An Ayan family in Uşak: Paşaoğlullari hanedani

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to investigate the history of the Paşaoğulları family; a medium-scale local family that lived and flourished in Uşak in Western Anatolia. It can be said that investigating the history of the Paşaoğulları family could expand the state of our current knowledge on local powers known as notables (ayan) in the Ottoman Empire. The Paşaoğulları family was one of the ayan families that emerged in different regions and cities of the Ottoman Empire. The main argument of the present research is that Paşaoğlu Ahmed Ağa, the first member of this family, moved into the governmental positions and brought his family to an outstanding point in Uşak, which resembled the general trends of the process of ayanship. However, the position he found for himself was not in close connections with political decisionmaking mechanisms.