Mağribiyyü’l-asl olan Ahî İlyas mahdûmudur. Amasya’da tahsîl-i ma’rifet ve hutût-ı mütenevviada kesb-i mahâret ederek iştihâr etdi. Ahî Hasan Bağdâdî maiyyetinde müstahdem olup 805’de beytü’l-mâl emîni oldu.
Defterdâr Hâce Celâl Çelebi’ye muâvin gibi çalışdı. 811’de Amasya’nın Pervâne Mahallesi’nde müceddeden yapılan darbhâne emîni olup Çelebi Sultân Mehmed Hân’ın umûr-i mâliyesini yoluna koydu. Bu hususta Buharalı Hâce Şemseddîn Muhammed Kırtâsî de büyük yardımlar etdi. Halk arasında “Ahî Darbhâneci” demekle meşhûr oldu. [9]
818’de Amasya vilâyeti muharriri ve defterdârı olup Sultân Murâd-ı Sânî’ye hizmetler etdi. 824’de sâniyen darbhâne emîni olup vefâtına kadar Amasya Darbhânesi’ni güzel idâre ederek Yörgüç Paşa nâmına da bâ-emr-i pâdişâhî sikke kesti.
Darbhâne ve ikâmetgâhı civârında âlî bir zâviye ve imârethâne yaptırdı. Buraya Halvetiye meşâyihinden Çorumlu eş-Şeyh Muhyiddîn Mehmed Çelebi bin Eyyûb’u ilk şeyh olarak nasb edib 836’da bu hayrâtına emlâkini vakf ve vakfiyesini tanzîm etdi. İki sene daha yaşayıp 838 senesi evâilinde vefât eyledi. Zâviyesi bahçesinde medfûn idi.
Âlim, kâtib, hattât, müdebbir, umûr-i hesâbiyyeye pek vâkıf, gâyet dindar idi. Ulemâ ve meşâyihi sever, bir sâhib-i hayır ve hasenât idi. Amasya Vâlisi Yörgüç Paşa’ya kendisini pek sevdirmiş, i’timâdını kazanmışdı, sâdık, müstakîm idi.
Mahdûmları Şemseddîn Ahmed, Hayreddîn Hızır Çelebiler de darbhâne emîni olmuşlardı. Pederlerinin vakfına mütevellî ve nâzır idiler. Darbhâneci Tekkesi Amasya’da büyük, ma’mûr, taâmiyesi mebzûl, fukarâsı bol bir zâviye idi. 1273 [10] harık-ı kebîrinde tamamıyla mahv ve arsası da mülk oldu.
In Modern English
He is the son of Ahî İlyas, who was of Maghrebi origin. He gained mastery in Amasya in learning and in various scripts and became famous. Working under Ahî Hasan Bağdâdî, he became steward of the treasury (beytülmal emini) in 805 [1402-03].
He worked almost as an assistant to the treasurer Hâce Celâl Çelebi. In 811 [1408-09] he became steward of the mint newly built in the Pervâne Quarter of Amasya and put the financial affairs of Çelebi Sultan Mehmed Han in order. Hâce Şemseddîn Muhammed Kırtâsî of Bukhara also gave him great help in this. Among the people he became famous as "Ahî Darbhâneci" (Ahî of the Mint).
In 818 [1415-16] he became muharrir and treasurer of the province of Amasya and rendered services to Sultan Murad II. In 824 [1421], as steward of the mint for the second time, he ran the Amasya Mint well until his death; by imperial order he also struck coins in the name of Yörgüç Pasha.
Around the mint and his residence he had a lofty zawiya and imaret built. He appointed as its first sheikh the Halvetî sheikh Muhyiddîn Mehmed Çelebi bin Eyyûb of Çorum, and in 836 [1432-33] he endowed his properties to this charitable foundation and drew up its deed. He lived two more years and died at the beginning of 838 [1434-35]. He was buried in the garden of his zawiya.
He was a scholar, a scribe, a calligrapher, a prudent man, thoroughly versed in accounting, and deeply devout. He loved scholars and sheikhs and was a man of charity and good works. He had made himself greatly liked by the governor of Amasya, Yörgüç Pasha, and had won his trust; he was loyal and upright.
His sons Şemseddîn Ahmed and Hayreddîn Hızır Çelebi also became stewards of the mint. They were trustees (mütevellî) and supervisors (nâzır) of their father's endowment. The Darbhâneci Lodge was a large, well-kept zawiya in Amasya where food was freely given and the poor were many. It was entirely destroyed in the great fire of 1273 [1856-57], and its site became private property.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Mağribiyyü'l-asl: of Maghrebi origin, from North Africa
- hutût-ı mütenevvia: various kinds of script
- beytü'l-mâl emîni: the official who managed the state's financial assets
- müceddeden: anew
- darbhâne: mint, the place where coins are struck
- muharrir: the official who recorded a province's population and tax registers
- sâniyen: for the second time
- sikke: coin
- zâviye ve imârethâne: dervish lodge and public soup kitchen
- nasb: appointment
- hayrât: charitable works
- vakfiye: the official deed drawn up by the founder of an endowment
- mütevellî, nâzır: the persons who run and supervise an endowment
- taâmiye: giving of food, a soup kitchen
- harîk-ı kebîr: great fire
Other Records on the Zawiya
A study of the zawiyas of Amasya, based on endowment appointment records and the 1576 survey, presents the "Ahi Darphaneci Zawiya." According to it, the zawiya stood in the Pervane Bey Quarter of Amasya, near the Bali Bey Mosque. Over time two inns took its place. It is said to have taken its name from Şemseddin Ahmed Çelebi, who had served as steward of the mint in Amasya, and the zawiya is recorded as having been built in 836 [1432-33] by this Şemseddin Ahmed Çelebi. The researcher bases this information on Hüsameddin. Yet in Hüsameddin's account in this entry, the person who had the zawiya built is Bedreddîn Mahmûd Çelebi, and Şemseddîn Ahmed is his son. The difference may have arisen from a confusion between the founder of the endowment and the sons who ran it. No document that would settle it has been found.
The second difference concerns the order. According to Hüsameddin the first sheikh was a Halvetî, whereas according to the study the zawiya was run by sheikhs attached to the Rifâ'î order. This difference suggests that the zawiya may have gone through a change of sheikhs in later centuries, but no other record confirms it. In the 1576 survey, the villages of Keçi and Adadepe in the district of Argoma in their entirety and half of the village of Bilecük were assigned to this zawiya. The waqf records show that Seyyid İbrahim ibn-i Sadeddin, the sheikh of the zawiya, gave up his post and that Seyyid Abdülfettah ibni Seyyid Ahmed was appointed in his place. The zawiya is described in these records as having fallen into a "ruined and empty" state. This information is consistent with the text's account that the zawiya closed and its site changed hands. As for the fire of 1273, it could not be verified in this study from an independent source.
Another detail is a different Ahi Yusuf Zawiya in the district of Argoma. In the records the person who built this zawiya is called "Darbhaneci Ahi Yusuf." The researcher could not establish its connection to the Ahi Yusuf Zawiya in the village of Sarıkusun (İbecik). Whether this person belonged to the same family as Ahî Darbhâneci is uncertain.
Yörgüç Pasha
The text's reference to Yörgüç Pasha points to a well-known figure in the history of Amasya. In 1414 Çelebi Sultan Mehmed sent his twelve-year-old son Şehzade Murad to Amasya to hold the beylik of the Rum province, and gave Yörgüç Pasha to him as lala. The Rum province covered the regions of Amasya, Tokat, Sivas, Çorum and Osmancık. Yörgüç Pasha died in Zilhicce 845 [April-May 1442] and was buried in the tomb of the mosque he had built in Amasya. This framework does not contradict the text's statement that the mint was run in the name of Yörgüç Pasha and Çelebi Mehmed.
What Could Not Be Found in Other Sources
No information was found in other sources on Ahî İlyas, Hâce Celâl Çelebi, Hâce Şemseddîn Muhammed Kırtâsî of Bukhara, or Muhyiddîn Mehmed Çelebi of Çorum.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 266–267. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies