Bir Kardeş için Ağıt: Hâsim ve Köprülüzâde Numan Paşa Mersiyesi
Züleyha HayalTarihî kaynaklarda “Vezirzâdeler” olarak anılan, Osmanlılara vasıflı devlet adamları yetiştirmiş Köprülü ailesinin 17. ve 18. yüzyıllardaki üçüncü neslinin fertlerinden biri Köprülüzâde Esad Paşa’dır. Aynı zamanda şair olan Esad Paşa, Hâsim mahlasıyla şiirler yazmış ve bir Dîvânçe tertip etmiştir. Köprülü Kütüphanesi’ndeki bir yazma eser araştırmasında ona ait olduğu anlaşılan bir mersiye tespit edilmiştir. Mersiyenin yazıldığı kişisiyse Esad Paşa’nın ağabeyi Veziriazam Numan Paşa’dır. Numan Paşa’nın vefatından sonra kardeşi Esad Paşa (Hâsim) tarafından yazılan bu mersiye Dîvânçe’nin eksik ve hacimli bir bölümüdür. Numan Paşa, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun gerileme adı verilen döneminde istikamet sahibi bir devlet adamı olarak devlet kurumuna bağlılığı, vazife şuuru ve dürüstlüğüyle tanınmış, sadaret makamı dâhil, çeşitli rütbelerle devlet hizmetinde bulunmuş değerli bir vazife insanıdır. Araştırmada Köprülüzâde kardeşler Numan ve Esad Paşa’nın kamusal ve özel kişilikleri tarihî kaynaklar muvacehesinde ortaya konmuş, Esad Paşa’nın edebî şahsiyeti ve Dîvânçe’si ele alınmış, anlamsal, edebî ve estetik yönleriyle incelenen mersiye tenkitli metin olarak sunulmuştur. Bu çalışmanın başlıca faydaları Esad Paşa’nın bugünkü durumda son derece eksik olan biyografisine ve Dîvânçe’sine sağladığı katkılardır. Çalışma, tarihî ve edebî sahalarda geçirilen disiplinlerarası bir araştırma sürecinde şekillenmiş, yeni bilgilerin sağladığı yeni bakış açılarıyla beraber tarihte Esad Paşa’nın, edebiyatta Hâsim’in hayatı, şahsiyeti, sanatı ve eserleri bir bütün halinde değerlendirilmiştir.
Requiem for a Brother: Hasim and His Elegy to Numan Pasha
Züleyha HayalKöprülüzade Esad Pasha was a third-generation member of the noble Köprülü family who served during the 17th and 18th centuries and were known as the “Köprülü grand viziers” as they raised many qualified statesmen for the Ottoman Empire. Esad Pasha lived in the last quarter of the 17th century into the 18th and he was a poet who wrote poems under the pen name Hasim and created a divan (poetic collection). In a manuscript research conducted in the Köprülü Library, an elegy that belonged to Esad Pasha and was dedicated to his older brother Grand Vizier Numan Pasha was discovered. The elegy was written by Numan Pasha’s brother and Esad Pasha (Hasim) and is an incomplete yet voluminous part of the Divan created by Esad Pasha. The public and private personalities of the Köprülüzade brothers were revealed through the research. Esad Pasha’s literary personality and his Divan were discussed, and the elegy was examined from its semantic, literary, and aesthetic aspects and was presented as a critical text though the research. The main benefits of this study are its contribution to Esad Pasha’s Divan and his biography, the latter of which is underexplored and lacks sufficient scholarly attention. The study was shaped by an interdisciplinary approach,blending historical and literary research. It offers a comprehensive look into the life, personality, and art of Esad Pasha in history and through the lens of Hasim in literature, incorporating new perspectives based on recently uncovered information.
Köprülüzade Esad Pasha was a statesman who lived in the last quarter of the 17th century and the first quarter of the 18th. He was the youngest son of Grand Vizier Fazıl Mustafa Pasha and a poet, writing under the pen name Hasim. Although his name is mentioned in the 18th-century biographies, very little is actually known about him. The information given in tezkireh (biographic) sources is brief and is as follows: Hasim, one of the poets of the age, is the son of Fazıl Mustafa Pasha, one of the grand viziers of the Köprülü family, and the brother of Numan Pasha. He had a good educational life. He served with the rank of vizier in several sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire and retired from his final position, choosing a solitary life. He wrote very beautiful poems and was of admirable character.
There is no study other than a master’s thesis and a published book about Hasim’s only known work, his divan, which consists of three odes and 159 ghazals (Ustaömer, 2010; Zavotçu & Ustaömer, 2022).
A manuscript discovered in the Köprülü Library prompted further research on Hasim, enriching the existing historical and literary knowledge about him. The manuscript contains an elegy written by Esad Pasha (Hasim) for his elder brother Numan Pasha, who died in 1719.
To obtain more information about the literary and historical personality of Esad Pasha,18th- century chronicles and histories were carefully examined. Among the sources that provide insights into Esad Pasha are Silahdar Mehmed Aga’s Nusretname and Vakanüvis (chronicler), Rashid Mehmed Efendi and Celebizade Asım Efendi’s Tarih-i Raşid ve Zeyli.
Significant new information on Esad Pasha was uncovered through these sources. More details have been obtained about his date of birth, years of appointment, term of office, date of retirement, life, death, personality, artistry, areas of interest, and sources of influence – all of which were previously missing or ambiguous in the literature. This information will be useful in filling the gaps about his life and art in 18th-century literature history.
The research begins by discussing the place and importance of the Köprülü family throughout history. It then introduces Numan Pasha, the recipient of the elegy and the most senior member of the family during the 18th century. In the section dedicated to Numan Pasha’s life and character, attention is given to the aspects of his life that inspired the elegy. In the next section Esad Pasha’s biography is presented, and then his literary persona is discussed. A deeper understanding of Esad Pasha provided valuable insights into Hasim and his poetry. Through this new perspective, his literary personality and works are evaluated in terms of meaning, form, content, language, and style.
The final section of the research focuses on the elegy to his elder brother and former grand vizier Numan Pasha, who died in 1719. This elegy, which resides in the Köprülü Library, is composed of 18 parts and is an incomplete yet voluminous section of the Divan. The research provides information on the physical conditions and catalog records of the elegy. After conducting historical and literary evaluations, the elegy was presented as a critical text though the research. The elegy can be considered a valuable literary work due to its impressive emotional depth, language and stylistic features.
This study has resulted in a new and updated biography of Esad Pasha by comparatively evaluating the historical information and tezkireh texts as well as the themes expressed by the poet, which are reflected in the Divan. The study also while provides new insights into Esad Pasha and his Divan, offering a comprehensive perspective on his life, personality, and art.
