Tercemesi yazılan Şeyh Ahmed Efendi evlâdından ve Bakkal esnâfından [770] el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi bin Mustafa Efendi’nin oğludur. Meşâhîrden olup belediye a’zâsı iken 1316 senesi evâ’ilinde vefât etdi. Zengin, dindâr pek muktesid bir kimse idi. Sülüs-i mâlını 1312 harîkinde yanan Benderli Medresesinin müceddeden ihyâsı için vasiyet etmişdi. Oğlu Mehmed Efendi mecnûnen vefât edib vasî-i muhtârı olan dâmâdı Hacı Müsevvid Ahmed Şükrü Efendizâde el-Hâc Mehmed Tevfik Efendi medreseyi müceddeden yaptırmıştır.
Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL
Ahmed Efendi (Şeyh Ahmedzâde, el-Hâc)
Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 238 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU
Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)
Our Research Article
Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk
In Modern English
He is the son of Hacı Ahmed Efendi, son of Mustafa Efendi, of the descendants of Şeyh Ahmed Efendi, whose biography has been written, and of the grocers' guild. He was one of the well-known men and, while a member of the municipality, died in the early part of 1316 [1898]. He was a wealthy, devout and very thrifty man. He had bequeathed a third of his property for the renewal of the Benderli Madrasa, which burned in the fire of 1312 [1894-95]. When his son Mehmed Efendi died having lost his mental balance, his son-in-law and chosen executor, Hacı Müsevvid Ahmed Şükrü Efendizâde Hacı Mehmed Tevfik Efendi, had the madrasa rebuilt.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- evlâd: descendants, children and grandchildren
- esnâf: the community of craftsmen and merchants of a given trade
- meşâhîr: well-known people
- belediye a'zâsı: member of the municipal council
- muktesid: thrifty, moderate in spending
- sülüs-i mâl: one third of one's property
- harîk: fire
- müceddeden ihyâ: reviving, rebuilding anew
- mecnûnen vefât: dying after having lost one's mental balance
- vasî-i muhtâr: an executor chosen by the testator himself
- müsevvid: official who prepared drafts of official letters and fatwas
The Benderli Madrasa
The Benderli Madrasa is one of the madrasas of Amasya that were repaired and returned to teaching in the nineteenth century. It is reported that in this period many madrasas, such as Halifet Gazi, Kâşifiye, Bekir Paşa, Kapancızâde and Benderli, were repaired and put back into service. The name Benderli is also on the list when the madrasas of Amasya teaching at the beginning of the twentieth century are enumerated. The information given by Hüsameddin fits this framework: the madrasa that burned in the fire of 1312 was rebuilt by the hand of the son-in-law on the strength of Hacı Ahmed Efendi's bequest. Where in Amasya the fire broke out and which other buildings it destroyed could not be verified in the sources examined; no information was found in other sources about the Benderli Madrasa's date of construction, its founder or its present condition.
The Waqf Tradition and the Bequest
The text shows that the renewal of a madrasa proceeded not only through the state or great benefactors but also through the bequests of well-to-do men of middle rank. Hacı Ahmed Efendi was a grocer and set aside a third of his property for this work; carrying it out fell to the executor he had chosen, his son-in-law. The fact that the testator's son had lost his mental health is the reason the bequest was carried out by the son-in-law instead of the son. The description "Müsevvid Ahmed Şükrü Efendizâde" in the son-in-law's name recalls the "Müsevvid Hacı Şükrü Efendi" mentioned in the next entry (in the biography of Ahmed Efendi, the son of Canikli Hâfız Mehmed Hilmi); whether the two belonged to the same family is not clear from the text.
Municipal Membership
The years in which Hacı Ahmed Efendi sat on the municipality were the period when municipal organization was taking root in the Ottoman provinces. The Provincial Regulation of 1864 also speaks of the municipality; detailed instructions for establishing municipal organization outside Istanbul were issued on 4 July 1867. One researcher calls the period from 1877 to 1908 one of "limited development" in municipal affairs, and 1908-1922 one of "institutionalization." How Hacı Ahmed Efendi came to sit on Amasya's municipal council in this period, whether by election or appointment, cannot be understood from the text.
The Person in Other Sources
No information was found in other sources about Hacı Ahmed Efendi, a descendant of Şeyh Ahmed Efendi, his father Mustafa Efendi, his son Mehmed Efendi, or his son-in-law Hacı Mehmed Tevfik Efendi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 238–238. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Hasan Telli, "Meşîhat Arşivine Göre Amasya Müderrisleri", Kocatepe İslami İlimler Dergisi, 7/2 (2024), p. 732-758.
- Mehmet Demiryürek, "Kıbrıs'ta Modern Belediye Teşkilatının Doğuşu (1868-1876)", Belleten, 84/301 (2020). https://belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/2830/tur