Amasyalıdır.¹³ Amasya tüccârından ve bezzâz esnâfından es-Seyyid Seyfullah Ağa bin Ali Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Pederi Bender’in Lâdika kasabasından Amasya’ya hicret etmişdi. Bu münâsebetle “Lâdikalı” da denmişdi.
İbtidâ kâ’im-makâm-ı sadr-ı âlî Amasyalı Ocak İmamızâde es-Seyyid Mustafa Paşa’nın dâ’iresine girdi. 1203’de müşârün-ileyhin tekâ’üde sevkinde Amasya’ya geldi. Amasya a’yânından Yeğenzâde Halîl Bey’e intisâb edib ona dâmâd oldu. 1209’da Halîl Bey’in vefâtında yerini tutdu.
Ba’dehû İstanbul’a gidip Amasyalızâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Efendi’ye intisâb ederek 1218’de Amasya mübâya’acısı olup geldi. Ba’dehû rikâb-ı hümâyûn ağalarından Amasyalı Aşçızâde Mehmed Ağa’nın Amasya’da vekîl-i umûru ve 1225’de Gümüşhâne ma’deni emîni oldu. 1228’de dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılığı ile taltîf edildi. [205] 1230 senesi şevvâlinin gurresinde Amasya mütesellimi olarak gelip 1231 senesi cumâdelâhiresinde Rize a’yânı Tozcuoğlu el-Hâc Memiş Ağa’nın i’dâmına bâ-fermân âlî-i me’mûr oldu. Amasya’dan aldığı kuvvetle gidip îfâ-yı vazîfe ederek 1232 senesi saferinin evâ’ilinde geldi.
1232 senesi saferinin yirmi ikisinde bâ-rütbe-i mîr-i mîrânî Çorum sancağı mutasarrıfı ve Rumeli’nde Mâcîn ile İsâkçı kal’aları muhâfızı olup Amasya’dan ayrıldı. 1233 senesi saferinin yirmi dördünde vezâretle Silistre vâlisi oldu. 1235 senesi şevvâlinde Trabzon vâlisi ve Fâş muhâfızı olup 1236 senesi şevvâlinin dördünde Kocaeli ve Hüdâvendigâr sancakları mutasarrıfı ve 1237’de Karaburun muhâfızı ve 1238’de Karadeniz Boğazının Rumeli sevahili muhâfızı oldu.
1239 senesi muharreminde İbrâ’il muhâfızı olarak Rumeli’ye gidip hudûd-ı Osmâniyye kumandanı oldu. 1241’de Rusların İbrâ’il’e tecâvüzlerini men’ edemediğinden azledilse de mu’ahharan Tolcu muhâfızı oldu. Burayı da [206] Ruslara karşı müdafa’a edemediğinden 1242 senesi muharremi evâsıtında azl ile vezâreti ref’ edilerek Gelibolu’da ikâmete me’mûr oldu.
1243 senesi muharrreminde yine ibkâ-yı vezâretle Hamîd sancağı mutasarrıfı ve 1244’de Haleb vâlisi ve Tekfurdağı muhâfızı, 1245’de sânîyen Silistre vâlisi ve Köprüköy muhâfızı oldu. Burayı da hüsn-i muhafazaya muvaffak olamadığından Aydın mutasarrıfı olup oraya vusûlünde üçüncü def’a azliyle vezâreti ref’ edilerek Kara Hisar-ı Sâhib’e gönderildi. Birkaç mah sonra orada vefât etdi.
Şecî’, sâdık, mustakîm bir vezîr idi. Evâ’il-i me’mûriyyetinde hizmet ve sadâkati görüldüyse de Rusların kuvvâ-yı muntazama ve mu’azzamasına karşı gayr-ı muntazam olan kuvveti derece-i kifâyetde değildi. Bunun için sonraları muvaffak olamadı. Kahrından ölüp gitdi.
Mahdûmu es-Seyyid Halîl Bey ve kerîmesi Âdile Hanım’dır. Âdile Hanım’ın zevci Amasya’nın Aynu’l-a’yânı Yeğenzâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc İbrâhim Âsım Bey’den evlâdı el-yevm bâkîdir. Hazinedârı Amasyalı Hâfız Mehmed Rüstem Ağa ve kethüdâsı da [207] Yeğen es-Seyyid Mehmed Ağa bin Ali Ağa’dır. Eyyâm-ı ikbâlinde bunlara kapıcıbaşılık verilmişdi.
Amcası Amasya’da Benderli Medresesinin bânisi olan meşâhîr-i tüccârdan es-Seyyid el-Hâc Feyzullah Ağa bin Ali olup sadr-ı esbak Benderli Ali Paşa da akrabâsından idi. Enderûn-ı hümâyûnda miftâh ağası olan Amasyalı Aşçızâde Mehmed Ağa ile sadr-ı esbak Benderli Selîm Mehmed Paşa’ya nisbet-i tâmmesi vardı.
In Modern English
He is from Amasya. He is the son of Seyyid Seyfullah Ağa bin Ali Ağa, one of the merchants of Amasya and of the guild of the bezzazs (cloth sellers). His father had migrated to Amasya from the township of Lâdika, attached to Bender. For this reason he was also called "Lâdikalı".
He first entered the retinue of Amasyalı Ocak İmamızâde Seyyid Mustafa Pasha, sadaret kaymakamı (deputy of the grand vizier). In 1203 [1788-89], when the said pasha retired, he came to Amasya. Attaching himself to Yeğenzâde Halîl Bey, one of the ayan of Amasya, he became his son-in-law. When Halîl Bey died in 1209 [1794-95] he took his place.
Later he went to Istanbul and attached himself to Amasyalızâde Hacı İbrâhim Efendi, and in 1218 [1803-04] he came back as mübayaacı (state purchasing official) of Amasya. Then he became the agent managing the affairs in Amasya of Aşçızâde Mehmed Ağa of Amasya, one of the ağas of the rikâb-ı hümâyun (the sultan's personal service), and in 1225 [1810-11] became superintendent of the Gümüşhane mine. In 1228 [1813] he was rewarded with the rank of kapıcıbaşı of the sublime court. On the first day of Shawwal 1230 [September 1815] he came as mütesellim of Amasya; in Jumada al-Thani 1231 [1816] he was charged by imperial decree with the execution of Tozcuoğlu Hacı Memiş Ağa, the ayan of Rize. He went with the force he gathered from Amasya, carried out his task, and returned in early Safar 1232 [December 1816].
On the twenty-second of Safar 1232 [January 1817] he left Amasya with the rank of mîrimîrân (beylerbeyi), as mutasarrıf of the sanjak of Çorum and as guardian of the fortresses of Maçin and İsakçı in Rumelia. On the twenty-fourth of Safar 1233 [January 1818] he became governor of Silistre with the rank of vizier. In Shawwal 1235 [1820] he became governor of Trabzon and guardian of Faş; on the fourth of Shawwal 1236 [1821] mutasarrıf of the sanjaks of Kocaeli and Hüdâvendigâr; in 1237 [1821-22] guardian of Karaburun, and in 1238 [1822-23] guardian of the Rumelian shores of the Black Sea Strait.
In Muharram 1239 [1823] he went to Rumelia as guardian of İbrail and became commander of the Ottoman frontiers. In 1241 [1825-26] he was dismissed because he could not prevent the Russian attacks on İbrail, but later became guardian of Tolcu (Tulça). Since he could not defend this place against the Russians either, in the middle of Muharram 1242 [1826] he was dismissed, stripped of his vizierate, and assigned to reside in Gelibolu.
In Muharram 1243 [1827] his vizierate was given back and he became mutasarrıf of the sanjak of Hamîd; in 1244 [1828-29] governor of Aleppo and guardian of Tekfurdağı (Tekirdağ); in 1245 [1829-30] governor of Silistre for the second time and guardian of Köprüköy. Since he could not protect this place properly either, he was made mutasarrıf of Aydın; on arriving there he was dismissed for the third time, his vizierate was removed, and he was sent to Karahisâr-ı Sâhib (Afyonkarahisar). A few months later he died there.
He was a brave, loyal, upright vizier. Although his service and loyalty were evident in the early years of his career, the irregular force in his hands was not enough against the regular and very large forces of the Russians. For this reason he was later unsuccessful. He died of grief.
His son is Seyyid Halîl Bey, his daughter Âdile Hanım. Âdile Hanım's husband is Yeğenzâde Seyyid Hacı İbrâhim Âsım Bey, foremost of the ayan of Amasya; his lineage lives on today. His treasurer was Hâfız Mehmed Rüstem Ağa of Amasya, and his kethüda Yeğen Seyyid Mehmed Ağa bin Ali Ağa. In his brilliant days these were given the kapıcıbaşılık.
His uncle is Seyyid Hacı Feyzullah Ağa bin Ali, one of the famous merchants, founder of the Benderli Madrasa in Amasya; the former grand vizier Benderli Ali Pasha was also among his relatives. He was also a close relative of Aşçızâde Mehmed Ağa of Amasya, miftah ağası (keeper of the keys) in the Enderun, and of the former grand vizier Benderli Selîm Mehmed Pasha.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- bezzâz: tradesman who sells cloth
- hicret: migration
- kâ'im-makâm-ı sadr-ı âlî: sadaret kaymakamı, the vizier who looked after the grand vizier's duties in his absence
- tekâ'üd: retirement
- intisâb: entering the patronage of a great man
- mübâya'acı: the official who purchased provisions and goods for the army or the state
- vekîl-i umûr: an agent who conducts someone's affairs
- ma'den emîni: the official who administered a state-owned mine
- dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılığı: palace kapıcıbaşılık; in this period a rank mostly given to provincial notables
- mütesellim: the administrator who conducted affairs in a sanjak in place of the governor
- bâ-fermân-ı âlî me'mûr: charged by imperial decree
- mîr-i mîrânî: the rank of beylerbeyi
- muhâfız: commander of a fortress or region
- vezâret: the rank of vizier; ref': removal
- ibkâ: leaving in place, giving back
- şecî': brave; mustakîm: upright, honest
- kuvvâ-yı muntazama: regular forces
- kerîme: daughter; zevc: husband
- aynu'l-a'yân: foremost of the ayan
- miftâh ağası: the ağa in the Enderun in charge of the palace keys
- nisbet-i tâmme: complete, close kinship
From Amasya to the Danube
The life of Benderlizâde İbrâhim Pasha shows, step by step, through which doors a merchant's son from Amasya could rise to the vizierate at the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century. First he enters in Istanbul the household of a powerful fellow townsman, the sadaret kaymakamı Ocak İmamızâde Mustafa Pasha; then in his hometown he gains local influence by becoming son-in-law to an ayan family; then, under the patronage of another man of Amasya, Amasyalızâde Hacı İbrâhim Efendi, he passes into state posts. After the steps of purchasing agent, mine superintendent, kapıcıbaşı and mütesellim he rises to beylerbeyi and vizier. Another point that stands out in Hüsameddin's text is that most of this rise takes place within a "network of Amasya men": his patrons, the family he married into, his kethüda and his treasurer are all from Amasya.
The family's nickname "Benderli" comes from the father's migration from Lâdika, attached to Bender. Bender was a fortress city on the bank of the Turla (Dniester) river, north of Moldavia. The grand vizier Benderli Mehmed Selim Pasha, whom Hüsameddin counts as a relative, also takes his name from having been born in Bender. But this pasha's father is known as Hotinli Cebecibaşı Mustafa Ağa; his kinship with İbrâhim Pasha does not appear in other sources and rests only on Hüsameddin's record.
The Campaign Against Tuzcuoğlu Memiş Ağa
The most important task İbrâhim Pasha undertook during his mütesellimlik of Amasya was joining the force sent against Tuzcuoğlu Memiş Ağa, the most powerful ayan of the eastern Black Sea. According to present-day research, the governor of Trabzon complained of Memiş Ağa to the center and in September 1815 had a decree issued for his execution, whereupon Memiş Ağa and his allies besieged Trabzon and took the city on 18 August 1816. The forces sent by the center, together with soldiers collected from the ayan around Samsun, Amasya, Tokat and Sivas, retook Trabzon at the end of November 1816. Hüsameddin's statement "he went with the force he took from Amasya and carried out his task and returned in early Safar 1232" coincides in date with this recapture operation. Memiş Ağa himself then withdrew to Rize and from there to Of, but was captured on 26 October 1817 and executed at once. That is, at the time İbrâhim Pasha returned, the execution had not yet taken place; the work Hüsameddin calls "îfâ-yı vazîfe" (carrying out the duty) must be his share in the liberation of Trabzon.
Failures on the Russian Front and the Problem of Dates
Hüsameddin writes frankly of İbrâhim Pasha's failures at İbrail, Tulça, Silistre and Köprüköy, and sees the reason in the irregularity of the force in his hands against the regular army of the Russians. This assessment agrees with the general picture of the period: in 1826 the Janissary corps was abolished, and the Ottoman-Russian War of 1828-1829 began while the new army was still being formed.
However, a mismatch is noticeable between the dates in the text and the dates of this war. Hüsameddin writes that the pasha was dismissed in 1241 [1825-26] because he could not prevent the Russian attack on İbrail. According to present-day sources the Russian siege of İbrail began in the spring of 1828 and the fortress surrendered on 23 June 1828; as fortress guardian at that time some sources name Süleyman Pasha, others Ebûbekir Pasha. In 1825-26 there was no open war between the Ottomans and Russia. Similarly, the year 1245 [1829-30], in which Hüsameddin says he was "governor of Silistre for the second time and guardian of Köprüköy", falls in the last phase of the war and after it. The reason for this difference may be a slip Hüsameddin made in transferring Hijri dates, or it is also possible that he refers to another event on the frontier before the war. With the sources at hand it is not possible to give a definite judgment on this.
A Confusion in the Sources
According to Hüsameddin's footnote, the Sicill-i Osmânî calls this pasha "Ispartalı", so that the life stories of İbrâhim Pasha of Isparta and İbrâhim Pasha of Amasya have been mixed up. Hüsameddin supports this correction with a document: in the bill-of-exchange register dated 1208 [1793-94] the person is recorded as "Benderlizâde es-Seyyid İbrâhim Ağa", and a note he sent from Amasya, dated 5 Rabi al-Thani 1206 [1791], for collection from Tokatlı Hacı Yûsuf Ağa, living at Galata Yağkapanı in Istanbul, is for an amount of 8000 (the currency is not given in the record). This record also shows that before entering state service İbrâhim Pasha worked within his family's trade network.
The pasha's son-in-law Yeğenzâde İbrâhim Âsım Bey is also described in a separate entry in the book; the father-in-law's vizierate played an important role in the rise of this man, the ayanbaşı of Amasya. No information on the present state of the Benderli Madrasa built by his uncle Feyzullah Ağa could be found in the sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, pp. 71–72. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Mehmet Hacısalihoğlu, "Tuzcuoğulları", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/tuzcuogullari
- Mihai Maxim, "İbrâil", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ibrail
- Hüseyin Selçuk, "Mehmed Selim Sırrı Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mehmed-selim-sirri-pasa
- "1834 Yılında Bir Osmanlı Valisinin Kapı Halkı: Trabzon Valisi Hazinedarzâde Osman Paşa'nın Maiyeti", Karadeniz İncelemeleri Dergisi, no. 35, 2023, pp. 147-172. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/kid/article/1380307
Other sources