Mirzâ Alî Bey

In Modern English

Because he was from the village of Zana, attached to Amasya, he is known as "Zanalı". He was the son of Zanalı Ca'fer Ağa son of Mahmud Ağa, one of the haseki (palace guards) of the Dârüssaâde ağası (chief of the harem eunuchs in the palace), and a half-brother on his father's side of the former grand vizier Hubyarlı Hacı Ahmed Pasha. On the seventh day of Şaban 1124 [September 1712] he became Bey of Amasya; by him Helvâcı İsmail Ağa, his kethüdâyeri and a friend of his father, was made mütesellim of Amasya (the person who governs the sanjak by proxy).

On the twentieth of Zilkade, since Hızır Efendizâde Ya'kub Efendi, the exegete and kürsü sheikh (pulpit sheikh) of the Sultan Bayezid Mosque, was old and ill, he left the kürsü sheikhdom to his son, the dersiâm (public lecturer) Abdülaziz Efendi. In Zilhicce, since the mütesellim İsmail Ağa became steward of Mirza Bey, Çorakçıoğlu Hacı Halil Ağa, one of the ayan and the owner of the mosque bearing his name, became mütesellim of Amasya.

On the fifth of Muharrem 1125 [February 1713] Hindî Hacı Ahmed Ağa became administrator of the sultan's waqfs, and shortly afterward Seyyid Ali Efendi, sheikh of the tradesmen, became nakîb kaymakamı (the city deputy of the nakîbüleşraf). At the beginning of Safer the exegete Hızır Efendizâde Ya'kub Efendi, one of the famous scholars, died.

In Rebîülevvel, since İvaz Pasha, Beylerbeyi of Sivas, was executed because of his very reckless conduct, Fazlızâde Fazlı Pasha of Amasya came as governor of Sivas.

In Receb, when Şeyh Mahmud Efendi, son of Uzun Mehmed Efendi, professor of the Hızır Pasha Madrasa, died in Üsküdar, the poet Iydîzâde Âtıf Ahmed Efendi, one of the scholars of Amasya, who had made himself known by presenting a kaside (ode) to Sultan Ahmed III, became professor of Hızır Pasha by imperial decree.

On the first day of Ramazan, İsmail Efendi son of Köprülü Halil Efendi came for the second time as kadı of Amasya. In Şevval, when Hindî Hacı Ahmed Ağa, administrator of the sultan's waqfs, became governor (mutasarrıf) of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî [Şebinkarahisar] with the rank of beylerbeyi, Yeğen Ali Bey, one of the sanjak governors, became administrator of the sultan's waqfs. On the first day of Zilhicce, at the wish and request of Governor Fazlı Pasha, Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ali Efendi and Avkatlı İbrahim Ağa, who had been imprisoned in the castle at Samsun, were pardoned and freed and returned to Amasya.

At the beginning of Zilhicce, because of the denunciation and mischief-making of Damad Ali Pasha, Hacı Ahmed Pasha, deputy governor (kaymakam) of Istanbul, was removed from Istanbul by being given the province of Mosul; while on the road he was dismissed and exiled to Amasya, and arrived in Amasya at the end of Zilhicce [January 1714].

On the first day of Muharrem 1126 [January 1714], by Kadı İsmail Efendi, Hayreddînzâde Mehmed Efendi of Amasya was made naib of Amasya, and Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ali Efendi chief ayan; since a sanjak was given to Yeğen Ali Bey, administrator of the sultan's waqfs, Bekir Beyzâde Osman Bey son of Ömer Pasha became administrator of the sultan's waqfs.

At the beginning of Safer, since the mufti of Amasya and professor of the Sultaniye, Mütevellîzâde Hacı Ahmed Efendi, passed to the hereafter, İnallı Hacı Mehmed Efendi, professor of the Fîrûz Ağa Madrasa, became mufti of Amasya, and Tokatlı Mustafa Efendi, one of the great scholars, became professor of the Sultaniye. At the end of Safer, Taşçızâde Hacı Mehmed Ağa became city kethüda; on the twenty-eighth of the month Emmizâde Mehmed Ağa of Amasya, the mirahur (master of the palace stables), rose to prominence with the rank of beylerbeyi of Rumelia as rikâb-ı hümâyun kaymakamı (the vizier who deputizes for the grand vizier at the sultan's side).

In Rebîülevvel, Kürd Seyyid İbrahim Ağa became alaybeyi of Amasya. In Rebîülâhir, Hacı Mahmud Efendi of Amasya, one of the sultan's personal physicians, came exiled from Istanbul because of Damad Ali Pasha's mischief-making, and was a great blessing for Amasya.

In Cemâziyelâhir, since Fazlı Pasha was transferred to Ankara, Vizier Ali Pasha of İzmit, nicknamed "Çingene" (the Gypsy), the former governor of Amasya, came as governor of Sivas. At the beginning of Şaban, Hacı Abdüllatif Çelebi became nakîb kaymakamı.

At the beginning of Ramazan, the granting of the vizierate to Mehmed Pasha of Amasya, the rikâb-ı hümâyun kaymakamı, grieved Grand Vizier Damad Ali Pasha. After this, Vizier Hacı Ahmed Pasha, who was in exile in Amasya, won the sultan's pardon and left Amasya as governor of Rhodes.

In Şevval, in place of Osman Bey, administrator of the sultan's waqfs, Siyavuşoğlu Kırak Hasan Ağa, one of the kapıcıbaşıs (heads of palace gatekeepers), became administrator; and since Vizier Ali Pasha, brother of Zülfikâr Efendi, went to war as governor of Sivas, the former administrator Osman Bey became mütesellim of Sivas.

On the first day of Muharrem 1127 [January 1715] Şeyh Ahmedzâde "Mürtaiş" (the Trembling) Yusuf Efendi became kadı of Amasya, and Telhîsî Mustafa Ağa, one of the kapıcıbaşıs of the exalted court, became mütesellim of Amasya. Mirza Bey, Bey of Amasya, the former mütesellim Hacı Ali Ağa, the alaybeyi Kürd Seyyid İbrahim Ağa, and the other zeamet holders, the janissaries and the sipahis went to war.

In Safer the former mufti Zanalı Hacı Seyyid Ahmed Efendi became nakîb kaymakamı; on the sixth day of Rebîülevvel Moramullu Hacı Süleyman Ağa, one of the ayan, became administrator of the sultan's waqfs; in Receb, since the mütesellim Mustafa Ağa went to war, Hacı Kadiroğlu Ahmed Ağa became mütesellim of Amasya. In Şevval, Hindî Ahmed Pasha, who had been assigned to the Morea war, having grown old and useless, was retired and came from the Morea to Amasya.

At the beginning of Zilkade [October–November 1715], because of the jealousy and mischief-making of Grand Vizier Damad Ali Pasha, Mehmed Pasha of Amasya, the rikâb-ı hümâyun kaymakamı, was dismissed and sent to Bender, and on arriving there was executed unjustly. The other man of Amasya, Hacı Ahmed Pasha, governor of Rhodes, was also executed in Rhodes; thus Damad Pasha was rid of two rivals.

At the beginning of Zilhicce, upon the resignation of İnallı Hacı Mehmed Efendi, mufti of Amasya, Tokatlı Mustafa Efendi, professor of the Sultaniye, became mufti of Amasya. This year, among the leading scholars, Şeyh Seyyid Ali Efendi, sheikh of the Darbhâneci Tekke, sheikh of the tradesmen and preacher of the Pervâne Bey Mosque, and Ebubekir Dede, sheikh of the Mevlevîhane, died; the former alaybeyi Avkatlı İbrahim Ağa also fell a martyr in the Morea war. Arap Salih Dede became sheikh of the Mevlevîhane, and Şeyh Seyyid Halil Efendi became sheikh of the tradesmen and preacher of Pervâne Bey.

On the first day of Muharrem 1128 [December 1715], to Mirza Bey, Bey of Amasya, who had fought self-sacrificingly in the Morea war, a beylerbeyilik and in addition the governorship of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî was given; to the alaybeyi of Amasya Kürd Seyyid İbrahim Ağa the ağalık of the Türkmen; and to the former alaybeyi Sarı Beyzâde Mehmed Bey the governorship of Çorum. Doğan Beyzâde Kara Hüseyin Ağa, my grandfather, became alaybeyi of Amasya.

Next, Ömer Paşazâde Osman Bey became chief ayan and was charged with preparing and sending the materials and munitions necessary for the war. At this time the voyvoda of Merzifon was Hasan Ağa, the voyvoda of Mecidözü Mamalıoğlu Ömer Bey, the voyvoda of Köprü Çomulu Ali Paşazâde Mehmed Bey, the voyvoda of Lâdik the bölükbaşı Seyyid Ali Ağa, and the voyvoda of Havza Dereköylü Ahmed Ağa.

In Safer, since the mütesellim of Amasya Hacı Ahmed Ağa went to war, Telhîsî Mustafa Ağa became mütesellim of Amasya for the second time in his place. In Cemâziyelâhir it was found that Hasan Ağa, voyvoda of Merzifon, who had been charged with buying camels for the army, had pocketed the aid money collected from the people together with Kadı Ali Efendi and Abdullah Efendi, professor and mufti of the Merzifon Sultaniye Madrasa, and had made the purchase of camels only a pretense. All three were dismissed, exiled to Samsun and imprisoned in the castle; the money they had taken was collected from them and returned to its owners.

Thereupon Tuz Mehmed Ağa, nephew of Kasaboğlu Halil Ağa, one of the ayan of Merzifon, became voyvoda of Merzifon; Iydîzâde Seyyid Abdurrahim Efendi became kadı of Merzifon; Kamlıklı Mustafa Efendi, one of the scholars, became professor of the Merzifon Sultaniye Madrasa and mufti; and Nuhoğlu Hacı İbrahim Ağa, one of the ayan, became administrator of the sultan's waqfs of Merzifon.

At the beginning of Şevval, Mustafa Efendi of Tokat, mufti of Amasya, was dismissed; in his place Zanalı Seyyid Hacı Ahmed Efendi, nakîb kaymakamı, professor of the Atabey Madrasa and administrator of the Hoca Sultan Tekke, became mufti of Amasya for the second time, and Ortaköylü dersiâm Seyyid Hacı Abdülvehhab Efendi became nakîb kaymakamı.

At the beginning of Zilkade, since the court of Gümüş [Gümüşhacıköy] was raided and the poor Kadı Mehmed Efendi was killed, Kara Hüseyin Ağa, alaybeyi of Amasya, went to pursue the bandits. Naibzâde Seyyid Abdullah Efendi became kadı of Gümüş. At the beginning of Zilhicce, Hasan Efendi son of Hüseyin Bey of Amasya, the former chief architect (mimarbaşı) and small defterdar, who had had the school built adjoining the Burmalı Minare Mosque, died in Istanbul. There is a madrasa and mosque waqf.

On the first day of Muharrem 1129 [December 1716] Mahmud Çavuşzâde İbrahim Efendi of Amasya became kadı of Amasya, and Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ali Efendi chief ayan. On the second day of Rebîülevvel, Oluslu Kürd Seyyid İbrahim Ağa, one of the brave men of Amasya and Türkmen ağası, became governor of Sivas with the rank of beylerbeyi of Rumelia in return for the successes he had won in the Morea war, and Kaya Ali Pasha of Amasya became beylerbeyi of Adana; both were appointed to the guardianship of a castle each in the Morea.

On the fourth day of Cemâziyelevvel, Osmancıklı Mehmed Efendi, mufti of Köprü and professor of the Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha Madrasa, one of the virtuous men, died; in his place his son Abdurrahman Efendi and his relative Mustafa Efendi, known as "Çelebi Müftü", became professor of the Fâzıl Pasha Madrasa and mufti.

In Receb, the former mufti of Amasya, İnallı Hacı Mehmed Efendi, professor of the Fîrûz Ağa Madrasa, died. His sons Abdurrahman and İbrahim Efendis were given the professorship of Fîrûz Ağa in Havza. Because arguments arose between the seyyids and the people on the night of the Miʿrāj, Mufti Zanalı Hacı Ahmed Efendi was dismissed; in his place Hacı Hâfız Ali Efendi, professor of the Yörgüç Pasha Madrasa, became mufti of Amasya and the quarrel ended.

In the middle of Şaban, Köprülü İbrahim Ağa son of Yusuf Ağa, mirahur-ı evvel (first master of the stables), became rikâb-ı hümâyun kaymakamı with the rank of vizier; in Şevval the chief ayan Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ali Efendi also became city kethüda, and his influence and standing reached their peak. On the fourth day of Şevval, with the withdrawal of Ali Efendi, professor of the Ayas Ağa Madrasa, Iydîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi, who was professor of the Köprülü Mehmed Pasha Dârülhadis in Istanbul, came to Amasya as professor of Ayas Ağa and began to teach in the Sultan Bayezid Mosque.

On the first day of Zilkade, Ömer Paşazâde Osman Bey became mütesellim of Amasya and chief ayan; the city kethüda Hacı Ali Efendi also tried to show usefulness in collecting war contributions. In Zilhicce, when the former mufti Tokatlı Hacı Mustafa Efendi died, Âkif Mustafa Efendi, who had made himself known in Amasya by his knowledge and maturity, became professor of the Sultaniye.

On the first day of Muharrem 1130 [December 1717] the mütesellim and chief ayan Osman Bey, the nakîb kaymakamı Emîr Hacı Abdüllatif Çelebi, the city kethüda Hacı Ali Efendi and the alaybeyi Kara Hüseyin Ağa remained in their posts. On the first day of Safer, upon the resignation of Mufti Hacı Ali Efendi, Âkif Mustafa Efendi, professor of the Sultaniye, became mufti of Amasya. Ahi Mehmed Pasha, brother of Sivaslı Mehmed Ağa, who was bostancıbaşı in Istanbul, and who had risen from being a farrier to the beylerbeyilik of Maraş, was transferred to the governorship of Sivas.

In Rebîülevvel, Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ali Efendi was dismissed for opposing the chief ayan; Sancıoğlu Hacı Ahmed Ağa, steward of the chief ayan, became city kethüda. Siyavuşoğlu Kırık Hasan Ağa, one of the council members, also got himself talked about for relying on the chief ayan and getting involved in great affairs.

On the first day of Şaban, Şeyh Mehmed Efendi came as kadı of Amasya. At this time gossip multiplied among the people in the face of the influence and practices of the mütesellim and chief ayan Osman Bey. Müezzinbaşıoğlu Hacı Abdî and Yeniceli Hâfız Mehmed Efendi, chief müezzin of the Sultan Bayezid Mosque, were among Osman Bey's favorites.

Osman Bey was a learned, powerful, prudent man, a lover of scholars and men of letters, fond of music, noble and generous. It was clear in every respect that he was a grandson of Şâdgeldi Pasha. Among the poets, Hacı Abdî and the high, plaintive voice of the hafız of Yenice made Amasya weep and moan.

At this time Rahtuvan Paşazâde Hacı İbrahim İlmî Bey was a man worth mentioning and praising among the members of the council of the ayan. He was virtuous, cultivated and generous among the ayan. His brother Osman Bey was also among the scholars and men of letters and was among the clerks of the grand vizier's secretary's office (sadaret mektupçusu kalemi) at the Sublime Porte.

On the first day of Muharrem 1131 [November 1718] Hacı İbrahim Bey was chosen chief ayan, and Osman Bey remained as mütesellim. These were the beys who were the honor and pride of Amasya. Since Osman Bey was the son of Vizier Ömer Pasha, the former Governor of Anatolia, his mansion adjoining the Alaca Hamam was very splendid and his retinue like that of a vizier. Hacı İbrahim Bey was no less than he.

But the great ağas of Amasya could not bear them; they organized complaints and wanted to bring them down. Taking these complaints into account, the Sublime Porte charged and empowered Mufti Âkif Mustafa Efendi to investigate the situation of Osman Bey and his men, and sent a decree (ferman).

At the beginning of Safer the investigation began. Meanwhile Yeniceli Hâfız Mehmed, headed by Kırık Hasan Ağa, and the Efendis Osmancıklı Hâfız Ahmed, imam of Kırık Hasan Ağa, and Dereköylü Mehmed lodged complaints against Kadı Şeyh Mehmed Efendi with the Sublime Porte and the Meşihat (office of the Şeyhülislam), and the kadı reported that these were slanders.

With the imperial decree issued at the beginning of Cemâziyelevvel, these complaints too were referred to the mufti efendi's investigation. But the kadı efendi was alarmed at this referral; for the kadı and the mufti were on bad terms over certain matters.

In Şaban the administration of the Hüseyin Ağa and Fîrûz Ağa waqfs was given to the chief ayan Hacı İbrahim Bey. At the end of Şevval the former chief ayan Fazlıoğlu Hacı Ali Efendi and Hâfız Mehmed Efendi, imam of the İbadullah Mosque and şeyhülkurrâ (head of the Quran reciters), died. The sons of Hacı Ali Efendi, Hacı Said and Ahmed Ağa, and the sons of Hâfız Mehmed Efendi took their fathers' places.

The ongoing investigation concerned very many ağas among the ayan and some mütesellims. The relations between the Mufti Efendi and Osman Bey were not good either. Upon the dismissal of Kadı Şeyh Mehmed Efendi, Mustafa Efendi came as kadı of Amasya on the first day of Zilkade [September 1719]. The sanjak of Amasya was taken from Mirza Pasha and given to Ahmed Bey with the rank of beylerbeyi.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• babadan kardaş: half-brother on the father's side
• mütesellim: the deputy who governs the sanjak on behalf of the sanjak governor
• pîr ve alîl: old and ill
• kürsü şeyhi: a scholar who gives sermons and Quran-commentary lessons from the pulpit of a great mosque
• dersiâm: a professor who gives public lessons open to all in a mosque
• nakîb kâ'im-makâmı: the city deputy of the nakîbüleşraf, who looked after the affairs of the descendants of the Prophet (seyyids and sharifs)
• gurre: the first day of the month; evâsıt: the middle; evâhir: the last ten days
• gamz ve nifâk: denunciation and mischief-making
• kale-bend: imprisoned in a castle
• rikâb-ı hümâyun kâ'im-makâmı: the vizier who deputizes for the grand vizier at the sultan's side when the grand vizier is on campaign
• ayn-ı ni'met: a complete blessing, a great favor
• dâğ-ı derûn: an inner wound, heartache
• istirkâb: to see as a rival and be jealous
• i'zâm: sending
• mîr-i mîrânlık: beylerbeyilik
• levâzım ve mühimmât-ı harbiyye: war materials and munitions
• der-ceyb etmek: to pocket, to embezzle
• kasr-ı yed: withdrawing one's hand, withdrawing from office
• i'ânât-ı harbiyye: aid money collected for the war
• necîb, kerîmhâr: noble, generous
• etbâ': men, retinue
• me'mûr ve müvellâ: charged and empowered
• tezvîrât: slanders, fabrications

A Sanjak Governor from Zana and a Grand Vizier of Uncertain Identity

Mirza Ali Bey, who gives the entry its name, is the person referred to at the end of the previous entry as "Serçeşme Mirza Ali Bey, whose services in the Russian battle were seen". Hüsameddin links him to the village of Zana, attached to Amasya, and introduces him as the half-brother on his father's side of "the former grand vizier Hubyarlı Hacı Ahmed Pasha". A grand vizier known by this name was not found in other sources. A grand vizier known to have a tie with Amasya is Kavanoz Ahmed Pasha, who stayed in the grand vizierate for about three months in 1703; Hüsameddin introduces him as the son of Rıdvan Ağa, of Russian origin, the slave of Hacı Ahmed Pasha of Amasya and son-in-law of Hacı Efendizâde Sarı Mehmed Ağa, one of the ayan of Amasya. Since his father's name was Rıdvan Ağa, Kavanoz Ahmed Pasha cannot be the half-brother on his father's side of Mirza Ali Bey, who was the son of Zanalı Ca'fer Ağa. For this reason who "Hubyarlı Hacı Ahmed Pasha" was could not be verified.

That Mirza Ali Bey was rewarded at the beginning of 1128 with a beylerbeyilik and the governorship of Karahisâr-ı Şarkî for his self-sacrifice in the Morea war is a typical example showing that beys recruited from the provinces in this period rose through the service they showed on campaigns.

Damad Ali Pasha and the End of Two Viziers from Amasya

The backbone of this long entry is the court rivalry that Hüsameddin refers to as "the denunciation and mischief-making of Damad Ali Pasha". The person in question is the grand vizier, son-in-law of Ahmed III, called the conqueror of the Morea and known as Şehid Ali Pasha (Ali Pasha the Martyr) because he fell a martyr before Varadin in 1716. Born in 1682 in the village of Sölöz on the shore of Lake İznik, Ali Pasha rose to silahdar (sword-bearer) in the Privy Chamber, was married in 1709 to the sultan's daughter Fatma Sultan, and when he was appointed rikâb-ı hümâyun kaymakamı his influence came to affect even grand vizier appointments. Learning that Grand Vizier Hoca İbrahim Pasha was preparing an assassination against him, he had him killed and moved into the grand vizierate on 27 April 1713.

The events Hüsameddin narrates fit this calendar exactly. Hacı Ahmed Pasha, who was removed from the deputy governorship of Istanbul and exiled to Amasya in Zilhicce 1125 [December 1713–January 1714], is the vizier of Amasya who, as told in the preceding entries, rose from bostancıbaşı to kaptan-ı derya (grand admiral). Records based on the Sicill-i Osmanî, which call this statesman Kirli Ahmed Pasha, write that he became bostancıbaşı in 1707 and kaptan-ı derya with the rank of vizier in December 1711, that after serving as kaptan a second time in 1713 he was dismissed and given the guardianship of Mosul, that in 1714 he was made guardian of Rhodes, and that in 1715 he was executed while holding this post. The Mosul assignment, the guardianship of Rhodes and the 1715 execution agree with Hüsameddin's information "removed with the province of Mosul and dismissed on the road", "left Amasya as governor of Rhodes" and "executed in Rhodes"; that the two sources speak of the same person is a strong inference based on this agreement.

The other vizier of Amasya is Emmizâde Mehmed Pasha, who rose from the mirahurluk (master of the stables) to the rikâb-ı hümâyun kaymakamlığı. According to Hüsameddin, his being given the vizierate "grieved" Damad Ali Pasha, and in Zilkade 1127 [October–November 1715] he was sent to Bender and executed there. No direct information on this person was found in other sources. It is nevertheless known that during his grand vizierate Ali Pasha financed the preparations for the Morea campaign largely through confiscation, and that Silahdar Fındıklılı Mehmed Ağa, who knew him closely, wrote that at the instigation of the kaptanpaşa, the kethüda and the defterdar he "had more than 1,000 ayan killed out of love of wealth". Hüsameddin's phrase "Damad Pasha was rid of two rivals" shows how Amasya remembered this harsh period.

Fındıklılı Silahdar describes Ali Pasha as intelligent, virtuous and brave but at times cruel and harsh of temperament; other sources record that he was just and honest, disliked waste, and forbade the granting of scholarly ranks for money. That an Amasya historian refers to this grand vizier only with "denunciation and mischief-making" suggests that local memory stood on the side of those who suffered.

The Morea Campaign and Amasya

The "Morea war" that appears frequently in the entry is the campaign opened against Venice in 1715. The war was declared after the Venetians harassed Ottoman merchant ships in violation of the Treaty of Karlowitz and incited the Montenegrins; Serdâr-ı ekrem Ali Pasha marched on the Morea by land and Kaptan-ı derya Canım Hoca Mehmed Pasha by sea. Morea Kastel, Gördüs (Corinth), Anabolu (Nauplia), Argos, Modon, Koron and Navarin were quickly taken, the peninsula, with the addition of Euboea, was made into a province, and Ali Pasha returned to Edirne on 11 November 1715. The developments Hüsameddin records fit this calendar: in Muharrem 1127 [January 1715] the Bey of Amasya, the alaybeyi, the zeamet holders, the janissaries and sipahis go to war; within the year the former alaybeyi Avkatlı İbrahim Ağa falls a martyr; at the beginning of 1128 [December 1715] ranks are distributed to those who showed valor in the Morea. It is known that after the capture of the Morea new guardians were appointed to the castles; the appointment of Kürd İbrahim Ağa and Kaya Ali Pasha in 1129 to the guardianship of a castle each in the Morea is part of this arrangement.

The financial burden that the war placed on the provinces is also clearly visible in the entry. The chief ayan is charged with preparing and sending the campaign materials; the city kethüda works on collecting war contributions; the embezzlement of the camel money by the voyvoda of Merzifon and the kadı and mufti ends in heavy punishments. It is known that in this period the ayan grew stronger in years of war and financial crisis by collecting taxes and lending to the state, and that from the eighteenth century they also served in wars. That those who ran the campaign affairs in Amasya were always members of the same few families is consistent with this general picture.

The Iydîzades: Âtıf Ahmed and Âkif Mustafa Efendis

Two brothers stand out in the entry, Iydîzâde Âtıf Ahmed Efendi and Iydîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi. The family takes its name from Bayram Efendi, who wrote poetry under the pen name Iydî, served as professor at the Bayezid II Madrasa, and left a divan; the Iydîzades (Hacıbayramoğulları) are a family that raised many scholars and professors in Amasya. Âtıf Ahmed Efendi is also recorded as a poet and professor; Hüsameddin's saying that he drew the sultan's attention with a kaside presented to Ahmed III and became professor of Hızır Pasha by decree shows that poetry also worked as a career instrument in this period.

The younger brother Âkif Mustafa Efendi (1686–1759) is a better-known name. Called "Koca Müftü" (the Great Mufti), Âkif was a scholar knowledgeable in medicine, hadith, Quran commentary and rhetoric, and a divan poet who wrote under the pen name Âkif. His divan, whose only copy is in the Topkapı Palace, contains 3 kasides, 40 ghazals, 3 qıt'as, 1 riddle (lugaz), and many rubais and müfrets. He also has a work called Bedî'a, in thirty-two maqamas, written on the model of Hariri's Makâmât. He served as mufti of Amasya, withdrew from this post toward the end of his life and taught at the Bayezid II Madrasa, and died in Amasya in 1173 (1759–60). The steps of advancement Hüsameddin records, that is, his move from the professorship of the Köprülü Mehmed Pasha Dârülhadis in Istanbul to the professorship of Ayas Ağa in Amasya, from there to the Sultaniye professorship and in 1130 to the muftiship, agree with this biography and add detail to it. Hüsameddin's phrase "began teaching in the Sultan Bayezid Mosque" also seems to foreshadow Âkif's lessons in the Bayezid II Madrasa in his last years.

Buildings Mentioned in the Entry

The Burmalı Minare Mosque. The mosque, adjoining the school built by the chief architect Hasan Efendi, according to the inscription over its door was built in the time of the Seljuk Sultan Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev II (1237–1246) by Ferruh b. Selçuk, one of his emirs. Hüsameddin reports that after the mosque burned in 1143 (1730–31) it was repaired by Hacı Ahmed Efendi and its stone minaret was built. Semavi Eyice, however, argues that it is hard to believe that this twisted (burmalı) minaret, which continues the Central Asian tradition, could have been built in the eighteenth century, and that the minaret must belong to the mosque's own period or the early Ottoman period. The mosque was long abandoned, was used as a farm-tool depot in the 1930s, and was thoroughly repaired and reopened for worship in 1962. No information on Hasan Efendi's school was found in other sources.

The Büyük Ağa (Kapıağası) and Ayas Ağa madrasas. Of the "waqfs of Hüseyin and Fîrûz Ağas" given to the chief ayan at the end of the entry, the first is the waqf of the Büyük Ağa Madrasa, built in 1488 by Hüseyin Ağa, kapıağası (chief of the palace gate) of Bayezid II. The madrasa, in which the octagonal plan was applied for the first time, stands on the north bank of the Yeşilırmak, opposite the Bayezid complex; after being damaged in earthquakes it was repaired in 1978 and has survived to the present. The Ayas Ağa Madrasa, to which Âkif Mustafa Efendi came as professor, is also called "Küçük Ağa" among the madrasas of Amasya.

Gümüş. Gümüş, where the kadı was killed in court, is today's Gümüşhacıköy. In the town, which takes its name from the silver mines of the region, a mint was opened in the Seljuk period in 1248, and this building was converted into a mosque in 1866. The killing of the kadı of a kaza in court shows the scale reached by banditry in the provinces at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

Noteworthy Details

Hüsameddin also touches on his own family in this entry: he calls Doğan Beyzâde Kara Hüseyin Ağa, who became alaybeyi of Amasya at the beginning of 1128, "my grandfather", that is, my ancestor. In his footnotes he also points out one by one the great ancestors of Amasya families such as the Helvacıoğulları, Hindîoğulları and Avkatlıoğulları. According to these footnotes, Helvacı İsmail Ağa is the ancestor of the Helvacıoğulları, Ahmed Pasha, called "Hindî" because he was an envoy to India, of the Hindîoğulları, and Avkatlı İbrahim Ağa of the Avkatlıoğulları; İbrahim Ağa's sons Veli, Mehmed and Ali Ağas were very well-known persons. When and to which ruler Hindî Ahmed Pasha went as envoy is not stated. A study on Ottoman-Indian relations notes that during the long reign of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb (1658–1707), of the Ottoman sultans only Süleyman II sent an envoy to him; whether Ahmed Ağa had any connection with this embassy could not be verified. Hüsameddin also notes that the reasons for Hacı Ahmed Pasha's dismissal and exile are written in the Silahdar Tarihi.

That offices such as the administration of the sultan's waqfs, the nakîb kaymakamlığı, the muftiship and the chief ayanship changed hands repeatedly within a few years is also noteworthy. The ayan were a group in the Ottoman provinces who carried out the administration and supervision of waqfs and stood as representatives of the people against the kadı and the governor. The chain of complaints and investigations in the last part of the entry shows in detail how the rivalry for these positions could split a city in two. Hüsameddin's evident admiration for Osman Bey and Hacı İbrahim Bey and his attitude toward the "great ağas" who tried to bring them down should also not let us forget that this account is the memory of a man of Amasya rather than a neutral record.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, Remainder (Bakiyye) of vol. 4, p. 631–634. amasya.bel.tr
• "Kirli Ahmed Paşa", entry based on Mehmed Süreyya, Sicill-i Osmanî (ed. Nuri Akbayar, 1996), I, 238, https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirli_Ahmed_Paşa

Academic studies

• Abdülkadir Özcan, "Şehid Ali Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/sehid-ali-pasa
• Abdülkadir Özcan, "Ahmed Paşa, Kavanoz", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, EK-1, 2020, p. 49-50, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ahmed-pasa-kavanoz
• Tolga Öntürk – Özcan Tunçadam, "Amasyalı 'Idî-zâde Âkif Mustafa ve Divanı", Hikmet - Akademik Edebiyat Dergisi, no. 12, 2020, p. 259-281, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/hikmet/article/683811
• Hasan Telli, "Meşîhat Arşivine Göre Amasya Müderrisleri", Kocatepe İslami İlimler Dergisi, 7/2, 2024, p. 732-758
• Semavi Eyice, "Burmalı Minare Camii ve Türbesi", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, VI, 1992, p. 444-445, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/burmali-minare-camii-ve-turbesi
• H. Hilal Şahin, "Osmanlı-Hint İlişkilerine Genel Bir Bakış (XV-XVIII. Yüzyıl)", Akademik Tarih ve Düşünce Dergisi, 2/6, 2015
• Özcan Mert, "Âyan", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ayan

Official sources

• Gümüşhacıköy Kaymakamlığı, "Gümüşhacıköy Tarihi", http://www.gumushacikoy.gov.tr/gumushacikoy-un-unlu-tarihi

Books

• "Âkif, Iydî-zâde Mustafa Âkif Efendi", Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü, https://teis.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/akif-iydizade-mustafa-akif-efendi

Other sources

• "Kapı Ağa Medresesi", https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kapı_Ağa_Medresesi