Merzifonîdur. Merzifonî Yahya Paşa’nın kethüdâsı Dilâver Ağa’nın [148] mahdûmudur. 1076 senesi zilka’desinin on üçüncü günü Amasya mutasarrıfı olup Abdülcelîlzâde el-Hâc Hüseyin Ağa yine Amasya mütesellimi ve Kadızâde Hüseyin Bey Amasya alaybeyi oldu.
Çünkü Taşan Dağı’nda ve Lâdik taraflarında eşkıyâ türediğinden Merzifon Voyvodası İbrâhim Ağa her taraftan imdat kuvveti istemişdi. Mutasarrıf Ferhad Paşa, Alaybeyi Hüseyin Bey, Amasya Kethüdâyeri Muslî Ağa, sipâhî meşâhirînden Sevincerli Ömer Ağa, ta’kîb-i eşkıyâya gitmişlerdi.
Zilhiccenin onuncu bayram günü salât-ı ‘îdi müteâkib Müftü Yeğenzâde el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi vefât eylediğinden müftü-i esbak Ebussu’ûd Efendi Amasya müftüsü ve Sultâniyye müderrisi ve kibâr-ı fuzalâdan Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi şeyhu’l-ulemâ oldu. A‘yândan Hacı Mansûroğlu el-Hâc Hasan Ağa da vefât etdi.
Mukaddemen vefât eden Müeyyedzâde Abdülvâsî Çelebi’nin hayatında mütevellî olduğu Ya’kûb Paşa ve Pervâne Bey evkâfı tevliyeti tevhîden Ca’fer Paşa’ya tevcîh edilmişdi.
Fakat İstanbul mevâlisinden ve Müeyyedzâde hânedânından Hısımzâde Abdülbâkî Efendi bin Yahya Efendi de davaya kıyâm edib Ya’kûb Paşa tevliyeti tefrik edilerek Molla-i mûmâ-ileyhe bu esnada tevcîh edildi. Yine bu sene Amasyalı Kalavun Yûsuf Paşazâde Ahmed Paşa vefât edib Sinan Paşa tevliyeti kızları Fatıma, Münevvere hanımlara verildi.
1077 senesi gurre-i muharreminde Ganîzâde el-Hâc Abdülfettâh Efendi [149] yine Amasya kadısı ve safer gurresinde Deli Yûsuf Ağazâde Mehmed Ağa Amasya mütesellimi ve rebiülevvelde Divriğili Vezîr İbrâhim Paşa Sivas vâlisi oldu.
Rebîülâhirin beşinde Mirlivâ Hacı Selim Bey ber-vech-i tekâüd evkâf-ı Sultâniyye mütevellîsi olup geldi. Cumâdelâhirenin yirmi ikisinde tahvîl edilen İbrâhim Paşa’nın yerine Kapıcıbaşı Merzifonî Halil Ağa Rumeli pâyesiyle Sivas beylerbeyi oldu.
Bu sene tımârhâne önünde Dâru’l-kurrâ bina eden Hacı Efendizâde el-Hâc Şeyhî Mehmed Ağa bin Sarı Mehmed Ağa ve ba‘dehû Şeyhu’l-ulemâ, üstâdu’l-fuzalâ Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi bin Süleyman vefât etdi.
1078 senesi gurre-i muharreminde Amasya Müftüsü Ebussu’ûd Efendi, fetvâdan istifa ederek İstanbul’a gidip yerine Sultân Bâyezîd kürsü şeyhi müfessir-i meşhûr Fâzıl Hızır Efendi Amasya müftüsü ve Sultâniyye müderrisi olarak iâde-i ikbâl etdi.
Muharremin on üçüncü günü Mutasarrıf Ferhad Paşa’nın eşkıyâ peşinde olduğu esnada Paşa’ya rağmen eşkıyâ ser-gerdesi Deli Süleyman rüfekâ-yı habâsetiyle güpegündüz Taşan Dağı’ndan inerek Merzifon’u bastı. Pek çok hâneleri yağma ve Merzifon Müftüsü Abdullah Efendi’yi şehîd etdiler. Şâb-ı emret oğlu Mehmed Çelebi’yi alıp dağa gitdiler.
Bu acıklı haberi Varay taraflarından alan Mutasarrıf Ferhad Paşa, Alaybeyi Hüseyin Bey, Muslî Ağa, Sevincerli Ömer Ağa, Serdâr Yûsuf Ağa tâkîbata koyuldu. Fakat bu şenâat Merzifon voyvodasıyla [150] mutasarrıfın teseyyüblerinden ileri geldiği kanaatiyle her ikisi de azledilip Amasya sancağı Karahisar-ı Şarkî Mutasarrıfı es-Seyyid Mehmed Paşa’ya verildi.
In Modern English
He was from Merzifon, the son of Dilâver Ağa, kethüda of Merzifonlu Yahya Pasha. On the thirteenth day of Dhu al-Qa'da 1076 [May 1666] he became governor of Amasya; Abdülcelîlzâde el-Hâc Hüseyin Ağa again became mütesellim of Amasya, and Kadızâde Hüseyin Bey became alaybeyi of Amasya.
For bandits had appeared on Taşan Dağı and around Lâdik, and the Voivode of Merzifon, İbrâhim Ağa, had requested reinforcements from all sides. The governor Ferhad Pasha, the alaybeyi Hüseyin Bey, the Amasya city steward Muslî Ağa, and Sevincerli Ömer Ağa, one of the well-known sipahis, had gone in pursuit of the bandits.
On the tenth day of Dhu al-Hijja, the feast day, after the feast prayer, Mufti Yeğenzâde el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi died, and so the former mufti Ebussuûd Efendi became mufti of Amasya and professor of the Sultaniye, and Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi, one of the great scholars, became şeyhü'l-ulemâ. Hacı Mansûroğlu el-Hâc Hasan Ağa, one of the notables, also died.
The trusteeships of the Ya'kûb Pasha and Pervâne Bey waqfs, of which Müeyyedzâde Abdülvâsî Çelebi, who had died earlier, had been trustee in his lifetime, had been combined and given to Ca'fer Pasha.
But when Hısımzâde Abdülbâkî Efendi bin Yahya Efendi, one of the great kadıs of Istanbul and of the Müeyyedzâde line, also brought a suit, the trusteeship of the Ya'kûb Pasha Waqf was separated and given at that time to the said molla. Also this year Ahmed Pasha, the Amasya-born son of Kalavun Yûsuf Pasha, died; the trusteeship of the Sinan Pasha Waqf was given to his daughters, the ladies Fatıma and Münevvere.
At the beginning of Muharram 1077 [July 1666] Ganîzâde el-Hâc Abdülfettâh Efendi again became kadı of Amasya, at the beginning of Safar Deli Yûsuf Ağazâde Mehmed Ağa became mütesellim of Amasya, and in Rabi' al-Awwal Vizier İbrâhim Pasha of Divriği became governor of Sivas.
On the fifth of Rabi' al-Thani, Mirliva Hacı Selim Bey came as trustee of the Sultan waqfs in lieu of retirement. On the twenty-second of Jumada al-Thani, in place of İbrâhim Pasha, whose post was changed, the Kapıcıbaşı Halil Ağa of Merzifon became beylerbeyi of Sivas with the rank of Rumeli.
This year Hacı Efendizâde el-Hâc Şeyhî Mehmed Ağa bin Sarı Mehmed Ağa, who had had a darülkurrâ (Qur'an reciters' school) built in front of the timarhane (hospital for the mentally ill), died, and after him Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi bin Süleyman, sheikh of the scholars and master of the learned.
At the beginning of Muharram 1078 [June 1667] the Mufti of Amasya, Ebussuûd Efendi, resigned from the fatwa office and went to Istanbul. In his place Fâzıl Hızır Efendi, pulpit sheikh of Sultan Bayezid and renowned exegete, regained his standing as mufti of Amasya and professor of the Sultaniye.
On the thirteenth day of Muharram [July 1667], while the governor Ferhad Pasha was in pursuit of the bandits, in spite of the Pasha the bandit ringleader Deli Süleyman, with his evil companions, came down from Taşan Dağı in broad daylight and raided Merzifon. They plundered many houses and martyred the Mufti of Merzifon, Abdullah Efendi. They also took the mufti's young son Mehmed Çelebi, whose beard had not yet grown, and carried him off to the mountain.
The governor Ferhad Pasha, who received this sad news around Varay, the alaybeyi Hüseyin Bey, Muslî Ağa, Sevincerli Ömer Ağa, and the commander Yûsuf Ağa set off in pursuit. But since it was concluded that this evil event arose from the laxity of the voivode of Merzifon and of the governor, both were dismissed, and the sanjak of Amasya was given to es-Seyyid Mehmed Pasha, Governor of Karahisar-ı Şarkî.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- imdat kuvveti: troops sent as aid
- ta'kîb-i eşkıyâ: pursuing the bandits
- salât-ı 'îd: the feast prayer
- şeyhü'l-ulemâ: the most senior of the city's scholars and their head
- tevliyet: the administration of a waqf, trusteeship
- tevhîden: by combining
- tefrîk: separation
- ber-vech-i tekâüd: in lieu of a retirement pension
- iâde-i ikbâl: regaining a lost position and standing
- ser-gerde: ringleader
- rüfekâ-yı habâset: companions in evil
- şâb-ı emred: a youth whose beard has not yet grown
- şenâat: an ugly, shameful deed
- teseyyüb: laxity, leaving things unattended
The Bandits Who Came Down from Taşan Dağı
The main event of the entry is the raid on Merzifon in Muharram 1078 [July 1667] by the bandit chief called Deli Süleyman. Taşan Dağı, mentioned as the bandits' refuge, is today better known as Tavşan Dağı. Mehmet Öz writes that Merzifon was founded on the southern foothills of Tavşan (Taşan) Dağı, at the edge of the Merzifon plain. With its highest point reaching 1,901 meters, the mountain has Merzifon to its southeast, Gümüşhacıköy to its southwest, Havza to its northeast, and Vezirköprü to its northwest. This position by itself tells how convenient a refuge the mountain was for bandits able to descend on four different towns at once. The voivode of Merzifon's asking for help "from all sides" and the events' extending as far as the Lâdik area can also be explained by this geography.
Varay, where the governor Ferhad Pasha received the news, is one of the old settlements of the sanjak of Amasya. According to the information compiled by Hamdullah Dedeoğlu, the place, which under the name Gediksaray was a kaza and then a nahiye between 1855 and 1878, has Varay or Veray as its other name; today it is a village attached to the district of Göynücek. The Pasha's being far from Merzifon, around Varay, during the raid appears to have caused the later charge of "laxity"; but this is an inference, as Hüsameddin does not give the grounds of the charge in detail.
The timing of the event is also noteworthy. According to Mehmet Öz, the complex of Kara Mustafa Pasha, the greatest figure Merzifon produced in the second half of the seventeenth century, consisting of a mosque, a Taşhan, a bedesten, a library, and baths, was built between 1666 and 1679. The raid took place in exactly these years of construction, in the home town of Kara Mustafa Pasha, then deputy grand vizier. The next entry tells that Kara Mustafa Pasha "gave very great importance" to the event and had the captured bandits executed in Merzifon; it can be supposed that Merzifon's being the home town of the deputy grand vizier played a part in the event's being taken so gravely in Istanbul. No information was found in other sources about Deli Süleyman or about the martyred Mufti of Merzifon, Abdullah Efendi.
Hızır Efendi's Fourth Muftiship
The entry reports that at the beginning of 1078, upon Ebussuûd Efendi's resignation, Fâzıl Hızır Efendi again became mufti of Amasya. Hüseyin Yazıcı likewise writes that in 1078 [1667] Hızır Efendi was appointed for the fourth time to the muftiship vacated by Ebussuûd Efendi's resignation, that in the same year he handed over the pulpit sheikhship of Sultan Bayezid to his youngest son Yakub Efendi, and that he held this office until 1085 [1674]. Hüsameddin's expression "iâde-i ikbâl," that is, he regained his standing, sums up the return of the scholar who had been humiliated in court and exiled to Cyprus eight years earlier.
The darülkurrâ said in the entry to have been built in front of the timarhane was near the old darüşşifa (hospital) on the bank of the Yeşilırmak. Evliya Çelebi writes that there were nine darülkurrâs in Amasya in the seventeenth century, and that in the Sultan Bayezid Darülkurrâ alone there were more than three hundred hafızs; the liveliness of Qur'an education in the city in these years can be considered together with this new waqf.
No information was found in other sources about Ferhad Pasha, his father Dilâver Ağa, or Dilâver's master Merzifonlu Yahya Pasha.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 4, pp. 589–590. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources