Kudâtdan Amasyalı Ahîzâde Sa’di Çelebi kölesidir. 1039’da efendisinin vefâtında Yeniçeri Ocağına girdi. Ba’dehû Gürcü Mehmed Paşa’ya Anadolu Vâliliğinde intisâb edib 1061 senesi zilka’desinde efendisinin sadâretinde kapıcılar kethüdâsı oldu.
1062 senesi recebinde efendisinin azl ve hapsinde menkûb olup 1067’de Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın sadâretinde istihdâm edildi. Ancak efendisinin sadâretinde Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın vezâretden azl ve nefyinde Köprülü’nün iğbirârını kazanmış olduğundan 1069 senesi cumâdelûlâsında maktûlen vefât etdi. [110]
In Modern English
He was a slave of Ahîzâde Sa'dî Çelebi of Amasya, one of the judges. In 1039 [1629-30], at his master's death, he entered the Janissary Corps. Later he attached himself to Gürcü Mehmed Pasha during his governorship of Anatolia, and in Dhu al-Qa'dah 1061 [1651], during his master's grand vizierate, he became kapıcılar kethüdası.
In Rajab 1062 [1652], when his master was dismissed and imprisoned, he fell into hardship; in 1067 [1656-57] he was given a post again under the grand vizierate of Köprülü Mehmed Paşa. However, because he had earned Köprülü's resentment in the affair of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's dismissal from the vizierate and exile during his master's grand vizierate, he died by being killed in Jumada al-Awwal 1069 [1659].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Yeniçeri Ocağı: the Janissary Corps, the kapıkulu infantry corps made up of devshirme recruits
- intisâb: attaching oneself to someone
- sadâret: the grand vizierate
- kapıcılar kethüdâsı: the highest officer of the palace gatekeepers
- azl: dismissal from office
- menkûb: struck by disaster, fallen into hardship
- istihdâm: taking into service, employing
- vezâret: the vizierate
- nefy: exile
- iğbirâr: resentment, grudge
- maktûlen vefât etmek: to die by being killed
His Master Gürcü Mehmed Pasha
Gürcü Mehmed Pasha was of Caucasian origin; while a slave of Grand Vizier Koca Sinan Pasha he was taken into the palace of his own wish and trained in the Enderun. He served as cebecibaşı, çavuşbaşı, kapıcılar kethüdası and mîrâhurbaşı, and held the beylerbeyiships of Damascus, Diyarbekir, Erzurum and Anatolia; he took part in the army in Murad IV's Revan campaign (1635) as beylerbeyi of Anatolia. Hüsameddin's record that İskender Ağa "attached himself to him during his governorship of Anatolia" fits these years of service. In the reign of Mehmed IV, when he was close to eighty, Gürcü Mehmed Pasha became grand vizier on 15 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1061 (30 October 1651) on the recommendation of the Chief Black Eunuch Uzun Süleyman Ağa; Hüsameddin's Dhu al-Qa'dah 1061 for the kapıcılar kethüdalık matches this exactly. The sources of his time describe him as a powerless grand vizier. On 13 Rajab 1062 (20 June 1652) he was dismissed on the urging of the Kazasker of Anatolia Hocazâde Mesud Efendi, held in Yedikule for about two months, then pardoned and sent to Ohrid. Hüsameddin's Rajab 1062 also fits this date.
The Reckoning with Köprülü
While grand vizier, Gürcü Mehmed Pasha removed from Istanbul some statesmen who might become rivals; he also lowered Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's vizier rank and sent him away with the sanjak bey post of Kyustendil. This is the event Hüsameddin describes as "Köprülü's dismissal from the vizierate and exile." Köprülü Mehmed Pasha became grand vizier on 26 Dhu al-Qa'dah 1066 (15 September 1656). The Jumada al-Awwal 1069 that Hüsameddin gives falls on the date when Köprülü had Abaza Hasan Pasha, the Celali, and the opposing pashas with him executed at Aleppo, 23-24 Jumada al-Awwal 1069 (16-17 February 1659). After this event Köprülü eliminated his important opponents and then began an inspection of Celalis and firearms in Anatolia, in which thousands of people were killed and many from the military class and the learned class were punished. Because the source does not say that İskender Ağa belonged to this group or was killed in these events, the connection cannot be established; it can only be said that his death fell in the days when Köprülü was purging his opponents.
Kapıcılar Kethüdası
The kapıcılar kethüdası, the highest officer of the gatekeepers, was present at meetings between the sultan and the grand vizier, acted as go-between, carried the telhis reports and brought back the answer. Foreign observers called him the palace marshal or palace overseer; he also received the viziers who came to the Imperial Council, admitted petitioners and served at the sultan's stirrup. A post so close to the grand vizier can be expected to be affected by the grand vizier's fall; Hüsameddin's record "fell into hardship" describes this situation.
What Could Not Be Verified
No information was found in other sources on İskender Ağa's master Ahîzâde Sa'dî Çelebi of Amasya or his judgeship. No external confirmation was found that İskender Ağa was of Georgian origin, entered the Janissary Corps in 1039 or was killed in 1069; this information rests on Hüsameddin's record.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 297–298. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies