Varaylıdır. Zünnunâbâd kazası dâhilinde Varay kasabası kurbinde Şeyhler köyünden Ali Kethüdâ’nın oğludur. Gençliğinde İstanbul’a gidip Enderûn Sarayı’nda Bostancılar Ocağına girdi. [177]
Orada ta’lîm ve terbiye görüp tefeyyüz ederek Haseki oldu. Hayli müddet Hasekilikle devr-i hidemât edib Bostancıbaşı Gümüşlü el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa’nın 1187’de azli üzerine ma’zûlen Hicâz’a gidip avdetde vatanına geldi.
Şeyhler köyünde güzel bir câmi-i şerîf yaptırıp 1195’de evkâfını tanzîm ederek 1197 senesi evâilinde vefât etdi. Câmii bahçesinde medfûndur. Kerîm, hânedân, fukarâ-perver bir sâhib-i hayır idi.
In Modern English
He is from Varay. He is the son of Ali Kethüda of the village of Şeyhler, near the town of Varay within the district of Zünnunâbâd. In his youth he went to Istanbul and entered the Bostancı Corps in the Enderun Palace.
There he was trained and brought up, rose, and became haseki. After serving for a considerable time as haseki, when the Bostancıbaşı, Gümüşlü Hacı Mehmed Ağa, was dismissed in 1187 [1773-74], he too was dismissed and went to the Hijaz, and on his return came to his homeland.
In the village of Şeyhler he had a fine mosque built, put its endowments in order in 1195 [1781], and died at the beginning of 1197 [1782-83]. He is buried in the mosque garden. He was generous, of good family, a benefactor who protected the poor.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kethüdâ: steward, official who runs a senior man's affairs
- Enderun: the inner service section of the palace
- Bostancılar Ocağı: the corps of palace gardeners, boatmen and guards
- tefeyyüz: advancing, benefiting and being trained
- haseki: a member of a senior class of bostancıs, close to the sultan
- devr-i hidemât: carrying out one's term of service
- ma'zûlen: having been dismissed
- evkâf: endowments (waqfs)
- tanzîm: putting in order
- fukarâ-perver: protector of the poor
- sâhib-i hayır: benefactor
The Bostancı Hasekis
The Bostancı Corps was among the outer servants of Topkapı Palace; its duties were working in the gardens and orchards of the palace and in the sultan's own boats. The head of the corps was the bostancıbaşı. He was responsible for order in a large part of Istanbul, especially the Bosphorus and the Islands; he held the rudder of the sultan's boat and carried out executions, generally inside the palace. Bostancıs were found not only in Istanbul but also in Bursa, Gelibolu and even Amasya, places where there were gardens and orchards belonging to the sultans.
The haseki was a senior class of the bostancıs. In the 18th century there were about 300 of them; they were distinguished from the other bostancıs by their collars, belts and the staffs in their hands. A bostancı who became haseki was given his staff in a ceremony and sacrificed an animal with his own hand. About sixty of the hasekis stayed in the sultan's retinue and accompanied him when he went anywhere. Hüsameddin's statement that İsmâil Ağa served as haseki for a long time shows that he belonged to this class. Zünnunâbâd, Varay and the village of Şeyhler could not be found in the sources; no other record was found on the Bostancıbaşı Gümüşlü Hacı Mehmed Ağa either.
The Mosque of Şeyhler Village
No information was found in other sources on the mosque İsmâil Ağa had built or on its endowments. Whether the mosque still stands could not be verified.
Bibliography