DELİORMAN’DA OTORİTE VE YEREL GÜÇ DENGELERİ: SİYASET VE İTTİFAKLAR EKSENİNDE HACIOĞLUPAZARI ÂYANI SARIKLIZÂDE MEHMED AĞA’NIN SERENCÂMI (1790-1798)
AUTHORITY AND LOCAL POWER BALANCES IN DELIORMAN: THE FATE OF SARIKLIZADE MEHMED AGHA AYAN OF HACIOGLUPAZARI IN THE CONTEXT OF POLITICS AND ALLIANCES (1790-1798)

Summary/Abstract: This article aims to examine the transformation of authority in the Ottoman provincial in the late 18th century through the political career of Sarıklızâde Mehmed Ağa, the Hacıoğlupazarı Ayan, an influential local power in the Deliorman–Dobruja region. The central administration's reforms regarding the âyan institution, which began in 1765, the decision to abolish it in 1786, and the process of its revival in 1790, led to the emergence of a new balance of power in provincial administration. In this context, Sarıklızâde Mehmed Ağa's efforts to gain influence represent not only an individual quest for power, but also a historical reflection of a period in which local authority was being redefined. Based on the Ottoman archives documents this study chronologically evaluates Sarıklızâde Mehmed Ağa's relations with both the central administration and other âyans in the region. It has been revealed that Sarıklızâde Mehmed Ağa, generally defined in the literature as a “rebellious notability” or “a actor in the Mountain Rebellions,” was in fact part of a multi-layered power system shaped by regional alliances, economic interests, and bandit move ments. Sarıklızâde Mehmed Ağa's sphere of influence stretching from Köstence to Varna, his power struggle in Deliorman, and his subsequent ostracization and execution in 1798 clearly reveal the fragile and volatile nature of the ayan institution in the Ottoman provinces. In this context, the study aims to make an original contribution to the literature by reinterpreting the local power struggles in Deliorman within the framework of center–periphery relations.

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