The Silahdar Agha was a palace office of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, denoting the principal page of the

Ottoman Sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

. As such its holders were persons of great influence, and provided many senior officials and even Grand Viziers. The title derives from the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

''silahdar'', meaning "arms-bearer", a title originally adopted by the

Seljuks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of th ...

to denote one of the Sultan's principal aides, who bore his weapon and was responsible for the army's military arsenal. The title was a combination of two words ''Silahdar'' meaning "arms-bearer" and '' Agha'', a honorific title. The Ottomans inherited this title and elevated it further: by the time of

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

() the Silahdar Agha was the second-in-command of the Sultan's Privy Chamber (''Hass Oda'') underneath the ''hass oda bashi''. The Privy Chamber in turn was the senior of the four chambers making up the palace's Inner Service (''

Enderûn (, from Persian language, Persian , ) was the term used in the Ottoman Empire to designate the "Inner Service" of the imperial court, concerned with the private service of the Ottoman sultans, as opposed to the state-administrative "Outer Service ...

'') under the Kapi Agha. The Silahdar Agha's duties in the palace involved handling all communications to and from the Sultan, as well as assisting him in all public ceremonies or travels, where the Agha accompanied the sovereign carrying his sword. The Silahdar Agha was also in charge of a special bodyguard regiment, the ''silahdar bölüğü'' or ''sarı bayrak bölüğü'' ("Yellow Banner Division") after its distinctive yellow flag. The unit grew from 2,000 ''silahdars'' under

to 2,780 in 1568, 2,930 in 1588, 5,000 in 1597, 6,244 in 1660, 7,683 in 1699, 10,821 in 1713, reaching 12,000 under

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

(). Due to their proximity to the Sultan, the holders of the post were highly influential, and many occupants moved on to senior positions in the Ottoman government, including the supreme post of

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

. Under the capable

Çorlulu Ali Pasha Çorlulu Ali Pasha ( in Çorlu – 1711 in Lesbos) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, grand vizier who held the office from 1706 to 1710. Early life and career As his surname indicates, Ali was born in Çorlu in ...

, who held the post in the reign of

Mustafa II Mustafa II (; ''Muṣṭafā-yi sānī''; 6 February 1664 – 29 December 1703) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703. Early life He was born at Edirne Palace on 6 February 1664. He was the son of Sultan Mehmed IV (1648–87 ...

(), it rose to such importance under that it assumed the last remaining powers of the once powerful Kapi Agha. The last holder of the office was

Ali Pasha of Yanina Ali Pasha (1740 – 24 January 1822), commonly known as Ali Pasha of Yanina or Ali Pasha of Tepelena, was an Albanian ruler who served as Ottoman pasha of the Pashalik of Yanina, a large part of western Rumelia. Under his rule, it acquired a ...

, who died in 1822. Sultan

thereupon abolished the post, merging it with the steward of the treasury (''khazine

kethüda (; ; ), often corrupted to or in daily speech, was an Ottoman Turkish title meaning "steward, deputy, lieutenant". It derives from the Persian word ("master of a household", later "chieftain, headman"). The term originated in medieval Persia ...

sı'').

References

Sources

* * * {{EI2 , volume=4 , title = Ḳapu Ag̲h̲asi̊ , first = Halil , last = İnalcık , authorlink = Halil İnalcık , pages = 570–571 , url = http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/k-apu-ag-h-asi-SIM_3882 Military of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman court Ottoman titles Royal guards Persian words and phrases