Amasyalıdır. Ümerâdan İzzeddîn Gül Bey’in mahdûmu olup “Güloğlu” demekle meşhûr ve Arapça İbnü’l-Verdî’dir. İbnü’l-Verdî, güloğlu demektir. Mevlânâ Sadreddîn Mehmed bin Hızr et-Türkmânî, hâssaten Konya kadı’l-kudâtı Sırâceddîn Mahmûd bin Ebî Bekir el-Ermevî’den ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek Amasya’da tedrîs-i ulûm etdi. Ders-i âm-ı meşhûr oldu. [334]
Kazandığı şöhret-i ilmîyyesi sâyesinde Torumtay Medresesi müderrisi, 696 senesinden i’tibâren iki def’a Amasya kadı’l-kudâtı oldu. 912 senesi rebiülevvelinde vefât eyledi. Meşâhîr-i fuzalâdan, kâmil bir zât idi. Mahdûmu Nâsıreddîn Mehmed Çelebi de kibâr-ı ulemâdandır.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of the emir İzzeddîn Gül Bey and was known as "Güloğlu"; in Arabic he is İbnü'l-Verdî. İbnü'l-Verdî means "son of the rose." He completed his studies with Mevlânâ Sadreddîn Mehmed bin Hızr et-Türkmânî and especially with the chief kadı of Konya, Sırâceddîn Mahmûd bin Ebî Bekir el-Ermevî, and taught in Amasya. He became a well-known professor giving general lectures.
Thanks to the scholarly fame he gained, he became professor of the Torumtay Madrasa; and from 696 [1296-97] he was appointed chief kadı of Amasya twice. He died in Rabi' al-awwal 912 [July-August 1506]. He was one of the famous men of virtue, a mature person. His son Nâsıreddîn Mehmed Çelebi was also among the great scholars.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- verd: Arabic for rose; İbnü'l-Verdî is "son of the rose"
- kadı'l-kudât: kadı of kadıs, chief kadı
- hâssaten: especially
- şöhret-i ilmiyye: scholarly fame
- fuzalâ: virtuous, learned persons
- kâmil: mature, virtuous
His Teacher Sirâceddin Urmevî
Sırâceddîn el-Ermevî, shown as Ahmed Çelebi's main teacher, is Sirâceddin el-Urmevî, one of the greatest scholars of Seljuk Anatolia. This scholar, whose full name is Ebü's-Senâ Sirâcüddîn Mahmûd b. Ebî Bekr el-Urmevî, was born in 594 [1198] in the city of Urmia in Azerbaijan, studied in Mosul, and came to Konya after being in Malatya, Damascus, and Egypt. He himself writes that he was in the service of İzzeddin Keykâvus II at the end of 655 [1257]. Before 664 [1266], when Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev III came to the throne, he was kadı of Konya; he was also appointed chief kadı of Anatolia. He was a contemporary and acquaintance of Mevlânâ Celâleddîn-i Rûmî; Eflâkî praises him as "a second Shafi'i in all the rational and traditional sciences." Urmevî, who wrote works on philosophy, logic, theology, and the principles of jurisprudence, died in Konya in 682 [1283]. Hüsameddin's spelling "Ermevî" is a different reading of this nisba.
No information was found on his other teacher, Sadreddîn Mehmed bin Hızr, apart from Hüsameddin's work. The chief kadı of Amasya named identically in another entry of Hüsameddin appears, according to Metin Hakverdioğlu's report, as "Sadreddin Mehmed bin Hızır et-Tiflisî"; the difference between the nisba "et-Türkmânî" here and that record could not be explained.
The Torumtay Madrasa
The Torumtay Madrasa, where Ahmed Çelebi was professor, is the building known today as the Gökmedrese Mosque. It took this name because its entrance section was used as a madrasa and the adjoining tomb was decorated with turquoise tiles and glazed bricks; it is also called the Torumtay Mosque after its founder. The building was built by Seyfeddin Torumtay, who was appointed governor of Amasya in the time of Gıyâseddin Keyhusrev II and who lies in his tomb dated 677 [1278-79], separated from the mosque by a street. Because its inscription has been removed from its place, the exact date of construction is not known. The building, which appears in its waqf deed under the name "Gökmedrese," was used as both mosque and madrasa. With its thick, massive cut-stone walls closed to the outside, it bears the characteristic features of Seljuk architecture.
The Problem in the Date of Death
The date of death in the entry is clearly wrong. It is not possible for a man who took lessons from Urmevî, who died in 682 [1283], and who became chief kadı in 696 [1296-97], to have died in 912 [1506]; there is a difference of more than two hundred years. There must be an error in the writing of the date or in the printing; the number probably indicates a year such as 712 [1312-13], but no record confirming this was found. No information was found in other sources on Ahmed Çelebi and his son Nâsıreddîn Mehmed Çelebi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 108–108. amasya.bel.tr
- Metin Hakverdioğlu, "Hüseyin Hüsameddin Yasar'ın Amasya Tarihi'nde Elvan Çelebi ve Soyu", 2020. https://molekuleredebiyat.com/?p=740
Academic studies