[7] Bağdatlıdır. Hattât-ı meşhûr Abdullah oğludur. Irak’ta tahsîl-i ulûm ve pederinden hutût-ı mütenevviayı ahzedip seyâhatle Amasya’ya geldi. Bir müddet ta’lîm-i hatt ederek ders-i âm olup Edebiyât-ı Arabiyye ve Fârisiyyede hâssaten aklâm-ı sitte ve umûr-ı hisâbiyyede vukūf-ı kâmili, mahâret-i tâmmesi anlaşıldığından Amasya hükümdârı Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa’ya çatdı. Hattı da fevkalâde güzeldi.⁹⁵
Müşârün-ileyhin teveccühâtını kazanıp tedrîcen terakkî ederek Müstevfî ya’nî Mâliye Nâzırı oldu. Amasya Emâreti’nin umûr-i mâliyesini ıslâh ederek darbhâne yaptırdı. Emîr-i müşârün-ileyh nâmına para kestirdi.
Fakat 783 de Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa’nın kazâen fevti üzerine zuhûr eden ba’zı umûr-i müz’iceden dolayı inzivâya mecbûr oldu. Bir müddet sonra Torumtayzâde vezîr “Sirâceddîn Mehmed Çelebi”nin sevk ve tavsiyesiyle müstevfî ve Yıldırım Sultân Bâyezîd Hân’ın Amasya vâliliği esnâsında vilâyet-i rûmiyye defterdârı oldu.
Şâdgeldi Paşazâde Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşa’nın vâliliği zamanında vazîfe-i istîfâya devâm edib 796 senesi evâilinde Gümüşlüzâde Hâce Celâl Çelebi’nin [8] teşebbüsâtıyla ma’zûl ve 800’de Sivas defterdârı oldu. 802 senesi evâhirinde Topal Timur’un Sivas’a hücûmunda kaçıp Amasya’ya geldi. 804 senesinde vefât etdi. Âlim, muhâsip, müdebbir, edebiyâta vâkıf olup Amasya’da fevkalâde iştihâr etmişdi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi ve hafîdi el-Hâc Sinan Bey’dir. Şâkird-i hattı Sûfî Yahyâ Çelebi hattât-ı meşhûrdur.
In Modern English
He is from Baghdad. He was the son of the renowned calligrapher Abdullah. He studied in Iraq, learned various scripts from his father, and came to Amasya on his travels. For a time he taught calligraphy and gave public lectures. When his full command and complete mastery of Arabic and Persian literature, especially of the six scripts (aklâm-ı sitte) and of accounting, became evident, he drew close to the ruler of Amasya, Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha. His own hand was also extraordinarily beautiful.
Having won the favor of the said emir, he rose gradually and became müstevfî, that is, minister of finance. He put the financial affairs of the Emirate of Amasya in order and had a mint built. He had coins struck in the name of the said emir.
But after the death of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha in 783 [1381], he was forced to withdraw into seclusion because of some troubling events that followed. After a while, at the direction and recommendation of the vizier "Sirâceddîn Mehmed Çelebi," son of Torumtay, he became müstevfî again, and during the governorship of Sultan Bâyezîd Han Yıldırım in Amasya he became treasurer (defterdar) of the Province of Rum.
He continued in office during the governorship of Devâtdâr Ahmed Pasha, son of Şâdgeldi Pasha, and was dismissed at the beginning of 796 [1393-94] through the initiative of Hâce Celâl Çelebi, son of Gümüşlü. In 800 [1397-98] he became treasurer of Sivas. At the end of 802 [1399-1400], when Timur the Lame attacked Sivas, he fled and came to Amasya. He died in 804 [1401-02]. A scholar, a master of accounts, prudent and well versed in literature, he had become extremely famous in Amasya. His son was el-Hâc Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi and his grandson el-Hâc Sinan Bey. His calligraphy student Sûfî Yahyâ Çelebi is a renowned calligrapher.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- hutût-ı mütenevvia: various kinds of script
- ders-i âm: giving public lectures
- aklâm-ı sitte: the six basic scripts of Islamic calligraphy (sülüs, nesih, muhakkak, reyhânî, tevkî', rık'a)
- umûr-ı hisâbiyye: accounting matters
- vukūf-ı kâmil, mahâret-i tâmme: full knowledge, complete mastery
- müşârün-ileyh: the said, the one mentioned above
- teveccühât: favor, regard
- müstevfî: the official who kept the state's accounts of income and expenditure
- Mâliye Nâzırı: minister of finance
- darbhâne: mint, the place where coins are struck
- umûr-i müz'ice: disturbing, troubling events
- inzivâ: withdrawing into seclusion
- ma'zûl: dismissed from office
- devâtdâr: the senior official who carried the divan's writing set and handled secretarial affairs
- hafîd: grandson
- şâkird: student
The Calligrapher Father and the School of Calligraphy
A footnote states that Ahî Hasan's father was Abdullah Bağdâdî, known as "Ergun Kâmil," one of the students of Yâkūt al-Musta'simî. Yâkūt was brought to Baghdad as a child among captives, was bought by the last Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim-Billâh, and died in 698 [1299]; he was a great calligrapher who brought the six scripts to their classical proportions and laid the foundation of the Ottoman school of calligraphy as well. According to the encyclopedia entry, his students include Argūn (Ergun) b. Abdullah al-Kâmilî. Because his father was Arab and his mother Turkish, he was given the epithet Ergun, "of mixed descent." This student specialized in the six scripts, especially muhakkak, wrote twenty-nine Qur'an manuscripts, and also wrote the inscriptions of two madrasas in Baghdad. The "Ergun Kâmil" in Hüsameddin's footnote corresponds to this calligrapher. That Ahî Hasan's father was the same person is known only from Hüsameddin's record and the similarity of names, and has not been verified by another document.
The Mint in Amasya and the Time of Şâdgeldi
The text says that Ahî Hasan put the financial affairs of the Emirate of Amasya in order and had coins struck in the name of Şâdgeldi Pasha. Şâdgeldi Pasha ruled Amasya for more than twenty years, from 760 [1359] to 783 [1381], and in this period an independent emirate covering the regions of Amasya, Tokat and Canik came into being. Şâdgeldi Pasha's death in 783 was in fact his being killed in the war against Kadı Burhaneddin; Hüsameddin calls it "kazâen vefat." After his death his son Ahmed Pasha became emir, and the dynasty's rule ended in 805 [1402-03]. Ahî Hasan's remaining in office under Ahmed Pasha as well fits this course of events. As for the minting of coins in Amasya in the Ottoman period, the encyclopedia entry says that in the time of the sons of Yıldırım Bayezid coins were also struck in Amasya, along with Bursa, Edirne, Serez and Ayasuluk. That is, the tradition of minting in Amasya continued in the years after Şâdgeldi. Our searches found no reliable source on the location or remains of the mint Ahî Hasan had built.
Information That Could Not Be Verified
No information was found in other sources on Sirâceddîn Mehmed Çelebi, son of Torumtay, on Hâce Celâl Çelebi, son of Gümüşlü, or on the calligraphy student Sûfî Yahyâ Çelebi. The date of Timur's attack on Sivas has also not been checked against an independent source in this study.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 266–266. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies