Commanders of the Janissary Army 397

Chapter 18 Commanders of the Janissary Army: The Janissary Ağas, Their Career and Promotion Patterns

Aysel Yıldız

Should a man of our corps, who serves as sekbanbaşı [deputy of the janis sary agha] and kul kethüdâsı [deputy commander], pass away before raising to the rank of janissary agha, he is then considered to die without faith.1 ⸪

Introduction

In an imperial council dated 8 B 921/18 August 1515, something notable oc curred. Dignitaries of different ranks were in attendance, including Zeyrekzâde, the kazasker (chief judge) of Rumelia, and Tâcîzâde Cafer Çelebi, the kazasker of Anatolia. Both entered the presence of the sultan, and then returned home. After a while the sekbanbaşı, the deputy to the janisssary ağa, Balyemez Osman Ağa, was called into the presence of the sultan. He went inside accompanied with other dignitaries. Then a kapıcıbaşı (head gate keeper) arrived, bound the hands of vizier Piri Paşa and vizier İskender Paşa from behind, and took them to the sultan. Another official also brought Cafer Çelebi from his home. An executioner first executed İskender Paşa, then Cafer Çelebi, and finally Osman Ağa, while the sultan watched. Following this execution, miralem Yakub Ağa was appointed as the new janissary ağa.2 This council was called by order of Selim I (r. 1512-1520) after his return from the eastern campaign against the Safavids. According to historiographical tra dition, the execution of Balyemez Osman Ağa and the appointment of Yakub

1 “Bir âdem bizim ocağımızda segbanbaşı ve kul kethüdâsı olup da yeniçeri ağası olmazdan mukaddem vefât ederse îmânsız ölmüş olur.” Abdülkadir Özcan (ed.) Anonim Osmanlı Tarihi (1099-1116/1688-1704), Ankara 2000), p. 228. This is a comment by Haşimoğlu Murtaza Ağa, a former kul kethüda and later a sekbanbaşı (28 C 1103/17 March 1692-2 B 1104/9 March 1693). 2 Ahmet Akgündüz, Osmanlı Kanunnameleri ve Hukuki Tahlilleri, 9 vols, Istanbul 1996, IX, p. 377.

Ağa – mark a historic change in the non-commissioned ranks of the janissary troops. From then on, janissary ağas would be the highest commanders of the janissary army, rather than the sekbanbaşı.3 This paper is a prosopographic study of an elite military group, the com manders of the famous janissary army. It surveys an aspect of the command structure of the janissary army, focusing on the evolution in the nature of the career and promotion patterns of the janissary ağas, from the establishment of the army until the corps was abolished by Mahmud II in 1826. Given the limita tions of the data, this paper should be considered as offering tentative results from preliminary research on the status, career and promotion patterns of this important military elite. Yet it hopes to contribute to a better understanding this element of the Ottoman military establishment, illuminating the internal system of authority of the janissary army as well as its role in the socio-political life of the Ottoman Empire. Such a study is crucial not only to understanding the long history of the janissary system, but may also help us to better under stand Ottoman political structures. The relation between the imperial court, the Porte (Bab-ı Ali), and the janissary corps was subject to changes and adjust ments, which are also reflected in the recruitment strategies concerning the janissary ağas. The gradual changes in the recruitment patterns of this elite group also reflect the gradual transformations taking place in the socio-politi cal and administrative structure of the empire. Very limited reliable data is available on the numbers and identities of the non-commissioned ranks of the janissary army, and the exact promotion and dismissal dates of the janissary officers are not well recorded. The basic prob lem seems to be a lack of systematic official record keeping, at least for certain periods. One therefore has to consult the contemporary narratives, which are not always careful in the dates they provide, and in some cases are clearly inconsistent. There are some incomplete lists in the contemporary or later sources, and it is sometimes possible to find short lists of janissary ağas for certain periods.4 As may be observed in Table 18.1, I have endeavoured to make

3 Akgündüz, Kanunnameler, IX, p. 377. See also İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devleti Teşkilâtından Kapukulu Ocakları I: Acemi Ocağı ve Yeniçeri Ocağı, Ankara 1998, p. 169. 4 One of the earliest is the list of the janissary ağas from 927/1520-21 to 1109/1698, containing the listed 129 janissary ağas. This was published by Akgündüz in his Kanunnameler, IX, pp. 378- 381. This list contains very brief entries, essentially comprising the names and years of ap pointment of the ağas. Sometimes the ağa’s former post is provided (such as mirialem Ahmed Ağa or kapıcıaşı Cafer Ağa); sometimes only their names are given (Halil Ağa, Hızır Ağa). Brief notes on their achievements (İbrahim Ağa, “fatih-i” (conqueror) Kıbrıs), subsequent posts, or deaths, are sometimes noted. In the list, 24 commanders are mentioned as being recruited from the janissary army. Another list of the janissary ağas is provided in Mehmed Süreyya,