Çorumludur. Abdullah bin Mehmed mahdûmudur. Merzifon’da Sultânîye müderrisi Recebzâde Mehmed, Köprü’de Kara Müderriszâde Ahmed, Amasya’da Müftü Hızır Efendiler’den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib, her birinden me’zûn ve Merzifon’da ders-i âm oldu.
Üstâzının vefâtından sonra orada Sultânîye müderrisi ve müftü oldu. Zaman-ı fetvâsında tehaddüs eden bir vak’adan müte’essir olarak tedrîs ü iftâyı terk edib Amasya’ya geldi. Burada tedrîs-i ulûma başlayıp fazilet-i ilmîyesi ile iştihâr etdi.
1099’da Ayâs Ağa müderrisi, 1104 zilka’desinde Amasya müftüsü ve Sultânîye müderrisi oldu. 1106 muharreminde iftâdan hacr edilip 1112 zilhiccesinde ikinci defa sultâniyye müderrisi ve müte’âkiben Amasya Müftüsü oldu. 1113 şa’bânında Amasya mütesellimi Köse Mehmed Ağa’nın mezâliminden tahaddüs eden bir vak’a üzerine azledilip rüfekâsı ile beraber İstanbul’a i’zâm edildi.
Bir buçuk yıl kadar İstanbul’da kalıb Şeyhülislâm [593] Lâdikli Mehmed Efendi’nin sâye-i lütfûnda kurtulup avdet ederken Samsun nevâhîsinden Kavak Kasabasına geldiği gece handa refîki ve hâdimi olan bir Ermeni tarafından bir sûret-i fecî’ada 1115 senesi zilhiccesinde şehîd edildi.
Fâzıl, fakîh, usûl ü kelâmda mâhir, vecîh, sebk-i rûh, hafîf meşreb, nazik-i tabi’ât bir zât olduğunu tilmizi Abdurrahman Eşref Efendi “Tezkîretü’l-Hikem” adlı eseri zeylinde yazıyor. Mahdûmları Abdullah, Mehmed Efendilere “Çorumlu müftüzâde” dendi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Çorum, son of Abdullah, son of Mehmed. He completed his studies at Merzifon with Recebzâde Mehmed, müderris of the Sultâniye Madrasa, at Köprü with Kara Müderriszâde Ahmed, and in Amasya with Mufti Hızır Efendi, received a licence (icâzet) from each of them, and became a teacher of general lectures at Merzifon.
After his teacher's death he became müderris of the Sultâniye there, and mufti. Affected by an incident that arose during the period when he was giving fatwas, he gave up teaching and writing fatwas and came to Amasya. Here he began to teach and won renown through his scholarly superiority.
In 1099 [1687-88] he became müderris of the Ayâs Ağa Madrasa, and in Zilkade 1104 [1693] mufti of Amasya and müderris of the Sultâniye. In Muharrem 1106 [1694] he was barred from giving fatwas. In Zilhicce 1112 [1701] he became müderris of the Sultâniye for the second time, then mufti of Amasya. In Şaban 1113 [1701], because of an incident arising from the oppressions of Köse Mehmed Ağa, mütesellim of Amasya, he was dismissed and sent to Istanbul together with his companions.
Staying in Istanbul for about a year and a half, he was saved thanks to the kindness of Şeyhülislam Mehmed Efendi of Lâdik. On the way back, the night he came by way of Samsun to the town of Kavak, he was horribly killed in an inn in Zilhicce 1115 [1704] by an Armenian who was his travelling companion and servant.
His pupil Abdurrahman Eşref Efendi, in the supplement to the work "Tezkiretü'l-Hikem", writes that he was eminent, a jurist, a master of principles and theology, respected, broad of spirit, light of manner and delicate of nature. His sons Abdullah and Mehmed Efendi were called "the Çorumlu müftüzâdes".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ikmâl-i tahsîl, me'zûn: completing one's studies; one who has permission to teach
- ders-i âm: teacher of general lectures
- Sultânîye müderrisi: teacher of the Sultâniye madrasa at Merzifon (founded in the sultan's name)
- tedrîs ü iftâ: teaching and giving fatwas
- tehaddüs: arising, coming about
- hacr: barring from a post or authority
- mütesellim: a deputy who ran a city on behalf of the governor
- mezâlim: acts of oppression
- rüfekâ: companions, travelling companions
- i'zâm: sending
- refîk, hâdim: travelling companion, servant
- sûret-i fecî'a: a pitiful, terrible manner
- şehîd: here, one killed unjustly
- vecîh: respected, esteemed
- sebk-i rûh: ease of understanding, breadth and generosity of spirit
- hafîf meşreb, nazik-i tabi'at: pleasant company, light of temperament; delicate
- tilmîz, zeyl: pupil; a supplement added later to a book
A Müderris between Çorum, Merzifon and Amasya
The entry shows how members of the learned class moved around at the end of the seventeenth century. Ahmed Efendi, born in Çorum, completed his studies at Merzifon, Köprü and Amasya, with three different teachers. First he became müderris of the Sultâniye and mufti at Merzifon, and after an incident that befell him in the fatwa period he gave up these posts and settled in Amasya. In Amasya he taught at the Ayâs Ağa Madrasa and in 1104 became mufti of Amasya. His muftiship is seen to have been interrupted: in 1106 he was forbidden to give fatwas, and in 1112 he was reinstated. Hüsameddin does not explain what these events were; he is content to say "an incident that arose in the time of the fatwa".
The Mütesellim Köse Mehmed Ağa and the Dismissal
That in Şaban 1113 the mufti and his companions were sent to Istanbul because of an incident arising from the oppressions of Köse Mehmed Ağa, mütesellim of Amasya, shows the tension between the local administration and the learned class. Ma'denzâde Ahmed Ağa (entry 592) and Kadızâde Ahmed Pasha (entry 593), also mütesellims of Amasya in the same period, are likewise mentioned in Hüsameddin. Hüsameddin gives no detail of the event.
Ahmed Efendi stays in Istanbul a year and a half and is saved with the help of Şeyhülislam Mehmed Efendi of Lâdik. The person Hüsameddin calls "Mehmed Efendi of Lâdik" is İmâm-ı Sultânî Mehmed Efendi, born in the district of Lâdik belonging to the sanjak of Amasya. This man was briefly şeyhülislam in 1695, then lived in his waterside mansion at Kanlıca until the Edirne Incident, and during the incident was brought to the şeyhülislamate for the second time by the janissaries (11 Rebîülevvel 1115 / 25 July 1703). Since it is not clear on what date Ahmed Efendi's deliverance in Istanbul took place, how this sequence coincides with Mehmed Efendi's years as şeyhülislam could not be verified.
His Death
Ahmed Efendi's death in Zilhicce 1115 took place in an inn at the town of Kavak near Samsun, at the hands of an Armenian who was his travelling companion and servant. Hüsameddin does not write the motive of this murder. The entry rests on the description of his character in his pupil Abdurrahman Eşref Efendi's supplement to the "Tezkiretü'l-Hikem". This work and its author themselves were not found in other sources; no other information on Ahmed Efendi could be found either.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 185. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies