Amasyalıdır. Yeniçeri serdârlarından el-Hâc Osmân Ağa’nın oğludur. Yeniçeri ve Amasya serdârı olup Rus muhârebâtında 1193’de serdengeçtiler ağası olarak yaralıklar gösterdiğinden İstanbul’a geldikde yeniçeri ağalığına [181] ta’yîn edilen Dayızâde Süleyman Ağa’nın himmetiyle ocak çorbacılarına iltihâk etdi.
Ba’dehû ocakda kethüdâyeri, muhzır ağası olarak dâhil-i katâr olup sırasıyla zağarcıbaşı, seksuncubaşı, 1203 senesi rebiülevvelinde kol kethüdâsı olduysa da recep evâ’ilinde vefât etdi. 1177’de vefât eden Amasyalı Ali Beyzâde İsmâil Bey’in ferâşet-i hassasını aldığı Ferâşet Defterinde görüldü.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Hacı Osman Ağa, one of the janissary commanders (serdar). He became a janissary and commander of Amasya. When he came to Istanbul after the valor he showed as aga of the serdengeçtis in the Russian wars in 1193 [1779-80], through the efforts of Dayızâde Süleyman Ağa, who had been appointed aga of the janissaries, he was admitted among the çorbacıs of the corps.
Afterward he entered the ranks of the corps as kethüdayeri and muhzır ağası; he became, in turn, zağarcıbaşı and seksoncubaşı. Although he became kol kethüdası in Rebiülevvel of 1203 [late 1788], he died at the beginning of Recep [March-April 1789]. It was seen in the Ferâşet Defteri that he received the ferâşet-i hassa of İsmail Bey of Amasya, son of Ali Bey, who died in 1177 [1763-64].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- serdengeçdiler ağası: the head of volunteer soldiers who risk their lives
- çorbacı: the commander of a janissary orta (company)
- kethüdâyeri: a corps officer one rank below the muhzır ağası
- muhzır ağası: a senior officer to whom the decrees written to the janissary aga in the divan were handed
- zağarcıbaşı: the commander of the company that tended the sultan's hunting dogs
- seksoncubaşı: the commander of the company that tended the sultan's war dogs
- kol kethüdâsı: the deputy of the janissary aga, the kul kethüdası
- dâhil-i katâr: having entered the line, having joined the chain of ranks of the corps
- ferâşet-i hassa: its meaning could not be determined with certainty; it appears to relate to an estate or inheritance record
Advancement in the Janissary Corps
The text narrates Sucuoğlu İbrahim Ağa's career step by step: janissary and commander in the provinces, aga of the serdengeçtis in war, then joining the corps in Istanbul. At the upper level of the corps stood the janissary aga and his deputy, the kul kethüdası (also called kethüda bey or kahya bey); the zağarcıbaşı, seksoncubaşı, and turnacıbaşı were the commanders of the companies that tended the sultan's hunting dogs and birds. All of these agas together were called "katar agas"; when one of them was dismissed or died, those of lower rank each moved up a grade to fill the vacancy. The expression "dâhil-i katâr" in the text means entering this line. Janissary agas could in time also become beylerbeyi and kaptan pasha.
The years Hüsameddin gives show the speed of this chain. İbrahim Ağa was aga of the serdengeçtis in 1193; within a few years he had become kethüdayeri, muhzır ağası, zağarcıbaşı, and seksoncubaşı, reached the post of kol kethüdası in 1203, and died in the first months of the same year. According to the text, his death came about four months after his appointment as kol kethüdası.
The year of his death, 1203, is the year Selim III came to the throne. Selim acceded on 11 Receb 1203 [7 April 1789]. That İbrahim Ağa died "at the beginning of Recep" falls very close to the date of the sultan's accession; this may be noted as a coincidence, and no link between them can be established.
Dayızâde Süleyman Ağa
No information was found in other sources about Dayızâde Süleyman Ağa, who secured İbrahim Ağa's entry into the corps.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 64–64. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Books