Amasyalıdır. Amasyalı Hoca Ahmed Paşa’nın kethüdâsı olup Bayburd’un Hınzeverek karyesinden olduğu münâsebetle Bayburdlu demekle meşhûr olan Ahmed Ağa bin Mehmed’in mahdûmudur. Amasya’nın Bâyezîd Paşa Mahallesi’nde 1034’de doğdu. Vâlidesi Selîme Hâtun binti İbrâhim olup Amasya’da büyüdü.
İbtidâ-yı hâlinde Hoca Ahmed Paşa ve ba’dehû Firârî Mustafa Paşa dâ’irelerine girip iç-oğlanı oldu. Mustafa Paşa’nın Mısır vâliliğinde öteden beri hasmı bulunan Köprülü Mehmed Paşa sadârete geldiğinden azlini müte’âkip tegayyüp ederek paşasıyla beraber İrân’a kaçdı. Ba’dehû Paşa’dan ayrılıp Köprülü Paşa’nın ehibbâsından olan pederinin yanına geldi.
Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın sadâretinde Merzifonî Kara Mustafa Paşa’ya intisâb ederek ağalarından oldu. 1075 senesinde Girid’e sevk edilecek mühimmât ve zehâ’ir-i harbiye ve nezl tedârik ve cem’ine me’mûren Amasya’ya gelip [111] mukdimâne vazifesini gördü. Bâyezîd Paşa Mahallesi’ndeki hânesini satıp Gürcüzâde İbrâhim Ağayı vekîl-i umûru nasb etdi.
Avdette cesûr, çâlâk, işgüzâr olduğu anlaşılmakla Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın kethüdâsı, 1082 senesi rebiülâhirinde mîrâhûr-i sânî ve müte’âkiben mîrâhûr oldu. 1085 senesinde Amasya’da Yenice ve Atabeg çiftliklerini alıp nâzır-ı umûru Gürcüzâde İbrâhim Ağa idâresine verdi. Gürcü mütedeyyîn Pîrî-ağazâde İbrâhim Ağa’yı da kendisine kethüdâ yapdı.
1087 şa’bânında efendisi olan Kara Mustafa Paşa sadr-ı a’zam oldukta ramazânında vezâretle kapudân-ı deryâ ve 1089 muharreminde ilâveten rikâb-ı hümâyun kâ’im-makâmı olarak fevkalâde nüfûz ve ikbâle erdi.
Fakat efendisinin şüphesini da’vet edecek ba’zı harekât-ı desâyis-kârâneye cür’et eylediğinden 1090 senesi rebiülevvelinde kaîm-makâmlıkdan ve bir mâh sonra kapudanlıkdan azledilip taşraya i’zâm edileceği esnâda tatlı dili ve desâyisiyle Sultân Mehmed Hân-ı Ra’biye ilticâ ederek kubbe-nişîn oldu. [112]
1094 senesi muharreminde Sadr-ı a’zam Kara Mustafa Paşa serdâr-ı ekrem olarak Viyana fethine gideceği esnâda a’mâl-i nüfûz-ı desâyis ederek bâ-fermân-i âlî kâ’im-makâm-ı sadâret oldu. Kara Mustafa Paşa’yı te’mînât-ı kaviyye ile sadâkatine iknâ’ eyledi.
Hayfâ ki Kara Mustafa Paşa Viyana önünde beklenmeyen acı bir inhizâma dûçâr olduğundan Belgrad’a avdet etmişdi. Kendisinden münfasıl olan dârüs’-sa’âde ağası Abbas Ağa, Çavuşbaşı Sarı Süleyman Ağa ile birlikde Dördüncü Sultân Mehmed Hân’ı serdâr-ı müşârün-ileyhin i’dâmına iknâ’ eylediklerinden 1094 zilhiccesinde Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın i’dâmını müte’âkib 1095 senesi gurre-i muharreminde sadr-ı a’zam oldu.
Tam iki yıl devâm eden zamân-ı sadâreti tezebzüb içinde geçdi. Rumeli ve Anadolu’da zuhûr eden vukû’ât-ı cesîmenin indifâ’ında aczini ve harbe gitmemek için temâruzu görüldüğünden 1097 senesi muharreminde azledilerek Üsküdâr’daki konağında ikâmet etmesine müsa’ade buyruldu.
Ancak yerine gelen Hersekli Sarı Süleyman Paşa sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin yeğeni olan Osmân Paşa’nın ve tarafdârlarının harekâtından [113] şüphelendi. Kendisini azletdirip sadârete sâhib-i tercemenin i’âde edilmesinden korktu. 1097 cumâdelûlâsında Paşa’nın emvâl ü emlâkini müsâdere etdirip Rodos’a i’zâm ve 1098 senesi şa’bânında i’dâm etdirdi.
Amasya’da kâin çiftlikleri Amasya alaybeyi Boyacızâde Veli Bey’in gayretiyle satılıp esmânı İstanbul’a gönderildi. Paşa’nın emvâl-i kesîresini saklamak töhmetiyle kapıcılar kethüdâsı Amasyalı Ömer ve ağalardan Gürcüzâde Mehmed Beyler oldukça tazyîkâta uğradı.
İbrâhim Paşa’nın iki kıt’a vakfiyesinde hayrâtı Hınzeverek karyesinde vâlidesi nâmına bir câmi-i şerîf ve Amasya’da Bâyezîd Paşa Mahallesi’nde mektep olup ba’zı emlâkini bunların mesâlihine vakfetdi. Sarı Süleyman Paşa’nın kendi hakkındaki su’i-kasdını teferrüs eylediğinden Sultân Mehmed-i Râbi’den Hicâz’a gitmeğe izin almıştı. Fakat Süleyman Paşa buna meydân vermedi. Efendisi olan Kara Mustafa Paşa’ya yapdığı gadrin mücâzâtını gördü. Süleyman Paşa da buna yaptığı ihânet yüzünden maktûl oldu.
İbrâhim Paşa’nın mahdûmları Ahmed Paşa, Süleyman Bey [114] ve kerîmesi Zeynep Hanım’dır. Birâderi Veli Ağazâdeleri Yeğen Osmân Paşa ile Yeğen Mehmed Ağa ve Hemşîrezâdeleri de Amasyalı Sefer Ağazâde Elçi Mehmed Paşa ile Mustafa Efendidir. Bunlara Yeğen Mehmed, Yeğen Mustafa Beyler dendi. Radâ’an birâderi de Amasyalı Memi Beyzâde İsmâil Paşa’dır.
Şâyân-ı dikkatdir ki vakfiyesinde ve Amasya sicillâtında mezkûr olduğu üzere kethüdâ-yı sadâreti Amasyalı Gürcü Pîrî Ağazâde İbrâhim Ağa, mektupçusu Amasyalı Sefer Ağazâde Yeğen Mehmed Bey, tezkirecisi Amasyalı Rahmî Efendizâde el-Hâc Lütfullah Efendi, kapıcılar kethüdâsı Amasyalı Bekir Beyzâde Ömer Bey, hazîne kâtibi Amasyalı Yûsuf Efendi, telhisi-i sadâreti de Amasyalı Bayram Ağazâde Osmân Ağa idi.
Resmî Ahmed Efendi Sefînetü’r-Rü’esa’sında kendi efendisi olan Elçi Mehmed Paşa’nın terceme-i hâlinde “Amasyalı olup sadr-ı esbak Kara İbrâhim Paşa’nın hemşîrezâdesi” olduğunu tasrîh ediyor. Sadr-ı müşârün-ileyh pederi Ahmed Ağa, mükerreren Amasya mütesellimi de sicillât-ı şeriyye de mestûrdur. Bunlar, [115] delâlet ediyor ki Bayburdluzâde İbrâhim Paşa Amasya’da tevellüd ve neş’et etmişdir. Hınzeverek köyünde doğup Amasya’da büyümesi de muhtemeldir.
Sadr-ı müşârün-ileyh, âlî-himmet, kerîm, müdebbir olmakla beraber târîhlerin tavsif etdiği gibi hod-bîn, gaddâr, hasûd, dessâs, hilekâr idi. Vechen melih, karayağız olduğundan Kara İbrâhim Paşa demekle meşhûr olmuşdu. Pek çok Amasya ricâli sâye-i ikbâlinde tefeyyüz etmişdi.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Ahmed Ağa bin Mehmed, known as "Bayburdlu" because he came from the village of Hınzeverek in Bayburt, who had been kethüda (steward) of Hoca Ahmed Pasha of Amasya. He was born in 1034 [1624-25] in the Bâyezîd Paşa quarter of Amasya. His mother was Selîme Hatun, daughter of İbrâhim; he grew up in Amasya.
At the start of his life he entered the household of Hoca Ahmed Pasha and then that of Firârî Mustafa Pasha, becoming an iç oğlanı (page). When Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, who had long been Mustafa Pasha's rival during his governorship of Egypt, became grand vizier, Mustafa Pasha was dismissed; İbrâhim too disappeared and fled to Iran with his pasha. He then left the pasha and came to his father, who was among the friends of Köprülü Pasha.
During the grand vizierate of Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha he attached himself to Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha and became one of his ağas. In 1075 [1664-65], charged with preparing and collecting the munitions, war provisions and supplies to be sent to Crete, he came to Amasya and performed the vanguard service. He sold his house in the Bâyezîd Paşa quarter and appointed Gürcüzâde İbrâhim Ağa as his deputy in his affairs.
On his return, since he proved brave, nimble and industrious, he became kethüda of Kara Mustafa Pasha; in Rebiülâhir 1082 [1671] he became second mîrâhûr and then first mîrâhûr (master of the stables). In 1085 [1674-75] he bought the Yenice and Atabeg farms in Amasya and gave their management to his deputy Gürcüzâde İbrâhim Ağa. He also made the devout Georgian Pîrî-ağazâde İbrâhim Ağa his own kethüda.
In Şaban 1087 [1676], when his master Kara Mustafa Pasha became grand vizier, in Ramazan he became kaptan-ı deryâ (grand admiral) with the rank of vizier, and in Muharrem 1089 in addition deputy of the sultan's army (rikâb-ı hümâyun kâ'im-makâmı), and he gained extraordinary influence and fortune.
But because he dared certain deceitful acts that aroused his master's suspicion, he was dismissed from the deputy governorship (kaymakamlık) in Rebiülevvel 1090 [1679] and from the admiralty a month later; as he was about to be sent to the provinces, with his sweet tongue and his tricks he took refuge with Sultan Mehmed IV and moved up to a vizierate in the Imperial Council (kubbealtı).
In Muharrem 1094 [1682-83], when the grand vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha was setting out as commander-in-chief to take Vienna, he used influence by deceitful means and became deputy of the grand vizierate (sadaret kaymakamı) by an exalted decree. He convinced Kara Mustafa Pasha of his loyalty with strong guarantees.
Unfortunately Kara Mustafa Pasha suffered an unexpected and bitter defeat before Vienna and had withdrawn to Belgrade. The chief eunuch of the palace Abbas Ağa and the çavuşbaşı Sarı Süleyman Ağa, who had broken with him, persuaded Mehmed IV to execute the influential commander-in-chief. When Kara Mustafa Pasha was executed in Zilhicce 1094 [1683], İbrâhim Pasha became grand vizier at the beginning of Muharrem 1095 [December 1683].
His grand vizierate, which lasted exactly two years, passed in vacillation. Since he proved powerless to suppress the great events that arose in Rumelia and Anatolia and was seen producing one pretext after another to avoid going to war, he was dismissed in Muharrem 1097 [1685-86] and permitted to stay in his mansion in Üsküdar.
But Hersekli Sarı Süleyman Pasha, who came in his place, grew suspicious of the movements of the said grand vizier's nephew Osman Pasha and his supporters. He feared his own dismissal and İbrâhim Pasha's being brought back to the grand vizierate. In Cemâziyelevvel 1097 [1686] he had the Pasha's goods and properties confiscated and exiled him to Rhodes, and in Şaban 1098 [1687] had him killed.
The farms in Amasya were sold through the efforts of Boyacızâde Veli Bey, the alaybeyi of Amasya, and the proceeds were sent to Istanbul. On the suspicion that the Pasha had hidden a very great fortune, Ömer of Amasya, the kapıcılar kethüdâsı (steward of the gatekeepers), and Gürcüzâde Mehmed Bey, one of the ağas, were pressed considerably.
According to İbrâhim Pasha's two-part waqf deed, his charities are as follows: a mosque in the name of his mother in the village of Hınzeverek and a school in the Bâyezîd Paşa quarter in Amasya; he endowed some of his properties for their expenses. Sensing Sarı Süleyman Pasha's ill intent toward him, he had obtained permission from Sultan Mehmed IV to go to the Hejaz. But Süleyman Pasha gave him no opportunity. He received the recompense for the injustice he did to his master Kara Mustafa Pasha. Süleyman Pasha too was killed for the evil he did to him.
İbrâhim Pasha's sons were Ahmed Pasha and Süleyman Bey, and his daughter was Zeynep Hanım. The sons of his brother Veli Ağa were Yeğen Osman Pasha and Yeğen Mehmed Ağa, and the sons of his sister were Elçi Mehmed Pasha of Amasya, Sefer Ağazâde, and Mustafa Efendi. They were called Yeğen Mehmed and Yeğen Mustafa Bey. His foster brother was İsmâil Pasha of Amasya, Memi Beyzâde.
It is noteworthy that, as written in his waqf deed and in the sharia court registers of Amasya, the kethüda of the grand vizierate was İbrâhim Ağa of Amasya, the Georgian Pîrî Ağazâde; his secretary (mektupçu) was Yeğen Mehmed Bey of Amasya, Sefer Ağazâde; his tezkireci was el-Hâc Lütfullah Efendi of Amasya, Rahmî Efendizâde; his kapıcılar kethüdâsı was Ömer Bey of Amasya, Bekir Beyzâde; his treasury clerk was Yûsuf Efendi of Amasya; and the telhisçi of the grand vizierate was Osman Ağa of Amasya, Bayram Ağazâde.
Resmî Ahmed Efendi, in his Sefînetü'r-Rü'esâ, in the biography of his own master Elçi Mehmed Pasha, states explicitly that he was "from Amasya and the son of the sister of the former grand vizier Kara İbrâhim Pasha". It is also written in the sharia court registers that the father of the said grand vizier, Ahmed Ağa, was repeatedly mütesellim of Amasya. These show that Bayburdluzâde İbrâhim Pasha was born and raised in Amasya. It is also possible that he was born in the village of Hınzeverek and grew up in Amasya.
The said grand vizier, although magnanimous, generous and prudent, was, as the histories tell, conceited, cruel, envious, deceitful and scheming. Because his face was handsome and his complexion dark, he became famous as Kara İbrâhim Pasha. Many of the notables of Amasya had risen under his patronage.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kethüdâ: steward, the chief assistant of a notable
- iç oğlanı: a youth raised in the palace or a pasha's mansion
- mîrâhûr: master of the stables, in charge of horses and stables
- kapudân-ı deryâ: commander of the fleet
- rikâb-ı hümâyûn kâ'im-makâmı: the grand vizier's deputy in the sultan's army
- kubbe-nişîn: a vizier who sits in the kubbealtı (Imperial Council) meetings
- serdâr-ı ekrem: commander-in-chief
- i'dâm: execution
- müsâdere: confiscation of property by the state
- mütesellim: an official who governs a place as deputy
- telhîsî: the official who prepares the summaries the grand vizier presents to the sultan
- radâ'an birâder: foster brother
- desâyis: tricks, intrigues
The Grand Vizier Kara İbrâhim Pasha
Bayburdluzâde İbrâhim Pasha is the grand vizier who appears in the sources as Kara İbrâhim Pasha; he became grand vizier after the execution of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha on 25 December 1683 and remained in the post for about two years. The course Hüsameddin gives agrees in broad outline with the encyclopedia entry: his upbringing with Firârî Mustafa Pasha, becoming kethüda of Kara Mustafa Pasha, his promotion to second and first mîrâhûr (2 Rebîülâhir 1082, 8 August 1671), the admiralty and the deputy grand vizierate. His being called "Kara Kethüdâ" also comes from this kethüdaship. Kara Mustafa Pasha, wary of his influence over the sultan, appointed him kaptan-ı deryâ on 17 Ramazan 1088 [13 November 1677] in order to remove him from Mehmed IV's side. In Hüsameddin's account this appointment appears to have been moved a year earlier.
The Question of His Birthplace
The striking point in Hüsameddin's text is his effort to prove that İbrâhim Pasha was born and raised in Amasya, in the Bâyezîd Paşa quarter. The documents he relies on are waqf deeds, the sharia court registers of Amasya and the records of Resmî Ahmed Efendi. The encyclopedia entry, however, writes that the pasha was born in 1030 [1620-21] in the village of Hınzeverek (Handevrek) in Kelkit, attached to Bayburt, the son of a villager named Katırcı Ahmed. Hüsameddin also softens his verdict at the end: it is possible that he was born in Hınzeverek and grew up in Amasya. For the year of birth Hüsameddin gives 1034, the encyclopedia 1030. Hınzeverek in Bayburt is today the village of Çatalçeşme, attached to the district of Demirözü; according to a recent study, the mosque in the village was built in the last quarter of the seventeenth century by the pasha as a charity and in memory of his birthplace. The "mosque in his mother's name" that Hüsameddin describes on the basis of the waqf deed is most likely this building; however, this identification is not written explicitly in the text.
His Fall and Death
According to the encyclopedia, in the multi-front war with Austria the grand vizier did not go on campaign himself but contented himself with sending troops and munitions from Edirne, and he was removed from office in Muharrem 1097. While he was making preparations for the pilgrimage, a rumor arose that he had a great deal of money; when the sultan asked for 500 purses of akçe as campaign aid, he said that he had no money other than the 70,000 gold pieces he had saved for the pilgrimage; upon this he was arrested at the Kapıarası, his goods were confiscated, he was exiled to Rhodes in March 1686, and in June-July 1687 (Şaban 1098) he was killed by the Başkapıcıbaşı Kör Mustafa Bey. Hüsameddin puts the death in the hands of Sarı Süleyman Pasha; the encyclopedia, on the other hand, tells that his rival Receb Pasha wrote forged letters in the grand vizier's name and obtained a decree from the sultan. The date Şaban 1098 is the same in both accounts.
The contemporary historian Silâhdar Mehmed Ağa criticizes him harshly, while the chronicler Râşid writes more moderately. The encyclopedia notes that he was not a capable commander, but that he made efforts to equip the army and to preserve the state's prestige in the multi-front war; his not going on campaign has also been explained by his anxiety over the army's disorder. The character portrait Hüsameddin draws (conceited, envious, deceitful) is close to the harsh view of the contemporary historians.
His Circle from Amasya
The last part of the entry shows what kind of cadre a grand vizier drew from his home region. It is written that all of the important officials, such as the kethüda of the grand vizierate, the secretary, the tezkireci, the kapıcılar kethüdâsı, the treasury clerk and the telhisçi, were from Amasya. For one of them, Pîrî Ağazâde İbrâhim Ağa, the book has a separate entry (6-134). Yeğen Osman Pasha, in other sources, appears as head of the Anatolian sekbans and briefly as beylerbeyi of Rumelia in 1687. The promotion of men from their own circle by viziers was a common practice in the Ottoman Empire; Hüsameddin presents this situation as a source of pride for Amasya.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 43–45. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources