İshak Ağa, Bekir Beyzâde el-Hâc

In Modern English

He was from Amasya. He was the son of İdris Ağa, son of Osman Bey, son of Ebûbekir Bey, son of Mîrlivâ Derviş Bey, of the sipahi notables. He was a sipahi and took part in many battles. Gaining fame in the wars with Iran, he became kethüdâyeri of Amasya, then kapıcıbaşı (head of palace gatekeepers), and steward of some viziers, and died in 1178 [1764-65]. His brother is İbrâhim Pasha.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• sipâhi: Ottoman cavalryman; a mounted soldier holding a timar
• a'yân: the notables of a place, persons of influence
• Mîrlivâ: sanjak governor, administrator of a sanjak
• muhârebât: wars
• kethüdâyeri: an official standing in for the kethüda (the exact function of the term among the sipahis of Amasya could not be found in the sources read)
• kapıcıbaşı: head of the palace gatekeepers; in later centuries a rank
• vüzerâ kethüdâsı: steward, chief assistant, of viziers
• birâder: brother

The Office of Kapıcıbaşı

The kapıcıbaşı is the official at the head of the gatekeepers who guarded the gates of the Ottoman palace. The kapıcıbaşı is first mentioned in the reign of Çelebi Mehmed. Every night a kapıcıbaşı kept watch at the head of the gatekeepers guarding the second gate of Topkapı Palace and supervised them. Some kapıcıbaşıs also worked outside the palace: announcing the appointments of newly appointed beylerbeyis, collecting taxes, carrying provisions and money to the army and carrying out inspections were among these duties. Their numbers grew rapidly over time. There were four in the middle of the 16th century, ten at the end of the same century, sixty in the first half of the 18th century, and toward the end of that century as many as one hundred and fifty. In the last centuries kapıcıbaşılık ceased to be only an office and began to be given also as a rank or honorific; this title was even conferred on some ayans.

This information is important for understanding the kapıcıbaşılık of İshak Ağa, son of İdris Ağa. Hüsameddin does not say clearly whether he was kapıcıbaşı in the palace or as a rank in the provinces. Considering that in the later centuries the title was given as a rank and to some ayans as well, the title of İshak Ağa, who died in 1178, may be of this second kind; but no document confirming this was found.

The Office of Vizier's Kethüda

The "vüzerâ kethüdâsı" in the text means the chief assistant of viziers. In the Ottomans the official who assisted the grand vizier was later called sadâret kethüdâsı, and in older sources the same official is called vezir kethüdâsı. In the classical period kethüdas were generally appointed from among those trained in the Enderun, and for this reason the title "ağa", proper to the military class, followed their names; the fact that İshak is called "Ağa" is consistent with this tradition. Until the end of the 17th century the kethüdalık meant assistance in all matters concerning the grand vizier. After the middle of the century, as the Paşakapısı developed its own organization, the kethüdalık turned into a large office, and at the beginning of the 18th century it was regarded as the second power in the state after the grand vizier; the appointment and supervision of provincial administrators, campaign preparations and monitoring whether orders were carried out were among the tasks of this office. The period in which İshak Ağa, who died in 1178 [1764-65], served falls precisely in this century. The kethüdalık in the retinue of viziers themselves may, however, be a service separate from this office of the grand vizierate, looking after the vizier's private affairs; Hüsameddin's sentence does not say which is meant. As for which viziers the office Hüsameddin calls "kethüda of some viziers" belonged to, and the years of service, no information was found in other sources.

Family Line and the Sipahis of Amasya

The entry describes a lineage of five generations: Mîrlivâ Derviş Bey, his son Ebûbekir Bey, his grandson Osman Bey, the latter's son İdris Ağa and his son İshak Ağa. Mîrlivâ means sanjak governor; but in which sanjak and in which years Derviş Bey served is not written in Hüsameddin.

As for the wars with the Iranians, Hüsameddin does not write which wars he means. For this reason the year and place of the campaigns in which İshak Ağa took part are uncertain.

Bibliography

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 286–286. amasya.bel.tr