Amasya a’yânından ve dergâh-ı âlî kapıcıbaşılarından Mehmed Bey bin Çelebi İsmâil Paşa’nın mahdûmudur. Zanalızâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Paşa’nın ağalarından olup sadâretinde kapıcıbaşı olarak devr-i hidemât etdi. 1175’de Amasya mübâyaacısı olup 1179’da vefât etdi.
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL
İsmâil Bey (Çelebi Paşazâde)
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 316 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ
Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)
Our Research Article
Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk
In Modern English
He was the son of Mehmed Bey, one of the notables of Amasya and a kapıcıbaşı of the Sublime Porte; Mehmed Bey was the son of Çelebi İsmâil Pasha. He was among the aghas of Zanalızâde Seyyid Hacı Ahmed Pasha and served as kapıcıbaşı during his grand vizierate. In 1175 [1761-62] he became purchasing officer (mübâyaacı) of Amasya and he died in 1179 [1765-66].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- a'yân: the notables of a place
- dergâh-ı âlî: the sultan's gate, the palace
- kapıcıbaşı: head of the palace gatekeepers, a title later also granted as a rank
- mahdûm: son
- ağa: here an officer in a pasha's retinue
- devr-i hidemât: performing one's service
- mübâyaacı: officer in charge of purchasing and supply
The Office of Kapıcıbaşı
The kapıcıbaşıs were the heads of the gatekeepers who kept watch at the gates of the Ottoman palace and performed duties in ceremonies. They handled the appointment and promotion of the gatekeepers and carried important edicts and secret orders to viziers and governors serving in the provinces; tasks such as tax collection, taking provisions and money to the army and inspection could also be given to them. Their numbers grew considerably, reaching sixty in the first half of the eighteenth century and 150 by its end. In the later centuries the kapıcıbaşılık also began to be granted as a rank or title, and was conferred even on some ayan. Hüsameddin's description of Mehmed Bey as both "one of the notables of Amasya" and "one of the kapıcıbaşıs of the Sublime Porte" is consistent with this practice; however, the text does not make clear whether Mehmed Bey actually served in the palace or held the title as a rank.
The Grand Vizier
The text does not give the dates of the grand vizierate of "Zanalızâde Ahmed Pasha", in whose service Mehmed Bey stood. In another entry the author names Zanalızâde Ahmed Pasha as the grand vizier of 1153 [1740-41]. Ahmed Pasha, known as Şehlâ, who became grand vizier in those years, remained in office from 22 June 1740 to 28 April 1742. Whether the name Zanalızâde belongs to this pasha could not be verified.
Points That Could Not Be Verified
No information was found in the sources read on Çelebi İsmâil Pasha, on İsmâil Bey, Mehmed Bey's son, or on the purchasing office of Amasya.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 316. amasya.bel.tr