Page 28 - mediterranea 57

28 Evrim Türkçelik

Abdi, a zeamet-holder and one of his senior men, a post in dergâh-ı âlî
çavuşluğu by sending a tezkire praising his worth . In February 1597,
94
he sent another tezkire on behalf of a certain zeamet-holder called Os-
man requesting his inclusion into the palace çavuş corps for his ser-
vices in the Ottoman navy during the previous years’ naval cam-
paign . Some records even indicate that Halil Pasha’s close relatives
95
were already enrolled in the çavuş corps. Halil Pasha’s nephew Mus-
tafa was a dergâh-ı âlî çavuşu and was promoted to an unspecified
sancak in 1598. After this promotion, the vacant çavuş position was
maintained within the family and was given to one of his relatives,
Mehmed, who himself was already a zeamet-holder .
96
These pieces of evidence demonstrate that Halil Pasha was an im-
portant part of the patronage network and clientage, which he used
effectively during his time as grand admiral. Halil Pasha, as a damad
with strong alliance with the dynasty, not only allowed the Palace to
intervene in appointments in his own sphere of influence, but also
placed his own kapu halkı and even his blood relatives in important
positions of the Palace, with a certain tendency to nepotistic practices.
An important aspect of his office is that the sancakbeyi appointments
in the kapudan pasha province reflect the general characteristic insta-
bility of the provincial offices of the period. However, although the
sancakbeyi appointments and dismissals were frequent and the dura-
tion of office grew shorter, the sancakbeyis were generally chosen
among the governors of the same province, who were familiar with the
particular problems of their region, thus, showing the importance
given to experience and merit. In fact, long terms of office, like that of
Budak Beğ, could also be seen, but these were exceptions effected es-
pecially in strategically important sancaks such as İnebahtı. In this
sense, Arnavud Memi’s instability in the provincial posts, but ironi-
cally, his stable position in the command of the navy, is actually illus-
trative of the tension between meritocracy and the prevailing political
facts and trends of the period.

94 «Kapudan Halil Paşa tezkire gönderüb kendü emekdar adamlarından olub zü-
emadan olan Abdi içün yarardır deyu dergâh-ı âlî çavuşluğu rica itmeğin». BOA,
A.RSK.d 1474, Receb 1004 (March 1596), p. 62.
95 «Çavuşluk-ı dergâh-ı âlî: kapudan Halil Paşa tezkiresiyle züemadan Osman’a
donanma-i hümâyûnda hidmetde bulunmağın…». BOA, A.RSK.d 1474, Cemâziyelâhir
1005 (February 1597), p. 80.
96 «Çavuşluk-ı dergâh-ı âlî: vezîr Halil Paşa’nın karındaşı oğlu olub dergâh-ı âlî
çavuşlarından sancağa çıkan Mustafa Çavuş’un çavuşluğu akrabâsından zaim
Mehmed’e virülsün deyu…». BOA, EV.HMH.d 39, Zilkade 1006 (July 1598), p. 13b.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XX - Aprile 2023
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)