Merzifonludur. Abdullah Ağa’nın oğludur. Merzifon voyvodası el-Hâc Süleyman Ağa’nın hizmetinde teayyün edib Rus muharebâtında yaralıklar göstermekle dergâh-ı âlî gediklilerinden oldu. Evkâf-ı Sultâniyye tevliyetiyle ikdâr edildi.
Ba’dehû Kırımlıoğlu Deli Hasan Ağa ile münâvebeten Merzifon [209] voyvodası oldu. Ancak 1244’de Nezîr Ağa’nın uyandırdığı fitnede Hasan Ağa’nın kazâen vefâtı üzerine ihtifâ etdi. 1248’de Nezîr Ağa Sivas vâlisi Hazînezâde Osmân Paşa’nın emriyle i’dâm edildikde yine Merzifon voyvodası olup kapıcıbaşılıkla taltîf edildi. 1251 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc Feyzullah Beyzâde Abdullah Bey 1321’de vefât etdi. Hânedân, mükerrem idiler.
In Modern English
He is from Merzifon. He is the son of Abdullah Ağa. He came to prominence in the service of Hacı Süleyman Ağa, voyvoda of Merzifon, and by showing valuable service in the Russian wars became one of the dergâh-ı âlî gediklis (salaried, enrolled ağas in palace service). He was given the stewardship of the sultanic waqfs, which increased his power and standing.
Later he served as voyvoda of Merzifon in rotation with Kırımlıoğlu Deli Hasan Ağa. But when in 1244 [1828-29], in the disorder stirred up by Nezîr Ağa, Hasan Ağa died by accident, he went into hiding. In 1248 [1832-33], when Nezîr Ağa was executed on the order of Hazînezâde Osman Pasha, governor of Sivas, he became voyvoda of Merzifon again and was rewarded with the rank of kapıcıbaşı. He died after 1251 [1835-36]. His son is Hacı Feyzullah Bey; Feyzullah Bey's son Abdullah Bey died in 1321 [1903-04]. They were noble, generous people.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- voyvoda: the local administrator who collected the tax revenues of a district and looked after its public order
- teayyün: entering the ranks of the leading men, coming to the fore
- dergâh-ı âlî gediklileri: the enrolled, salaried servants of the palace; a rank given to provincial notables
- Evkâf-ı Sultâniyye tevliyeti: the stewardship of the waqfs founded by sultans
- ikdâr: strengthening, making someone powerful
- münâvebeten: in rotation, by turns
- kazâen: by accident, unintentionally
- ihtifâ: hiding, concealment
- i'dâm: execution
- taltîf: rewarding
- sâl: year
- hânedân, mükerrem: from a noble family, generous and honored
The Contest for the Voyvodalık of Merzifon
Read together with two other entries in Hüsameddin's book, this short entry reveals a fierce rivalry for the voyvodalık in Merzifon in the first half of the nineteenth century. According to the book's entry on Kara Müslimzâde Hacı Süleyman Ağa, Süleyman Ağa had become voyvoda and mukataa superintendent of Merzifon, was rewarded with the kapıcıbaşılık for his service in the Russian war of 1224 [1809-10], and died around 1233 [1817-18]. In this entry Hüsameddin writes that Süleyman Ağa's son was Hacı Mustafa Nezîr Ağa and his kethüda "Kuloğlu el-Hâc İbrâhim Ağa". Thus it is understood that the İbrâhim Ağa described here was once Süleyman Ağa's kethüda and later came to stand on the opposing side from his master's son Nezîr Ağa.
Kırımlıoğlu Deli Hasan Ağa, with whom he served in rotation as voyvoda, is also described separately in the book under the name "Deli Tatar Hasan Ağa". According to it, Hasan Ağa was the son of a family from Bahçesaray, had come to Merzifon at an early age, entered the ranks of the dergâh-ı âlî gediklis through his service in the Russian war of 1224, and then became voyvoda of Merzifon. In 1242 [1826-27] he came to Istanbul with his retinue to go to the Rumelian war, and was admired in the parade held before Sultan Mahmud II and received the kapıcıbaşılık.
Differences Within Hüsameddin's Own Texts
Comparing these three entries, two important differences stand out. The first is the death of Hasan Ağa: in this entry it is said that Hasan Ağa died "kazâen", that is, by accident, in the disorder stirred up by Nezîr Ağa, whereas the entry on Deli Tatar Hasan Ağa writes that on his return "his house was besieged by his adversaries, especially by Nezîr Ağa, and he was killed in 1244". The second is the year of Nezîr Ağa's execution: here 1248 [1832-33], while the Kara Müslimzâde entry gives 1247 [1831-32]; there Hüsameddin also adds that the execution was carried out "without cause". The difference between the two years is small; the emphasis on the injustice of the execution appears only in that entry.
Hazînedârzâde Osman Pasha, who had Nezîr Ağa executed, belongs to a powerful ayan family from Canik. According to present-day research, Osman Pasha was appointed in December 1827 as guardian of the sanjaks of Canik, Karahisâr-ı Şarkî, Trabzon and Gönye and in 1829 as governor of Sivas, but being dissatisfied with that post, he was made governor of Trabzon in May of the same year. In 1832, during Kavalalı İbrâhim Pasha's advance into Anatolia, his influence extended as far as Central Anatolia, and in the same year he purged the rebellious ayan of the eastern Black Sea in large-scale operations. Hüsameddin's calling him "governor of Sivas" at the time of the execution does not fully agree with the order of posts in the source we read; the date of the execution in Merzifon, however, coincides with the years in which Osman Pasha was cowing the ayan of the region.
No information was found in other sources about Kuloğlu İbrâhim Ağa himself and his family.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 72–72. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, entry "Hasan Ağa-Deli Tatar", vol. 8, p. 630; entry "Süleyman Ağa-Kara Müslimzâde, el-Hâc", vol. 10, pp. 307–308.
Academic studies