Amasya kadısı mevaliden Abdülhay Efendi bin Abdülkerim Efendi bin Ali Çelebi bin Mü’eyyed Çelebi mahdûmudur. Amasya’da doğup meşâhîr-i fuzalâdan “Mahzenü’l-fıkh” müellifi Musliheddîn Mûsâ Efendi’den tahsîl-i ulûm ve hattât-ı meşhûr Ebu’l-fazl Mehmed ve Celal Efendilerden hutût-ı mütenevviayı temeşşuk ve ahzederek mücâz ve müderris oldu. [453]
Mükerreren Amasya nâibi ve ba’dehû kadı olup 975 saline doğru vefât etdi. Âlim, kâmil, hattât-ı meşhûr, hâssaten talikte mahirdi. Kibâr-ı kudâtdandır. Mahdûmu Abdülkadir Efendi de ulema-yı kudâtdandır.
In Modern English
He was the son of Abdülhay Efendi, kadı of Amasya, one of the great kadıs of the mevleviyet rank; Abdülhay Efendi was the son of Abdülkerim Efendi, son of Ali Çelebi, son of Müeyyed Çelebi. He was born in Amasya. He pursued learning with Muslihuddin Musa Efendi, one of the renowned virtuous scholars and author of the work "Mahzenü'l-fıkh"; from the famous calligraphers Ebü'l-Fazl Mehmed and Celal Efendis he also learned various scripts by practising them (meşk), and thus received an icazet and became a müderris.
He served several times as naib (deputy judge) of Amasya, then as its kadı, and died around 975 [1567-68]. He was a scholar, mature, a famous calligrapher, especially a master of the talik script. He was among the great kadıs. His son Abdülkadir Efendi is also among the scholars who served as kadı.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mevâlî: kadıs and müderrises of high rank in the ilmiye class
- meşâhîr-i fuzalâ: renowned virtuous scholars
- tahsîl-i ulûm: learning the sciences
- hutût-ı mütenevvi'a: various scripts
- temeşşuk ve ahz: learning by taking a teacher's model and working at it (meşk)
- mücâz: one who has received an icazet, authorised to teach
- nâib: deputy of a kadı
- talik: a slanted, flowing script used mostly in Persian texts and official correspondence
- kibâr-ı kudât: the great ones among the kadıs
The Müeyyedzades
Ahmed Efendi's lineage ties to the Müeyyedzades, one of Amasya's best-known families of learning. Şemseddin Müeyyed Çelebi, from whom the family takes its name, was one of the Kâzerûni shaykhs. His son Alâeddin Ali Çelebi, while shaykh of the Yâkut Pasha Zaviye, became the nişancı (chancellery official) of Prince Bayezid (Bayezid II), who was sent as governor to Amasya; Ali Çelebi's son Müeyyedzâde Abdurrahman Efendi was born in Amasya in 860 [1456], rose to the kazaskerships of Anatolia and Rumeli, and died in 922 [1516]. Abdurrahman Efendi is known for his library of 2112 volumes, and the sources report that he had five sons and a daughter.
In the genealogy Hüsameddin gives, Ahmed Efendi's grandfather Abdülkerim Efendi appears as the son of Ali Çelebi, son of Müeyyed Çelebi. If this Ali Çelebi is accepted to be the same as Alâeddin Ali Çelebi, father of Abdurrahman Efendi, then Abdülkerim Efendi would be the brother of the famous kazasker and Ahmed Efendi the son of his nephew. No record explicitly establishing this link was found in the sources; this is a possibility drawn from the agreement of names.
His Teachers
Ahmed Efendi's teacher of learning, Muslihuddin Musa Efendi, is a jurist who served as mufti of Amasya, and his death date is given as 938 [1532]. His Mahzenü'l-fıkh, a commentary on the el-Vikâye, is regarded in present-day research as a striking example of the sixteenth-century Ottoman understanding of fıkıh: the author used the text he commented on as a frame and brought into fıkıh many subjects, from the etiquette of roads and baths to political ethics, from surgical interventions to rules of everyday conduct. The work was published in 2021 by Murat Polat.
The identity of his calligraphy teachers is less clear. The most famous person known as Ebü'l-Fazl Mehmed is Ebülfazl Mehmed Efendi, son of İdrîs-i Bitlisî, chief treasurer, historian and poet; the sources also mention him as a calligrapher. But since most of his life was spent in kadılıks and in Istanbul, it is not clear whether Ahmed Efendi's teacher, raised in Amasya, was this man. A similar situation holds for Celal Efendi. Celâl Amâsî (Mehmed Celâleddin), one of Amasya's greatest calligraphers, was the fine-writing (hüsnühat) teacher of Prince Ahmed and died in 893 [1488]; this date does not allow Ahmed Efendi, who died around 975, to have studied with him. Celâl Amâsî's path was continued by his sons Cemâl Amâsî and Celâlzâde Muhyiddin Efendi. The teacher Hüsameddin calls "Celal Efendi" is probably one of this family, but no record confirming this was seen.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 144–144. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Books