Esbak Amasya mütesellimi el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa bin Avkatlı İbrâhim Ağa’nın oğludur. Amasya a’yânından iken Canikli Hacı Ali Paşa’nın şerrinden kaçıp İstanbul’a gitdi. Orada Alâ’iyyeli Yeğen es-Seyyid Mehmed Paşa dâ’iresine girdi.
Müşârün-ileyhin i’timâdını kazanıp miftâh ağası, ba’dehû hazine-dârı olup 1196 senesi ramazânında vezîr-i müşarün ileyhe sadâretinde kapıcılar kethüdâsı oldu. Sonra bir müddet kethüdâsı olup devr-i bilâd etdi. 1203’de vefâtı üzerine İstanbul’a gelip 1208 senesinde vefât etdi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Mehmed Ağa, the former mütesellim of Amasya, himself the son of Avkatlı İbrahim Ağa. While he was one of the notables (ayan) of Amasya, he fled the malice of Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha and went to Istanbul. There he joined the retinue of Alâiyyeli Yeğen Seyyid Mehmed Pasha.
Having won the confidence of the said pasha, he became keeper of the keys (anahtar ağası) and then treasurer (hazinedar). When the pasha became grand vizier in Ramadan of 1196 [1782], he became kapıcılar kethüdası. Then for a time he was the pasha's steward (kethüda) and traveled through the country. In 1203 [1788-89], on the pasha's death, he came to Istanbul, and he died in 1208 [1793-94].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- esbak: former, previous
- mütesellim: an official who administered a sanjak as deputy
- a'yân: the notables of a city
- şer: evil, harm
- dâ'ire: the circle, the retinue of a statesman
- müşârün-ileyh: the aforementioned
- i'timâd: confidence, trust
- miftâh ağası: keeper of the keys
- hazine-dâr: treasurer, the person in charge of the place where money and valuables are kept
- sadâret: the grand vizierate
- devr-i bilâd: traveling around the country
Yeğen Seyyid Mehmed Pasha
"Alâiyyeli Yeğen Seyyid Mehmed Pasha" in the text was an Ottoman grand vizier, born in 1726 in Alaiye (Alanya). Like his father, he was among the agas of the serdengeçtis; he entered the janissary corps and rose within it to zağarcıbaşı, to kul kethüdası, and in 1772 to aga of the janissaries, receiving the rank of vizier in the same year. In 1774, during the army's return at the end of the Russian war, he served as deputy grand vizier (sadaret kaymakamı). He was moved from post to post many times, and once was exiled to Alaiye and stripped of his rank. He was grand vizier between 25 August 1782 and 31 December 1782. These dates match exactly the "Ramadan of 1196" given by Hüsameddin. His death is given in the source as 6 December 1787 at Köstence (Constanța); Hüsameddin, however, gives his death as 1203 [1788-89]. The difference is about a year, and which is correct cannot be determined from this entry.
Flight from Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha
The sanjak of Amasya had been granted to Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha as a lifetime tax farm (malikâne) in 1772; after a time the pasha's sons also took posts in the region. It is also known that the notables of Amasya, unable to bear the pressure of his younger son Mikdad Ahmed Pasha, took refuge with Çapanoğlu Mustafa Bey in late 1778. İbrahim Ağa's flight to Istanbul is an example of this climate of pressure. The date of the flight is not stated in the text.
The offices of treasurer and kapıcılar kethüdası show how high a provincial notable could rise in the circle of the palace. The ties of the Avkatlızâde family to Amasya and its lineage could not be verified in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 64–64. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources