Amasya ulemâsından Zanalızâde es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi bin es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Pederinin vefâtında Hâce Sultân zâviyesi vakfına mütevellî ve 1160 senesinden itibâren hâciyân ve a’yân meclislerine a’zâ olarak iştihâr etdi.
1185’de Rus harbinden hâsıl olan kaht u gala zamanında fukarâ-i halka bakır ölçeği ile meccânen zâhire ve tohumluk verdiğinden “Bakırcı” unvanını aldı. Adını bakır iken sehâsıyla gümüş etdi. 1195 senesinde vefât eyledi. Meşâhîr-i a’yândan, nâfizü’l-kelim, gınâ ve sehâ sâhibi bir hânedân idi.
Oğulları es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Abdullah Ali, Mahmûd Efendilerdir. Es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Efendizâde şehir kethüdâsı es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi de 1248’de ve bunun mahdûmu mevâliden Hâfız es-Seyyid Nureddîn Mehmed Efendi de 1318’de vefât etdi. Bunlara “Bakırcızâdeler” dendi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Zanalızâde es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi, son of es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi, one of the scholars of Amasya. When his father died he became steward (mütevelli) of the waqf of the Hâce Sultan lodge (zaviye), and from 1160 [1747] he was known as a member of the councils of pilgrims and notables.
In 1185 [1771-72], at the time of the famine and high prices born of the Russian war, he gave the poor of the people food and seed grain free, measured with a copper measure, and so received the nickname "Bakırcı" (the Coppersmith). Though called copper, he made silver of it by his generosity. He died in 1195 [1781]. He was the head of a family, one of the well-known notables, influential, wealthy, and generous.
His sons were es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa, Abdullah, Ali, and Mahmud Efendi. Es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Efendizâde, the city steward (şehir kethüdası) es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi, died in 1248 [1832-33], and his son, Hâfız es-Seyyid Nureddin Mehmed Efendi of the rank of Mevâlî, died in 1318 [1900-01]. They were called the "Bakırcızâdes".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kaht u gala: famine and high prices
- fukarâ-i halk: the poor of the people
- meccânen: free of charge
- zâhire: grain, food
- sehâ: generosity
- nâfizü'l-kelim: one whose word carries weight, whose word is heeded
- gınâ: wealth, riches
- hânedân: noble family
- şehir kethüdâsı: one of the leading men of the city who acted as intermediary between the administration and the people
- mevâlî: the upper class of judges and madrasa professors in the Ottoman learned hierarchy
The Story of the Nickname
The text tells how a nickname was born: the man who distributed grain to the people with a copper measure in a famine year is called "Bakırcı"; Hüsameddin puts it as "though copper, he made silver of it by his generosity". The family was known by this nickname as the "Bakırcızâdes", and the nickname lived on in the descendants until at least 1318, that is, for about one hundred thirty years.
The famine described falls in the years of the Ottoman-Russian war. The war began in 1768 and ended in 1774 with the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca; the year 1185 is in the middle of this war. Bakırcı Ahmed Efendi is seen to have died in 1195, in the turbulent years of the Canikli and Çapanoğlu rivalry in Amasya.
No other source was found in this study for the waqf of the Hâce Sultan lodge or the Zanalızâde family; no information on this person was found in other sources.
Bibliography