A fine voice carried him to the post of chief muezzin of the Sultan Bayezid Mosque; his poetry, his prose and his music carried him into the councils of the notables of Amasya. Müezzinbaşızâde Abdî Ağa was a poet who, in the early eighteenth century, meddled so much in the running of the city that complaints piled up against him; he was investigated in 1119 (1707) and sent into exile, and later found his way into the circle of boon companions of Nevşehirli İbrâhim Paşa in Istanbul. He died some time after 1143 (1730-31). The words Hüsameddin chose for him are "şâir, hoş-sohbet, ma'ârif-âşinâ": a poet, a delightful talker, a man at home in learning. None of his poems survives.

The Entry in Amasya Tarihi

The entry Abdî Ağa-Mü'ezzinbaşızâde in volume 12 presents a life divided between two cities:

Amasya'da Sultân Bâyezîd Câmiinde mü'ezzinbaşı olan Hacı Hâfız Alî Efendi'nin oğludur. Pederinin intikâlinde hüsn-i sadâsına binâ'en mü'ezzinbaşı olmuştu. Ancak şi'r ve inşâda melekesi, mûsikîde mahâreti olduğundan eşrâf ve a'yân meclislerine dâhil olarak teayyün etdi. Meclis-i a'yân azâsı olarak hükûmet işlerine pek karıştığından aleyhinde şikâyetler çoğaldı. 1119'da tahkîkât icrâsıyla 1120'de Samsun'a nefyedildi. Buradan ahz ü ıtlâk edilerek İstanbul'a gitdi. Orada Kaptân-ı deryâ olan Amasyalı Hacı Ahmed Paşa'ya intisâb ederek ağaları silkine girdi. Bununla beraber olduğu esnâda ba'zı ricâle çatıp müşârun ileyhin azl ü nefyinde Nevşehirli İbrâhim Paşa'nın mâ'iyyetine kabûl edildi. Müşârûn-ileyhin sadâretinde nüdemâsından olup sadâret kapıcılar kethüdâsı sonra Gümüşhâne emîni olarak taşraya gönderildi. 1143 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Şâ'ir, hoş-sohbet, ma'ârif-âşinâ idi.

An English rendering: Hacı Hâfız Ali Efendi, chief muezzin of the Sultan Bayezid Mosque in Amasya, was his father, and on his father's death he had become chief muezzin because of his beautiful voice. But since he had a gift for poetry and prose and skill in music, he joined the councils of the leading men and notables and gained standing. As a member of the council of notables he interfered so much in the affairs of government that complaints against him multiplied. In 1119 an investigation was held, and in 1120 he was exiled to Samsun. Detained there and then released, he went to Istanbul. There he attached himself to Hacı Ahmed Paşa of Amasya, the grand admiral, and joined the ranks of his aghas. While with him he clashed with certain statesmen, and when the pasha was dismissed and exiled he was taken into the retinue of Nevşehirli İbrâhim Paşa. During the pasha's grand vizierate he was one of his boon companions, became steward of the gatekeepers of the grand vizierate, and was then sent to the provinces as superintendent of Gümüşhane. He died after the year 1143. He was a poet, a delightful talker, a man at home in learning.

In Amasya

The post of chief muezzin at the Sultan Bayezid Mosque stayed in the family: Hacı Hâfız Ali Efendi held it first, and on his death it went to his son for the sake of his fine voice. Because the sources first call him "Abdî Efendi", he can be mistaken for the seventeenth-century tezkire writer Abdî Efendi, but that man was the son of the cavalryman Mustafa Ağa. The muezzin's son became "Abdî Ağa" through the place he won in the councils of the notables. Hüsameddin traces this change in the flow of events in volume 4. Recounting the events of 1118 (1706-07), he writes that Ahmed Ağa, governor's deputy of Amasya, was "much inclined towards Müezzinbaşızâde Abdi Efendi, one of the leading men of Amasya", that Abdî Efendi, drawing strength from this favour, meddled in a great many matters, set the notables against one another and brought the deputy into disrepute. He then introduces him: fairly learned, a poet, an ornament of gatherings, with a fine voice and a familiarity with music, he had attended the councils of the notables and entered their ranks, and came to be called "Abdi Ağa".

In Muharrem 1119 the deputy Ahmed Ağa was dismissed. The complaints about Abdî Ağa did not stop, however, and an investigation began. In Receb of the same year an imperial order arrived in Amasya commanding that the complaints be examined, and Abdî Ağa was arrested. According to the supplement to volume 4, some of the complaints were found to be true and Abdî Ağa was exiled to Ankara. The entry in volume 12, by contrast, gives the place of exile as Samsun and the year as 1120. Hüsameddin does not reconcile the two accounts. Which is correct, or whether he was sent first to one place and then to the other, cannot be determined from these sources.

In Istanbul

Exile did not end Abdî Ağa's career. Once released he went to Istanbul and joined the men of an Amasya-born grand admiral, Hacı Ahmed Paşa. When the pasha fell from favour and was exiled, Abdî Ağa turned to another patron: he was taken into the retinue of Nevşehirli İbrâhim Paşa. During İbrâhim Paşa's grand vizierate of 1130-1143 (1718-1730) he was among the pasha's boon companions. Admission to the grand vizier's company in the years known as the Tulip Era shows that the talents Hüsameddin describes with the words "delightful talker" and "a gift for poetry and prose" found their audience in Istanbul as well. He was next made steward of the gatekeepers of the grand vizierate, and later sent to the provinces as superintendent of Gümüşhane. He is known to have died after 1143; the place of his death is not recorded.

One more name is known from his family in Amasya. According to the entry on Helvacı Hacı İsmâil Ağa in volume 7 of Hüsameddin's history, İsmâil Ağa, who had been trained in the palace halva kitchen and was sent to Amasya in 1115 (1703-04), became son-in-law to "Müezzinbaşızâde el-Hâc Abdî Ağa, one of the notables of Amasya", fought at the Prut in 1122, and in later years rose to be chief notable and governor's deputy of Amasya. This record also tells us that Abdî Ağa had made the pilgrimage.

His Poetry

No line of Abdî Ağa's verse is known today. He is called a poet in two separate volumes, and his prose and his skill in music are praised, yet not one line of his was ever set down. Neither a divan nor a poem copied into an anthology is known. Metin Hakverdioğlu opens his list of the poets of volume 12 of Amasya Tarihi with his name.

Chronology

1115 (1703-04): His son-in-law İsmâil Ağa is sent to Amasya.

1118 (1706-07): Under the patronage of the deputy Ahmed Ağa he meddles in the affairs of the city.

1119 (1707-08): An investigation is opened against him; he is arrested in Receb.

1120 (1708-09): According to volume 12, he is exiled to Samsun.

1130-1143 (1718-1730): He is among the boon companions of Nevşehirli İbrâhim Paşa during his grand vizierate.

After 1143 (after 1730-31): He dies.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources