Esbak kethüdâ-yı sadr-ı âlî el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa bin Kürd Sefer Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Pederi Merzifon Voyvadası iken orada doğdu. Gençliğinde Merzifonî Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın dâiresine intisâb etdi. Ba’dehû müşârün-ileyhin mahdûmu Ali Paşa’ya tûl-i müddet hizmet eyledi. [153]
1125’de Ali Paşa’nın azliyle ref-i vezâreti esnâsında dâiresinden ayrılıp Trabzon vilâyeti cizyedârı, Rize mütesellimi, Gümüşhâne emîni oldukdan sonra 1130’da yine müşârün-ileyhin hizmetine girip kethüdâsı oldu.
Bu esnâda kapıcıbaşılık rütbesiyle taltîf edilip 1134’de Şam mütesellimi ve Ali Paşa emîrü’l-hâc oldukda beraber âzim-i Hicâz oldu. 1135 senesi saferinde Ali Paşa Berke mevki’inde vefât etdikde Cidde Beylerbeyi oldu. İki seneyi mütecâviz Cidde’de ikâmet ederek Mekke-i Mükerreme ahvâline nezâret etmekte iken 1137 senesi rebîülevvelinde vefât etdi. Âkil, müdebbir, zâbit bir zât idi. Birâderi Istabl-i Âmire kâtibi hâcegândan Kaşıkcı Mustafa Efendi idi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Ahmed Ağa, a former steward of the grand vizier, son of Kürd Sefer Ağa. He was born at Merzifon, where his father was voivode. In his youth he entered the circle of Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa. He then served the pasha's son, Ali Paşa, for a long time.
In 1125 [1713-14], when Ali Paşa was dismissed and his vizierate withdrawn, he left his circle. After serving as jizya collector of the province of Trabzon, deputy governor of Rize and superintendent (emin) of Gümüşhane, in 1130 [1717-18] he again entered the pasha's service and became his steward.
He was then rewarded with the rank of kapıcıbaşı; in 1134 [1721-22] he became deputy governor of Damascus. When Ali Paşa became emir of the pilgrimage, he went with him to the Hijaz. When Ali Paşa died at the place called Berke in Safar 1135 [1722], he became Beylerbeyi of Jeddah. While he lived in Jeddah for more than two years, supervising the affairs of Mecca, he died in Rabi' al-Awwal 1137 [1724]. He was an intelligent, prudent and orderly man. His brother was Kaşıkçı Mustafa Efendi, one of the secretaries (hacegân) and scribe of the Imperial Stable.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- esbak: former, previous
- kethüdâ-yı sadr-ı âlî: steward of the grand vizier, his chief assistant
- voyvoda: administrator of a town or district, official in charge of property and tax matters
- dâire: a pasha's circle, household and men
- ref-i vezâret: withdrawal of the vizierate
- cizyedâr: official who collected the jizya
- mütesellim: deputy who governed on a pasha's behalf
- emîn: official who looked after a matter on behalf of the state
- taltîf: rewarding
- emîrü'l-hâc: head of the pilgrim caravan
- âzim: setting out
- Istabl-ı Âmire kâtibi: scribe of the Imperial Stable
- hâcegân: the class of Divan secretaries
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa and His Son Ali Paşa
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa, named in the entry, was born in 1044 (1634-35) in the village of Marınca (today's Karamustafapaşa) in Merzifon. His father was a timar-holding sipahi named Oruç Bey. Orphaned, he was raised under the protection of Köprülü Mehmed Bey, who was then sanjak governor of Amasya, and later became his son-in-law. After the death of Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa he became grand vizier on 28 Sha'ban 1087 (5 November 1676) and was executed on 6 Muharram 1095 (25 December 1683) after the defeat at Vienna. He had a mosque, library, boys' school, han, bath and bedesten built at Merzifon; he also built a han, bath and mosque at Jeddah.
His son Ali Paşa is called "Maktulzâde" and held various state posts. He also completed the complex his father had begun in Istanbul. The Ali Paşa whom Hüsameddin describes as İsmâil Paşa's master must be this man; but the offices and death dates Hüsameddin gives (the withdrawal of his vizierate in 1125, his death at Berke in 1135) could not be verified in the sources that could be read.
The Grand Vizier's Steward and the Pilgrimage Emirate
The office of the grand vizier's steward, which began as an assistant to the vizier, later grew into a large bureau; at the beginning of the eighteenth century it was counted as the second power in the state after the grand vizier and handled matters such as the appointment and supervision of provincial administrators. İsmâil Paşa's father, Hacı Ahmed Ağa, held this office; the entry does not say under which grand vizier or in which years. İsmâil Paşa's own stewardship, however, was that of Ali Paşa's household and has nothing to do with the grand vizierate.
In the Ottoman state the pilgrimage emirate was generally exercised by the governors of Damascus from the beginning of the eighteenth century to the first quarter of the nineteenth. The emir was responsible for the safety and expenses of the caravan of pilgrims from Anatolia, Iran and Central Asia gathering at Damascus. This arrangement makes it expected that Ali Paşa was governor of Damascus while pilgrimage emir; the entry does not state this office explicitly.
What the Search Could Not Find
Searches on Kürd Sefer Ağa, Hacı Ahmed Ağa and the voivodeship of Merzifon turned up no record. His term as Beylerbeyi of Jeddah and the date of his death in 1137 could not be verified in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 310–311. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies