Mustafâ Pasha

In Modern English

Although he lived in Sivas, he was among the people of Amasya. He was the son of Hacı Abdülbâkî Ağa son of Hacı Ahmed Bey, of the Sefer Ağa sons, and the son-in-law of Sarıbeyzâde Mehmed Pasha of Amasya. Since the previous mutasarrıf had become beylerbeyi of Maraş, at the beginning of Rebiülahir 1195 [1781] he became mutasarrıf of Amasya.

He himself was guardian of Sinop. The former kethüda scribe Abdullah Efendi came, almost as if in exile, as mütesellim of Amasya. The Pasha's affairs were handled by his son Mehmed Bey.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• sâkin: resident, settled
• dâmâd: son-in-law, the one who marries one's daughter
• mutasarrıf-ı sâbık: the previous mutasarrıf
• kethüdâ kâtibi: the scribe who handled the clerical affairs of the kethüda of a vizier or grand vizier
• menfî şeklinde: as if exiled

The Sefer Ağazades

Mustafa Pasha belongs to the Sefer Ağazades, one of the families of Amasya that supplied many men to state service in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Hüsameddin, in the introductory part of his book, mentions this name as one of the branches of one of the city's most numerous lineages; Sefer Ağa, mütesellim of Amasya, who is probably the person from whom the family took its name, had repaired a mescit damaged in the earthquake of 1057 [1647] and built a fountain beside it, and for this reason the mescit was called the "Sefer Ağa Mescidi". The family's best-known member is Sefer Ağazâde Elçi Hacı Mehmed Pasha, who at the end of the seventeenth century served as ambassador to Iran, governor of Damascus and emir of the pilgrimage.

In the biographies section of Hüsameddin there is a separate entry for Sefer Bey, who is understood to be Mustafa Pasha's son. There Sefer Bey is introduced as "son of Sefer Ağazâde Mustafa Pasha son of Ahmed Ağa son of Sefer Bey and grandson through his daughter of the vizier Sarı Beyzâde Mehmed Pasha"; it is noted that because his father lived in Sivas he was counted among the notables of Sivas, that for a time he served as mütesellim of Sivas in his father's name, and that he died after 1221 [1806-07]. The two records agree that Mustafa Pasha lived in Sivas and was the son-in-law of Sarıbeyzâde Mehmed Pasha. In the father's name there is a small difference: while in this entry Mustafa Pasha's father is given as Hacı Abdülbâkî Ağa and his grandfather as Hacı Ahmed Bey, in the other entry it says directly "son of Ahmed Ağa"; it may be thought that one generation was skipped. No other information could be found on his son Mehmed Bey, who is said in the entry to have handled his affairs.

The Father-in-law Sarıbeyzâde Mehmed Pasha

Mustafa Pasha's father-in-law Sarıbeyzâde (in some sources Sarızâde) Mehmed Pasha is a statesman from Amasya who rose in Sivas. According to Ahmet Önal's study based on the appointment registers, Sarızâde Mehmed Pasha was first mutasarrıf of Amasya; according to the chronicler Enverî's record, while alaybeyi of Sivas he was appointed to Sivas in 1763 with the rank of beylerbeyi of Rumelia on account of his bravery in punishing the masterless levends in the province. The Pasha, who administered Sivas twice at different dates, died while guardian of Bender, and the news of his death reached the army on 23 June 1769. Hüsameddin also records in an earlier entry that upon the execution of the governor of Sivas Çapan Ahmed Pasha "the vizier Sarıbeyzâde Mehmed Pasha of Amasya" became governor of Sivas. Mustafa Pasha's settling in Sivas can be explained by this marriage tie.

The Nature of the Mutasarrıflık

The "mutasarrıf-ı sâbık" in the entry is Gürcüzâde Halil Pasha; Hüsameddin reports with this sentence that he went to Maraş. Since Mustafa Pasha was guardian of Sinop, he did not come to Amasya, and the sanjak was administered through a mütesellim and his son. The phrase "came as if exiled" that Hüsameddin uses for the mütesellim Abdullah Efendi suggests that Abdullah Efendi was removed from his post in Istanbul and sent to Amasya; it is related in the next entry that he was left in place, and two entries later that he was "pardoned" and returned to Istanbul. This also confirms that he lived a kind of exile in Amasya. No information was found in other sources on Mustafa Pasha's guardianship of Sinop. The Pasha's mutasarrıflık lasted a little more than two months, and in Cemaziyelahir 1195 the sanjak passed to another vizier.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, Supplement to Volume 4, p. 669. amasya.bel.tr
• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 1 (Introduction), vol. 10 ("Sefer Bey-Mustafa Paşazâde") and Supplement to Volume 4 (entries "Ebûbekir Paşa", "Mehmed Paşa", "Mikdâd Ahmed Paşa").

Academic studies

• Ahmet Önal, "Sivas Eyaleti Valileri ve Beylerbeyileri (1753-1792)", Tarihin Peşinde, 21, http://www.tarihinpesinde.com/dergimiz/sayi21/M21_02.pdf