Foundations and Real Estates of Yorguc Pasha Family Through The Ottoman Endowment System

Amasya, an important Ottoman city in the 15th century, was governed by the tutor of Sultan Murad II, Yörgüç Pasha (d. 1442) and later successively by Hzr Pasha (d. 1466) brother of Yörgüç Pasha and Mehmed Pasha (d. 1494) son of Hzr Pasha. Yörgüç Pasha’s family, who governed the city, contributed to the reconstruction of Amasya region with their architectural patronage. Yörgüç Pasha commissioned a complex consisting of a zawiya (a multi functional building for worship and accommodation), a madrasa and an imaret (soup-kitchen) in Amasya, several mosques in the towns near Amasya such as Havza, Vezirköprü, Kavak and Gümü, mektebs (elementary schools) in Tokat and Vezirköprü and a tekke (dervish lodge) in the village of shakalan; ahbula Hatun, Yörgüç Pasha’s wife, commissioned a masjid, a fountain and a mekteb in Amasya; Mustafa Bey (d. 1444), son of Yörgüç Pasha, commissioned a zawiya-imaret in Havza; Hzr Pasha commissioned a complex consisting of a zawiya, madrasa and imaret in Amasya, a mosque and a tekke in Samsun, a madrasa in Sonisa; Mehmed Pasha commissioned a complex consisting of a mosque, a tabhana (rooms for accommodation), a madrasa and an imaret.The organizations, incomes and expenditures of these charity foundations, that had been served free of charge, were clearly specified by the waqfiyas (endowments) formed by the Yörgüç Pasha family members who had commissioned them. The sources of income of these foundations were the tax percents of several villages which the family had privilege on and the revenue-generating structures commissioned by the family and endowed to them. According to the waqfiyas, they commissioned four hans (caravanserais) one bedesten (covered bazaar), several shops, six mills and eleven hammams around Amasya to fund the foundations. Yörgüç Pasha commissioned a han, seventeen shops and a hammam in Amasya, a han and hammam in Tokat and hamams in Gümü and skilip; Mustafa Bey commissioned a hammam in Amasya, a hammam and a han in Havza; Hzr Pasha commissioned a hammam in Amasya, a mill in Ladik; Mehmed Pasha commissioned a hammam and a han in Samsun, a hammam and a mill in Tokat, two hammams in Niksar, four mills in Amasya and a bedesten in Tosya.This study aims to reveal the relations between the charity foundations and endowed properties of Yörgüç Pasha family based on the waqfiyas.