Nevşehirlidir. Sadr-ı a'zam İbrâhim Paşa'nın akrabâsından olup "Solak" demekle meşhûrdur. 1136 senesi rebî'ulevvelinin onuncu günü Amasya mutasarrıfı olup kethüdâsı Ahmed Ağa'yı mütesellim gönderdi. Kendisi Îrân harbiyle meşgûl oldu.
Rebî'ulâhirde Amasya alaybeyi Kara Hüseyin Ağa, sâbık alaybeyi Kuloğlu Mustafâ Bey, Amasya serdârı İbrâhîm Ağa, sâbık serdâr Hindîoğlu Mehmed Ağa, sipâhî kethüdâsı Hacı Ahmed Ağa, sâbıkı Ömer Ağa, Amasya'nın [36] bütün züamâ ve erbâb-ı tımârı ve yeniçerileri harbe gitdiler.
Cemâziyelevvel gurresinde Şeyh Mehmed Efendi Amasya kadısı olup geldi. Nakîb kâ'im-makâmı, baş a'yân vekîli ve zehâ'ir-i askeriyyenin cem'i ve sevkine me'mûr oldu. Şevvâlinde Amasya mutasarrıfı Solak Mehmed Paşa Ankara beylerbeyi oldukda Amasya sancağı Çorum mutasarrıfı Mehmed Paşa'ya verildi.
In Modern English
He was a man of Nevşehir. He was a relative of Grand Vizier İbrahim Pasha and was known by the epithet "Solak." On the tenth day of Rabi' al-awwal 1136 [1723-24] he became mutasarrıf of Amasya and sent his steward Ahmed Ağa to Amasya as mütesellim. He himself was occupied with the Iranian war.
In Rabi' al-akhir the alaybeyi of Amasya Kara Hüseyin Ağa, the former alaybeyi Kuloğlu Mustafa Bey, the serdar of Amasya İbrahim Ağa, the former serdar Hindîoğlu Mehmed Ağa, the sipahi kethüdası Hacı Ahmed Ağa and the sipahi kethüdası before him Ömer Ağa, and all the zaims, timar holders and janissaries of Amasya went to the war.
On the first day of Jumada al-awwal Şeyh Mehmed Efendi came as kadı of Amasya. He also became deputy of the nakîbüleşraf and deputy of the chief ayan; he was also charged with the collection of military provisions and their dispatch to the army. In Shawwal, when the mutasarrıf of Amasya Solak Mehmed Pasha became beylerbeyi of Ankara, the sanjak of Amasya was given to Mehmed Pasha, mutasarrıf of Çorum.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- sadr-ı a'zam: grand vizier, chief vizier
- alaybeyi: commander of the timar-holding sipahis in a sanjak
- serdâr: head of the janissaries in a city
- sipâhî kethüdâsı: representative who conducts the affairs of the sipahis in a city
- züamâ ve erbâb-ı tımâr: zeamet and timar holders, that is, cavalry soldiers who go on campaign in return for a livelihood grant
- nakîb kâ'im-makâmı: the city deputy of the nakîbüleşraf, who looks after the affairs of sayyids and sharifs
- zehâ'ir-i askeriyye: the army's needs of food and fodder
- cem' ve sevk: collecting and sending
The Relatives of Damad İbrahim Pasha
Hüsâmeddin introduces Solak Mehmed Pasha only through his hometown and his kinship with the grand vizier. These two details plainly show from what circle the appointment came. Nevşehirli Damad İbrahim Pasha remained grand vizier from 1718 to 1730 and was the most powerful statesman of the period called the Tulip Era. Born in Nevşehir, formerly called Muşkara, he went to Istanbul in 1689 to see relatives and find work, rose in the palace, married Fatma Sultan, daughter of Ahmed III, and became grand vizier in 1718. His entry in the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam notes that the pasha "protected his relatives excessively" and kept those he saw as rivals away from the center. The entry examining the Patrona Revolt likewise writes that the grand vizier's bringing his own relatives and close associates into high positions was among the causes that increased political tension. A man of Nevşehir being brought to an important sanjak like Amasya in the busiest year of the war and promoted a few months later to the beylerbeyilik of Ankara fits this general picture. No information on Solak Mehmed Pasha himself was found in other sources.
The Departure of Amasya's Soldiers for the Yerevan Front
The long list of names in the second paragraph of the entry shows that Amasya's military cadre was drawn almost entirely to the front. This record is also confirmed by archival documents. According to Ali Açıkel's study, based on the Mühimme Registers and the Tokat sharia court registers, with the capture of Tbilisi and the opening of the Yerevan front toward the end of 1723, the soldiers of the province of Sivas were placed under the orders of Vizier Ahmed Pasha, governor of Diyarbakır and commander (seraskeri) of Yerevan; by a ruling dated the last ten days of Rabi' al-awwal 1136 (19-28 December 1723), the alaybeys of the province's sanjaks were asked to complete their preparations and go to Yerevan with the province's soldiers. By another ruling written on the same date to the kadıs and janissary serdars of Tokat, Amasya, Malatya, Tosya, Sivas and Harput, it was ordered that new serdengeçti companies be formed from the janissaries and kuloğlus in these districts. Hüsâmeddin's recording that in Rabi' al-akhir 1136, immediately after these orders, the alaybeyi, serdar and janissaries of Amasya went to the war coincides exactly with these documents. The siege of Yerevan began on 24 June 1724; the city was taken on 7 July, the fortress on 28 September 1724.
The alaybeyi of Amasya named in the list, Kara Hüseyin Ağa, is the Kara Hüseyin Bey who in later entries will become mirliva for his usefulness in the conquest of Hamadan and will fall a martyr while guardian of Hamadan castle. Hüsâmeddin mentions him as his own grandfather.
The Duties the Kadı Undertook
It is noteworthy that the newly arrived kadı Şeyh Mehmed Efendi at the same time undertook the deputy nakîbüleşraf office, the deputy chief ayanship and the provisioning affairs. Because the chief ayan and other notables had gone to the front, no one was left in the city to carry out these duties. Açıkel's study shows that provisions were bought from the province of Sivas for the army, that pack animals such as camels and mules were demanded, and that these matters were conducted through the kadıs, mütesellims and the notables of the province. In Amasya, during the years the war lasted, this burden fell directly on the kadı's shoulders.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 4, Supplement (Bakiyye), p. 637–638. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Münir Aktepe, "Damad İbrâhim Paşa, Nevşehirli", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 8, 1993, p. 441-443. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/damad-ibrahim-pasa-nevsehirli
- "Patrona İsyanı", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/patrona-isyani
- Ali Açıkel, "III. Ahmed Döneminde Osmanlı-İran Seferlerine Sivas Eyaletinin Katkıları", History Studies, 13/5 (October 2021), p. 1396-1423. https://www.historystudies.net/dergi/iii-ahmed-doneminde-osmanli-iran-seferlerine-sivas-eyaletinin-katkilari20211031380eb.pdf
Other sources