Amasya a’yânından olup 1127’de vefât eden el-Hâc [629] Mustafa Ağa bin Osmân Ağa bin Ali Ağa bin Pir Mehmed Çelebi bin Hızır Çelebi bin Sülûkî Mehmed Çelebi bin Hamza Çelebi bin Abdullah Çelebi bin Muhyiddîn Mehmet Çelebi bin İskender Bey bin Halîl Paşa’nın oğludur. Halk dilinde “Sülûkoğlu” demekle meşhûrdur.
Pederinin irtihâlinde Halîl Paşa ve Memi Çelebi bin İskender Bey ve Osmâncık’da Ferruhşâd Çelebi vâkıflarına mütevellî olup teayyün etdi. İran muhârebâtında nakdî mu’âvenetler ederek meclis-i a’yân azâsı olup 1156 senesi evâ’ilinde vefât etdi. Üçler Mahallesi hânedânından idi. Oğulları; İbrâhim, Halîl, Osmân, Hüseyin Ağalardır.
Hacı Osmân Ağa 1193’de fevt olup oğulları es-Seyyid Mehmed, Ahmed Ağalardır. Mütevellî el-Hâc Hüseyin Ağa da 1222’de vefât edib oğulları Mustafa, Mehmed Ağalardan Mustafa Ağa, 1269’da ve bunun oğlu Osmân Ağa 1294’de vefât etdi. Bunun oğlu Mustafa Efendi 1318’de Isparta sancağı jandarma hesab me’mûru oldu.
Es-Seyyid Mehmed Ağa evlâdından eş-Şeyh Saîd Mehmed Efendi bin Şerîf Osmân Ağa bin es-Seyyid Mehmed Ağa bin el-Hâc Osmân Ağa da meşâyih-i Nakşibendiyyeden [630] olup 1267’de vefât etdi. Bunun mahdûmu es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh Mehmed Nuri Şemseddîn Efendi olup 1280’de Beşiktaşî Yahyâ Efendi Dergâhı şeyhi olduğu halde 1298’de vefât etdi.⁷⁷
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Mustafa Ağa of the ayan of Amasya, who died in 1127 [1715]. Mustafa Ağa was the son of Osmân Ağa; Osmân Ağa was the son of Ali Ağa, who was the son of Pir Mehmed Çelebi, son of Hızır Çelebi, son of Sülûkî Mehmed Çelebi, son of Hamza Çelebi, son of Abdullah Çelebi, son of Muhyiddîn Mehmed Çelebi, son of İskender Bey; and İskender Bey was the son of Halîl Pasha. In common speech he is known as "Sülûkoğlu".
On his father's death he became mütevelli of the waqfs of Halîl Pasha and of İskender Bey's son Memi Çelebi, and of the waqfs of Ferruhşâd Çelebi in Osmâncık, and came to prominence. By giving money in aid in the Persian wars he became a member of the council of ayan, and he died in early 1156 [1743-44]. He was of the long-established families of the Üçler quarter. His sons are İbrâhim, Halîl, Osmân and Hüseyin Ağas.
Hacı Osmân Ağa died in 1193 [1779]; his sons are Seyyid Mehmed and Ahmed Ağas. The mütevelli Hacı Hüseyin Ağa died in 1222 [1807-08]; his sons are Mustafa and Mehmed Ağas. Of these, Mustafa Ağa died in 1269 [1852-53] and his son Osmân Ağa in 1294 [1877]. Osmân Ağa's son Mustafa Efendi became gendarmerie accounting clerk of the Isparta sanjak in 1318 [1900-01].
Of the line of Seyyid Mehmed Ağa, Sheikh Saîd Mehmed Efendi was also among the Naqshbandi sheikhs and died in 1267 [1850-51]. Saîd Mehmed Efendi is the son of Şerîf Osmân Ağa; Şerîf Osmân Ağa was the son of Seyyid Mehmed Ağa, who was the son of Hacı Osmân Ağa. Saîd Mehmed Efendi's son, Seyyid Sheikh Mehmed Nuri Şemseddîn Efendi, became sheikh of the Beşiktaşlı Yahyâ Efendi Dervish Lodge in 1280 [1863-64] and died in 1298 [1880-81].
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mütevellî: person who administers a waqf
- vâkıf: person who founds a waqf
- teayyün: coming to the fore, becoming known
- nakdî mu'âvenet: aid in money
- evâ'il: the beginning, the early days
- hânedân: long-established family
- fevt olmak: to die
- jandarma hesab me'mûru: official in charge of the financial affairs of the gendarmerie
- meşâyih-i Nakşibendiyye: sheikhs of the Naqshbandi order
- kuyûd-ı vakfiye: waqf records
- evrâk-ı resmîye: official documents
- mu'asır ve musâhib: contemporary and conversation companion
The Sülûkîzâde Family
The entry describes one of the families whose lineage is counted longest in Hüsameddin's book. Eleven names are counted back from Mustafa Ağa, father of Hacı Ahmed Ağa of the title, and the line is carried to Halîl Pasha; forward, it comes down to Mustafa Efendi, of Ahmed Ağa's line, in the year 1318. The family's name comes from Sülûkî Mehmed Çelebi in this chain, and is said in common speech in the form "Sülûkoğlu". The word sülûk means, in Sufism, entering a path and advancing on it; it may be thought that the name arose from this circle, but the text does not say so and no source confirming it was found.
The family's standing in the city rests on waqf mütevelliship. That Ahmed Ağa was mütevelli of the Ferruhşâd Çelebi waqfs in Osmâncık as well as of the Halîl Pasha and Memi Çelebi waqfs shows that the family held waqf administration in its hands for a long time. The text also mentions as mütevelli Hacı Hüseyin Ağa, who died in 1222. No information on the identity of Halîl Pasha and İskender Bey or on the present state of their waqfs was found in other sources. That Ahmed Ağa entered the council of ayan by giving "money in aid" in the Persian wars suggests that the cost of campaigns was also met by local wealthy men; this is an inference and the text does not state it outright.
The last links of the line extend into the nineteenth century. Mustafa Efendi, mentioned in 1318 as a gendarmerie accounting clerk, shows the line turning to state clerkship in this period.
The Yahyâ Efendi Dervish Lodge and Mehmed Nuri Şemseddîn Efendi
The entry's last section describes a sheikh belonging to the Seyyid Mehmed Ağa branch of the family. The Beşiktaşlı Yahyâ Efendi Dervish Lodge, according to the encyclopedia entry, is in Istanbul, Beşiktaş, in Yahyâ Efendi Çıkmazı in the Yıldız quarter. Its founding can be traced back to 1538; Yahyâ Efendi died in 1571, and Selim II had a mausoleum designed by Mimar Sinan built over his grave. The lodges were closed in 1925 and the mosque-tevhidhane was used as a mosque; the Tomb of Yahyâ Efendi is today still one of the most visited shrines in Istanbul.
The same record also mentions Mehmed Nûri Şemseddin Efendi. According to it, Şemseddin Efendi, a Naqshbandi, was appointed türbedar of Yahyâ Efendi by Mahmud II in 1836 and remained in this post until his death, that is, 1886. It also shows him as the son of Taşköprülü Seyyid Hüseyin Efendi, who was appointed sheikh of the Hacı Bektaş Lodge in Kırşehir, and writes that he was known for his work called Miftâhu'l-kulûb. His grave is counted among the lodge sheikhs buried in the mausoleum.
This information differs from Hüsameddin's at two points. While Hüsameddin says he became sheikh in 1280 (1863-64) and died in 1298 (1880-81), the encyclopedia gives a term of service from 1836 to 1886. Also, Hüsameddin presents him as the son of Sheikh Saîd Mehmed Efendi, whereas the encyclopedia names his father as a sheikh of Taşköprü. These differences may arise either from the confusion of two separate people of the same name or from the sources resting on different family information; no source was found to resolve this. Hüsameddin states in a footnote that he took the information from waqf records, official documents, and Bakırcızâde Hâfız Mehmed Nureddin Efendi of Amasya, a contemporary and conversation companion of Sheikh Mehmed Nuri Efendi.
Bibliography