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque could still not be finished in 1085 [1674]. This repair is a result of the great earthquake of 16 August 1668. In this earthquake, in which the North Anatolian Fault ruptured largely between Niksar and Bolu, in Amasya the domes and minarets of the Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque, the castle walls, masonry buildings, the domes of most mosques, and many parts of the bedesten collapsed. According to the encyclopedic account based on Hüsameddin, in the earthquake of 1079 [1668-69] the mosque's domes collapsed, its two minarets were bent, and the domes of the imaret and tabhane also fell, and all the damage was repaired within a year by the trustee İbrâhim Ağa of Merzifon.
The record in this entry, however, shows that the work was not finished so quickly. Two entries later (4-75) Hüsameddin also explains the reason: because of successive wars, part of the waqf's revenues was given as a loan to the treasury and part to the Enderun treasury, and the mosque therefore could not be completed. Completion appears to have been achieved only under Murâd Beyzâde Ahmed Ağa's fourth trusteeship, in the five years after 1094; according to the work's biography, in this period Ahmed Ağa restored the mosque and put the imaret back to work. Hüsameddin also relates that, because of his gentle nature and thin voice, Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha called him "my woman" instead of "my kethüda," and so he was called "Kadınım Ahmed Ağa."
The Sayyid Question
Nakîb Abdurrahmân Efendi's resignation, weary of the sayyids' excesses, is part of a problem that had been growing in Amasya for years. In describing the previous period Hüsameddin had written that, because the nakîbship had remained in the hands of some ağas for twenty or thirty years, false sayyids had multiplied and influential sayyids had become a separate power in the city. Koca Emîr Mahmûd Ağa, who was put in his place, will in later years be counted among those who led this excess, and in the time of Mirza Mehmed Pasha he will be seized together with the other ringleaders and imprisoned in the Upper Castle.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 4, pp. 594–595. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, same edition, vol. 4, pp. 590–594 (Deli Emîr Mehmed Pasha's earlier terms); vol. 6, p. 178 (Murâd Beyzâde Ahmed Ağa); vol. 8, pp. 604–605 (Geyiklili Hasan Ağa); vol. 9, p. 117 (Müfessir Hızır Efendi); vol. 10, p. 261 (Sa'dullâh Ağa).
Academic studies
- Semavi Eyice, "Beyazıt II Camii ve Külliyesi (Amasya)", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/beyazit-ii-camii-ve-kulliyesi--amasya
- Abdulkadir Dündar, "Bir Belgeye Göre Amasya II. Bayezid Külliyesi", Ankara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, XLIV/2 (2003), pp. 131-172.
- Abdülkadir Tekin, "Akhisârî'nin Şerhu Semti'l-Vüsûl ilâ İlmi'l-Usûl ile Hızır b. Muhammed el-Amâsî'nin Tehyîcü Gusûni'l-Usûl Adlı Eserlerine Mukayeseli Bir Bakış", Amasya İlahiyat Dergisi, no. 26 (2025), pp. 141-179.
- "Klasik Usûl-i Fıkıh Eğitiminde Kolaylık Arayışları: Menârü'l-Envâr Muhtasarları ve Akhisârî'nin Semtü'l-Vüsûl ilâ İlmi'l-Usûl İsimli Eseri", Mevzu – Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/mevzu/article/1351921
Official sources
Other sources