Amasyalıdır. Karahasanoğlu Hasan Ağa’nın oğludur. Yeniçeri olup cesûrâne harekâtıyla iştihâr ederek Rus Muhârebâtı’nda yararlığı görüldüğünden turnacıbaşı pâyesiyle taltîf edildi.
Mükerreren Amasya serdârı olup hayli nüfûz kazandı. 1233’de Talebe-Yeniçeri vak’asında serkeşâne tavır ve hareketinden dolayı habsen te’dîb edildi. 1238 senesi muharreminde son defa olarak yeniçeri serdârı olup ber-mu’tâd üç ay makâmında kaldı.
1239 senesi şevvâlinde zuhûr eden Yeniçeri-Talebe vak’asında yedi nefer ulemâ ve talebeyi şehîd eden yeniçerileri fevkalâde [384] tesâhub ederek fâ’il-i müşterek mevki’ine düştüğünden arkadaşı Mehmed oğlu Hasan Ağa ile Mihalıç’a nefy edildi. 1240 senesi muharreminde yeniçeri ağasının ricâsıyla ma’füvven avdet etdi.
1241 senesi zilka’desinde İstanbul’da yeniçeri ocağının ilgâsıyla beraber yeniçeri azgınları i’dâm edildiği esnâsında Amasya’ya gelen fermân-ı âlî üzerine sene-i mezbûre zilhiccesinde dokuz nefer arkadaşıyla beraber i’dâm edildi.
Gâyet cesûr, metîn, gözüpek bir zâbit idi. Oğulları Hasan, Mehmed Ağalardır. Hasan Ağa’nın oğlu eş-Şeyh Şefîk Mehmed Efendi meşâhîr-i lütafâdan Sultân Bâyezîd müezzini olduğu hâlde ber-hayât olduğu haber verilmektedir.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Karahasanoğlu Hasan Ağa. He became a Janissary and won renown for his bold conduct; because his usefulness was seen in the Russian wars, he was honoured with the rank of turnacıbaşı.
Serving many times as serdar of Amasya, he gained considerable influence. In 1233 [1817-18], in the Student-Janissary incident, he was punished with imprisonment for his rebellious attitude and actions. In Muharram 1238 [1822] he became Janissary serdar for the last time and, as was customary, remained in the post for three months.
In the Janissary-Student incident that broke out in Şevval 1239 [1824], because he extremely protected the Janissaries who had martyred seven scholars and students, he fell into the position of a joint culprit and was exiled with his comrade Hasan Ağa, son of Mehmed, to Mihalıç. In Muharram 1240 [1824], at the request of the Janissary agha, he returned, pardoned.
In Zilkade 1241 [1826], when in Istanbul the Janissary corps was abolished and the unruly Janissaries were being executed, he was executed in Zilhicce of the same year, together with nine comrades, on the imperial decree that reached Amasya.
He was a very brave, steady and daring officer. His sons were Hasan and Mehmed Ağa. It is reported that Hasan Ağa's son, Şeyh Şefîk Mehmed Efendi, one of the well-known refined men, is alive and serving as muezzin of the Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- cesûrâne: boldly, bravely
- iştihâr: becoming renowned
- turnacıbaşı: an officer title in the Janissary corps
- serdâr: commander, chief
- serkeşâne: in a rebellious manner
- habsen te'dîb: punishment by imprisonment
- ber-mu'tâd: as was customary
- tesâhub: backing, taking under protection
- fâ'il-i müşterek: joint culprit
- nefy: exile
- ma'füvven: having been pardoned
- ilgâ: abolition
- i'dâm: execution
- metîn: steady, firm
- lütafâ: refined, witty people
- ber-hayât: alive
Janissaries in the Provinces
The entry tells the last years of the Janissary corps through the life of one Amasya Janissary. Karahasanoğlu Mustafa Ağa, like his father Hasan Ağa, was raised within the corps; the phrase "serdar of Amasya" shows that he served several times at the head of the city's Janissary branch. His staying "three months" in each tenure suggests that this post was short and rotating; the text records it as "as was customary". Hüsameddin gives no explanation of where the name "Îcâd" came from; the reason for the nickname could not be found in the sources read.
For the two "Student-Janissary" incidents of 1233 and 1239 named in the entry, no detail was found in the sources read; the course of the events in Amasya rests only on Hüsameddin. The tension between the Janissaries and madrasa students, however, is a known phenomenon: in Istanbul in 1826, among the people who moved against the corps, there were also madrasa students at odds with the Janissaries. The killing of "seven scholars and students" in Amasya may be a local instance of this general tension; this is an inference.
1826 and the Execution in Amasya
The Janissary Corps was abolished on 17 June 1826 in the reign of Mahmud II. It is recorded that the executions after the abolition were not confined to Istanbul but extended to the farthest corners of the provinces to settle old accounts. For the total of Istanbul and provincial executions the most realistic estimate is around 2-3 thousand people; one assessment gives total losses as 1,800 in Istanbul and 1,200 in the provinces. Some figures of the time are said to have been inflated to create terror. According to Hüsameddin, the execution of Karahasanoğlu Mustafa Ağa with nine comrades took place on a decree that reached Amasya. Hüsameddin mentions this execution as "in Zilkade 1241, with the abolition of the corps in Istanbul", and says it was carried out in Amasya in Zilhicce of the same year. Since the abolition in Istanbul was on 17 June 1826, it can be inferred that the execution in Amasya took place about a month later; the Gregorian equivalents of the Hijri months have been found here by calculation and are not written in the source.
The echo of this great movement in Amasya appears limited to the death of one local Janissary chief; no record was found in the sources read of other Janissaries in Amasya or of the names of the nine comrades.
The Exile to Mihalıç and the Sons
Hüsameddin writes that Mustafa Ağa and his comrade Hasan Ağa were exiled to Mihalıç and returned a few months later, pardoned at the request of the Janissary agha. Which place Mihalıç is, is not stated in the text; no record of this event was found in the sources read. The entry gives the family's line down three generations: the sons Hasan and Mehmed Ağa, and Hasan Ağa's son Şeyh Şefîk Mehmed Efendi. Şefîk Mehmed Efendi is reported to have been muezzin of the Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque. The Sultan Bâyezîd Mosque is part of the complex that Prince Ahmed, governor of Amasya, had built in the name of his father Bayezid II. No other record on Şefîk Mehmed Efendi was found in the sources read.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 380. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Official sources