RUMELİ’DE ASİ BİR VOYVODA: MACAR ALİ AĞA (1792-1798)
A REBELLIOUS VOIVODE IN RUMELIA: MACAR ALİ AGA (1792-1798)

Summary/Abstract: Selim III's reign was full of rebellions in various provinces of the Ottoman Empire, one after another. In this respect, Rumelia was one of the regions where rebellions occurred intensely. Especially the mountainous rebellions that took place between 1791-1808 caused the central authority in Rumelia to disappear at certain intervals. In this period, in addition to the bandit activity, state officials and high-ranking figures who joined the outlawed elements expanded the scope of the mountainous rebellions. One of the important figures in Rumelia who spread the mountainous rebellions and naturally the mountainous banditry from Vidin to the Rusçuk/Silistre line was Ali the Madjar, known as the commander of Pazvandoğlu Osman. However, despite his influence, the information about Ali Aga in the literature is quite limited. Therefore, in the existing sources, Ali Aga's role in the mountainous rebellions is generally monotonous. However, Ali Aga's life was built on two different identities. In this respect, the identities of Selvi Voivode Ali Aga and Madjar Ali shed light on the Mountaineer rebellions in Rumelia from two different fronts. As a matter of fact, Ali Aga's identity as voivode is as effective in the struggle against the mountaineer rebellions as his identity as Madjar Ali, the commander of Pazvandoğlu Osman, is very important in the spread of the rebellions. In this respect, an independent study on Ali Aga is essential for recent Ottoman and Balkan history. This article will use documents from the Ottoman archives of the Presidency of the Republic to evaluate the dynamics under which Ali Aga, a state official, turned into a vigilante and to reveal the extent to which this transformation affected the ongoing mountaious rebellions in Rumelia.

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