Gürcü ümerâsından bir mühtedîdir. 996 senesi saferinde Amasya beyi olup geldi. Fakat halk arasında çıkan gürültüler basdırılmış değildi. Bu esnâda top arabacılar başılığından mütekâ'id olan Mahmûd Ağa Amasya'da ikâmet ediyordu.
Amasya top arabacıları kethüdâsı meşhûr Amasyalı topçu Mehmed Ağa arabacılar arasında çıkan nizâ'ı Mahmûd Ağa'nın müdâhalesinden neş'et etdiğine zâhib olmuş, arabacıları ve Amasya'yı ihtilâle veriyor, diye yazmışdı. Fakat Mahmûd Ağa kaldırılmamışdı.
Yeni gelen müftü Tâceddîn Efendi hakîkaten fâzıl, halûk, doğru sözlü bir zât idi. Ulemânın arasına giren bürûdeti kaldırdı. Fakat mühtedîler arasında tekevvün eden güft ü gû bir türlü izâle edilemedi. Türkler fenâ sözlerle rencîde ediliyordu.
Türkler mîrlivâ Husrev Bey'e şikâyet etdikçe fenâ cevâblarla iskât edilmeğe başlandı. Sivas vâlîsi Mehmed Paşa'ya ve makâm-ı sadârete şikâyetler tevâlî ederek 996 senesi şevvâlinde gürültü tâzelendi. Türkler'le gayr-i Türkler arasında arbedeler çıkdı. Amasya'da tahsîlde bulunan Türkler'den Mahmûd Efendi Türklük bayrağını ilk def'a açdı.
Mahmûd Efendi Mecidözü kazâsına tâbi' Gelik denilen köyden olup Amasya'da Mehmed Paşa Medresesi'nde tahsîl-i ulûm etmekde idi. [333] Kendisine "Kalın Dudak" denirdi. Çarşıda bir mühtedî yeniçeri tarafından milliyeti fenâ hâlde tahkîr edilerek darb edilmiş, sûhteler tarafından kurtarılmışdı.
Kavgâ bütün yeniçerilere, arabacılara hattâ sipâhîlere sirâyet ederek sipâhîlerin sûhteleri iltizâm etmesinden büyümüş, kamalar oynamışdı. Sipâhî kethüdâyeri meşhûr Deli Zülfikâr Ağa araya girmiş, sûhtelerle yeniçerileri te'lîf etmeğe gayret etmişdi.
Mîrlivâ Husrev Bey'le Mahmûd Ağa yeniçerileri iltizâm etmekle kavgâ katmerlendi. Zâten kızgın olan sipâhîler de işe karışdı. Korkunç bir kavgâ oldu. Sivas beylerbeyi Mehmed Paşa gelip güç hâl ile arbedeyi teskîn etdi. Fakat hayli nüfûs telef olup gitdi.
997 senesi muharremi evâ'ilinde mîrlivâ Husrev Bey azl edildi. Top arabacılar başı Mahmûd Ağa İstanbul'a kaldırıldı.⁶⁰¹ Mes'eleyi tahkîke me'mûren Amasya ulemâsından Îcâdîzâde eş-Şeyh Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi İstanbul'dan geldi. Sivas beylerbeyiliğine meşhûr Deli Hızır Paşa ve Amasya beyliğine de Ahmed Bey ta'yîn edildi.
In Modern English
He was one of the Georgian beys, a man who had converted to Islam later in life. In Safar of the year 996 [1587–88] he came as bey of Amasya. But the uproar that had arisen among the people had not been suppressed. At this time Mahmud Ağa, retired from the headship of the cannon wagoners (top arabacıları), was living in Amasya.
Mehmed Ağa, the well-known gunner of Amasya and steward of the cannon wagoners of Amasya, had come to the conviction that the dispute that arose among the wagoners had come from Mahmud Ağa's interference; he had written that "he is dragging the wagoners and Amasya into confusion." But Mahmud Ağa had not been removed from his place.
The newly arrived mufti Tâceddin Efendi was a truly learned, gentle-natured and truthful man. He removed the coolness that had come between the scholars. But the wrangling that arose among those who had converted to Islam later in life could never be eliminated. The Turks were being hurt with bad words.
As the Turks complained to the sanjak bey Hüsrev Bey, they began to be silenced with bad replies. With complaints sent one after another to the governor of Sivas, Mehmed Pasha, and to the office of the grand vizier, the uproar began again in Shawwal of 996 [1588]. Quarrels broke out between Turks and non-Turks. Mahmud Efendi, one of the Turks studying in Amasya, raised the banner of Turkishness for the first time.
Mahmud Efendi was from the village called Gelik in the district of Mecidözü and was studying at the Mehmed Pasha Madrasa in Amasya. He was called "Kalın Dudak" (Thick Lip). In the market he had been beaten by a janissary who had converted to Islam later in life, who had very badly insulted his nationality, and he was rescued by the madrasa students (sûhtes).
The quarrel spread to all the janissaries, the wagoners, even the sipahis. It grew with the sipahis' siding with the madrasa students, and knives were drawn. The sipahi kethüdayeri (local sipahi commander), the well-known Deli Zülfikâr Ağa, intervened and tried to reconcile the students and the janissaries.
When the sanjak bey Hüsrev Bey and Mahmud Ağa sided with the janissaries, the quarrel was compounded. The sipahis, already angry, also joined in. A terrible fight took place. The beylerbeyi of Sivas, Mehmed Pasha, came and with difficulty calmed the turmoil. But considerable loss of life was suffered.
At the beginning of Muharram 997 [1588–89], the sanjak bey Hüsrev Bey was dismissed. The head of the cannon wagoners, Mahmud Ağa, was taken to Istanbul. Îcâdîzâde Sheikh Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi, one of the scholars of Amasya, charged with investigating the matter, came from Istanbul. The well-known Deli Hızır Pasha was appointed to the beylerbeyilik of Sivas and Ahmed Bey to the beylik of Amasya.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mühtedî: a person who converted to Islam later in life
- top arabacıları: kapıkulu soldiers who drove the cannon and ammunition wagons in the Ottoman army
- kethüdâ: steward, administrator at the head of a body
- sûhte: madrasa student, softa
- sipâhî kethüdâyeri: local commander of the sipahis
- mütesellim: deputy of the sanjak bey
- nizâ': dispute, contention
- bürûdet: coolness, estrangement
- güft ü gû: wrangling, contentious talk
- arbede: brawl, noisy clash
- kama: short, broad knife
- tahkîr: belittling, insulting
The Quarrel in Amasya
In this entry Hüsameddin gives the moment when the tension he has been narrating since the earlier pages spilled into the street. According to the account, the quarrel's starting point was a Turkish madrasa student's being beaten in the market by a janissary who had converted to Islam later in life. When the madrasa students rescued him the incident grew, with the janissaries and cannon wagoners on one side and the sipahis and students on the other. At the root of the tension, according to the text itself, lies the dispute carried on over the distribution of zeamets and timars and over the origin of officials; in the previous two entries this subject had already been opened with the giving of a zeamet to Hüsrev Bey and the complaint about "the influence of the devshirme."
The point the reader must note is that the only source of this event is Hüsameddin's book. No information about the event was found in other sources. Hüsameddin's account interprets the event as a struggle between "Turkishness" and its opposite; the sentence "raised the banner of Turkishness for the first time" is also the author's own interpretation. The text also states plainly that in the quarrel the sides were divided into the janissaries and cannon wagoners on one hand and the sipahis and madrasa students on the other; this division suggests that the event was not only a dispute about origin but also included a rivalry among military classes. This is our reading; the text does not say so.
As noted in a footnote, a summary of the decree that came concerning the taking of Mahmud Ağa to Istanbul is given in an earlier part of the book. The petition (arz) written by Mehmed Ağa shows Mahmud Ağa as the cause of the turmoil.
Persons
This incident, in which Mahmud Efendi is mentioned by the names "Gelikli" and "Kalın Dudak," continues in the next entry with the decree sent for his search. The village of Gelik, attached to Mecidözü, is mentioned as Mahmud Efendi's home. No source could be reached for this entry on the present state of the Mehmed Pasha Madrasa. No information was found in other sources about Îcâdîzâde Sheikh Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi, Deli Zülfikâr Ağa and the other persons.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, pp. 515–516. amasya.bel.tr