Çerkeşlidir. Hidâyetzâde Hacı Alî Ağa bin Halîl Ağa'nın oğludur. Şehrizor vâlîsi iken 1182 rebî'ulevvelinin on üçüncü günü Amasya mutasarrıfı olup kethüdâsı İskilipli Hacı Halîl Ağa mütesellim olarak geldi.
A'yândan Hacı Kadiroğlu Mustafâ, Ahmed Ağalar yüz ellişer, Hacı Bâkioğlu Hacı Abdulbâkî Ağa yüz, serdâr Yüzbaşıoğlu Mustafâ [114] Ağa dört yüz seksen, Alî Hocaoğlu Sâlih Ağa doksan, Köprü serdârı Hacı Kâsımoğlu Ahmed Ağa yüz kırk, Köprü a'yânı Danacı İbrâhîm Ağa elli beş nefer ma'iyyetlerine başbuğ olup harbe gitdiler.
Rebî'ulevvelin yirmisinde Zeyneloğlu'nun azliyle Çorakçıoğlu Hacı Mustafâ Ağa şehir kethüdâsı, alaybeyi İsmâ'il Bey'in orduda vefâtıyla Kesdekoğlu Ahmed Bey bin Mustafâ Bey alaybeyi ve cemâziyelâhirde Hıfzîzâde Hacı Abdulganî Efendi hacıbaşı oldu.
Şa'bânın ikinci günü müftü efendinin azliyle fâzıl Hacı Kâşif Mehmed Efendi Amasya müftüsü oldu. Şa'bânın sonlarında Uzun Müftü Aybatsalı Hacı Abdullâh Efendi vefât etdi.
Ramazânda baş a'yân Hâfız Mehmed Efendi gece hânesine giren ba'zı erâzil tarafından tehlikeli bir sûretde yaralandı. Bir gün sonra vefât etdi. Yerine Yenicelioğlu Hacı Mehmed Ağa baş a'yân oldu. Mütesellim Hacı Halîl Ağa kâtilleri taharriyâta koyuldu. Şevvâlde Zanalı Hacı Ahmed Paşazâde Ömer Bey mübâya'acı olarak Amasya'ya geldi. Selefi Bekir Beyzâde Abdullâh Bey de Sivâs vilâyeti mübâya'acısı olup gitdi.
Zilka'de evâ'ilinde Ayşe Sultân kethüdâsı Merzifonlu Hacı Hasan Ağa evkâf-ı sultâniyye [115] mütevellîsi ve mahdûmu Hâmid Mehmed Efendi kâ'im-makâmı olarak geldi. Hacı Hasan Ağa, "Atçeken Ağası" demekle meşhûr idi.
1183 muharreminde Köseoğlu Hacı Ömer Ağa bin Hacı Mehmed Ağa baş a'yân ve Dânişoğlu Hacı İbrâhim Efendi bin Hacı Osmân Efendi hacıbaşı, Gürcüzâde Hacı Ahmed Bey de alaybeyi, saferde Gül Ahmed Paşazâde Hacı Alî Paşa Sivâs vâlîsi ve Bender seraskeri olup amcazâdesi ve kethüdâsı Amasyalı Hacı Feyzullâhoğlu İkinci Hüseyin Ağa idi.
Rebî'ulevvelin dokuzuncu günü sâbık müftü ve Sultâniyye müderrisi Hacı Hâfız Abdurrahmân Efendi vefât edip Âkif Mustafâ Efendizâde Kâmil İsmâ'il Efendi müderris ve rebî'ulâhirde Hacı Halîl Efendi Amasya kadısı ve müftü Kâşif Efendi'nin azliyle müftü Şeyhzâde İsmâ'il Efendi Amasya müftüsü oldu.
Cemâziyelâhirin beşinci günü Gürcüzâde Halîl Bey, muhârebede gösterdiği yararlığa binâ'en mîr-i mîrânlıkla Akşehir mutasarrıfı ve Tutrakan muhâfızı oldu. Bu esnâda Sivâs vâlîliği Sârim İbrâhim Paşa'ya verildiğinden tarafından Çapanoğlu Selîm Bey Sivâs mütesellimi olmuşdu. Bunun nüfûzu Zaralı Oğulları'nı basdırdı.
Şevvâlde Bender civârında harb eden mutasarrıf [116] Hidâyet Paşa şehîd olup fırkası bozulmak üzere iken fırkanın başına geçerek yararlıklar gösteren Merzifon voyvodası Hacı Sâdık Mehmed Ağa'ya Amasya sancağı Rûmeli pâyesiyle verildi.
In Modern English
He was from Çerkeş. He was the son of Hidâyetzade Hacı Ali Ağa son of Halil Ağa. While governor of Şehrizor, on the thirteenth day of Rebiülevvel 1182 [28 July 1768] he became mutasarrıf of Amasya; his kethüda İskilipli Hacı Halil Ağa came to Amasya as mütesellim.
Among the notables, Hacı Kadiroğlu Mustafa and Ahmed Ağas with one hundred and fifty each, Hacı Bâkioğlu Hacı Abdülbâki Ağa with one hundred, the serdar Yüzbaşıoğlu Mustafa Ağa with four hundred and eighty, Ali Hocaoğlu Salih Ağa with ninety, the serdar of Köprü Hacı Kasımoğlu Ahmed Ağa with one hundred and forty, and Danacı İbrahim Ağa, one of the notables of Köprü, with fifty-five, each placing himself at the head of his retinue, went to the war.
On the twentieth of Rebiülevvel, with the dismissal of Zeyneloğlu, Çorakçıoğlu Hacı Mustafa Ağa became city kethüda. When the alaybeyi İsmail Bey died in the army, Kesdekoğlu Ahmed Bey son of Mustafa Bey became alaybeyi. In Cemaziyelahir Hıfzîzade Hacı Abdülganî Efendi became hacıbaşı.
On the second day of Şaban, with the dismissal of the mufti efendi, the worthy scholar Hacı Kâşif Mehmed Efendi became mufti of Amasya. At the end of Şaban Aybatsalı Hacı Abdullah Efendi, known as the "Tall Mufti", died.
In Ramazan the chief notable Hafız Mehmed Efendi was gravely wounded by a rabble that entered his house at night, and died a day later. In his place Yenicelioğlu Hacı Mehmed Ağa became chief notable. The mütesellim Hacı Halil Ağa set about searching for the murderers. In Şevval Zanalı Hacı Ahmed Paşazade Ömer Bey came to Amasya as the official in charge of buying provisions in the name of the state. Bekir Beyzade Abdullah Bey, who had held this post before him, went as purchasing official of the province of Sivas.
In the first days of Zilkade Merzifonlu Hacı Hasan Ağa, kethüda of Ayşe Sultan, became steward of the sultan's waqfs, and his son Hamid Mehmed Efendi came as his deputy. Hacı Hasan Ağa was known as the "Atçeken Ağası".
In Muharrem 1183 [May 1769] Köseoğlu Hacı Ömer Ağa son of Hacı Mehmed Ağa became chief notable, Dânişoğlu Hacı İbrahim Efendi son of Hacı Osman Efendi hacıbaşı, and Gürcüzade Hacı Ahmed Bey alaybeyi. In Safer Gül Ahmed Paşazade Hacı Ali Pasha became governor of Sivas and seraskeri of Bender; his cousin and kethüda was Hacı Feyzullahoğlu the Second Hüseyin Ağa of Amasya.
On the ninth day of Rebiülevvel the former mufti and müderris of the Sultaniye Madrasa, Hacı Hafız Abdurrahman Efendi, died; in his place Âkif Mustafa Efendizade Kâmil İsmail Efendi became müderris. In Rebiülahir Hacı Halil Efendi became kadı of Amasya; with the dismissal of the mufti Kâşif Efendi, Şeyhzade İsmail Efendi became mufti of Amasya.
On the fifth day of Cemaziyelahir Gürcüzade Halil Bey, on account of the usefulness he showed in the war, became mutasarrıf of Akşehir and guardian of Tutrakan with the rank of beylerbeyi. At this time, since the governorship of Sivas had been given to Sârim İbrahim Pasha, Çapanoğlu Selim Bey had become mütesellim of Sivas in his name. His influence suppressed the Zaralı Oğulları.
In Şevval [January-February 1770] the mutasarrıf Hidâyet Pasha, fighting near Bender, fell a martyr. The sanjak of Amasya was given with the rank of beylerbeyi of Rumelia to Hacı Sâdık Mehmed Ağa, voivode of Merzifon, who, when his unit was about to disperse, took charge and showed great services.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ma'iyyet: the men under the orders of a person of rank, his retinue
- başbuğ: commander at the head of a unit
- nefer: soldier, person
- serdâr: head of the janissaries in a city
- alaybeyi: the commander who took the timar-holding sipahis of a sanjak to war
- erâzil: the rabble, base persons
- taharriyât: searching, investigation
- mübâya'acı: the official who bought provisions and animals for the army in the name of the state
- selef: the one who preceded in an office
- evkâf-ı sultâniyye: the waqfs of the sultans in Amasya
- mütevellî: the official who administers a waqf
- kâ'im-makâm: deputy
- mîr-i mîrânlık: the rank of beylerbeyi
- Rûmeli pâyesi: the rank of beylerbeyi of Rumelia, the highest beylerbeyi rank in the provinces
- fırka: military unit
Amasya's Contribution to the War
The second paragraph of the entry is a rare listing showing how, in the first year of the Ottoman-Russian War of 1768-1774, the notables of Amasya and Köprü (today's Vezirköprü) went to the front with their own men. Adding up the numbers Hüsameddin gives, these seven ağas alone took part in the war with 1,165 persons; nearly half of them were under the command of the serdar Yüzbaşıoğlu Mustafa Ağa. This picture clearly shows that in the eighteenth century the state met its need for soldiers largely through the retinues of the provincial notables.
The burden of the war was not limited to soldiers. A study based on the Amasya sharia court registers reveals that, by a purchase decree of 1769, seventy thousand kile of flour and forty thousand kile of barley were required from the sanjak of Amasya at the low price set by the state, at sixty and thirty akçe per kile, and to be carried to the Samsun landing. In the same registers it is seen that one hundred and fifty camels and many mules were demanded from the sanjak for the campaign. The coming to Amasya of the purchasing official Zanalı Ömer Bey, whom Hüsameddin records, coincides with the years of these purchases. According to the same study, while in 1767 125 dirhems of bread could be bought for one akçe, in 1770-1771 this amount fell to 80 dirhems; this is an early sign of the famine and high prices mentioned in later entries.
The Martyrdom of Hidâyet Pasha
No information was found in other sources on Hidâyet Pasha. Hüsameddin places his falling a martyr near Bender in Şevval 1183, that is, January-February 1770. The great Russian siege of Bender Castle, however, took place between 6 July and 27 September 1770, and the fortress fell into Russian hands at heavy cost. The engagement Hüsameddin mentions is either one of the preliminary clashes continuing in the region before the siege or the date has shifted by a few months; with the sources at hand this distinction cannot be made. That with the Pasha's death the sanjak was given to the Merzifon voivode who took charge of the unit is an example showing that provincials who proved useful at the front in the war years could rise quickly.
The Sultaniye Madrasa and the Muftis of Amasya
That Hacı Hafız Abdurrahman Efendi, whose death is recorded in the entry, was both a former mufti and müderris of the Sultaniye is not a coincidence. The madrasa, also known as the Sultaniye, is part of the Bayezid II Complex, completed according to its inscription in Receb 891 [July 1486]. Hüsameddin reports that the müderrisship of this madrasa was reserved for the muftis of Amasya and that its first teacher was the famous Şeyhülislam Zenbilli Ali Efendi. The madrasa is today well preserved through repair and has for many years been used as the provincial public library.
Gürcüzade Halil Bey's being appointed in this entry guardian of Tutrakan with the rank of beylerbeyi is the first step of his rise, which we shall see in entry 61 as mutasarrıf of Amasya. Çapanoğlu Selim Bey's mütesellimlik in Sivas, named in the entry, shows that the Çapanoğulları, based at Bozok, were gaining strength in these years in the regions neighboring Amasya; this family would a few years later contend with the Canikliler over Amasya.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, Supplement to Volume 4, p. 661–662. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources