The Wealth and Influence of an Exiled Ottoman Eunuch in Egypt

Transcription

The Wealth and Influence of an Exiled Ottoman Eunuch in Egypt: The Waqf Inventory of
ʿAbbās Agha
Author(s): Jane Hathaway
Source: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 37, No. 4 (1994), pp.
293-317
Published by: BRILL
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JESHO, Vol. XXXVII, ? E.J. Brill, Leiden
THE WEALTH AND INFLUENCE OF AN EXILED
OTTOMAN EUNUCH IN EGYPT: THE WAQF INVENTORY
OF CABBAS AGHA*
BY
JANE HATHAWAY
(Department of History, Ohio State University)
The Chief Black Eunuch of the Ottoman imperial harem (Kizlar Agasi
or Dariissaade A'asi) was by the late 17th century one of the most powerful
figures in the Ottoman Empire. As sultans came to spend the years
preceding their enthronements sequestered in the harem instead of being
sent out to govern provinces, the authority of the harem women, in particular the sultan's mother (ValideSultan),increased markedly. Correspondingly, the Valide Sultan's harem coterie, in particular the black harem
eunuchs, attained unprecedented degrees of influence. By the mid-1600s,
the Chief Black Eunuch rivalled the grand vezir for authority. Meanwhile,
he controlled revenues and clients all over the Empire.
Egypt was without a doubt the province in which the Kizlar Agasi held
the greatest sway. As supervisor (ndzir or mutawalli)1) of the complex of
imperial waqfs established to service the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina
(Awqaf al-IHaramayn), the Kizlar Agasi was ultimately responsible for the
revenues of the many Egyptian villages and enterprises endowed to the
Awqdf.On being removed from office, furthermore, he was typically exiled
to Egypt, 2) where he typically lived out what remained of his life. Thus, his
interest in the province was a curious mix of imperial and personal.
A document from the Topkapi Palace archives3) exemplifies the duality
* I wish to thank Professors Cemal Kafadar and Halil Inalcik for their
help in deciphering
some particularly thorny spots m the document on which this study is based. Responsibility
for any errors, however, is entirely mine. I wish also to thank Professors Michael Cook and
Carter Findley for their helpful comments.
1) Despite Stanford Shaw's rigorous terminological breakdown, the titles seem to have
and Development
been fairly fluid. See Shaw, The Financialand Admmnistrative
of
Organtzation
OttomanEgypt, 1517-1798 (Princeton, 1962), pp. 41-45.
2) This practice had begun in 1644, with the exile of Siinbiil Agha (1640-1644).
3) Topkapi D 7657 (undated). The document cannot be earlier than 1694 since CAbbas
Agha endowed his wakdlain Gamaliyya during that year; see Andr6 Raymond, Artisans et
au Catreau XVIIIe sikcle(Damascus, 1973-1974), I: 332. He was dead by the end
commerfants
of 1697, however, when an imperial order was issued condemning the governor Ism~Cil
Pasha's (1695-1697) attempts to sell off CAbbas'waqf properties: Istanbul, Prime Ministry
Archives, Miihimme Defteri 11.0, No. 947 (Evill CemaziyiiPahir 1109/December 1697).
294
JANE HATHAWAY
of the Kizlar Agasl's relationship to Egypt. It is the inventory of waqf properties endowed in Egypt by CAbbdsAgha, who was Kizlar Agasi from 1667
until his deposition in 1671, when, naturally, he was exiled to Egypt. Many
of these properties were clearly endowed with the aim of producing revenues
for the Holy Cities; most, in fact, were undoubtedly endowed while CAbbis
still held the office of Kizlar Agasi. Others, however, seem far more personal in character and, indeed, of little use to the Holy Cities: for instance,
cAbbis Agha's 40-akge stipend and allotment of grain, 4) his books, and his
house. A Kizlar Agasi's purpose in endowing his personal assets in this
manner was no doubt to avoid having them confiscated by the state on his
death. Such an endowment, moreover, enabled the Kizlar Agasi in effect
to bequeath his properties as inheritances. In the absence of offspring, a
eunuch typically named his agent(s) (wakfl)beneficiary. But the vehicle of
the waqf also gave the agha far more control over the eventual disposition
of his property than the conventional will did. A case from the Cairo
qadiF
court registers reveals that cAbbdsleft his personal residence at Birkat al-Fil
to his wakfl,Ahmed Agha the katkhuddof the (avugan corps,5) and allowed
Ahmed Agha to hand the property down to his own descendants. Once
Ahmed's line died out, however, the house was to revert to "whoever is
of the Awqdf al-Haramayn". 6)
n.z@r
Yet CAbbis Agha's waqf inventory yields far more than just an example
of the personal exploitation of an imperial institution. The list of properties,
along with the intriguing book list, offers a clue to the range of cAbbds'
interests in Egypt and to his personal affinities, as well. It can, furthermore,
shed light on the manner in which an exiled Kizlar Aigasirepresented the
Ottoman court in the largest of the Ottoman provinces. The Kizlar Agasi
(The months of all Ottoman documents will be rendered according to the usage of the
Redhouse New Turkush-English
Dzctwnary[Istanbul, 1968].) The order may, in fact, be connected to this waqf inventory In that case, the inventory could date from the mid- to late
1690s.
4) These may have comprised his remittance from the Kepidecorps, through which exiled
Klzlar Agalari and other former Ottoman officials received pensions after retiring to Egypt.
If so, the stipend would have been paid monthly although the amount given here is almost
certainly a daily allowance. On the Keqlde, see Shaw, FinancialandAdmmnistrattve,
pp. 202,
216, 396-397
5) The Ottoman soldiery in Egypt consisted of seven corps (ocaks): the Janissanes
(Mustahfizan), CAzeban,Miiteferrika, Qavugan, G6nfilliiyan, Tiifenkciyan, and Qerakise.
The rank of katkhudAwas second only to that of agha. The katkhudd of the Qavugan was
closely linked to the governor's council, or divan.
6) Topkapi E 7900, dated 24 Ramazan 1076 (March 1666), with the waqfahliof the house
to begin in Zilkade 1080/May 1670. Obviously this was an arrangement that cAbbis had
made while still in office.
THE WAQF INVENTORYOF CABBASAGHA
295
was, after all, the sole imperial figure for whom an extended stay in Egypt
was customary, if not inevitable.
THE DOCUMENT
olan evklfidir.
Merhfim CAbbdsAi'nin Mislr-i Kdhire ve
nev.hisinde
> Misir-1 KIhire'de
IKuifin'da mekan kebir
zo.ki.mda batt-1
> ve yine Mixir'da Saliblye-i
.Haleb
Tiuliniye'de Maglabey yolunda Cemdmiz
karqusundamenzil ve bagge
ierif: 1
Mushaf-1
: erife: 60
Eczi-i
Tafsir Abi al-Layth: 2 cild
1
Tiirki Tacbzr,seriff: 1
Khuldsat al-wifdqi [sic]:
Kdi•bdn: 1
Sadr al-Shar-ca: 1
HdshzyatAhmad Qelebt: 1
Durar wa ghurar: 1
Metn-i Hiddya: 1
Sharh al-munya: 1
J dmi: 1
Sharh mashdrnq
Muqaddimat[al]-Ghaznawi: 1
Sharh rajiyyaft al-fard'id [sic]: 1
RasPil Nibh Efendi: 1
Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir: 2 cild
Kimlya-z sa Cdde
Sharh mujazf! al-tibb
Abladk-zCAl4)3r:1
Rawdat al-akhbdr: 1
Mecmzica-zmevdciz
Qzrd'atal-awrid: 1
Tabaqdtal-awliyd [sic]: 1
Sharh man4tzqal-harr [sic]: 1
Tevdr7b-i
Al-z COsmin
Dhakhfrat
ft al-tibb
defca yigirmi d6rt Cadedklcta kiitiib
> Divan-i CAli'den miiretteb klrk COsmini
>ve bey evzen [sic] bugday, Divin-i CAli)den miiretteb
296
>
JANE HATHAWAY
Minye'de on Caded feddin
n.hiye-i
otuz Cadedfedd~n n1.iye-i Cize'de (?)
>ve
> sekiz tlbbpI ifiin d6rt Cadedniihaiskarye-i Zifte'de meviiica
> ve iiu piring marifac ve fir;biiyiik kazgin
> ve on dane kebir niilhasriisvet (?)
>baric-i Hiiseynlye'de batt-1 Uandak'da kadimden Emir Ijamza Bey
dimekle maCrfif ariinda
baggeve alti Caded slkiye
vd.iC
> Seyb Demirda~ makaml
kurbmda yigirmi sekiz feddin
> nahiye-i Ijarab Fezire-i IKeylfiblye'de[sic] feddan yigirmi tolkuzrizka
> Minyet CaCfer
on iki feddin rizka
nh.iyesinde
> baric-i Bab-i Futfih'da
Kedddsin ve vek~let-i bagklet
mekan,
.kurbmda
bind', ve ari-1 valif
> yine malhall-1mezbiirda bir dekirman
> ve bir zaviye
> ve menzil-i birader'e mutassil bir menzil
>Birket-i Fil'e nazir Tibb Zokdk dhilinde batt-1 IKfiiSin'da
v4u.f-i
merlhiimun kendi menzili
> n•hiye-i Zifte'de:
> kaysariye ve bundan mukarrabi mahall ve anda on bir diikkkn
> ve bir vekilet ve bir kahvebhne ve bir kahve d6 ecek malhall
> ve buna muta~sil d6rt
ve iki kdca, birinin iizerinde bir mekteb
diikka-n
> Garblye'de $iibre Besyiin'de
d6rt Cadedketen islatacak maliall ve iki
sa•iye
>ve IKeylhibye'de [sic] araix-1
Bahide elli sekiz feddin ve on iki
nd.iye-i
savad
tin-i
kirit
> ve arail-1 Minye-i CAsim'deIKeyliblye'de [sic] ikiyiiz on iki feddan ve alti
kirat tin-i savad
>Derb-i HIzin baslnda Saliblye-Tfilfinlye'de vdkic menzil
> Zoki~k-iHaleb'de Kisiin
menzil
.kurbinda
> Mlslr'da
vikiC vekilet
kebir
Cem5iye kurbinda Seyh CAll Tiiri mekam mukabilinde ii
>Mlslr'da Bul.k'da
ratabe ve boy~bine ve diikkan iizerinde ota, ve bunlara mutag•il baribe
mahall ve yine on diikkan
>Riikn-i
Muballak b~ignda vekilet
mekan kebir
kurbmnda batt-1 Cemaliye'de
v4.iC
TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY
[In order to make my presentation of the translation more compatible with
the discussion that follows it, I have separated the book list from the list of
THE WAQF
INVENTORY
297
OF CABBAS AGHA
properties. In the original document, two items of property precede the
book list.]
The late CAbbasAgha's wagf properties in Cairo and its districts:
THE BOOK LIST
1) Mushaf-1 erif (1 copy)-the redaction of the Qurdan approved by the
caliph cUthman (644-656 C.E.)7)
2) Ecza'-i serife (60)-portions of the Qur'an
3) Tafsir Abi al-Layth (2 volumes)-exegetical work of the Hanafijurisprudent Nasir b. Muhammad Abfi al-Layth al-Samarqandi (d. 993). It was
translated into Turkish by the Hanafi jurisprudent al-Shihab Ahmad b.
Muhammad, a.k.a. Ibn CArabshah (d. 1450). 8)
4) Tacbfr-zserzf in Turkish (1 copy)-a work on dream interpretation,
evidently usually encountered in Arabic9)
5)
al-wfiiqi (1 copy)-should
almost certainly be
al-wafa',
Khuld.at
an Khuld.at
of an Arabic
abridgement and distillation of several versions (two lost)
history of the Prophet's tomb in Medina by the Egyptian Shafici Nfir al-Din
Ahmad b. cAll al-Samhidi (d. 1506). The work belongs to thefaa•Wilgenre,
extolling the virtues of Medina. This abridgement was translated into
Turkish by one Muhammad al-CAshiqal-Hanaff al-Riimi. 10)
jurist Fakhr al6) Kdiiban(1 copy)-the Fatdwdof the 12th-century
Din al-Hasan b. Manisir al-Farghdni. This was not a.Hanaff
collection offatwas per
se but a treatise on fiqh. ")
7) Sadr al-Sharica(1 copy)-a
commentary on a work of fiqh by the
Bukharan Hanaff jurisprudent Burlhn al-Sharica Mahmfid b. Sadr alShariCaI CUbaydallahal-Khumiali. The commentary was composed by the
author's grandson, Sadr al-Sharica II CUbaydallahb. MasCfidal-Mahbfibi
(d. 1346). As Katib Qelebi explains, the commentary was so thoroughly
dominated by its author's personality that it came to bear his name as its
title. The commentary itself gave rise to a wide range of marginalia
(hdTshiya),including those of prominent Ottoman jurisprudents.
12)
7) All dates are Common Era unless otherwise noted.
8) See Kitib Qelebi, Kashfal-zunufn Canasamtal-kutubwa al-funtn, hereafter K( (Tehran,
1967), I: 303.
9) To judge from KQ (I: 291), tacbfris understood to refer to dream interpretation.
10) KQ, I: 472, II: 637-638. Wifaqz,as it appears in the list, is probably a scribal error.
A work called Khulasatal-wifaqzwas composed by the qaddIbrdhim Hanif al-Rdimi (d. 1785)
long after CAbbis Agha's death.
of Islam, 2nd ed., s.v "Kadi Kh~an,"by T Juynboll.
11) See the Encyclopedia
12) KQ, II: 78, 640-641.
298
JANE HATHAWAY
8) HishiyatAhmadQelebi(1 copy)-the marginalia to a work by one Ahmad
Qelebi, possibly the history of Abfi al-CAbbis Ahmad b. Yfisuf Sinin alDimashqi al-Qaramidni(d. 1611), son of the prominent Ottoman jurist
Yiisuf, Molla Sinan (d. 1578). This history was a summary of the Ta'rikh
b. al-Sayyid IHasanal-Rfimi, d.
of the Ottoman jurist al-Jann~bi
(Mu.tafa
enormous
work
which
was
an
encompassing all the polities of the
1591),
world. Ahmad Qelebi added some polities, as did Katib Qelebi himself in
his Fadhlika.Al-Jannabi wrote an abridgement of his own work and a
translation into Turkish.'3)
9) Durar wa ghurar(1 copy)-probably Duraral-hukkimft sharhghuraralahk'im,a commentary by the Ottoman Shaykh al-Islim Molla Hiisrev (d.
1480-1481) on his own work of Hanafifiqh. This work was translated into
Turkish by Siileyman b. Veli al-Anqardwi during Molla Hiisrev's
lifetime. 4)
10) Metn-i Hiddya(1 copy)-undoubtedly Hidiyatftal-furuC, a commentary
Burhin al-Din CAlib. Abi Bakr al-Marghindni(d. 1197)
by Shaykh
on his ownal-Isl.im
work of Hanaffifiqh. Kitib Qelebi remarks that this work is in
essence a commentary on two fundamental works of Hanafi fiqh: alShayb~ni's (d. 803)Jdmic al-saghkrfial-furic and al-Qudiiri's (d. 1036-1037)
Mukhtaiar al-Qudiri Jft al-furfc al-hanafiyya.Both al-Qudiiri's and alMarghinani's works were included in the curriculum of the Palace school
during the time of Mehmed II.15)
11) Shar4Aal-munya(1 copy)-There are a number of works entitled AlMunya. . However, the one invoked here is perhaps Munyatal-myalli wa
ghunyatal-mubtadi',a 13th-century work of HIjanafifiqhby Sadid al-Din alKishgiri. At least four commentaries to this work were composed, most
notably those of Ibn Amir al-Hajj Muhlammadb. Muhlammad (d. 14741475) and Shaykh Ibrihim b. Muhlammadal-IHalabi(d. 1549). According
to Katib Qelebi, the latter's commentary was accepted by "the people". 16)
12) Jdmi (1 copy)-undoubtedly the work of the famous Persian mystical
poet Ntir al-Din CAbdal-Ralnmidnb. al-Jrnmi(d. 1492), who worked at the
court of the amir Husayn Bayqara in Herat. His most influential works
13) KQ, I: 60, 223. On Molla Sinin's career, see Al-CAqd
al-manzimftdhikraf-adilal-Ram,
supplement to Ahmed Tagk6priizade, Al-Shaqiiq al-nugmindyya
fi CulamVal-dawlat al(Beirut, 1975), pp. 489-490.
Cuthmainyya
14) KQ, I: 388-389, 1: 151, 153. On Molla Hiisrev's life, see R. C. Repp, TheMufti of
Istanbul(London, 1986), pp. 129ff., 154-166.
15) KQ, II: 646-654, 402-405 (on al-Qudfiri); Barnette Miller, ThePalaceSchoolofMuhammad the Conqueror
(Cambridge, MA, 1941), p. 109.
16) KQ, II: 558-559.
THE WAQF
INVENTORY
OF CABBAS AGHA
299
were three divans of ghazalsand seven mathnawfscollectively known as the
Haft Awrang 17)
n sihah al13) Sharh mashdriq-refers to Mashdrzq al-anwdr al-nabawzyya mm
akhbdr
a hadfthcollection by
al-Din IHasan b. Mu1hamal-mus.tafawtyya,
mad al-Saghini
on this work was written by
(d. 1252). A commentaryRa.di
Hayreddin Hizir b. Omer CAtiiftal-Marzifiini (d. 1541), the tutor of Sultan
Bayezid II. 8)
14) Muqaddimat al-Ghaznawf (1 copy)-a
work on Cibddat,or pious acts of
devotion, according to Hanafi law, by the Aleppine jurisprudentJamil alDin Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Sayyid al-Ghaznawi (d. 1197). 9)
15) Sharh rajiyyaft al-fard'id (1 copy)-should
almost certainly be Al-Fard)id
al-Sirdjiyya,the leading HIanafiwork on the law of inheritance by the jurist
Siraj al-Din Abfi Tdhir Muhammad al-SajAwandi (fl. c. 1200). AlSajawandi wrote the first commentary on his own work; many others followed, including a number in Turkish and Persian. 20)
16) Rasd'il NizhEfendi(1 copy)-treatises of the Hanaff jurisprudent NCilh
Efendi b. Mustafa al-Rilmi al-Misri (d. 1659). He wrote three major rasa'il,
most intriguingly Rzsdilaft Cawd al-rnih ild' al-badan bacd al-mawt li-su'adl
(Treatise on the Return of the Soul to the Body After Deathfor the Interrogation).21)
He also wrote marginalia (hdshzya)to Molla Hiisrev's Durarwa ghurar(No.
9, above) as well as an Arabic history of Egypt (Ta 'rfkhMisr) running from
the Creation through 1517
22)
17) Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir (2 volumes)-the famous history Al-biddya wa alnihdyaof the Damascene CImddal-Din Abfi al-Fida Ism1Cilb. CUmarb.
Kathir (d. 1373), ranging from the hijra to Ibn Kathir's time and including
the early Ottomans. A Turkish translation was composed by Mahmud b.
Mehmed b. Dilshad.
23)
18) Kifmya-zsacdde-most likely the mystical work, in Persian, of al-Ghazdll
(d. 1111). It was translated into Turkish by Molla Mehmed b. Mustafa alVdni (d. 1611) and by the poets Nejati and Sihabi. 24)
19) Sharhmijoazfial-tibb-possibly refers to the medical compilation of the
17) KQ, I: 507; EP, s.v "Djimi," by C. Huart and H. Masse; E. J. W Gibb, A History
of OttomanPoetry,ed. Edward G. Browne, II (London, 1902): 7
der arabischenLitteratur,Supplement II
18) KQ, II: 436; Karl Brockelmann, Geschzchte
(Leiden, 1938): 639
Suppl. I (Leiden, 1937): 649
19) KQ, II: 506; Brockelmann, Geschzchte,
20) See EP, s.v "al-Sadjdwandi," by Rudi Paret.
21) The mterrogation m the tomb conducted by the angels Munhir and Nhir.
Suppl. II: 432.
23) KQ, I: 187-188.
Suppl. II: 229-230.
300
JANE HATHAWAY
Ottoman astronomer CAla'eddinCAllb. Mehmed al-Qiishgi (d. 1474), who
before coming to the court of Sultan Mehmed II had directed the
astronomical observatoryof the Timurid ruler Ulugh Beg at Samarkand.25)
20) Abldk-zCAld'T
(1 copy)-a work, in Turkish, on ethics by the Ottoman
and
Khalwati
qddi
shaykh Molla CAla'eddin CAli b. Mehmed, a.k.a.
who
died
in Edirne in 1572. The work was composed in
Kmnahzade,
Damascus for the Ottoman governor, CAllPasha. 26)
21) Rawdat al-akhbir (1 copy)-probably the Turkish history Rawdet iil-ebrdr
al-mubfn bi-haqd'ig iil-abbdrby the Ottoman qddf and historian CAbdulaziz,
a.k.a. Karagelebizade (1591-1658). The work ranges from the Creation
until 1646, with a supplement to 1657; the fourth section concerns the
Ottoman Empire. Rawdatal-akhbdr
was also the (partial) title of a commenon
Sadr
7,
tary
(No. above) by Shaykh Abfi al-Yaman Muhammad
al-Sharina
b. al-Muhibb. 27)
22) Mecmiuca-z
mevdCiz-evidentlya collection of sermons.
al-awrdd
23) Qird'at
(1 copy)-concerns recitation of special devotional
prayers (wtrd, pl. awrdd)based on the Qur•).n. Such prayers, which are in
addition to the five daily prescribed prayers, are typically associated with
sufis.
24) Tabaqdtal-awliyd~)(1copy)-probably
Tadhkirdtal-awliyd, a collection of
biographies of stiff saints by the 12th-century mystic Farid al-Din CAttar.
25) Sharhmandrtqal-harr(1 copy)-probably a commentary on al-cAtt~r's
mystical allegory Man.tq al-tayr (The Parliament of the Birds). 28)
Al-i COsmdn--thehistory of the Ottomans. Usually this title
26) Tevdri?4-z
refers collectively to the popular anonymous chroniclesof the 15th-17th centuries, as well as the chronicles of such 15th-century historians as Uruc b.
CAdil, Aplkpasazade, Negri, Kemalpasazade, and Idris al-Bitlisi (the first
four in Turkish, the last in Persian). However, it can also be taken to
encompass various Selimnames, Siileymannames, and ghazavatnames
composed after the 15th century.
29)
27) Dhakhfratft al-.tibb-possibly the work of Galenic medicine Kitdb
25) Brockelmann, Geschkchte,
Suppl. II: 329-330; Tako6priizade,
pp. 97-100.
Shaqa•iq,
26) KQ, I: 67, Taqk6priizade, Shaqa*iq,pp. 411-418.
derOsmanenund ihre Werke
27) KQ, I. 581, II: 683; Franz Babmger, Die Gesch/chtsschreiber
(Leipzig, 1927), pp. 204-205.
28) See EP, s.v "cAttir," by H. Riter.
29) KQ, I: 218-219 See also V L. M6nage, "The Beginnmgs of Ottoman
Historiography," and Halil Inalcik, "The Rise of Ottoman Historiography," in Bernard
Lewis and P M. Holt, eds., Historiansof theMiddleEast (London, 1962).
THE WAQF INVENTORY OF CABBAS AGHA
301
dhakhiratfitilm al-tibbby the CAbbasidphilosopher-physicianAbfi al-Hasan
Thibit b. Qorra al-Sdbi (d. 901). 30)
and 24 other books
PROPERTIES
1) a large site in Aleppo Street31)in the neighborhood of Qiisun, in Cairo
Tiilfiniyya, on the road of Maghlabey, 2)
2) also in Cairo, in
a house and a garden
.Slibiyya-i
opposite Darb al-Jamamiz,
3) as a salary from the high (imperial) divan, 40 COsmanis33)
4) and 5 measures34) of wheat as a salary from the imperial divan
5) in the district of Minya, ten fedddns35)
6) thirtyfedddnsin the district of Giza (?)
7) four copper vessels located in the village of Zifta [Minyat Zifta in Gharbiyya subprovince] for eight physicians
8) three brass under-tables36)and three large kettles
9) a bribe (?) of ten large copper vessels
10) in the neighborhood of Khandaq, outside of IHusayniyya, on the land
known for many years as Amir Hamza Bey37), a garden and six water
Suppl. I: 384; George Makdisi, The Rise of Humanismin
30) Brockelmann, Geschzchte,
ClassicalIslam and the ChristianWest(Edinburgh, 1990), p. 249
31) Aleppo Street ran from Bib Zuwayla into Qfisfin. See Ahmad b. CAllal-Maqrizi,
wa al-ictibdrbi-dhikral-khitatwa al-athdr(Bulaq, 1877; repr. Baghdad, 1970),
Kitabal-mawdCid
II: 23. Meklnmost likely refers to a site on which an edifice could be built. Witness its similar
use in Topkapi E 7900, the court case (in Arabic) concerning CAbbis Agha's house: "the
makainof the late Mehmed Agha" and "the makanof Yfisuf Agha, the former Mfiteferrika
Bap," which together formed the western border of the house.
32) In a waqflyyadated 1676, this personage is identified as the deceased Maghlabey alZardakash, who had endowed land in Aleppo Street to his own waqf. The name suggests
an amir of the Mamluk sultanate. See Hamza CAbdal-CAzizBadr and Daniel Crecelius,
XXVI (1992), pp. 95, 100.
"The Waqfs of ShahlunAhmad Agha," Annalesislamogtques
33) The akge, or Ottoman silver coin.
34) The plural of vezn("weight, measure") should be evzdn.
35) 1 feddin = 4200.833 square meters.
36) Rather than the plural of mtrfac,an implement for raising things, I take this as the
arabes,3rd ed. (Leiden and
plural of marfac,which R. Dozy, m Supplimentaux dictionnaires
Pans, 1967), I: 543, defines as a flat dish or a small table. S. D. Goitein, in his notecards
on microfilm (Pnnceton University), cites a Cairo Geniza document in which the Arabic
marfacis equated with the Persian zfr-kho'dn,which means literally "under-table" Thus the
marfacwould seem to be a sort of standing tray or sideboard.
37) This site is not to be confused with Hamzawi, a neighborhood west of the Ghfinyya.
The namesake of that neighborhood was the early Ottoman amir Janim al-Hamzdwi; he
may also have given his name to the site in Khandaq, although I have seen no reference to
such a place. There was also an amir named Hamza Bey who was prominent dunng the
1560s. On Hamzdwi, see CAll Pasha Mubdrak, Al-khitatal-Tawftqzyyaal-jadfdali-Misr alQdhtra,new ed. (Cairo, 1969), III: 163. On the later Hamza Bey, see Ahmad Celebi b. CAbd
302
JANE HATHAWAY
wheels 38)
11) 28 feddins near the place of $eyb Demirda? [probably the Demirda?
tekke just northeast of Bdb al-Nasr]
12) in the district of Kharab Fazara in Qalyfibiyya, the income from 29
fedddns
13) in the district of Minyat Jacfar [Gharbiyya subprovince], the income
from 12 fedddns
14) outside Bdb al-Futfih, near Kaddisin and the caravanserai of the
mules, a site, a building, and waqf land
15) in the aforementioned neighborhood, a mill
16) a zawiya (iifi lodge)
17) a house attached to [his] brother's house-For a discussion of the possi-
ble meanings of menzil-z brdader,see below.
18) in the neighborhood of Qfi?in, in "Medicine Street," overlooking
Birkat al-Fil, the late waqf-founder's own house
19) in the district of Zifta:
a) a qaysariyya,39) and near this a neighborhood in which are 11 shops
b) a caravanserai, a coffeehouse, and a coffee-pounding establishment
c) 4 shops attached to this and two workshops,40) over one of them a
Qur':n school
in
Shubra Basyfin in Gharbiyya, 4 flax-wetting establishments and 2
20)
water wheels
21) in the lands of the district of Balida in Qalyfibiyya, 58feddns and 12
qf•r4tse4)arable land
22) in the lands of Minyat CAsimin Qalyfibiyya, 212 fedddnsand 6 qirdts
arable land
al-Ghani, Awdahal-tshiritjf mantawallaMisr al-Qdhzrammn
al-wuzardtwa al-bdshdt,ed. A. A.
CAbdal-Rahim (Cairo, 1978), pp. 116-117
Lexicon(London, 1885; repr. New York, 1956),
38) Edward W Lane, in AnArabic-English
IV 1386, gives the first definition of sidqyaas an irrigation channel but adds that the word
is "now vulgarly applied" to the water wheel. Gardens m elite residences commonly contained water wheels; see Badr and Crecelius, "Waqfs of Shahm Ahmad Agha," p. 98, n. 98.
39) On the use of the term qaysaryya,see below In this list, qaysanyyais spelled with a
sin, as was apparently common in Egypt. S. D. Goitine finds this spelling repeatedly in the
Cairo Geniza; see A Mediterranean
Society(hereafter Med Soc), I (Berkeley and Los Angeles,
1967): 194.
II: 419) and
40) For this use of qdcah,see Raymond, Artisans,I: 323. Dozy (Supplimment,
Goitein (MedSoc,I: 187) agree that a qdCah
is the ground floor hall of a house, which, Goitein
notes, could serve as "storage room, office and living quarters" for a transient merchant.
He also finds qdcahused to mean a shop rented by a transient merchant (MedSoc, I: 157 and
439, n. 29).
41) 1 qfrdt= 1/24feddin, or 175.035 square meters.
THE WAQF INVENTORYOF CABBASAGHA
303
23) a house located at the head of Darb al-Khdzin in Silibiyya-Tfiliniyya
24) a house in Aleppo Street, near Qfi?in
25) a large caravanserai located in Bulaq, in Egypt
26) near Gamaliyya in Cairo, facing the site of Shaykh CAITTirl, 42) three
fulling [mills],43) a dyehouse, and a room44)over a shop; and connected to
this, a ruined place; and also 10 shops
27) a large site located in the neighborhood of Gamaliyya, near the
caravanserai at the head of Rukn al-Mukhallaq45)
PROPERTIES
CAbbds Agha's properties fall into four principal categories: metal
implements, income from land, residential and religious structures, and
commercial structures. The brass tables and copper vessels appear to form
one of the rare exceptions to the rule that endowed property must be
immovable; books were another such exception. Most intriguing among the
metal objects are the "four copper vessels for eight physicians" in Minyat
Zifta, a village in the western Delta subprovince of Gharbiyya. The
specificity of the wording suggests that CAbbasAgha meant to provide a permanent subsidy for Minyat Zifta's medical community. He may, in fact,
have had an affinity for members of the medical profession in general. His
Cairo residence was located in "Tibb Sokak," 46), and his book list includes
two medical works. We cannot, however, know for certain whether he
valued Minyat Zifta's physicians for their medical expertise47) or for
reasons extraneous to their profession.
42) An unidentified shaykh from the port of Tur in the southern Sinai, where the Gulf
of Suez joins the Red Sea.
43) Goiteln's notecards note the appearance of the word ratbain a Genlza document to
describe a fulled gown ([thawb]maqsvira
ratba).
44) Raymond (Artisans,I: 257) has odaas a room in which a merchant lodged while staying in a wakala. Here, of course, that meaning does not fit although the room in question
could be where the keeper of the shop below resided (the proverbial "room over the store").
The oda could also be a workshop, roughly equivalent to a qdCah--asmaller establishment
than a diikkin.
45) The caravanseral is probably Waknlat CAbbisAgha, a coffee wakila. See Raymond,
Artzsans,I: 332; Mubdrak, Al-khitatal-Tawfiqzyya,II: 220. MubArak notes only that the
wakila is for imports from the Hijaz and elsewhere, but coffee dominated Hijazi imports.
46) I have been unable to find a reference to such a street in any of the conventional
topographical guides to Cairo. Perhaps "Tibb Sokak" was a nickname adopted because of
CAbbis Agha's proclivities.
47) Eunuch-hood carried the potential for medical problems, e.g., severe urinary tract
infections. See Shaun E. Marmon, "The Eunuchs of the Prophet: Space, Time and Gender
in Islamic Society," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Princeton University, 1990, p. 183.
304
JANE HATHAWAY
The lands from which
Agha draws income (rizqa)total 389feddrins,
CAbb.s
18
arable
land. Most of these belong to villages that
or
plus qfra.ts•in-zsavdd,
produce revenues for the Awqdfal-Haramayn.What this income probably
comprises, then, is the fda'id,or surplus revenue left after payment of the
villages' taxes to the imperial treasury. Other accounts show that the fadid
could be converted to private property, or mulk,and bequeathed to selected
clients or wakfls.48) The prospect of laying hands on the fdaidcan only have
added to the competition among Egypt's military ranks for the tax farms of
Awqdf villages in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Accordingly,
alliances of convenience with the Kizlar Agasi and even service as his wakfl
became more and more attractive to the military grandees of the period.49)
The distribution of CAbbds Agha's land revenues has, I believe,
everything to do with the question of wakfls.299 of his 389 feddns are concentrated in Awqdfvillages in Qalyufbiyyasubprovince; of these, 212 lie in
the village of Minyat CAsim.I suspect that this cluster of Awqif villages in
Qalyfibiyya, with Minyat CAsimas their "capital," was administered by a
single wakfl or client as serbesttyet,if not as mulk. Such Awqdf-related
bailiwicks, under the jurisdiction of powerful beys or garrison officers, seem
to have been a common feature of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.50)
Further research in court records or imperialfermadns
may clarify the status
of the Qalyfibiyya villages.
In contrast, CAbbdsAgha's residential properties are concentrated in
Cairo. The aged eunuch51) probably rarely, if ever, left the city; hence his
need for wakfls.But like his rural holdings, his non-commercial urban properties cluster in one area-namely, the general vicinity of Birkat al-Fil in
the city's southern sector. The greater neighborhood includes the quarters
of the mosque of Ibn Tfilun, Sil-biyya, and Qiisin. CAbbds'own residence
48) An account of el-Hac Besir Agha's (1717-1746) fdaid (Topkapi D 2520/1, dated
1158/1745) reveals that the fadid was converted into mulk.
49) CAbbds Agha's own wakil, as we have noted, was Ahmad Agha the Qavugan
kathkhudd. The wakilof his predecessor, Musli Agha (1662-1667), was Kencin Bey On the
competition for tax farms, see, for example, Richard Pococke, A Descrptwon
of theEast and
SomeOtherCountries(London, 1743), I: 167
50) The powerful Goniilliiyan agha, Hasan Agha Bilifyd, assembled such a bailiwick
around the tax farm of BilifyS m al-Bahnasa subprovince. His mamltikMutafa Bey Bilify&
was granted this cluster as serbesttyet
by afermdnof 1146/1733-1734 (Istanbul, Prime Ministry
Archives, Mihtmme-iMistr, V 18). Serbesttyet
("freedom") connotes virtual admimstrative
autonomy, though not outright ownership. Pococke also speaks of rune villages, centered on
Mallawi in CUshmunaynsubprovince, that form "a small pnncipality belonging to Mecca,
and...subject to the Emir Hadge" See A Descrnpton,I: 60.
51) Most Kizlar Agalan attained the post relatively late in life. Those exiled to Egypt
generally died within a few years of being exiled.
305
lay on the southern shore of Birkat al-Fil. As Andre Raymond has demonstrated, the pond was the hub of elite residence late in the 17th century. 52)
It seems to have held particularappeal for exiled Kizlar A'alari, for CAbbas'
house was bordered to the west by the residence of Mehmed Agha (16491651) and to the south by the residence of Hazinedar cAll Agha (Kizlar
A'asi 1686-1687). 53) In fact, Hazinedar CAli'shouse is referred to as "the
palace residence of the aghas" (suknqasr(?) al-dghdwdt),implying that exiled
Palace eunuchs commonly established residence in the vicinity. 54)
The three other houses that CAbbds Agha possessed in S1libiyyaTfilfiniyya and Qfisfin may have been used by members of his entourage.
Some may also have been "small houses" (ddr saghfra)used for caching
valuables. 55)
The remainder of CAbbdsAgha's non-commercial urban property is concentrated near Bab al-Futfilh.This is where his zdwayaapparently stands,
and it is tempting to conclude that the other properties in the area are connected to the zdwaya.Particularly intriguing in this regard is the "house
attached to [his] brother's house". Perhaps the most obvious interpretation
of the Persian birdderis a fellow eunuch, but a stifi "brother" might also be
intended. (The meaning could, of course, be simply a house that is attached
to the house next to it.)56) In any case, the garden and six water wheels at
Khandaq indicate a desire to improve that area, which had been one of the
poorest in Cairo since the Mamluk era.57)
As for the commercial properties, these, too, tend to cluster in two key
areas: the northern sector of Cairo, including Gamaliyya and Bdb al-Futfih;
and Gharbiyya subprovince. (There is also a wakdla,or caravanserai, at
Buldq.) Moreover, these properties seem to cater to two key enterprises: the
production of linen and the coffee trade. In the Awqdf village of Shubra
52) Raymond, "Essal de geographle des quartiers de residence anstocratique au Caire
au XVIIIe sibcle," Journalof theEconomicand SocialHistoryof the OrientVI, 1 (1963): 65ff.
53) Topkapi E 7900. The former Miiteferrika Baqi Yfisuf, whose house abuts that of the
late Mehmed Agha, may well be Mehmed's wakfl. This court record allows us to make a
slight correction to Raymond's map of elite residences in the 17th and 18th centuries
("Essai," p. 66), where CAbbis' residence is shown on the eastern bank of Birkat al-Fil.
was known as Darb al-Aghawit. See Ahmad Celebi,
54) Indeed, a street m the vicimnity
Awdah, p. 187
55) On these, see Raymond, "Essat," p. 83.
56) According to Topkapi E 7900, CAbbisAgha's house at Birkat al-Fil had been joined
to the house of Ahmed Bey ndzir al-kzswa(supervisor of the covering prepared for the
Kacaba), which bordered it on the east.
57) Susan J. Staffa, Conquestand Fusion: The Social Evolutionof Catro,A.D. 642-1850
(Leiden, 1977), pp. 112, 187 Khandaq had, in fact, been a garden under the Fatimids. See
al-Maqrizi,
Khttat, II. 136.
306
JANE HATHAWAY
Basyfinin Gharbiyyaare four "flax-wettingplaces"--or, more properly,
flaxretting
places,wherethe plantwas soakedto separatethe fibersfromthe
core. The flax was then dried and beaten to remove the seeds from the
fibers, whichwere then combed.58) Once combed,the flax was ready for
weaving. This, too, as often as not took place at ShubraBasyfin,for the
innerDeltawas the sitenot onlyof the mostintenseflaxcultivationin Egypt
but also of a pervasivelinen-weavingindustry.Girardcites "Bassyoum"
as part of a networkof linen-producingvillages centeringon Tanta, in
whose marketthe cloth was typicallysold.59)
Some of the flax grownin the Delta and Upper Egyptwas transported
up- or downriverto Cairo for weaving.On arrivingat the port of Buldq,
it was typicallystoredin a wakdla,one of the commercialcomplexesthat
combinedstoragespacefor goodswithlodgingfor the merchantswho shipped them. Buliq containedmany wakdlas,a numberof which had been
endowedby Ottomangovernorsandotherofficials.60)By endowinghis own
wakdlaat the port, then, CAbbasAgha was followinga good old Ottoman
tradition.Flax fromhis retting-worksat ShubraBasyfinmay perhapshave
been storedthere on its way to the weaveriesof Cairo.
In Gamaliyya,cAbbisAgha had endoweda complexwherelinen could
be woven, fulled, dyed, and sold in one location.Accordingto Raymond,
Cairo'slinen industryhadbegunto expandintoGamgliyyaby the late 17th
as wellas numerousother
century.The quarterwasthe siteof a linenwakdla
wakdlas.61)
Through his flax-retting establishments, wakdla, and weavery/dyeinghouse, CAbbasAgha promoted Egypt's linen industry at all its various
stages. At the same time, the combination of enterprises enabled him to
control this particular source of revenue from raw material to finished
product. In this scheme of things, cAbb~s' link to the flax villages of Gharbiyya looms especially large, for control of the source of flax ensured the
linen production that raised revenue for the Holy Cities. The four retting
plants providedthis criticallink to Gharbiyya.
58) S. D. Goitemdescribesthe linen-makingprocessm MedSoc,I: 105. Virtuallythe
same processis describedby P S. Girard,"M6moiresur l'agnculture,l'industne, et le
commercede l'Egypte," m the Descrpthon
de l'Egypte,2nd ed. (Pans, 1824), XVII: 99ff.
XVII: 103, 217-219.Someof this clothwas resoldandexportedto Syna,
59) Descrnptton,
Istanbul,and the Greekislands.GirardnotesthatDeltalinenin particularwas exportedto
the islands;however,it was exportedm the formof unwovenfibers.
60) For example, the wakdlasof the 16th-centurygovernorsKoca Sinan Pasha(15671568, 1571-1572)and Hafiz AhmedPasha(1591-1595).
61) Rayrpond,Artsans,I: 260, 322-323.The linenwakdla,he notes,wastheheadquarters
primarilyof Syrianmerchantswho tradedin localclothand in clothimportedfromSyria.
THE WAQF
INVENTORY
OF CABBAS AGHA
307
The other commercial link to Gharbiyya that appears in this inventory
is the ponderous commercial complex in the Awqdfvillage of Minyat Zifta.
Most of the enterprises in Minyat Zifta are related to coffee, which would
have reached the Delta town after being shipped across the Red Sea from
Yemen to Suez. By the late 17th century, the Red Sea coffee trade was
inseparable from the provisioning of the Holy Cities: in the course of the
hajj, Egyptian grain was traded for coffee in the Haramayn and at the port
of Jidda. 62) As supervisor of the grain supply, the Kizlar Agasi was in a
good position to take advantage of the coffee trade. CAbbasAgha himself,
in fact, appears to have established a coffee wakdlajust west of Gamiliyya
(see item 27 in the property list). Moreover, a Kizlar Agasl's wakfls and
other clients typically belonged to the cadre of military grandees who conducted the
and controlled the customs of the ports through which coffee
l.ajj
entered Egypt. 63)
Minyat Zifta's coffee complex seems to be an establishment where beans
were stored, prepared, and sold, as well as a place where the beverage could
be consumed. The wakila/coffeehouse combination was nothing new; at
least one 16th-century governor had endowed a wakdlaand coffeehouse at
Bulaq and a similar duo at Rosetta. 64) The innovation lay in erecting such
a complex in a provincial town. Minyat Zifta, located on the Damietta
branch of the Nile, had, however, been an important regional trading
center, especially for textitles, during the medieval period. 65) It may therefore have been a natural stopping point for coffee-laden Nile boats en route
from Suez to Cairo. From such provincinal entrep6ts, the coffee trade could
be diffused into the countryside, much as the silk trade had been centuries
earlier.
The qaysariyya
complex at Minyat Zifta is somewhat harder to gloss. The
term qaysariyya
could be synonymous with wakala;according to Raymond,
I: 204; and Michel Tuchscherer, "Le
62) On this point, see Pococke, A Descriptwon,
pelennage de l'6mir Sulaymin Gawis al-Qazdugli, sirdar de la caravane de la Mekke en
1739," Annales islamogtquesXXIV
(1988): 175.
63) CAbbis' successor, Yiisuf Agha (1671-1687), is notable for patronizing a succession
of pilgnmage commanders belonging to the Faqiri faction. By the late 17th century, the
Janissanes had monopolized the coffee trade, as well as the customs. On this subject, see
Raymond, Artisans,II: 619ff., 707-710.
64) This was Hafiz Ahmed Pasha (1591-1595). See Ahmad Qelebi, Awdah, p. 123;
Muhammad CAbd al-MuCti al-Ishdiqi, Akhbdral-uwalft man tasarrafaftMisr mmnarbdbal-duwal
(Cairo, 1887), p. 163.
65) Goitem encountered trade m silk, flax, indigo, sesame, and sugar dunng the 12th century A portion of these products were consumed locally, the rest transported to other towns,
including Cairo. See Med Soc, II (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1971): 45-46.
308
JANE HATHAWAY
the use of one or the other to designate a commercial warehouse was largely
could also carry the connotation of
a matter of vogue. However, qaysartyya
or
a
covered
for
the sale of luxury goods, especially
bezestan:
a
un-,
market,
textiles. 66) In this list, qaysartyyaand wakdla are clearly not synonymous
since one of each is carefully specified for Minyat Zifta. Since the wak•la
appears to be associated with the coffee trade, the qaysariyyamay well be
associated with textiles. This interpretationsquares well with Minyat Zifta's
previous history as a regional silk hub.
'Abbas Agha, in fact, appears to have chosen Minyat Zifta as his pet
charity. He established more commercial enterpriseshere than in any other
single location. It was only here, furthermore, that he appears to have
endowed a school.67) And, of course, we have already puzzled over his
distinctive arrangement with Minyat Zifta's physicians. The notion that
Minyat Zifta received such treatment because it was the "capital" of an
Awqdf-relatedbailiwick, as Minyat CAsimin Qalyfibiyya appears to have
been, seems untenable. The two other Gharbiyya villages in which CAbbds
had interests, Shubra Basyfin and Minyat Jacfar, were located at some
distance from Minyat Zifta and from each other. They were too far apart,
I would venture, to be administered comfortably by a single client on the
spot. Once again, further research is called for to determine why Minyat
Zifta, of all the localities that CAbbasAgha patronized, should have become
the special object of his attention and the seat of his coffee-marketing
venture.
THE BOOK LIST
We notice at once that portions of the Qur)an far outnumber any other
sort of book in cAbbas Agha's collection. To the outside world, in fact, his
library was apparently known as a collection of Qur'ans and exegetical
works. Thus an imperial order of 1697 describes the collection as "the
Qur':ans, works of exegesis, and various other kinds of books".68) Of
course, Qur'dns, particularly precious manuscripts, would have been a
66) For a discussion of the terms waklla and qaysaryya,see Raymond, Artisans,I: 254-263.
According to Raymond, the usage of qaysarnyya
enjoyed a limited revival during the 18th
century
a Qur an school (called mektebin Turkish) over a fountain, was the
67) The sabdl-kuttnb,
philanthropic foundation most frequently endowed by Kizlar Agalan.
68) Mihilmme Deften 110, No. 947- "Masdhaf-s
;ernfeve tefa-srve si'ir kiftiib-zmiitenevvice'"
It is curious that the miihimme speaks of masdhtfwhen only one Mushaf-: erffis given in the
list. Perhaps some of the 24 "other" books are QurA'ins.
309
sound investment for any wealthy personage building a library.69) They
were also appropriate for an official whose professional life was to a large
extent taken up with the needs of the cities of the Prophet.
The Kizlar Agasi's link to the Haramayn is reflected in the presence of
al-Samhudi's Khuldsat al-wafd' among CAbbdsAgha's books. Composed in
late Mamluk Egypt, the work is a paean to Medina and in particular to the
Prophet's tomb. In detailing the tomb's history, al-Samhidi describes the
corps of eunuchs who began to guard the tomb in the 12th century and who
by the late 15th century held the exclusive right to enter the tomb's inner
precincts. 70)Sometime after 1517, the tomb eunuchs were incorporatedinto
the Palace slave hierarchy of the Ottoman Empire. From the end of the 17th
century, in fact, the post of Shaykh al-Haram al-Nabawi, or chief guardian
of the Prophet's tomb, was not infrequently filled by an exiled Kizlar
Agasi. 71) Although CAbbasAgha spent the bulk of his life between Istanbul
and Cairo and was never himself named Shaykh al-Haram, his possession
of al-Samhiidi's work points to an identification with the tomb guardiansan identification that, moreover, transcends the temporal limits of the
Ottoman Empire. Such an identification may be simply a manifestation of
eunuch solidarity. But equally significant, I believe, was the Kizlar A'asi's
professional preoccupation with the Holy Cities. 72)
As if to make up for the supra-Ottoman sensibilities suggested by alSamliidi, much of the rest of cAbbas Agha's library marks him as a
69) Makdisi (The Rise of Humanism,pp. 71-76) describes the worth of books In private collections during the classical era and explains that they were not Infrequentlysold to generate
income.
70) For a descnption of al-Samhiudi'swork in the context of a study of these eunuch guardians, see Marmon, "Eunuchs of the Prophet," esp. pp. 107-111. Marmon notes that alSamhiidi was opposed to the exclusion from the Inner precmcts (maqsiira)of all but eunuchs
beginning in 1477 Under the Ayyubid and Mamluk sultans, the tomb guardians were not
exclusively black, nor were their chiefs exclusively eunuchs. Indeed, two of the earliest chief
and a Mamluk amir. See Gaston Wiet,
guardians under Ottoman rule were a Shdfici
" La
Islamic Art and Architecturein Honour of Professor
mosquee de Kdffir au Caire," in Studies in q.di
K. A. C. Creswell(Cairo, 1965), pp. 266-269.
71) Under the Mamluk sultanate, it had been possible for a eunuch to hold jointly the
posts of chief of the royal harem and chief guardian of the Prophet's tomb, as Shibl al-Dawla
Kiffir did dunng the last several years of his life (c. 1422-1427); see Wiet, "Mosqu&e de
Kiffir," p. 263. CAbbas Agha's successor, Yuisuf Agha, was, however, the first exiled
Ottoman Kizlar Agasi to assume the post. Late in the 18th century, it became quite common
for a deposed Kizlar Agasi to become Shaykh al-Haram. The early 19th-century traveller
J. L. Burckhardt notes that "cette place &taitplut6t un exil honnete qu'un avancement"
(quoted in Wiet, "Mosquee de Kifiir," p. 265).
72) Caroline Williams has drawn my attention to the fact that the tombs and possibly the
homes of Kizlar Agalan exiled to Cairo during the 17th and 18th centuries were decorated
with images of the Kacaba.
310
JANE HATHAWAY
representative of the Ottoman court and, moreover, as a familiar of the
Ottoman learned hierarchy. A number of the works he owns come from the
pens of Ottoman scholars such as Ahmad Qelebi, Molla Hiisrev, alMarzifiini, NilhiEfendi, al-Qiishgi, Kmalizade, and Kararelebizade. Many
of the others, however, belong to the intellectual baggage of the Ottoman
man of letters and more particularly of the Ottoman courtier. Hanafifiqh
and Turkish history had been staples of the Palace School, where court
pages were trained, since the time of Mehmed II. CAbbas'collection encompasses works in all three languages with which the Ottoman courtier was
routinely familiar: Ottoman Turkish, Arabic, and Persian. 7) Although
Turkish translations were available for many of the Arabic works listed
here, we can safely assume that CAbbasAgha owned editions in the original
language. Thus a special notation is made in the case of a Turkish version
of TaCbfr-i erff.
CAbb5sAgha must have brought his schoolbooks, and probably most of
the prominent Ottoman works he owned, to Cairo with him or imported
them later. Thus CAbb~s'exile adds one more strand to the network of
cultural contact between imperial center and province. Ottoman rule
brought a flood of Turkish works into the Arab provinces and inspired the
translation into Turkish of many Arabic works. One need only mention the
numerous Turkish translations and extensions of Ibn Zunbul's chronicle of
the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. 74) Nfih Efendi, meanwhile, furnishes an
apparent instance of an Ottoman scholar who sojourned in an Arab province; hence he is styled al-Rurmfal-Mi4rf,"the Anatolian-Egyptian". His
Rasdiil, we notice, as well as his history of Egypt, were composed in Arabic.
73) On the books, see Miller, PalaceSchool,p. 109; and Paul Rycaut, ThePresentStateof
the OttomanEmpire,reprint (New York, 1971), p. 32 (where he mentions al-Marghminni's
Hidaya). On the curriculum in general, see Miller, pp. 94ff. Miller notes that m the 15th
century, white eunuchs received exactly the same education as the Palace pages. (The Palace
school was, moreover, administered by the Chief White Eunuch and other high white
eunuch officers.) We can probably assume that black eunuchs received similar educations.
On the eunuchs' role, see Miller, pp. 86-90, 38, 64. To judge from J. L. Burckhardt's
account, the Shaykh al-Haram, at any rate, by the 19th century knew no Arabic but spoke
only Ottoman Turkish; see Wiet, "Mosqu&e de Kgifir," p. 265.
74) KQ, I: 218-219; Stanford Shaw, "Turkish Source-Matenals for Egyptian History,"
in P M. Holt, ed., Politicaland Social Changein ModernEgypt(London, 1968), pp. 44-46;
Hathaway, "Sultans, Pashas, Taqwims, and Miihimmes:A Reconsideration of Chronicle
Egypt:The
Writmg m 18th-Century Ottoman Egypt," in Daniel Crecelius, ed., 18th Century
ArabicManuscriptSources(Claremont, CA, 1990), pp. 54-55 and notes 11-12. On Ahmad b.
Zunbul's Tanrikhghazwatal-sultin SalimKhln macal-sultinal-Ghawrs(mid-16th century), see
Holt, "Ottoman Egypt (1517-1798): An Account of Arabic Historical Sources," in Political
and Social Change,pp. 5-6.
311
Original Turkish works were produced in the Arab provinces, as well; this
inventory offers the example of Ablik-z CAldaT,composed for the Ottoman
governor of Damascus. The Ottoman provincial administration could, on
occasion, contribute to the cultural exchange. I have suggested elsewhere,
in fact, that a cadre of bilingual ulema and bureaucrats, often in the employ
of the provincial administration, served as a genuine channel of cultural and
linguistic exchange between Istanbul and its Arab provinces and helped to
define the Ottoman character of these provinces. 75) CAbbas'library raises
the possibility that exiled Palace eunuchs formed a significant part of this
channel.
Turning to the subjects of these books, one is immediately struck by the
preponderance of IHanafiexegesis and jurisprudence. Roughly a third of
CAbbds'books, leaving aside the Qur'ans, are works offiqh and tafsfr,and
all the authors of such works who can be identified are Hanafis: Abfi alLayth, al-Farghani, Sadr al-Sharica, Molla Hiisrev, al-Marghinrni, alKashgrir, al-Marziffini, al-Ghaznawi, al-Sajiwandi, and Nfih Efendi. This
fact only adds to the Ottoman flavor of the list since Hanafism was the legal
school to which the Ottoman court adhered. Indeed, the works of alal-Ghaznawi, and Sadr al-Sharicabelonged to the curriculum
Marghin.ni,
of
the Palace school. 76)
The histories included in the book list are even more explicitly Ottoman
and could easily have come out of the Palace school's history curriculum.
The Tevdrih-z
speaks for itself. The other three chronicles-those
Al-z COsman
of Ibn Kathir, Ahmad Qelebi, and Karacelebizade-contain sections on the
Ottoman Empire in the context of universal histories. Of their authors,
Ahmad Qelebi was the son of the prominent Ottoman jurisprudent Molla
Sinin while Karagelebizade was himself an Ottoman qd4f.
It seems highly likely, then, that CAbbasAgha's early education as an
Ottoman courtier laid the foundation for his small but distinguished library.
Perhaps, then, the almost consciously Ottoman-HanafTcast of the book list
results from the state of court education during the 17th century. We notice,
for example, that with a few exceptions, the classics of Islamic legal science
and belles lettres are absent. Even among the I;anafi texts, cornerstones of
the madhhab,such as the original works of AbfuYfisuf and al-Shaybdni, are
passed over in favor of the output of jurists of the medieval and Ottoman
eras. Some of the legal and historical works are, moreover, nearly contemporary with the former Kizlar Agasi himself. Kararelebizade and Nilh
75) Hathaway, "Sultans, Pashas...," in 18th CenturyEgypt, pp. 51-78.
76) Miller, PalaceSchool,p. 109
312
JANE HATHAWAY
Efendi were at work during CAbbasAgha's lifetime; Al.mad Qelebi died
during CAbb~s'youth. In general, few of the texts, outside of the Qur'an
itself, are composed before the 12th century. A number of them, are, furthermore,
commentaries
(sharh) on and marginalia
to earlier
(.hishzya)
on Ottoman,
works. This state of affairs may confirm the verdict reached
and more particularlyEgyptian, learning after the so-called Golden Age of
the 16th century: that intellectual life had become stagnant and derivative,
yielding little more than an endless stream of commentaries on commentaries. 77) While this inventory could not, by itself, support such an assertion, it does give the impression of a certain distancing from the works of
classical Islam. But on the other hand, a solid core of medieval and
Ottoman-era juridical and historical texts had filled the gap. Libraries such
as cAbbis Agha's were the standard-bearersof this core in Egypt.
Those few texts that do not belong to the orthodox religious sciences or
to history may give a clue to cAbbds Agha's personal interests, or at least
to the interests of the people with whom he associated. Six works testify to
a mystical bent: TaCbfr-i
ferif, K'm~ya-isacdde,the divan of Jami, Qird'atalawrid, Tadhkirdtal-awliyda,and Mantiq
TaCbhr-ierffmay well hark
back to the Kizlar Agasl's link with the al-.tayr.
Prophet's tomb since visions of the
Prophet occupied a large place in the science of dream interpretation. AlGhazgi's Kifmsya-i
sacdde,meanwhile, along with his Ihyd')Culimal-din, had
a considerable influence on dream interpretation and was used to affirm
visions of the Prophet and angels. 78)
The dream book and the work of al-Ghazill, along with J.mim'spoetry,
indicate certain siifi sympathies but do not point to any antinomian tendencies. All fall within the bounds of acceptable Ottoman orthodoxy. Although
KimTya-isacddeis a mystical guide, its author cannot be called heterodox in
the sense that Ibn CArabi(who wrote an Arabic work with a similar title)
or the more radical Shicite-oriented sgifis were. Al-Ghazglliwas himself a
Shafici faqth who sought to reconcile mysticism with orthodox praxis.
Indeed, the tajdid,or renewal, movement, a wave of orthodox sufism that
77) On this point, see, for example, Gamal el-Din el-Shayyal, "Some Aspects of Intellectual and Social Life in 18th-Century Egypt," in Holt, ed., PoliticalandSocialChange,passzm.,
Daniel Crecelius, "The Waqf of Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab m Historical Perspective," InternatzonalJournal
ofMiddleEast StudiesXXIII, 1 (February 1991): 71. However, one
must also take into account those rare instances in which a commentary eclipsed the work
it glossed. This list offers the example of Sadral-Sharina.
78) On this point, see Jonathan G. Katz, "The Vision of the Prophet in 15th-Century
North Africa: Muhammad al-Zawiwi's Tubfatal-Nazir," unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,
PrnncetonUniversity, 1990, pp. 299-301, 309
313
swept the Ottoman Arab provinces toward the end of the 18th century,
drew inspiration from al-Ghazal7's writings. 79)
As for Jdimi, it was his poetic oeuvre, rather than his Naqshbandi indoctrination, that left its mark on Ottoman society. In company with the work
divans and the
of his fellow Herati court poet Mir CAl Shir-i Nev iN,
seven mathnawis of the Haft Awrang comprised the Jmmi's
wellhead from which
Ottoman court poetry sprang during the Siileymanic era. 80) It speaks to the
poet's pervasiveness that his divan is the only work of belles lettres included
in CAbbasAgha's collection: even a courtier with no great taste for poetry
would, perhaps, possess the work of Jami. And even if he were unacquainted with Jami's poetry, he might well have encountered Jami's commentary on Ibn al-Hiajib'sKdfiya, a work on Arabic syntax that was used
in the Palace school. 81) In some senses, then, CAbbis' acquaintance with
Jdmi serves more to mark him as a product of the Ottoman court than to
confirm his mystical leanings.
Qzrd'atal-awrdd, a collection of sifi devotional prayers, along with
Tadhkiratal-awliydaand Man.tzqal-tayr, is, in contrast, blatantly stifi. CAbbas'
possession of these works constitutes, in certain respects, a political statement since Ottoman society during the mid-1 7th century was shaken by the
rise of a group of militant fundamentalist preachers known collectively as
Kadizadelis, after the Anatolian preacher Kadizade Mehmed Efendi (d.
1635). the Kadizadelis vehemently opposed all forms of sufism; one of their
pet peeves, in fact, was the veneration of the tombs of isfif saints. Their
views carried great weight at the court of Mehmed IV (1648-1687).
Kbpriilii Fazil Ahmed Pasha, the grand vezir at the time of CAbbZsAgha's
tenure, took the neo-Kadizadeli Vani Mehmed Efendi as his personal
shaykh and allowed him to repress .isfi as well as other "immoral" practices. This sort of acquiescence in fundamentalist repression marked a
departure from court practice earlier in the 17th century. Murad IV (16231640) and his mother had patronized stiff orders. A number of prominent
Ottoman ulema who had opposed the Kadizadelis during Murad's reign
had, moreover, belonged to the Khalwati order.82) From this standpoint,
79) On this point, see, for example, John O Voll and Nehemiah Levtzion, eds., 18thCenturyRenewaland Reformtn Islam (Syracuse, 1987), Introduction, p. 9.
80) EP, s.v "Djmxni,"by Huart and Masse; E. J. W Gibb, OttomanPoetry,II: 7ff., I
(London, 1901): 127-129. Mir CAlIShir-i Nev:i' composed mainly in Chagatai Turkish.
81) Miller, PalaceSchool,p. 108. It seems, however, highly unlikely that this commentary
could be evoked simply by the name "Jimni," which appears in the book list.
82) On Vant Mehmed, see Madeline C. Zilfi, ThePoliticsof Piety: The OttomanUlemain
thePostclasswcal
Age, 1600-1800 (Minneapolis, 1988), pp. 146-149; on the changing religious
climate, see the same work, pp. 133ff., 165-172. Zilfi claims (pp. 141-42) that the Palace
314
JANE HATHAWAY
CAbbas Agha's apparent mystical leanings represent something of a
throwback to the "traditional" religious stance of the Ottoman court and
the upper echelons of the Ottoman ulema: strict Hanafi orthodoxy with a
nod toward the sufism of "mainstream" tariqas.83)
If the book list does not suffice to establish CAbbdsAgha's stifl inclinations, the property list settles the matter by revealing that CAbb~sendowed
a zdwzya,or gfif lodge. Where this zdwiyawas located is not specified; however, it follows two properties outside Bdb al-Futfih and is linked to them
by ve. If the zdwiya lies outside Bdb al-Futiih, it must be situated in the
quarter or its vicinity, which during the Ottoman period
a number of giff lodges, particularly lodges associated with the
housed
H.usayniyya
Khalwati order and its various offshoots. Among these was the tekke of the
Demirdali order, near which CAbbis Agha held title to land.84) Circumstance, in any case, links CAbbis to the very isfi order that the
Kadizadelis most detested.
In contrast to the mystical texts, the two medical works included in
CAbbZsAgha's library do not carry political overtones but seem to bespeak
a genuine interest in medicine. Both are works of distinction: Dhakhfrdt
fi
al-.tibbrespresentsthe pinnacle of Galenic medicine in classical Islam; Mijaz
ft al-tibbis the work of one of the greatest Ottoman men of science (albeit
al-Qishgi was primarily an astronomer). Meanwhile, CAbbis Agha
"aghas" promotedthe Kadizadelisfor their own pragmaticpurposes.Yet the eunuchs
wouldhavehadlittlereasonto sympatluzewiththe Kadizadelis:the eunuchswerethe tomb
guardiansparexcellence,andtheirplaceat the Prophet'stombwasan mnovationwhichthe
Kadizadeliswould have condemned.As regardsthe Khalwatis,it is worth noting that
the authorof the Ablikin CAbbis'possession,was the shaykhof the Khalwati
Kmnalizade,
zdw!yaof MugtafaPashain Istanbulin the latterhalf of the 16thcentury
83) Kadizadelisympathieswouldre-emergemanyyearslaterm Egypt.In a well-known
a Cairenecrowdagainstsiifipractices,above
incidentin 1711,an Anatolianpreachermincited
all the venerationof saints'tombs. In Mehmedb. Yiisufal-Halliq's Ti-rib-Misir-tKihzre
(IstanbulUniversityLibrary,T Y 628), ff. 296v-297r,the preacherreadsBirgiliMehmed
Efendi's(d. 1573)Rstila,whichwasthevademecumof the Kadizadelimovement.In Arabic
accountsof thismcident,BirgiliMehmedis not mentioned.The incidenthasbeenexamined
by RudolfPetersm "The BatteredDervishesof Bib Zuwayla:A ReligiousRiot in 18thand by BarbaraFlemmRenewal;
CenturyCairo," in Voll and Levtzion,eds., 18th-Century
Fitnaim osmanischenKairo1711,"in IsmailHakkzUzunGarf
ing m "Die vorwahhabitische
lh
(Ankara, 1975). On Birgili Mehmed, see Zilfi, Polittcs,pp. 143-146;on the
Armaamnz
Kadizadelimovementgenerally,see the same work, pp. 131ff.
domincain
84) See Ernst Bannerth,"La Khalwatiyyaen Egypte," Milangede l'instatut
VIII (1964-1966):1-74;B. G. Martm, "A ShortHistoryof the Khalwati
d'itudesoruentales
Orderof Dervishes,"in NikkiR. Keddie,ed., Scholars,
SaintsandSufis(Berkeleyand Los
of the
Angeles,1972),pp. 290-292.In the 18thcentury,Husayniyyawas the headquarters
was
the
a
whose
offshoot
Khalwati
order,
by
quarter's
membership
dommated
Bayfimlyya
butchers.
THE WAQF
INVENTORY
OF CABBAS AGHA
315
evidently rubbed shoulders with members of the medical profession in
Egypt, to judge from his house in "Tibb Sokak" and his connection to the
physicians of Minyat Zifta. (The physicians could, of course, explain the
books: they may have been gifts to the physicians' benefactor in exchange
for his generous bestowal of copper pots.)
CAbbasAgha's library, then, yields what appear to be tantalizing clues
to his character, tastes, and beliefs. Yet the books are not all texts that
CAbbas chose personally from motives that reflect the workings of his
psyche. Rather, so far as we can tell, the inventory presents a precis of the
Palace education, embellished with such works on more specialized subjects
as it was possible for an Ottoman courtier to accumulate and carry into exile
with him-or, alternatively, to assemble while in exile. For the list does
mark cAbbis Agha as an Ottoman courtier whose religiosity found expression, on the one hand, in conventional
orthodoxy and, on the other,
.Hanaff
in at least a flirtation with sufism.
The two notable exceptions to the pattern of book-accumulation that this
inventory reveals are al-Samrnhdi'spaean to Medina and the two medical
works. Al-Samhfidi's work can be explained by the Kizlar Agasl's professional connection to the Holy Cities and personal empathy with the eunuchs
who guarded the Prophet's tomb. The medical texts, however, seem to fall
entirely outside the bounds of a normal Palace education and a normal
imperial career. Yet perhaps they, too, are traceable to the Palace.
Everyone trained as a Palace page, including the crown princes, had to
learn an alternative craft lest he unexpectedly find himself without his
customary means of support. 85) If this held true for the black eunuchs, as
well, then perhaps CAbbdsAgha chose medicine as his alternative. This line
of speculation makes one eager to seek out the libraries of other Palace
eunuchs to see if they entertained similar side-interests.
CONCLUSIONS
Taken as a whole, CAbbdsAgha's waqf inventory offers a portrait of an
Ottoman courtier-businessman. The two parts of the document present the
two parts of CAbbas'career: the book list testifies to his Palace education
while the property list speaks to the formidable wealth and commercial
power he amassed in Egypt while serving as Kizlar Agasi. The book list is,
admittedly, the more intriguing part of the inventory. Although it consists
in large part of the Palace line on Muslim praxis, it also offers some inkling
85) Miller, PalaceSchool,pp. 97-98.
316
JANE HATHAWAY
of CAbbasAgha's personality and tastes-the sort of inkling that is all too
rare in a society that did not leave behind many diaries or personal letters.
In addition to the puzzle of the medical texts, CAbbas'WSifleanings raise
tantalizing questions. One wonders whether his mystical inclinations were
consistent with those of other Ottoman courtiers or other Palace eunuchs.
The issue of CAbbasAgha's religious beliefs looms particularly large
given the religious climate of Istanbul at the time of his exile. The
Kadizadelis had reached the height of their powers although it seems
unlikely that they could have been solely responsible for CAbbis' exile.
Under the circumstances, however, the siifi sympathies of the Kizlar Agasi,
who was one of the most powerful officials in the realm, cannot have been
overlooked. His connection to the eunuchs who guarded the Prophet's tomb
would have made him particularly odious to the Kadizadelis.
That CAbbdsAgha was himself aware of his link to the tomb guardians
is borne out by his possession of al-Samlfidi's Khuliyatal-wafad This work
stands out all the more since it is the only text that concerns itself with any
locale outside the Ottoman central lands. The other books, in contrast, convey the impression that CAbbas'role as an Ottoman courtier easily took
precedence over his ties to the eunuchs of the Prophet's tomb.
Yet a sense of eunuch solidarity is not entirely lacking in this case, even
if one must dig a bit to find it. CAbb~s'house at Birkat al-Fil bordered the
houses of two other exiled Palace eunuchs. In some instances, exiled Kizlar
Agalari passed their residences down to their proteges within the corps of
eunuchs, or to their wakfls.86) Thus a sort of eunuch community-in-exile
sprang up in Cairo through which a Palace eunuch could prepare for his
likely banishment.
The interplay between Ottoman and eunuch identities to which this waqf
inventory subtly points is, I believe, of a piece of the interplay between
imperial duty and personal interest which it more overtly reflects. Most of
the properties that cAbbas Agha endowed-certainly all of the lands and
large commercial structures-were meant to provide revenue for the Awqdf
al-Haramayn,the prime responsibility of the acting Kizlar Agasi. Yet all
surplus revenues went into the pockets of CAbbdsand his wakfls,to build the
houses and shore up the clients that would sustain a Kizlar Akasi in exile. 87)
86) Thus Yiisuf Agha inherited TRg Ydtfir CAllAgha's (1645-1648) house at Suwayqat
'Usffir (al-HallAq, Tdrfb-zMZssr-zKihkre, f. 219v). We observed previously that CAbbis Agha
himself left his residence to his wakil Ahmed Agha.
87) In the same fashion, revenues from the inheritance of the Mamluk royal harem chief
Shibl al-Dawla K~ffir (1408-1427) were endowed to his own mosque and mausoleum in and
near Cairo. See Wiet, "Mosquee de Kiffir," p. 264.
THE WAQF
INVENTORY
OF
CABBAS AGHA
317
The commercial ventures in which CAbbis Agha invested in the
countryside-flax processing in Shubra Basyuin, coffee marketing in
Minyat Zifta-were in well-established enterprises located in villages
already endowed to the Awqdfal-Iaramayn.Such relatively risk-free investments guaranteed revenues for the Haramayn and, ultimately, for cAbbas
himself. In this fashion, the imperial waqfs dovetailed neatly with the exiled
Kizlar A'asi's personal endowments. While performing his duties toward
the one, he laid the foundations for the other.
A third sort of interplay which this inventory allows us to consider is that
between the imperial capital, whence the Kizlar Agasi came, and Egypt, to
which he was exiled. The combination of the Kizlar Agasi's duties to the
while in office and his interest in his own endowments
Awqaf al-Hjiaramayn
while in exile could mean enormous benefits for Egypt. Those villages
attached to the Awqdfstood to prosper from the enterprises developed within
their precincts and from the stability that resulted from belonging to the
serbest?yet
grant of the Kizlar Agasi's wakfl or client. In this case, the Nile
town of Minyat Zifta, under cAbbas Agha's patronage, seems to have
become something of a regional coffee capital. Its prosperity raises the question of the importance of imperial waqfs and of the interests of Ottoman
officials, exiled or not, to the welfare of other Egyptian provincial towns and
to other commercial ventures.
Beyond this lies the question of the cultural influences spawned by the
exile of Kizlar Agalari and other Ottoman officials. If cAbbasAgha's library
is, in the main, typical of the libraries of Ottoman officials, then one can
only imagine how many solid Ottoman libraries were to be found in Cairo
by the late 17th century. Their effect on Egypt's intellectual life cannot have
been entirely negligible. Likewise the effect of the schools founded in Egypt
by Kizlar Agalari and other imperial figures.
In sum, our study of this one brief waqf inventory leaves many
desiderata. Further research in the waqfiyyasand estate inventories of Kizlar
A'alari could one day reveal the full effect of exiled Palace eunuchs on
Egypt's cultural and economic life. If this sort of research were broadened
to encompass Ottoman officialdom as a whole, then it could begin to suggest
the effects of the Ottoman brand of exile on the intellectual and commercial
vitality of the Empire at large.

The Wealth and Influence of an Exiled Ottoman Eunuch in Egypt

Transcription

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