[159] Merzifonludur. Mustafa Ağa’nın oğlu ve Trabzon vâlisi olup 1148’de maktûlen vefât eden vezîr Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın birâderidir. Müşârün-ileyhin kethüdâsı ve tarafından Trabzon mütesellimi olarak nüfûz ve şöhret kazandı. Bilâ-veled vefât eden Paşa’nın Trabzon’da yaptırdığı hayrât ve evkâfına mütevellî, Trabzon’un aynü’l-a’yânı ve mükerreren mütesellimi olduğu hâlde 1161’de vefât etdi. (Cihâd Defteri)
Mahdûmu el-Hâc Mahmûd Bey vakfa mütevellî ve nüfûz ü servetine vâris oldu. Bunun Ahmed Bey de vakfa mütevellî olduğu hâlde 1218’de vefât edib tevliyet oğulları İsmâil Râsim, Mahmûd Mes’ûd Beylere verildi. İsmâil Râsim Bey 1246’da vefâtıyla oğulları es-Seyyid İbrâhim, Mehmed, Osmân Beylerdir. Mes’ûd Bey de 1258’de vefât edib oğulları Ahmed Kâsım, Mehmed Ziyâ, Mustafa Hakkı Beylerdir. Mehmed Ziyâ Beyzâde Ali Rızâ Bey Kayseriye cezâ re’isi iken 1331’de dâr-ı mücâzâte gitdi.
In Modern English
He was from Merzifon. He was the son of Mustafa Ağa and the brother of the vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, who was killed in 1148 [1735-36] while governor of Trabzon. He gained influence and renown as the kethüda (steward) of the said pasha and as his mütesellim (deputy governor) of Trabzon. The pasha died without children; İbrahim Ağa was trustee of the charitable works and waqfs the pasha had built in Trabzon, and was ayanbaşı (head of the notables) of Trabzon and several times its mütesellim, until he died in 1161 [1748]. (Cihâd Defteri)
His son el-Hâc Mahmud Bey became trustee of the waqf and also inherited his influence and wealth. His [son] Ahmed Bey, while trustee of the waqf, died in 1218 [1803-04]; the trusteeship was given to his sons İsmâil Râsim and Mahmud Mes'ud Beys. When İsmâil Râsim Bey died in 1246 [1830-31], his sons were es-Seyyid İbrahim, Mehmed and Osman Beys. When Mes'ud Bey died in 1258 [1842], his sons were Ahmed Kâsım, Mehmed Ziyâ and Mustafa Hakkı Beys. Mehmed Ziyâ Beyzâde Ali Rızâ Bey died in 1331 [1912-13] while president of the criminal court at Kayseri.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütesellim: a deputy who governed a city or sanjak in place of the governor
- kethüdâ: steward, an assistant who managed the affairs of a great man
- aynü'l-a'yân: the head of the ayan (the local notables)
- bilâ-veled: childless
- hayrât ve evkâf: charitable works and waqfs
- mütevellî: the person who administers a waqf
- maktûlen: by being killed
- dâr-ı mücâzât: house of punishment; in the text, meaning death
- cezâ re'isi: president of a criminal court
Which Kara Mustafa Pasha?
The name "Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha" first brings to mind the grand vizier who was executed in Belgrade after the Vienna defeat of 1683. According to the encyclopedia entry, he was born in 1634-35 in a village near Merzifon and was killed on 6 Muharrem 1095 (25 December 1683). The pasha in Hüsameddin's entry, however, is a different vizier, killed in 1148 [1735-36] as governor of Trabzon. Because they bear the same name and the same nisba, they are easily confused; whether a kinship was established between the two, and if so how, could not be found in the sources.
A Waqf and a Family of Trustees in Trabzon
The real subject of the entry is the influence a vizier's brother gained in Trabzon. Because the pasha had no children, the management of the charitable works he had built in Trabzon passed to his brother and then to the brother's descendants. Hüsameddin carries the chain of trustees down to 1331 [1912-13]: from İbrahim Ağa to his son Mahmud Bey, from him to his son Ahmed Bey, then to the trusteeship of two grandsons and on to later generations. That the trusteeship remained in the same family for so long suggests that the waqf's conditions for trusteeship were set on a hereditary basis; this is an inference, and the text does not mention a condition of the waqf deed.
Hüsameddin bases the information on a record called "Cihâd Defteri". Since no information on this register could be found, the names and locations of the waqfs in Trabzon could not be verified. The dates of İbrahim Ağa's offices in Trabzon also could not be checked against another source.
Its Place in the Book
The entry is included in Amasya Tarihi among the figures of Merzifon, which also takes in a family that came from Merzifon and won renown elsewhere. In the same volume of the book, many müderrises, muftis and preachers raised in Merzifon also appear in separate entries.
Bibliography