Amasyalıdır. Ayasofya mahzen evrâkında bulunan Kapu Ağaları Defteri’nde “İbrâhim Mahmûd Amasiye” diye künyesi mestûr olduğu üzere Amasyalı Mahmûd’un oğludur. 1127’de enderûn sarayına girip kapıcılar zümresine iltihâk ederek ilm ü ma’rifet öğrendi.
Ba’dehû tarîkında tefeyyüz ederek Kapıcılar Ocağı kethüdâsı, [169] 1151’de bâbü’s-sa’âde ağası oldu. Birkaç def’a ma’zûl olup odabaşı, sonra yine bâbü’s-sa’âde ağası oldu. 1171’de kapıcıbaşılıkla taşra çıkıp müte’âkiben Ayasofya evkâfı mütevellîsi olduğu hâlde 1179 senesi cumâdelâhiresinin ikinci günü vefât etdi. Üsküdâr’da medfûndur.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. As his identification is written as "İbrahim Mahmûd Amasiye" in the Register of the Kapı Ağas found among the papers of the Hagia Sophia vault, he is the son of Mahmud of Amasya. In 1127 [1715] he entered the Enderun palace, joined the body of the gatekeepers (kapıcılar) and learned knowledge and refinement.
Later, rising along this path, he became kethüda of the Gatekeepers' Corps and, in 1151 [1738-39], Bâbüssaâde ağası (kapı ağası). Having been dismissed several times and made odabaşı, he again became Bâbüssaâde ağası. In 1171 [1757-58] he went out to the provinces with the rank of kapıcıbaşı and then, while trustee of the Hagia Sophia waqfs, passed away on the second day of Jumada al-Thani 1179 [1765]. He is buried in Üsküdar.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahzen evrâkı: documents kept in a storehouse
- künye: a record containing name and parentage details
- enderûn: the inner part of the palace; the palace school
- kapıcılar zümresi: the officials who guarded the palace gates
- Kapıcılar Ocağı kethüdâsı: the steward of the gatekeepers
- Bâbü's-sa'âde ağası: the ağa of the Bâbüssaâde, the entrance to the Enderun part of the palace; the Kapı ağası
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- odabaşı: head of a chamber, a rank in the palace organization
- mütevellî: the administrator of a waqf
- medfûn: buried
Who Was the Kapı Ağası?
The encyclopedia entry defines the Kapı Ağası (Bâbüssaâde ağası) as "one of the most important officials among the Enderun men in the Ottoman palace, the head of the eunuch ağas". That is, by the known definition this office means the head of the castrated palace ağas. Hüsameddin's İbrahim Ağa in this entry, however, is a man of Amasya whose father's name is recorded; the entry mentions neither children nor marriage. Whether Hüsameddin uses the phrase "Bâbü's-sa'âde ağası" in exactly this sense, or in the sense of another ağa in charge of the gate watch, cannot be understood from the text. No further source to verify the matter could be reached. It should be marked as a doubtful point.
From Enderun to the Provinces and to the Hagia Sophia Waqf
The stages that followed İbrahim Ağa's entry into Enderun in 1127 resemble those of the other palace-born Amasyans in the same volume. According to the encyclopedia entry, the kapıcıbaşı title was widely given as a rank in the 18th century, and kapıcıbaşıs could serve in the provinces as sanjak bey or governor. The text writes that in 1171 İbrahim Ağa "went out to the provinces as kapıcıbaşı" and then became trustee of the Hagia Sophia waqfs. The administration of the Hagia Sophia waqfs, according to the information Hüsameddin gives, was his post just before his death; its details could not be found in the sources.
Hüsameddin bases the information on the "Kapu Ağaları Defteri" he found among the "Hagia Sophia vault papers". No information was found on the present location and contents of this register.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 60–60. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies