Amasya’nın Eski Kethüdâ Mahallesi eşrâfından ve ulemâdan el-Hâc Abdullah Efendi bin el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa bin Kapancı el-Hâc Ahmed Ağa’nın mahdûmu ve hâcegân-ı divân-ı hümâyûndan el-Hâc Hüseyin Zeki Efendi’nin birâderidir.
Mahdûmu Kâmil Efendi’nin nakli üzere 1188’de tevellüd etdi. Pederinin vefâtında Yörgüç Paşa Câmii erbâb-ı vezâ’ifinden olup⁸⁸ 1241’de ta’ayyün ederek meclis a’zâsı, 1248’de ihtisâb ağası ve ba’dehû [751] birâderi Hüseyin Zeki Efendi’nin yaptırdığı medresesi vakfında mütevellî oldu.
1261’de Doktor vak’asında zî-medhâl görülüp Sivas’a gönderildi. Altı ay sonra avdet edib 1264’de sânîyen ihtisâb ağası, 1268’de meclis a’zâsı oldu. 1278’de gûşe-gîr-i inzivâ olup 1284 senesi gurre-i ramazânında 96 yaşında vefât etdi.
M’aârifden behredâr, âkil, medh ü zemme kâdir, gâyet nekre-gû, letâ’if-i hiyelde yektâ, mizâç-gir, sahî, küşâde-meşreb idi. Hoca Nasreddîn etvârını ihyâda bî-misl, nevâdir ve hikâyât ve letâ’ifi bî-bedel idi.
Zaman-ı lütafâsından Yeniçeri oğlu Ali, Berber Mehmed Ağalar gibi ölüleri bile güldürecek derecede turfe-gûyân ve mukallidân ile letâ’ifi dillerde dâstândır.
Oğulları Mehmed Kâmil, Abdullah Şevki Efendilerdir. Medrese vakfına mütevellî olan Kâmil Efendi kendisine biraz benzerdi. Bunun mahdûmları ulemâdan Hâfız Mehmed Şerîf [752] Efendi ile Ahmed İhsan Bey’dir.
In Modern English
He was the son of Hacı Abdullah Efendi, one of the notables and scholars of the Eski Kethüda quarter of Amasya; Abdullah Efendi was the son of Hacı Mehmed Ağa, who was the son of Kapancı Hacı Ahmed Ağa. He was the brother of Hacı Hüseyin Zeki Efendi, one of the hâcegân of the imperial council.
According to the account of his son Kâmil Efendi, he was born in 1188 [1774-75]. At his father's death he was among the officials of the Yörgüç Pasha Mosque and in 1241 [1825-26] was appointed a member of the council; in 1248 [1832-33] he became ihtisab ağası (market inspector), and later he became the administrator (mütevelli) of the waqf of the madrasa that his brother Hüseyin Zeki Efendi had built.
In 1261 [1845-46] he was seen as implicated in the Doctor incident and was sent to Sivas. Six months later he returned, and in 1264 [1847-48] became ihtisab ağası for the second time and in 1268 [1851-52] a member of the council. In 1278 [1861-62] he withdrew into seclusion and died aged 96 on the first day of Ramadan 1284 [1867-68].
He had a share in learning, was intelligent, able both to praise and to blame, extremely biting in his speech, unmatched in jests built on tricks and games, quick to grasp the temperament of the person before him, open-handed and cheerful in manner. He had no equal in reviving the ways of Nasreddin Hoca; his anecdotes, stories and witticisms were without parallel.
Among the wits of his time, such as Yeniçeri oğlu Ali and Berber Mehmed Ağa, men of such odd speech and mimicry that they could make even the dead laugh, his witticisms too are told on people's tongues.
His sons are Mehmed Kâmil and Abdullah Şevki Efendi. Kâmil Efendi, who became the administrator of the madrasa waqf, resembled him somewhat. His sons are Hâfız Mehmed Şerif Efendi, one of the scholars, and Ahmed İhsan Bey.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- eşrâf: the respected, esteemed people of a quarter
- hâcegân-ı divân-ı hümâyûn: the class formed by the clerks of the imperial council
- tevellüd: birth
- erbâb-ı vezâ'if: the officials of a mosque or waqf
- ta'ayyün: appointment, being designated
- ihtisâb ağası: the administrator responsible for supervising markets (ihtisab)
- mütevellî: the person who administers a waqf
- zî-medhâl: one implicated, having a part in an event
- gûşe-gîr-i inzivâ: one who has withdrawn into seclusion
- gurre-i ramazân: the first day of Ramadan
- nekre-gû: one who speaks harshly, pointedly or contrarily; the meaning is inferred from the context
- letâ'if-i hiyel: witticisms built on tricks and games
- mizâç-gir: one who grasps the character and temperament of the person before him; the meaning is inferred from the context
- küşâde-meşreb: open in nature, easygoing
- turfe-gûyân: those who say odd, surprising things
- mukallidân: mimics
- dâstân: a story told on people's tongues
The Yörgüç Pasha Mosque
The mosque where Ahmed Efendi served was built, according to its inscription, by Atabeg Yörgüç Pasha in 834 (1430). The building belongs to the group of mosques with tabhane rooms or a zaviye; it has no last-congregation porch, and it has a section thought to have been the lecture hall of a madrasa that has not survived. In a footnote Hüsameddin writes that the person named (from the context, Ahmed Efendi's father) was the son-in-law of the mosque's imam Kapancızâde Hacı Ömer Efendi, and that he learned from the records that this man became imam of the Yörgüç Pasha Mosque at Ömer Efendi's death in Cemaziyelevvel 1239 [1823-24]. This information shows the family's link to mosque duties and strengthens the case that the name "Kapancızâde" belongs to this family.
Hüseyin Zeki Efendi and His Madrasa
The text says that Ahmed Efendi's brother Hüseyin Zeki Efendi built a madrasa and that Ahmed Efendi became the administrator of its waqf. In Amasya, the timekeeper's house in the courtyard of the Bayezid II Complex was built, according to its inscription, in 1256 (1840) by a Hacı Hüseyin Zeki Efendi. Whether this man is Ahmed Efendi's brother could not be verified in the sources read; the match of name and period suggests such a possibility. The name and present state of the madrasa could not be determined either.
The Incident of 1261 and the Journey to Sivas
According to Hüsameddin, Ahmed Efendi was seen as implicated in the "Doctor incident" of 1261 and was kept for six months in Sivas. What this event was could not be determined in the searches made; the entry on Kesdikzâde Ahmed Bey, who is named as commander in the same year, likewise says only "the incident of 1261". That he was sent to Sivas suggests that the incident went beyond the administration of Amasya, but this inference is not confirmed by a source.
The Nasreddin Hoca Tradition
Hüsameddin presents Ahmed Efendi as a man without equal in reviving the ways of Nasreddin Hoca, and names alongside him such masters of wit as Yeniçeri oğlu Ali and Berber Mehmed Ağa. No information was found in other sources on these men or on Ahmed Efendi himself.
Bibliography