Amasyalıdır. Hâcegândan dîvân-ı hümâyûn İmâmı Mehmed Efendi [160] zâde Osmân Efendi’nin oğlu ve Amasya kadısı Mehmed Efendi’nin birâderidir. Gençliğinde dâhil olduğu enderûnda hüsn-i terbiye görüp tefeyyüz ederek rikâb ağalarından oldu.
1143 hâ’ilesinde taşra çıkarılıp ağır ze’âmet verildi. Ba’dehû Kapıcıbaşı olup devr-i hidemât ederek 1162 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Yukarıdaki İbrâhim Ağa’ya “Gedüklü”, buna da “Şehirli” denmişdir. Ceddi İmâm Mehmed Efendi, Amasya hânedân-ı kadîminden “İğnecizâde” demekle meşhûr idi.
Diğer Serçe oğlu el-Hâc İbrâhim Ağa bin el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa da teberdârân ocağında terbiye görüp Saray-ı Hümâyûn baltacılar kethüdâsı olup 1163 sâlinden sonra ma’zûlen vefât etdi. Amasya a’yânından Kepekçizâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Ağa bin el-Hâc Osmân Ağa da 1164 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Osman Efendi, son of Mehmed Efendi, imam of the Divan-ı Hümayun, and the brother of Mehmed Efendi, judge of Amasya. Having entered Enderun in his youth, he was well trained there, rose, and became one of the rikâb ağas (palace ağas serving at the padishah's stirrup).
During the events of 1143 [1730-31] he was sent out to the provinces and given a heavy zeamet (large military fief). He later became kapıcıbaşı, served in the offices in turn, and died after 1162 [1748-49]. The İbrahim Ağa above was called "Gedüklü", and this one "Şehirli". His grandfather, Imam Mehmed Efendi, was known as "İğnecizâde", one of the old families of Amasya.
Another İbrahim is Serçeoğlu el-Hâc İbrahim Ağa, son of el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa. He was raised in the teberdar (halberdier) corps, became kethüda (steward) of the halberdiers of the Saray-ı Hümayun, and, having been dismissed from office, died after 1163 [1749-50]. Kepekçizâde el-Hâc İbrahim Ağa, one of the ayan of Amasya, was also the son of el-Hâc Osman Ağa; he died after 1164 [1750-51].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Hâcegân: the upper class of Ottoman divan scribes and palace bureaucracy
- enderûn: the inner part of the palace; the palace school that trained statesmen
- rikâb ağası: a palace ağa who served the padishah when he mounted
- ze'âmet: a large-revenue military fief
- devr-i hidemât: going round the offices in turn
- teberdârân: halberd-bearing palace servants
- ma'zûlen: having been dismissed from office
- a'yân: the notables of a place
Two İbrahim Ağas: "Gedüklü" and "Şehirli"
In Hüsameddin's book there are many Amasya ağas named İbrahim, and he uses nicknames to tell them apart. The İbrahim Ağa of this entry is called "Şehirli", and the palace-born İbrahim Ağa on the previous page "Gedüklü". According to that entry of the book, "Gedüklü" was born in the village of Gedük near Amasya, the son of Mustafa; he entered Enderun in his youth, was enrolled in the bostancı corps in the Hasbahçe, then became haseki and kapıcıbaşı, and died around 1155. Şehirli, by contrast, is a child of the city families, of a house that produced imams and judges; it may be thought that the nickname was given in the sense of "city man" as against the villager from Gedük, but the text does not say so.
From the Palace to the Provinces: The Kapıcıbaşı Rank
Sending those trained at Enderun out from the palace to the provinces with the rank of "kapıcıbaşı" was a common practice among the Ottomans. According to the encyclopedia entry, the number of kapıcıbaşıs rose to sixty in the first half of the 18th century and to 150 by the end of the century; the title later came to be given also as a rank or distinction. When kapıcıbaşıs went out into outside service, they were generally appointed as sanjak beys, sometimes as governors, even as viziers. The biography of Şehirli İbrahim Ağa gives a typical example of this path: palace training, the rank of rikâb ağa, an office in the provinces carrying revenue, and then the kapıcıbaşı rank.
Hüsameddin gives the year of death only as "after 1162"; it seems he did not know an exact date. The same phrasing, "after ...", is used for Serçeoğlu İbrahim Ağa and Kepekçizâde İbrahim Ağa. No information on these three men was found in other sources.
Bibliography