Amasyalıdır. Eşrâfdan Büyük Gürcü Ali Bey’in ahfâdından olup 1114 senesinde vefât eden Torumtay vakfı mütevellîsi Mîr-livâ Mehmed Bey bin Ali Bey ibn-i Mustafa Bey bin Gürcü Ali Bey’in mahdûmudur.
Evâ’il-i hâlinde Amasyalı Muslîzâde Mustafa Paşa’nın [155] dâ’iresine girip ağalardan oldu. Ba’dehû Paşa’ya kendisini beğendirip dâmâd ve hazînedârı olup devr-i vilâyâta başladı. 1123’de ba’zı ahvâl-i şedîdesinden dolayı Paşa’nın azl ve habsine sebebiyet verdiğinden Paşa’dan ayrılıp Amasya’ya geldi.
Ba’dehû Mustafa Paşa’nın ibkâ-yı vezâreti ve birkaç yıl sonra da’veti üzerine nezdine gidip kethüdâsı oldu. 1132’de Paşa’nın vefâtıyla avdet edib birâderi el-Hâc İsmâil Bey’in vefâtı üzerine Torumtay vakfına mütevellî olarak servet ü nüfûzu katmerlendi.
Muslîzâde Mustafa Paşa’nın dâmâdı olduğundan baş-defterdâr Muslîzâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Efendi’ye karâbet-i sıhriyesi vardır. Kerîmesini de Amasyalı Ocak İmamı es-Seyyid Halîl Efendi’ye verdiğinden İstanbul’da ma’rûfiyyet kazandı. Bu yüzden 1138 muharrem gurresinde baş-a’yân ve cumâdelûlâsında Amasya mütesellimi oldu.
Ancak ba’zı mezâlime ruhsat verdiğinden dolayı 1139 saferinde ba’de’t-teftîş Samsun’a nefy edildi. [156] Fakat 1140 senesi evâ’ilinde afv ve ıtlâk edilerek Amasya’ya geldi. 1141 muharremi intihâbında meclis-i a’yân a’zâsı ve 1142 muharreminde baş-a’yân olup eski nüfûzunu buldu. Bu yüzden târîh kısmında yazılan hâ’ile çıkdı.
1143 senesi teftişâtında rüfekâsıyla beraber ikinci def’a Samsun’a nefy ve kal’a-bend edildi. 1144 ramazânında yine afv u ıtlâk edilip geldi. 1145 muharremi intihâbında baş-a’yân olup İrân harbine gitdi. Yararlık gösterip dergâh-ı âlî kapıcı-başlığı rütbesini aldı.
Bundan sonra gerek muhârebelerde ve gerek iânelerde hükûmet ve halka yaralıklar gösterip Zanalızâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Paşa’nın sadâretinde 1154’de mîrâhûr-ı evvel rütbesiyle taltîf edildi. Mükerreren baş-‘a’yân ve mütesellim olarak bütün Amasya sancağını kabza-i idâresine alıp şikâyet kapılarını kapadı.
1158 senesi evâ’ilinde İran harbine me’mûr olup bütün kuvve-i askeriyesi ve ma’iyyeti halkıyla gitdi. Fakat vâki’ olan muhârebede sene-i mezbûre rebiülâhirinin ikinci günü vefât etdi. [157] Gâyet zî-nüfûz ve servet, zâbıt, cesûr, şedîd olmakla beraber hânesi açık, fukarası bol, kerîm, dîndâr idi.
Vüzerâyı taklîd eder. Kapıkulu nâmıyla ma’iyyet-i askeriyesi beş yüz kadar vardı. Köleleri, câriyeleri çokdu. Hacı İlyâs Mahallesi’nin ırmak tarafı kâmilen onun konağı idi. Konağında yaldızlı odaları gözleri kamaştıracak bir halde idi. Amasya mutasarrıfları buna karşı mümâşât ederlerdi.
Mahdûmları el-Hâc Mustafa Paşa, Mehmed Hıfzî, Ali Beylerdi. Ali Bey 1157’de, Hacı Mustafa Paşa 1169’da, Hıfzî Mehmed Bey de 1173’de vefât etmişlerdir. Mustafa Paşazâde es-Seyyid Halîl Paşa ve bunun mahdûmu esbak kapudân-ı deryâ Hâfız Ali Paşa vüzerâdandır.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was a descendant of Büyük Gürcü Ali Bey of the eşraf, and the son of Mîr-livâ Mehmed Bey bin Ali Bey ibn-i Mustafa Bey bin Gürcü Ali Bey, mütevelli of the Torumtay waqf, who died in 1114 [1702-03].
In his early days he entered the circle of Muslîzâde Mustafa Pasha of Amasya and became one of his aghas. Then, having won the Pasha's favor, he began to travel the provinces as his son-in-law and treasurer. In 1123 [1711-12], because some harsh conduct of his had caused the Pasha to be dismissed and imprisoned, he left the Pasha and came to Amasya.
Later, when Mustafa Pasha's vizierate was preserved and a few years afterward he summoned him, he went to him and became his kethüda. When the Pasha died in 1132 [1719-20], he returned, and upon the death of his brother el-Hâc İsmâil Bey he became mütevelli of the Torumtay waqf, and his wealth and influence increased manifold.
Because he was the son-in-law of Muslîzâde Mustafa Pasha, he was related by marriage to the başdefterdar Muslîzâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Efendi. Because he had given his daughter to es-Seyyid Halîl Efendi, Ocak İmamı of Amasya, he was also known in Istanbul. For this reason at the beginning of Muharram 1138 [1725] he became baş-a'yân, and in Jumada al-Awwal mütesellim of Amasya.
But because he allowed some acts of oppression, he was exiled to Samsun in Safar 1139 [1726] after an investigation. But at the beginning of 1140 [1727] he was pardoned and released and came to Amasya. At the end of Muharram 1141 [1728] he became a member of the ayan council, and in Muharram 1142 [1729] baş-a'yân, and regained his former influence. Because of this the calamity (hâ'ile) written in the history section occurred.
In the inspections of 1143 he was exiled for the second time to Samsun together with his companions and confined in the fortress. In Ramadan 1144 [1732] he was pardoned again and came back. In the election held in Muharram 1145 [1732] he became baş-a'yân and went to the Iranian war. He showed usefulness and received the rank of kapıcıbaşı of the Sublime Porte.
After this, having shown services to the state and the people both in the wars and in the collection of aid, he was rewarded in 1154 [1741-42], during the grand vizierate of Zanalızâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Pasha, with the rank of first mîrâhûr. Many times, as baş-a'yân and mütesellim, he brought the whole Sanjak of Amasya under his administration and closed the doors of complaint.
At the beginning of 1158 [1745] he was assigned to the Iranian war and went with all his military force and the people in his retinue. But in the battle that took place he died on the second day of Rabiulâhir of the same year. He was very influential and wealthy, an establisher of order, brave, and though harsh, a man whose house was open, with many poor around him, generous and pious.
He imitated the viziers. His military retinue, under the name kapıkulu, numbered about five hundred. He had many slaves and concubines. The river side of the Hacı İlyâs quarter was entirely his mansion. The gilded rooms in his mansion were dazzling to the eyes. The mutasarrıfs of Amasya behaved in harmony with him.
His sons were el-Hâc Mustafa Pasha, Mehmed Hıfzî and Ali Bey. Ali Bey died in 1157 [1744], Hacı Mustafa Pasha in 1169 [1755-56], and Hıfzî Mehmed Bey in 1173 [1759-60]. Mustafa Paşazâde es-Seyyid Halîl Pasha and his son, the former kaptan-ı derya Hâfız Ali Pasha, are among the viziers.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: the noble and respected persons of a place
- ahfâd: grandchildren
- mîr-livâ: sanjak bey
- dâ'ire: circle, circle of service
- hazînedâr: treasury official
- devr-i vilâyât: traveling around the provinces
- ibkâ-yı vezâret: preservation of the vizierate
- sıhriyet: kinship by marriage
- ma'rûfiyyet: being known, renown
- nefy ve kal'a-bend: exile and confinement in a fortress
- ıtlâk: release
- intihâb: election
- mîrâhûr-ı evvel: first master of the stables, head of the palace stables
- kabza-i idâre: bringing under one's administration
- mümâşât: acting in harmony, with gentleness
- iâne: aid collected for war
The Torumtay Waqf and the Gürcüzâde Family
The waqf that Hüsameddin calls the "Torumtay waqf" relates to the Torumtay Complex in Amasya: this closed complex, consisting of the Gökmedrese Mosque, madrasa and tomb, was built in 1267 by Seyfeddin Torumtay, governor of Amasya, while the Torumtay Tomb opposite it was built in 1278. In the tomb, besides Torumtay, are also the graves of his children and grandchildren. According to Hüsameddin, the descendants of Gürcü Ali Bey became mütevelli of this waqf; İbrâhim Bey's becoming mütevelli of this waqf after 1132 gave him both income and influence.
İbrâhim Bey's life shows how an Amasya ayan grew strong and how he was shaken in the first half of the eighteenth century. Through the kinship he formed with Muslîzâde Mustafa Pasha he rose from treasurer to kethüda, enlarged his wealth through the stewardship of the waqf, and was exiled twice to Samsun (1139 and 1143), being pardoned both times. The exile of 1143 coincides with the inspections made after the Patrona rebellion; the same exile event is described for İbrâhim İlmî Bey in entry 157, so the two may have been exiled together. Hüsameddin conveys his power with an impressive detail: an armed retinue of five hundred, a mansion covering the river side of the Hacı İlyas quarter, gilded rooms.
On Muslîzâde Mustafa Pasha and Muslîzâde İbrâhim Efendi, see entry 164 of this volume. İbrâhim Bey's death in the Iranian war in 1158 is the date Hüsameddin places in Rabiulâhir 1158; it could not be verified in another source. No detail on Gürcüzâde and the stewardship of the Torumtay waqf was found other than Hüsameddin.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 56–57. amasya.bel.tr
Official sources