Amasyalıdır. Mehmed oğlu olup gençliğinde enderûn defterlerinde görüldüğü üzere helva-hâne-i hâssaya girip yıllarca orada terbiye gördü. Mesleğinde tefeyyüz ederek aşçılar kethüdâsı, Sultân Selîm Hân-ı Sâlîs’in cülûsunda ser-tabbâhin-i hâssa, ya’nî aşçıbaşı oldu.
1218’de mütekâ’id olup recebinde Hicâz’a gitdi. Ba’dehû vefât etdi. Mahdûmları rikâb-ı hümâyûn ağalarından Mehmed Ağa ile kapıcıbaşılardan el-Hâc Mustafa, Mûsâ Ağalardır. Bunlara ve evlâdına “Aşçızâdeler” dendi. Amasya’da Çöplüce Medresesini bunlar yaptırdı.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Mehmed. In his youth, as seen in the Enderun registers, he entered the imperial halvah kitchen (has helvahane) and was trained there for years. Advancing in his profession, he became kethüda of the cooks; at the accession of Sultan Selîm III he became ser-tabbâhîn-i hâssa, that is, chief cook of the palace.
He retired in 1218 and went to the Hejaz in the month of Receb. Then he died. His sons are Mehmed Ağa, one of the sultan's rikâb ağas, and Hacı Mustafa and Mûsâ Ağa, among the kapıcıbaşıs. These and their children came to be called the "Aşçızâdes." They built the Çöplüce Madrasa in Amasya.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- enderûn: the inner school and service organization in the sultan's palace
- helva-hâne-i hâssa: the palace halvah kitchen
- tefeyyüz: progress, advancement
- aşçılar kethüdâsı: the deputy, steward of the palace cooks
- cülûs: the accession of a sultan to the throne
- ser-tabbâhîn-i hâssa: the head of the palace cooks, the chief cook
- mütekâ'id: retired; mahdûm: son
- rikâb-ı hümâyûn ağaları: palace officials in the sultan's service
- kapıcıbaşı: the head of the palace gatekeepers; in the later centuries also given as a rank
The Aşçızâdes and the Çöplüce Madrasa
The palace cooks were among the groups in the Ottoman state that met the needs of the palace and the kapıkulu soldiers; in these groups, called the palace tradesmen, masters were trained up from apprenticeship. The person in the entry entering the halvah kitchen in his youth and being trained there for years fits this order.
The family's trace in Amasya is the Çöplüce Madrasa. According to the record in Amasya Araştırmaları, the madrasa stands behind the Yakup Pasha Zaviye, next to the primary school and in front of the hospital, and was built in 1819 by Aşçızâde Hacı Mehmed Ağa of Amasya, one of the Enderun administrators. The building is of wood; it is described as small but very beautiful. Because Hacı Mustafa Ağa, known as "Çöplüce," the cousin (paternal uncle's son) of Mehmed Ağa who built the madrasa, was its trustee (mütevelli), the madrasa came to be known by his epithet. The first professor was Seyyid Mustafa Efendi, son of Hacı Ahmed Efendi; after him his son-in-law Karagözzâde Küçük Mustafa Efendi, and then the latter's son-in-law Ali Kayazâde Hacı Ahmed Sıdkı Efendi, became professors.
The two accounts complement each other, but an uncertainty remains at one point. Hüsameddin attributes the madrasa to İbrâhim Ağa's sons and counts a Hacı Mustafa among the sons. The record in Amasya Araştırmaları, on the other hand, states that the builder was Mehmed Ağa, and that the trustee was his cousin (paternal uncle's son) named Hacı Mustafa Ağa, known as "Çöplüce." Whether this Mustafa Ağa is the same person as the son Hacı Mustafa that Hüsameddin counts, or what degree of kinship was involved, cannot be settled from the sources at hand. No information was found on the present condition of the madrasa.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 67. amasya.bel.tr
Official sources
- Yavuz Bayram (ed.), I. Amasya Araştırmaları (2. Kitap), Amasya Valiliği Yayınları, No: 23, 2007, Çöplüce Medresesi entry.
- Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi, "Esnaf" and "Kapıcı" articles (islamansiklopedisi.org.tr).