Leading Families in Ottoman Hungary

Abstract

It is often rather difficult to figure out the family relationships of high-ranking officials in Hungary mentioned in the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Ottoman sources. Nevertheless, it is possible to follow the fortunes of members of certain important kinship groups. Also worthy of attention are prominent individuals who were not affiliated by blood, but who belonged to common networks. Among these, we find individuals of Turkish origin, but encounter many more who were renegades, from families which hailed from the Balkans. Those from Turkey are best represented by ÇandarlÖzade Halil bey, who drew up the first cadastral surveys of the sancaks comprising the vilayet of Budin/Buda in 1546 and who went on to become defterdar of the same province in 1549, while the most significant families of Slav background were the YahyalÖs and the Sokollus. The fact that three of Yahya paûa's offspring and other relations (Bali, Mehmed, and Arslan paûas) were appointed governors of Buda and another three (Arslan, Derviû, and Mehmed beys) were each charged with setting up a new sancak shows how influential this kinship group was, and that it transferred its main field of activity from the Balkans to the Hungarian territories in the 1540s. The Sokollus occupied high administrative positions from 1566 up until the 1620s. District governors with the cognomen Aranid were descended from a well-known Albanian noble family. One kinship group, with four or five members (Ulama, Kanber, 'Deriel', Mehmed Han, and Velican beys), originated from the eastern parts of the Empire; certain of them belonged to the Tekeli tribe and another was of Zulkadirli background, while the remainder were of unknown descent and had been in the shah of Iran's service before coming to Hungary. Of Croatian origin, KasÖm bey and paûa, who began his career as a voyvoda for Yahyapaûaoİlu Mehmed bey and who remained in close contact with the bey's kinsfolk, was able to create quite a large following from among his subordinates. A smaller group of interrelated ümera - ùskender, Deák ('Scribe') Mehmed, and Macaroİlu Ali paûa - probably had Hungarian forebears. It is still difficult to determine the real strength of these families and groupings, and also the kinds of developments they could influence and how far this influence went. Other issues are the extent to which the centre - if it so wished - could check their actions, should these go beyond the limits customary, and the kinds of political games the centre played with them. However, what cannot be disputed is that the system generally functioned rather efficiently in the period under discussion. An important reason for this - perhaps the most important one - was the very great remuneration given these officials, while the enormous prestige and extraordinary possibilities accompanying their roles also played a part

Özet

16'ncÖ ve 17'nci yüzyÖl OsmanlÖ arûiv kaynaklarÖnda anÖlan, yüksek görevlerde bulunanlarÖn ailevî iliûkilerini saptamak genellikle oldukça zordur. Yine de kimi önemli sülaleleri izlemek mümkündür. AyrÖca sülale fertleri arasÖnda akrabalÖk baİlarÖ olmayan birkaç grubu da bu kapsama sokmak yerindedir. BunlarÖn arasÖnda Türk asÖllÖ olanlar da bulunmaktadÖr. Fakat çoİu Balkanlardan gelen ùslâmiyete sonradan girmiû olan kimselerdir. ùlk grubun en iyi bilinen örneİi 1546 yÖlÖnda Budin/Buda vilayetinin ilk tahririni yapan ve 1549'da paûalÖİÖn defterdarlÖİÖ görevine getirilen ÇandarlÖzade Halil Bey'dir. Slav kökenli olan ailelerden YahyalÖlar ve Sokollular baûta gelir. Yahya Paûa'nÖn neslinden ve akrabalarÖndan Bali, Mehmed ve Arslan PaûalarÖn Budin beylerbeyliİine atanmÖû olmalarÖ, Arslan, Derviû ve Mehmed Beylerin ise birer sancak beyi olarak görevlendirilmeleri bu sülalenin ne kadar nüfuzlu olduİunu ve faaliyet alanlarÖnÖn 1540'lÖ yÖllardaBalkanlardan Macar topraklarÖna kaydÖİÖnÖ açÖk bir ûekilde göstermektedir. Sokollular ise 1566'dan 17'nci yüzyÖlÖn ilk on yÖllarÖna kadar yönetici konumundaydÖlar. Aranid lakabÖyla karûÖmÖza çÖkan kiûiler ise meûhur bir Arnavut ailesine mensuptular. Dört-beû kiûiden oluûan doİulu bir klan (Ulama, Kanber, "Deriel", Mehmed Han ve Velican Bey) Tekeli boyuna, Zulkadirlilere ve bilinmeyen soya baİlÖ olup bir dönem ùran ûahÖna da hizmet ettiler. HÖrvat asÖllÖ, kariyerinin ilk safhasÖnda Yahyapaûaoİlu Mehmed Bey'in voyvodasÖ olan ve bu ocak ile sonradan da iliûkide kalan KasÖm Bey/Paûa ise kendi adamlarÖndan daha kalabalÖk bir ûebeke oluûturabildi. Büyük olasÖlÖkla Macar asÖllÖ, aralarÖnda sÖkÖ iliûki baİlarÖ olan bir ümera grubu da ùskender, Deák (Kâtip) Mehmed ve Macaroİlu Ali Paûa'dan meydana geldi. Bu aile ve gruplarÖn gerçek gücünü, neyi ve ne kadar etkileyebildiklerini, beklenenin ötesine giden tutumlarÖnÖ merkezin hangi ölçüde frenleyebildiİini veya frenlemek istediİini, onlarla ne tür iç siyaset oyunlarÖna girdiİini yeterince bilmiyoruz. TartÖûmasÖz olan bir ûey varsa o da üzerinde durduİumuz dönemde sistemin oldukça aksaksÖz yürüdüİüdür. Bunun en önemli nedenlerinden biri, belki de en önemlisi, onlara olaİanüstü iyi gelir saİlanmÖû olmasÖ, ayrÖca da hem prestij hem imkânlar açÖsÖndan özel duruma sahip olmalarıdır.