Amasyalıdır. Derviş es-Seyyid Mehmed mahdûmudur. Amasya mevlevîhânesi şeyhi Sâlih Ulvî Dede Efendi hizmetinde tahsîl-i irfân ve ahz-ı adâb-ı mevlevîyân ederek tefeyyüz edib 1158’de mevlevîhâne şeyhi oldu.
1161’de maa ta’âmiye yevmi otuz akçe du’â-gûluk vazifesi verildiği defter-i du’â-gûyânda görüldü. Ba’dehû ta’ayyün edib meclis-i a’yâna azâ ve 1172’de baş-a’yân oldu. İki yıl kadar baş-a’yânlıkta kalıp 1174 senesi evâ’ilinde [653] dar-ı bekâya rihlet etdi. Mevlevîhâne derûnunda şeyhi yanında defnedildi.
Âlim, edîb, vecîh, natûk, vakûr, edebiyât ve Farisîyyeye âşinâ, kerîmü’t-tab’, sofra-ı in’âm-ı herkese küşâde olup beşûş idi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid Mehmed, Mustafa Efendilere ve ahfâdına “Şeyh Ahmedzâdeler” dendi. Bunlardan bakkal el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi bin Abdullah Efendi bin es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi 1268’de vefât etdi. Oğulları; el-Hâc Ahmed, Mustafa, İbrâhim Efendilerdir. Hâfız İbrâhim Efendi, “Şeyh Ağa” demekle ma’rûf olup 1316’da vefât etdi. Mahdûmları; Ahmed, Mustafa Efendilerdir.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya, the son of the dervish Seyyid Mehmed. He studied in the service of Sâlih Ulvî Dede Efendi, sheikh of the Amasya Mevlevi lodge, and, having acquired Mevlevi manners, received spiritual benefit (feyiz), and in 1158 [1745-46] became sheikh of the lodge.
In 1161 [1748] it was seen in the register of those who pray that he had been given the prayer-reciting duty at thirty akçe a day, together with the cost of meals. He later entered the ranks of the notables, became a member of the council of notables, and in 1172 [1758-59] became chief notable. After remaining chief notable for about two years, he passed to the other world in early 1174 [1760-61]. He was buried inside the Mevlevi lodge, beside his sheikh.
He was a scholar, a man of letters, esteemed, a good speaker, dignified, familiar with literature and Persian, generous by nature, with a table of bounty open to all, and cheerful of face. His sons Seyyid Mehmed and Mustafa Efendi and their descendants were called the "Şeyh Ahmedzades". Among them the grocer Hacı Ahmed Efendi, son of Abdullah Efendi, son of Seyyid Mustafa Efendi, died in 1268 [1851-52]. His sons are Hacı Ahmed, Mustafa and İbrahim Efendi. Hâfız İbrahim Efendi was known as "Şeyh Ağa" and died in 1316 [1898-99]. His sons are Ahmed and Mustafa Efendi.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mevlevîhâne: the lodge where Mevlevi dervishes gathered and performed the sema
- Dede: a title of respect given to Mevlevi elders
- tahsîl-i irfân, ahz-ı adâb: acquiring knowledge, learning manners and discipline
- tefeyyüz: receiving spiritual benefit, gaining spiritual maturity
- du'â-gûluk: a salary given in return for the duty of praying
- ta'ayyün: becoming prominent, entering the ranks of the notables
- vecîh: esteemed, respected
- vakûr: dignified
- kerîmü't-tab': generous by nature
- beşûş: cheerful of face
- ahfâd: grandchildren, later generations
- dâr-ı bekâya rihlet: dying
The Mevlevi Order and Amasya
According to the encyclopedia entry on the spread of the Mevlevi order in Anatolia, Mevlevi deputies were sent to Amasya, Kırşehir and Erzincan, and lodges were founded there. In these places the lodges also formed waqfs, with the tolerance and even the help of the administrations of the time. A study on Amasya's musical tradition likewise speaks of the Darüşşifa left from the Ilkhanids and the growing influence of the Mevlevi lodge. The sheikhship of Ahmed Efendi as Hüsameddin describes it, that is, his becoming sheikh of the lodge in 1158, is a link of the mid-eighteenth century in this long tradition.
From Sheikh to Chief Notable
The notable aspect of the entry is that a sheikh of a Sufi order rose to the highest office in Amasya's local government, that of chief notable. Hüsameddin describes this rise in five steps: sheikhship of the Mevlevi lodge, the prayer-reciting duty, membership of the council, chief notableship, and death two years later. According to the information Hüsameddin gives, the man's knowledge of literature and Persian, his generosity and his cheerfulness were the foundations of this esteem.
The family was known in later generations as the "Şeyh Ahmedzades", and the line is followed down to 1316, that is, the end of the nineteenth century. No further information was found in the sources consulted about Sâlih Ulvî Dede Efendi or the workings of the Amasya Mevlevi lodge in the eighteenth century.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 203. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources