Amasyalıdır. Cihât Defterinde mezkûr olduğu üzere Amasya’da Darü’ş-Şifâ mu’temedi Mehmed Halîfe’nin oğludur. Pederinin hayâtında İstanbul’a gidip sarây-ı hümâyûnda Bostancılar Ocağına girdi. 1156’da pederinin fevtiyle vazifesi kendisine verildi.
Ba’dehû ocağında tefeyyüz ederek hâseki ağalığı ile devr-i hidemât edib 1184’de Ya’kûb Ağa’nın yerine Bostancıbaşı, ya’nî Zabtiye Nâzırı olarak ricâl-i devlet sırasına girdi. 1185’de azledilip Hicâz’a gitdi. Avdetinde Üsküdâr’da mukîm olup 1189’da vefât etdi. Karaca Ahmed kabristânında medfûndur. Uhdesinde bulunan mu’temetlik vazifesi mahdûmu Nûreddîn Mehmed Efendi’ye tevcîh edildi. Buna Amasya’da “Bostânîzâde” denirdi.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. As written in the Cihât Defteri, he was the son of Mehmed Halîfe, trustee of the Darüşşifa in Amasya. While his father was alive he went to Istanbul and joined the Bostancı Corps at the sultan's palace. In 1156 [1743-44], on his father's death, the post was given to him.
Later, coming to the fore in the corps, he served as haseki ağa and in 1184 [1770-71], in place of Yakub Ağa, entered the ranks of the men of state as Bostancıbaşı, that is, Zabtiye Nâzırı (Minister of Public Order). In 1185 [1771-72] he was dismissed and went to the Hejaz. On his return he lived in Üsküdar and passed away in 1189 [1775-76]. He is buried in the Karaca Ahmed Cemetery. The trusteeship he held was given to his son Nûreddîn Mehmed Efendi. This man was called "Bostânîzâde" in Amasya.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Cihât Defteri: the register in which waqf posts were recorded (meaning inferred from the text)
- Darüşşifa mu'temedi: the trusted administrator of the Darüşşifa (hospital) in Amasya, the trustee
- Bostancılar Ocağı: the military organization that looked after the palace's gardens, boats and security
- fevt: death
- haseki: a high-ranking servant in the bostancı corps, an elite bostancı
- devr-i hidemât: going round the offices, serving in turn
- Zabtiye Nâzırı: the senior official responsible for public order
- ricâl-i devlet: statesmen
- azl: dismissal from office
- avdet: return
- mukîm: resident
- tevcîh: assignment of a post
Who Was the Bostancıbaşı?
The bostancıs belonged to the outer service of the Ottoman palace organization. Their main work was to look after the palace's vineyards and gardens and the sultan's boats, but they could be used in any work of the palace. The bostancıbaşı, the corps' highest commander, was responsible for the public order of an important part of Istanbul, above all the Bosphorus and the Islands. He held the helm of the boat the sultan boarded, and generally carried out inside the palace the sentences of those condemned to death. Bostancıbaşıs were always raised from the palace, and when they went out into outside service they generally became sanjak beys. Hüsameddin's explanation "Zabtiye Nâzırı" is an equivalent describing the bostancıbaşı's public-order duty in today's language.
Bostancıs from Amasya
The encyclopedia entry records that, like Bursa and Gelibolu, Amasya was a place where the sultans' vineyards and gardens were located and where bostancıs served. This may have eased the family's turning from Amasya towards the palace; Hüsameddin says nothing on this. In the same volume another Amasyan, İbrahim Ağa-Haseki, was also enrolled in the bostancı corps after entering the palace in his youth. The bostancıbaşı's trusteeship at the Darüşşifa was given to his son after his death; his palace career does not seem to have been cut off from the waqf post in Amasya. No separate information could be found in the sources I read about the Cihât Defteri, the condition of the Karaca Ahmed Cemetery in Üsküdar, or the bostancıbaşı's years of service.
Bibliography