Amasya ulemâsından Ziyarelioğlu Mevlânâ Şerefeddîn Ya’kûb Çelebi bin kadı’l-kudât Mevlânâ Kemâleddîn Ahmed Çelebi bin Mevlânâ Ya’kûb ez-Ziyarî mahdûmu ve fâzıl-ı meşhûr Şeyhülislâm Sa’îdeddîn Mevhûb Çelebi’nin yeğenidir.
Amcasından ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek ders-i âm oldu. Asrında fazîlet-i ilmiyye ile iştihâr edib Medrese-i Şâdîye ya’nî Saraç-hâne Camî’i ittisâlinde Hacı Şâdgeldi Paşa Medresesi müderrisi ve ba’dehû Amasya müftüsü olup Şeyhülislâm unvânını aldı. 827 sâline doğru vefât etdi. “Umdetü’l-ulemâi’l-muhakkikîn” idi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Ziyarelioğlu Mevlânâ Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb Çelebi, one of the scholars of Amasya; Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb Çelebi was the son of the kadılkudât (chief judge) Mevlânâ Kemâleddîn Ahmed Çelebi, who was the son of Mevlânâ Ya'kûb ez-Ziyarî. He was the nephew of the famous scholar Şeyhülislam Sa'îdeddîn Mevhûb Çelebi.
Completing his studies under his uncle, he became a teacher of general lectures (ders-i âm). He gained fame in his age for his scholarly merit; he became müderris (madrasa professor) of the Medrese-i Şâdiyye, that is, the Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha Madrasa adjoining the Saraçhane Mosque, and then mufti of Amasya, and received the title Şeyhülislam. He died around 827 [1423-24]. He was a man referred to as "the pillar of the investigating scholars" (Umdetü'l-ulemâi'l-muhakkikîn).
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- fâzıl-ı meşhûr: a well-known, virtuous scholar
- ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
- fazîlet-i ilmiyye: excellence in learning
- iştihâr: gaining fame
- ittisâl: adjoining place
- umdetü'l-ulemâi'l-muhakkikîn: the pillar of the investigating scholars (a title)
The Ziyârîs and Ziyare
Ziyare, which gave the family of Ahmed Çelebi its name, is today the town of Ziyaret, attached to Amasya. In old records the settlement's name appears as Ziyare and Ziyere; in popular speech it is pronounced "Zeyre". A study of settlements in Amasya whose names were changed also shows that the earlier name of Ziyaret was Ziyere. Hüsameddin writes that the town's older name was Zemendu or Semendu, and that a strong fortress once stood there.
In the eleventh volume of his book, speaking of two great scholarly dynasties of Amasya in the period of the principalities, Hüsameddin calls one the İmâdîs and the other the Ziyârîs. According to a quotation from Hüsameddin in the town history published by the Ziyaret municipality, Hoca Muhibbüddin Mevdûd ez-Ziyârî, who came from this quarter and was widely known in Anatolia in 690 [1291], is the elder of the family; Saîdüddin Mevhûb ez-Ziyârî, of his line, who died in 787 [1385], is buried in front of the Şâdgeldi Pasha Tomb and his name is written on the gravestone. In another entry in volume eleven, Hüsameddin gives Mevhûb's name as "Saîdüddîn Mevhûb bin Ahmed ez-Ziyârî". This entry agrees with the chain of descent in the article: since Mevhûb was the son of Kemâleddîn Ahmed Çelebi and the brother of Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb, he is the full paternal uncle of the article's subject.
These dates should be kept in mind when reading the article. Since Mevhûb Çelebi died in 787 [1385], the years in which Ahmed Çelebi studied under him fall at the latest in the early 1380s; his death is around 827 [1423-24]. Ahmed Çelebi thus lived a long life, was raised in the time of the Kutluşahs and saw the first decades of Ottoman rule. The year in which he was appointed to the muftiship is not stated in the article. The breadth of Mevhûb Çelebi's teaching circle is also known; Hüsameddin writes that Şemseddîn Ahmed Rûmî of Amasya, known as "Molla Şeker", also received his licence (icazet) from him in the time of Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha.
The Şâdgeldi Pasha Madrasa and the Title "Şeyhülislam"
The Medrese-i Şâdiyye, of which Ahmed Çelebi was müderris, is the madrasa beside the mosque known today as the Saraçhane Mosque, built in 1372 by Hacı Şâdgeldi Pasha, Emir of Amasya. The mosque's name changed from the time of Çelebi Mehmed because of the saddlers' shops around it. Hüsameddin records in the previous article that İğnecioğlu Ahmed Çelebi had also been müderris at the same madrasa; thus some of the scholars who taught here in the first half-century after the madrasa's foundation can be traced from Hüsameddin's book.
The title "Şeyhülislam" in the article should not be confused with the office at the head of the religious-learned (ilmiye) organisation at the Ottoman centre. Hüsameddin explicitly ties the title to the muftiship of Amasya: Ahmed Çelebi first became mufti of Amasya and then received this title. He uses the same title for his uncle Mevhûb Çelebi. It appears to be a title given locally to the chief muftis of Amasya in the period of the principalities. No information about Ziyârîoğlu Ahmed Çelebi was found other than what Hüsameddin gives.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies
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