Halîl Pasha

In Modern English

He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of Gürcüzâde Mustafa Pasha. On the fourth day of Ramazan 1194 [1780], while mutasarrıf of Beyşehir, he became mutasarrıf of Amasya. At the beginning of Şevval Avkatlıoğlu Fındık Mustafa Ağa son of Hacı Ali Ağa, voivode of Mecidözü, became mutasarrıf of İçil with the rank of beylerbeyi.

Since it was proved that the former naib and clerk had dared to commit improper acts contrary to the sharia and the law, he was executed at Amasya upon the decree that was issued. The müderrisship of the Yörgüç Pasha Madrasa was given to Hacı Osman Muhlis Efendi of Çorum, one of the great scholars.

At the beginning of Zilkade the mutasarrıf Halil Pasha went to Istanbul and the sipahi kethüda Kömüşoğlu Hacı Yusuf Ağa became mütesellim of Amasya. At this time Yeğenzâde Ömer Pasha, who had earlier been dismissed from the sanjak of Malatya and the guardianship of Tulça and come to Amasya, and Hâfız Mustafa Efendi, preacher of the Sultan Bayezid Mosque, died.

At the beginning of Muharrem 1195 [1781] Rahtuvân Paşazâde Hacı İbrahim Bey became chief notable. Since the alaybeyi Mehmed Emîn Bey became voivode of Köprü, Fethullah Ağazâde Abdullah Bey became alaybeyi.

In Safer the chief court clerk and naib of Amasya, Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ahmed Efendi, was removed because some improper conduct of his was seen, and his brother Feyzullah Efendi son of İsmâil Efendi became court clerk. At the beginning of Rebiülevvel Nûh Efendi came as kadı of Amasya.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• voyvoda: the administrator who looked after the tax and public order matters of a kaza or has region
• mîr-i mîrânlıkla: by being given the rank of beylerbeyi
• ahvâl-i nâbecâ: unseemly, improper behavior
• cür'eti sâbit görülmek: to be proved to have dared
• sâdır olan fermân: the imperial order that was issued, commanded
• sipâhî kethüdâsı: the steward who handled the affairs of the sipahis in the sanjak
• ma'zûlen: having been dismissed from office
• vâ'iz: a person who gives sermons in a mosque

The Gürcüzades

Halil Pasha comes from the "Gürcü Dynasty" that Hüsameddin counts among the deep-rooted families of Amasya in the introductory part of his book. According to the author, this family descends from Büyük Gürcü Ali Bey, who was alaybeyi of Amasya in 1057 [1647]; it was known by the name "Gürcüzâde" until 1240 [1824-25] and afterward under the names "Hâfız Ali Paşazâde" and "Deli Beyzâde". Hüsameddin records that from the descent of Gürcü Ali Bey three beylerbeyis and two viziers arose under the names "Halil Pasha", "Hâfız Ali Pasha", "Hıfzî Mehmed Pasha" and "Mikdâd Ahmed Pasha". The Halil Pasha in this list must be the subject of our entry. Hüsameddin also relates that Gürcüzâde Mehmed Necib Bey of the same descent had some buildings in Amasya repaired in 1314 and 1316 [1896-99]; the family's presence in the city continued down to the author's own time.

Halil Pasha's first mutasarrıflık in Amasya lasted a few months. Hüsameddin writes in the next entry that he became beylerbeyi of Maraş, and two entries later that, as one of the opponents of Canikli Mikdâd Ahmed Pasha, just as he had returned from Maraş he was obliged to live in Kütahya because of complaints arranged by Mikdâd Pasha, and from there fled and took refuge with the governor of Erzurum, Yazıcızâde Mustafa Pasha. Thus Halil Pasha appears to us as the representative of one of the Amasya families that came into direct conflict with the Canikli family's return to Amasya. No information was found in other sources on Halil Pasha's posts at Beyşehir and Maraş.

The Executed Naib

The "former naib and clerk" who is said in the entry to have been executed, without being named, is the court clerk and naib of Amasya Ahmed Efendi, who, as recounted in the previous entry, had been much talked about in Mikdâd Pasha's time as the mentor of the Göztaşoğulları, was removed and arrested, and against whom the examination of complaints had begun. The purge undertaken against the local partners of the Canikli administration ended with his execution. That Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ahmed Efendi, another clerk of the same circle, was removed a few months later shows how contested an office the court clerkship was in these years. These events do not appear in other sources.

The Avkatlıoğulları and the Yörgüç Pasha Madrasa

Avkatlıoğlu Fındık Mustafa Ağa, voivode of Mecidözü, is the son of Avkatlıoğlu Hacı Ali Ağa, who is often mentioned in Hüsameddin's earlier entries as a notable of Mecidözü. Two entries later Hüsameddin records that Avkatlıoğlu Mustafa Pasha, very probably this same person, who had received the rank of beylerbeyi, also went to Çapanoğlu Hacı Mustafa Bey, bey of Bozok, upon the Canikli's return; it is understood that the family took its place on the Çapanoğlu side. No information was found in other sources on the family.

The Yörgüç Pasha Madrasa, whose müderrisship was given to Hacı Osman Muhlis Efendi of Çorum, was attached to the Yörgüç Pasha Mosque. According to the inscription over its door, the mosque was built in 834 [1430] by Atabeg Yörgüç Pasha. The domed enclosed section east of the entrance iwan of the building, of tabhane plan, is thought to be the lecture hall of the madrasa, which has not survived. The mosque and tomb stand today; the madrasa has left a trace only in this lecture-hall space.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, Supplement to Volume 4, p. 669. amasya.bel.tr
• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 1 (Introduction, "Gürcü Sülâlesi") and Supplement to Volume 4 ("Mikdâd Ahmed Paşa", the entry on the second mutasarrıflık).

Academic studies

• Emine Naza Dönmez, "Yörgüç Paşa Camii", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/yorguc-pasa-camii