Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Paşa

Time span: 
1700-1749
Place: 
Istanbul
Balkans
Education: 
Palace
Career: 
Bureaucrat
Short biography: 

Bakkalzâde Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Paşa (d. 1717) started his career as an apprentice in the

financial service of the palace (ruznâmçe-i evvel) and served as başdefterdar seven times between

1703 and 1714. He also served as governor of Salonica and Kocaeli, as well as emin of the imperial

arsenal. He was executed in 1717.

Work: 

Nesâyıhü’l-vüzerâ ve’l-ümerâ veya Kitab-ı güldeste (“Advice for Viziers and Statesmen, or a Book

Containing a Bunch of Flowers”). He also included some pieces of advice in his historical

work, Zübde-i vekayiat.

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 Nesâyıhü’l-vüzerâ (Advice for Viziers, Defterdar)

Author: 
Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Paşa
Date: 
1714-1717
Date comments: 

Probably between 1714 and 1717 (Uğural, xvi).

Manuscripts: 

• Esad Efendi 1830 and 1854

• Hafid Efendi 239

• Hacı Mahmud Efendi 4859

• Halet Efendi 354

Uğural uses the aforementioned mss. and mentions more. See Uğural xii-xiv.

Editions: 

• Uğural, Hüseyin Ragıp (ed.), Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Paşa: Devlet adamlarına öğütler. Osmanlılarda

devlet düzeni, Izmir 1990 (1st ed. Ankara 1969; transcription and translation to modern Turkish)

• Wright, W. L., Ottoman statecraft: the book of counsel for vezirs and governors (Naṣāʼiḥ ül-vüzera

veʼl-ümera) of Sarı Meḥmed Pasha, the Defterdār, Princeton 1935 (Ottoman text and English

translation)

Summary: 

Almost all the chapters of Nesâyıhü’l-vüzerâ ve’l-ümerâ veya Kitab-ı güldeste (“Advice for Viziers

and Statesmen, or a Book Containing a Bunch of Flowers”) deal with financial administration. After

a short introduction, the first and longest part of the essay concerns the virtues needed of a vizier

(U9-53). In order to look after the well-being of his subjects, says Defterdar, and following the

well-known circle of justice (here cited somehow shortened: “no kingdom without men, no men

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without wealth”, lâ mülke illâ birricâl velâ ricâle illâ bilmâl, U9), the Sultan has to choose an

experienced and pious vizier, who will be his absolute proxy (vekîl-i mutlak). Defterdar proceeds to

enumerating the vizier’s main duties. He has to take care that the governor of Egypt sends the

annual provisions to Mecca and Medina. He must look upon everyone in an equal way (cümleye

yeksân bakılub... cümleyi müsavî görüb), regardless one’s status and wealth (U11). The vizier must

tell the Sultan the truth, and not to conceal anything that has to do with state affairs; in the same

time, he must keep secret all discussions and conversations he has with the Sultan, whom he should

respect and love. The vizier should not seek personal wealth, nor try to emulate the Sultan in his

dresses and luxury; he must not covet the properties of the subjects, restraining himself to the

ascribed vezirial fiefs (for which Defterdar quotes Lütfi Paşa). A special paragraph is devoted to the

need of preserving the interests of the orphans. The vizier must not be guided by the fear of losing

his post, since it is better to be loved by the people than to keep one’s post practicing injustice.

Defterdar then moves on to some more specific issues, such as the need to restrain from excessive

use of special messengers (ulak), not to give stipends (vazife) without recommendation from the

local governor or kadi, not to give timars and life-long tax-farms from unregistered lands

(U23: haric ez defter). In this point Defterdar, with his special knowledge on financial matters,

speaks more extensively of the right process to check landholding issues, combining his advice with

a stress on the virtue of patience. The vizier, he goes on, should spend his time in the state affairs

rather than music, conversation and entertainment; the councils of important men (meclis-i âlî)

must be devoid of laughter, jokes and games, since they should be devoted to the affairs of the state

(U25). All his actions must be led by the Holy Law and justice, and Defterdar repeats here the

“circle of justice” in a more elaborate form than he did earlier (U29). The vizier must appoint

salaried persons that will report any injustice in the provinces; he must take care of monetary issues,

namely inspecting the weight and quality of money and, more importantly, securing the just

implementation of narh, or fixed prices. If only the kadi looks to it, Defterdar says, narh is prone to

be neglected in the market; indeed, it is a matter to be looked upon by the highest levels of the

government (U31, copying from Hezarfen I248, although substituting the Vizier for the Sultan; the

same passage in Defterdar’s Zübde-i vekayiat, 388). The author then examines public order,

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advising the vizier to make secret patrols with the city police from time to time; he also stresses the

need to examine carefully all petitions that arrive to the Imperial Council. Capital punishment

should be practiced with caution, and even in times of war it is preferable to take prisoners than to

kill the beaten enemies (U33).

More “moralistic” advice follows: the vizier must not sleep much, and never postponing important

affairs for the next day; he has to listen attentively to both parts, and answer with affection, in cases

of dispute; at any rate he must not be led by wrath, but rather behave with sweetness and patience

especially to the weak ones. Defterdar praises forgiveness; one should not wish bad of another, nor

use calumny and injustice to get rid of one’s enemies; one should rely to God and accept everything

that comes from Him. Furthermore, one ought to be always striving for good deeds, not to seek

glory and not to depend on material goods or official posts (Defterdar inserts here somehow

awkwardly a classical motive of moralist treatises, namely the need to keep away from courts and

disputes: U47); high offices, it is said, are like hot baths, as those who enter want to leave them and

those who leave want to enter. The vizier must constantly think of death and the hereafter, where

fame and wealth play no role; this world is a house of suffering, and only piety and good deeds

promise salvation.

After this moralistic discussion, Defterdar moves to the second chapter, “on the high-posts and the

detriments from bribery” (U55-63). The provincial officers (taşrada olan ehali-i mensıb) should be

checked by spies; on the other hand, it is not proper that a governor be removed due to one or two

complains: the Grand Vizier must send him a letter of advice, and remove him only if complain

continues. Government posts must be given to pious and experienced men, not by bribery,

protection or intercession; people of worth should not be ignored with the pretext of being

“powerless” (hemeç). When a post is given to someone unworthy by bribery, it is as he is given

permission to plunder the property of the reaya, as he is prone to extract from them the bribes he

gave. Bribery is the root of all evil in the state, Defterdar stresses; it leads inevitably to the ruin of

agriculture and rural life, as well as of the income of the treasury. Defterdar describes in length how

all official posts must be given strictly to the competent; in the same vein, he criticizes the use of

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bribery in the kadi courts. Friendly gifts are acceptable, of course, but only if they ask nothing for

exchange (U61). Defterdar proposes that all governorships of eyalet and sancaks be given for life

(müebbed) to worthy, experienced and veteran men, all corrupt officials be punished severely; and a

similar procedure of selection be conducted among judges, whose duration of office must not be

extended or shortened even by one day. Thus, bribery will be crushed by the root, and it is even to

be hoped that peasants start to return to their old villages (evtân-ı kadîmelerine) on their own will.

The third chapter (U65-83) deals with the treasury and the posts of the Imperial divan, a subject

Defterdar knew very well. The Grand Vizier, he says, must respect the high officials and the old and

experienced members of the divan. These posts should last for at least one or two years. The

defterdar, especially, must be honest, pious and experienced in the scribal sciences (fenn-i kalem),

so that he will care for the growth of the treasury and the proper payment of the soldiers in time.

The affairs of the treasury are from among the most important affairs of the state, and so the

defterdar must pay great attention in order to suppress various Jewish profiteers who use tricks and

bribes in order to lay hands upon state money. To this purpose, the Grand Vizier should leave the

defterdar independent and avoid dismissing the latter one’s men every now and then; all, magnates

and common people, should know that they can trust and rely upon the defterdar for every affair

concerning the treasury. The Grand Vizier, on his side, must not hasten to hear the calumnies and

false accusations against the defterdar; because the dismissal of a defterdar always brings damage to

the treasury (U69). After repeating that the defterdar should not be dismissed easily and that he

must remain independent, Defterdar then describes his moral qualities: he should content himself

with his revenues and avoid bribery, and care for the growth of income and the decrease of

expenses –only, notes the author, the latter depends also on the Sultan and the Grand Vizier.

Moving to more concrete advice, Defterdar observes then that some income units (mukata’) should

be given by entrustment (emanet) rather than farming (U71). The imperial treasury is not to be

used for personal purposes; even the caliph Umar was using his own candles when working on his

private business, notes Defterdar (copying almost verbatim Kara Çelebi-zâde, 218), and adds that

the treasury (beytülmâl-ı müslimîn) is nobody’s heritage to use in vain. More specifically, the

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janissary army must be small in number but always ready for battle. Lütfi Paşa had written that

15,000 salaried soldiers were already too many; in 1703, when Ahmed III was raised to the throne,

the present author was ordered as defterdar to give the usual gifts to the janissaries. But, due to the

long wars and the destruction of the border provinces the treasury was in a very bad situation,

although for the sake of the new sultan’s status it was absolutely necessary to pay the accession gifts.

However, with Defterdar’s devotion and hard-working, both the gifts and the army salaries were

paid on time, farming taxes and other revenue in arrears. Defterdar enumerates the imperial soldiers

in detail, to result in the sum of 99,500 men, not to count the navy (U79). As a conclusion, his

advice is that the Sultan should ask from his defterdar a detailed list of the state revenues and

expenses; toll revenues (gümrükler) must be examined and ratified, and care should be taken in

order to avoid granting these revenues to individuals unless absolutely necessary. Similarly, a close

examination of ulema salaried posts and vakf finances would save the treasury a lot of wealth.

Moreover, revenue that has been produced by bribery or oppression should be avoided; Sultans of

old have managed to win awesome victories and conquests with much less income, because they

abstained from tyranny.

Moving on to the third chapter (U85-91), Defterdar analyzes the janissary corps, which he

considers the most important issue for the order of the empire (devlet-i aliyyede nizâmı ehem ve

elzem olan mevâddın a’zâmı). Obviously bearing in mind the recent 1703 revolt, Defterdar hastens

to note that reforms in this matter should be made slowly, gradually and in close consultation with

the officers of the corps. First the border regiments must be inspected, not by external officers but

by well-chosen officers that know the case and are in good terms with the soldiers due to their

honesty and wisdom. As previous theorists, Defterdar also notes the intrusion of many outsiders to

the janissary ranks, especially during the recent wars in Hungary, when many peasants were

disguised as janissaries (tebdil-i kıyafet idüb) in order to avoid the heavy taxes (U87). A pious and

experienced officer must examine the janissary registers and distinguish between real soldiers and

peasants. Moreover, soldiers that never stepped foot outside Istanbul should be ousted from the

registers, always in close collaboration with the corps officers. The scribe of the janissaries,

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especially, ought to be a retired officer (devlet-i aliyyenin emekdârı), honest and committed, because

his job is of outmost importance for this task.

After this careful advice Defterdar moves to the situation of the reaya (U93-99). After citing some

verse on oppression and justice, he stresses that new taxes (muhdes teklîf) should not be imposed to

peasants. Excessive tax is like taking earth from the foundations of a house in order to build its roof;

when Sultan Suleyman asked who is the “benefactor of the world” (veliyünniam-ı âlem), he rejected

the answer pointing to the Sultan himself, arguing that the real benefactor of the world are the

peasants, without whom no Sultan could stand. The peasants must feel safe and free from any

oppression and tyranny. On the other hand, they are not to intrude the army ranks; making sipahi

people other than sons and grandsons of soldiers destroys the world’s order, since less peasants

mean less taxes, the same as oppression and excessive demands do. Peasants should not be permitted

to be dressed as soldiers, or to ride horses like them; even if a peasant is granted a timar for his

excessive services, his family and relatives must not be granted military status. The same goes for a

peasant that follows the ulema career.

Besides, every thirty years new tax surveys must be made, in order to erase the dead and include

those that were missed in the previous register. Whenever a peasant flees from his land in order to

escape oppression, the governor of his new place should send him back and settle him again

according to the old law (U97: kanun-ı kadîm üzre). And here Defterdar ends this chapter by

repeating the “circle of justice” thus: “The Sultan’s order is kept with soldiers; the soldiers’ standing

is secured by cash in the treasury; the collection of wealth in the treasury passes through the well-

being of the country, and this comes with justice, generosity and punishment of tyrants” (nizâm-ı

Sultân ricâl iledir ve askerin kıyâmı nukûd-ı hazine iledir ve cem’-i hazîne mülkün mağmurluğu ise

adl ü insaf ve ihsan ve siyâset-i zalimân iledir).

The sixth chapter of Defterdar’s treatise (U101-121) concerns military matters, with emphasis on

border fortresses and campaign necessities. Inaugurating a long tradition that was to last more than

a century, he gives concrete and detailed advice on the choice of suitable army officers; the manning

of border castles; the need for constant use of spies; the need for castle repairs, as well as adequate

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supplies, to be made fully and in time. Honest officers should make annual inspections of the

garrisons, secretly if possible, and government control of their matters should be close; Defterdar

dwells for long on the dangers emanating from army officers administrating themselves local

revenues kept for military payments. The better solution, he argues, is that garrisons are paid

straightaway by state officials. After an enumeration of the ways local armies oppress the peasants,

the author describes the qualities needed of a field marshal (serasker), stressing that he should

always consult with experienced people; this consultation (meşveret), however, must not be made

with anybody but only with trustworthy and well-meaning men, although (Defterdar notes) “it

happens sometimes that an ignorant child or a light-minded woman utters an opinion or an answer

that helps the right arrangement of things” (U115). The chapter ends with some advice concerning

spying, precautions to be taken during campaigns, battle tactics, and the need to control rumours

about the enemy.

In the next two chapters, Defterdar reverts to strictly moral advice, describing the ideal features of a

Grand Vizier. The seventh chapter (U123-131) stresses that he should not be proud, avaricious or

greedy; on the contrary, humbleness and charity are among the best moral values. Moreover, a

proper man must control his wrath and be well-tempered. In the eight chapter (U133-143), the

features and worth of true friendship are described at length; Defterdar notes that in his days very

few people among high state officials (ashâb-ı menâsıb-ı aliyye ve erbâb-ı merâtib-i seniyye) can

show genuine friendship and commitment, as he bitterly experienced himself during his serving as

treasurer (U135). One must be very careful as to whom he consults with; especially gossip is a

potentially very dangerous vice one should look at when choosing his close people. This lengthy

discourse is perhaps meant as a supplement to the sixth chapter, concerning among others the

dangers of consultation (meşveret).

The ninth and final chapter (U145-153) concerns the timar system. Defterdar warns against

granting timars and especially zeamets to the Grand Vizier’s men, instead of worthy soldiers. He

stresses that timars are to be distributed “according to the old law” (U145: kanun-ı kadîme riâyet

lâzımdır). Now, on the contrary, the old rules have been ignored for long, and timars are granted to

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people nobody knows their name or even to slaves still not manumitted. These timars should be

taken back, because a timar is of no use if it cannot produce able soldiers in time of campaign.

While in the old times each timar used to feed one or more armed and armoured soldier with his

servants, nowadays it serves only to feed lazy slaves or magnates; the whole timar system is

plundered, with the result that people in Anatolia or Rumili flee and turn to brigands. Inspections

made in 1602/3 and in 1613/4 by Yemişçi Hasan Paşa and Nasuh Paşa already showed these

distortions and malfunctions of the system, but the situation was not permanently corrected. A

renewed inspection of the timar list is of outmost importance, and thus Defterdar comes to the end

of his treatise.

Some manuscripts (on which Wright’s translation was based; see U: xiv) contain two appendices

(zeyl): the first (U155), very short, states that a list of the harmful innovations (muhadessât-ı

zulmiyye ve bid’at-ı seyyie) must be laid down and used as a guide to the ruler, noting that

innovations are divided to good and bad (bid’at-ı hasene, bid’at-ı seyyie). The second appendix

(U157-165) describes in detail the rules of the timar system, noting the differences between

Anatolia and Rumili, the various kinds of timar granting, the rules for inheriting them, and so on.

[special reference to the malikâne kind of timar (U163-165), which does not have to produce

soldiers and can be inherited even to daughters].

Thematic units: 

The sultan must consult with experienced men

The sultan must appoint statesmen himself

The mistakes of high officers must be seen with mildness

Executions must be avoided

The sultan must avoid innovations (except of the good ones)

A ruler is needed to prevent tyranny and oppression

Fiefs should be inspected regularly

Fiefs should not be granted to non-military officials

Tax surveys must be held regularly

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 Peasants leaving their land must be made to go back

Peasants/merchants must not become soldiers/clerks

Even if a peasant becomes soldier, his relative must not to

Peasants must not be dressed as sipahis/janissaries/kuls

Posts should not be given with bribery

Corruption and bribery should be punished

Violators in the administration should be punished heavily

Prices must be regulated

Spies must inform about the enemy kingdoms

Spies/Informants must inform about the kingdom

Messengers must be few and controlled

Army pay-rolls must be checked regularly

Outsiders must not enter the sipahi ranks

Outsiders must not enter the kul ranks

It is wrong to brake a peace treaty (unless it is with an infidel state)

The army should be ready to battle

The army size should be reduced

Imperial treasury is not to be used for personal purposes

All vakfs should be inspected

Farming out revenues is ineffective or is not to be preferred

Coinage must be inspected

Old law must be restored

Ottoman sources within the database: 

Âsafnâme (Grand Vizier's Book)

Hezârfen Hüseyin

Other sources: 

• Kara Çelebizade

• Persian tradition

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 Bibliography: 

• Aksan, V., “Ottoman Political Writing, 1768-1808”, International Journal of Middle East Studies 25

(1993): 55-56

• Lewis, Β., “Ottoman Observers of Ottoman Decline”, Islamic Studies 1 (1962), 82

• Özcan, A., Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Paşa: Zübde-i vekayiât. Tahlil ve metin (1066-1116/1656-

1704), Ankara 1995, lxxxvii-lxxxix

• Uğural, Hüseyin Ragıp (ed.), Defterdar Sarı Mehmed Paşa: Devlet adamlarına öğütler. Osmanlılarda

devlet düzeni, Izmir 1990 (1st ed. Ankara 1969), Introduction

• Wright, W. L., Ottoman statecraft: the book of counsel for vezirs and governors (Naṣāʼiḥ ül-vüzera

veʼl-ümera) of Sarı Meḥmed Pasha, the Defterdār, Princeton 1935, Introduction

• Yılmaz, C., “Osmanlı siyaset düşüncesi kaynakları ile ilgili yeni bir kavramsallaştırma:

Islahatnâmeler”, Türkiye Araştırmaları Literatür Dergisi 1/2 (2003), 313-314

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