Twice Kahvecizâde Râşid Mehmed Efendi came back to his native Amasya as a government official: first, in 1245 (1829-30), as steward (emin) of the town's silk scales, and fourteen years later as district governor (kaymakam) of the sanjak, administering Amasya for more than a year. This finance clerk then served as district governor of Niğde and of the sanjak of Samako, was dismissed in 1267 (1850-51) and died some time later. The only source on him, Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's entry, names him a poet as well as listing his skills as a clerk and a man of letters.

Life

Kahvecizâde is the fifth of the Amasya men named Râşid who follow one another in the tenth volume of Amasya Tarihi; his entry reads:

Amasyalıdır. Dârü's-sa'âde ağası Hâlid Ağa'nın kahvecilerinden Amasyalı Hasan Ağa'nın mahdûmudur. 1213'de Hâlid Ağa'nın vefâtında pederi Amasya'ya gönderilmişdi. Kendisi Amasya'da doğdu. Ba'dehû İstanbul'a gidip mektûbî-i mâliye kalemine mülâzemetle girdi. Orada tefeyyüz ederek hulefâdan olup 1245'de Amasya mîzân-ı harîr emîni olarak geldi. Dört yıl kadar kalıp 1249'da infisâl ederek İstanbul'a gitdi. Ba'dehû mektûbî-i mâliye ser-halîfesi olup buradan dâr-ı şûrâ kâtibi, sonra hâssa ordusu baş-kâtibi oldu. 1259 senesi zilka'desinin beşinci günü Amasya sancâğı vâlî kâ'im-makâmı olarak gelip bir yıldan ziyâde livâyı idâre etdi. 1261 senesi muharreminin gurresinde Niğde kâ'im-makâmı oldu. Orada bir müddet kalıp sonra ma'zûlen İstanbul'a gitdi. 1265'de Samako sancâğı kâ'im-makâmı olup 1267'de ma'zûl ve ba'dehû merhûm oldu. Kâtib, edîb, şâir idi.

Translated from the Ottoman: An Amasya man; his father was Hasan Ağa of Amasya, one of the coffee-makers of Hâlid Ağa, Chief Eunuch of the Darüssaade. When Hâlid Ağa died in 1213 (1798-99) his father had been sent to Amasya; he himself was born in Amasya. Later he went to Istanbul and entered the Correspondence Office of the Finance Department as a probationer. Advancing there, he rose to the rank of clerk (halife) and in 1245 came to Amasya as steward of the silk scales. After staying about four years he left the post in 1249 (1833-34) and went to Istanbul. Later he became head clerk of the Correspondence Office of the Finance Department, from there secretary of the dâr-ı şûrâ, then chief secretary of the Hassa Army. On the fifth day of Zilkade 1259 (27 November 1843) he came as deputy governor of the sanjak of Amasya and administered the sanjak for more than a year. On the first day of Muharrem 1261 (10 January 1845) he became district governor of Niğde. After staying there a while he was dismissed and went to Istanbul. In 1265 (1848-49) he became district governor of the sanjak of Samako; in 1267 he was dismissed, and some time later he died. He was a clerk, a man of letters and a poet.

The family's return to Amasya was a consequence of palace service. His father Hasan Ağa was one of the coffee-makers of the Chief Eunuch of the Darüssaade, head of the harem eunuchs of the Topkapı Palace; when his master died his place at the palace came to an end and he was sent back to his home town. The entry, which says that Râşid was born in Amasya, does not give the year of his birth. If his father came to Amasya after 1213, one may guess that Râşid was born in the first years of the nineteenth century, though that is only an inference.

Râşid's whole career was spent in the government offices. The Correspondence Office of the Finance Department was the bureau that conducted the official correspondence of the finance administration; Râşid began there as a probationer (mülazım) and rose into the ranks of the clerks called "hulefâ", then to head clerk. Which council Hüsameddin means by "dâr-ı şûrâ" is not made clear. The chief secretaryship of the Hassa Army put Râşid at the head of the paperwork of the sultan's central army. The district governorships were the years in which he went out to the provinces as an administrator: in Amasya he ran the administration on behalf of the governor of the sanjak, and afterwards he was sent to Niğde and to the sanjak of Samako in Rumelia.

The Silk Scales of Amasya

Râşid's first post in Amasya concerned an institution at the heart of the town's economy. The mîzân-ı harîr was the official scale where raw silk was weighed and taxed, together with the revenue item attached to it; the emin was the official responsible for collecting this revenue on behalf of the state. Köprülüzâde Râşid Ahmed Bey, whom Hüsameddin gives just before in the same section, had likewise been sent to Amasya in 1223 (1808) as steward of the silk scales and stamp-tax farms and had run this business for about ten years. The consecutive entries of the two Râşids show that in the first half of the nineteenth century the tax on Amasya silk was collected by stewards appointed from Istanbul.

Namesakes

In Hüsameddin's tenth volume seven men named Râşid follow one another. Of these, Hacı Yûsuf Ağazâde Râşid Mehmed Efendi is also called a poet; he too rose in the administration of Amasya from clerk to director of correspondence, and he died in Istanbul in 1295 (1878). The two Râşid Mehmeds lived in the same century, both were trained in the offices, and their entries stand two pages apart. What distinguishes them is their careers: Hacı Yûsuf Ağazâde spent most of his life in the local administration of Amasya, while Kahvecizâde was trained in the finance offices of Istanbul and sent out to the provinces as a district governor. In describing the Servahdîzâde family Hüsameddin also mentions a "Kahvecizâde Mehmed Efendi, of the notables" living in his own day; his connection with Râşid's family is not recorded.

Poetry

Râşid Efendi's poems could not be traced; not a single one is known. We learn that he was a poet from the words that close Hüsameddin's entry, "kâtib, edîb, şâir", and the author does not say where this came from.

Chronology

1213 (1798-99): Hâlid Ağa, Chief Eunuch of the Darüssaade, dies; Râşid's father Hasan Ağa is sent to Amasya.

1245 (1829-30): Becomes steward of the silk scales of Amasya.

1249 (1833-34): Leaves the post and returns to Istanbul.

5 Zilkade 1259 (27 November 1843): Arrives as deputy governor of the sanjak of Amasya.

1 Muharrem 1261 (10 January 1845): Becomes district governor of Niğde.

1265 (1848-49): Becomes district governor of the sanjak of Samako.

1267 (1850-51): Dismissed; dies some time later.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources