Amasya ulemâsından Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi’nin mahdûmu ve Allâme-yi meşhûr el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed Efendi’nin yeğenidir. Amcasından ahz-ı ulûm ederek ders-i âm, amcasına dâmâd ve Amasya müftülüğünde müsevvid olmuşdu.
1188’de Trabzon vâlisi ve Amasya mutasarrıfı Cânikli Hacı Ali Paşa’nın gadriyle şehîd olan amcasının te’sîriyle Hacı Ali Paşa aleyhinde ba’zı tefevvuhâta cür’et eylediğinden [173] Amasya mütesellimi olan Câniklizâde Battal Hüseyin Bey’in özrüyle 1188 senesi şevvâlinin evâ’ilinde şehîd edildi. Sâdât-ı ulemâdan bir zât-ı muhteremdir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi, one of the scholars of Amasya, and the nephew of the famous allâme el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed Efendi. Having acquired learning from his uncle, he gained the authority to give general lessons, became his uncle's son-in-law, and had worked as müsevvit in the office of the mufti of Amasya.
Under the influence of his uncle, who was martyred in 1188 [1774-75] through the injustice of Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha, governor of Trabzon and mutasarrıf of Amasya, he ventured to say some harsh words against Hacı Ali Pasha, and on the grounds put forward by Câniklizâde Battal Hüseyin Bey, who was mütesellim of Amasya, he was martyred in the early days of Shawwal 1188. He was a great man of the Seyyid lineage.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- dâmâd: son-in-law
- müsevvid: the scribe who prepares draft fatwas in the office of a mufti
- gadr: injustice, tyranny
- şehîd: here, one killed unjustly
- tefevvuhât: words coming out of the mouth, harsh words
- cür'et: daring
- mütesellim: a deputy who takes on the administration of a place
- özür: pretext, ground
- sâdât: Seyyids
- zât-ı muhterem: a respected person
Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha and Amasya
The background of the event in the entry is Canikli Hacı Ali Pasha's dominance over Amasya. The pasha was born in Istanbul in 1133 [1720-21], the younger son of the kapıcıbaşı Fatsalı Ahmed Ağa. In 1762 he became muhassıl of Canik; on 30 May 1772 the sanjak of Amasya was given to him as malikâne; and in December 1773 the sanjak of Trabzon was added, together with the vizierate and the seraskerate of Crimea. Hüsameddin's description "governor of Trabzon and mutasarrıf of Amasya" agrees with this information. His elder son Battal Hüseyin Bey also received the hass voyvodalık of Şarkîkarahisar in 1776 and gained the title of kapıcıbaşı in 1778.
The pasha's rule created discontent in Amasya: the Amasya ayan, unable to bear the pressure of Mikdad Ahmed Pasha, took refuge with Çapanoğlu Mustafa Bey in late 1778, and the Caniklis were finally defeated by the Çapanoğlus. The event Hüsameddin relates shows that at an earlier stage of this tension the scholars in Amasya also came into confrontation with the pasha. No information was found in the sources I read about the killing of Kâşif Mehmed Efendi and the words his nephew spoke; this information rests only on Hüsameddin. Hüsameddin describes the uncle's death as "gadr", that is, he regards it as an unjust killing. Battal Hüseyin Bey's mütesellimship of Amasya also could not be verified in the sources; from the sources it is known only that he was the pasha's elder son.
Bibliography