Meşâhîr-i ulemâdan “Vâyis Beyzâde” demekle meşhûr es-Seyyid [729] el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi bin Veysi Efendi bin el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi bin el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa bin el-Hâc Mustafa Ağa bin Abdullah Bey bin Ahmed Bey bin İbn Üveys Bey’in mahdûmudur. Bu Üveys Bey Amasya’da “Vâyis Bey” demekle meşhûr olduğundan evlâdına “Vayis Beyzâde” dendi.
Şeyhzâde Abdullah Vecîh Efendi’den tahsîl-i ulûm edib Bâyezîd Paşa Câmiînde ders-i âm ve 1221’de pederinin vefâtı ile Bâyezîd Paşa müderrisi, 1244’de meclis a’zâsı olup 1249’da vefât etdi. A’yân-ı ulemâdan idi.
Mahdûmu es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi’dir. Bunun hafîdi mahkeme-i bidâyet a’zâsından es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed Tahir Efendi ve bunun birâderi zâbitândan es-Seyyid Ali Efendi’dir. Tahir Efendi’nin mahdûmları Amasya mebûsu Ahmed Nafiz Bey ile esbak Amasya Belediye Re’isi Mustafa Sıdkı Bey’dir. Bunlara “Vâyis Beyzâdeler” denir.
In Modern English
A noted scholar known as "Vâyis Beyzâde", es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi was the son of Veysi Efendi, who was the son of el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi, son of el-Hâc Mehmed Ağa, son of el-Hâc Mustafa Ağa, son of Abdullah Bey, son of Ahmed Bey, and a descendant of İbn Üveys Bey. Because this Üveys Bey was known in Amasya as "Vâyis Bey", his descendants came to be called "Vayis Beyzâde".
He studied under Şeyhzâde Abdullah Vecîh Efendi and gave public lessons at the Bâyezîd Pasha Mosque. On the death of his father in 1221 [1806-07] he became müderris (madrasa professor) of Bâyezîd Pasha; in 1244 [1828-29] he joined the council, and he died in 1249 [1833-34]. He was among the leading scholars.
His son was es-Seyyid Mustafa Efendi. A grandson of the latter was es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed Tahir Efendi, a member of the court of first instance, and his brother was es-Seyyid Ali Efendi, an officer. The sons of Tahir Efendi were Ahmed Nafiz Bey, deputy for Amasya, and Mustafa Sıdkı Bey, a former mayor of Amasya. They are called the "Vâyis Beyzâdes".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son, child
- tahsîl-i ulûm: acquiring learning, receiving a madrasa education
- ders-i âm: teaching publicly, with permission
- müderris: madrasa professor
- meclis a'zâsı: member of the local council
- a'yân-ı ulemâ: the leading scholars
- hafîd: grandson
- mahkeme-i bidâyet: court of first instance
- zâbitân: officers
- mebûs: deputy in parliament
- esbak: former, previous
- Re'is: head, president
Name and Line of Descent
The title of the entry names Ahmed Efendi, but the subject of the text is Mehmed Efendi. The name Ahmed appears one generation up the chain of descent, as el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi. Whether this mismatch between title and text comes from the book's own arrangement or from a confusion cannot be determined from the text.
Hüsameddin ties the family name to Üveys Bey, who was known in Amasya as "Vâyis Bey". The nickname passed down the generations like a surname. The last sentence of the entry shows that the line extended into the twentieth century, and that one branch reached a seat in parliament and the office of mayor.
The Bâyezîd Pasha Mosque and Madrasa
The Bâyezîd Pasha Mosque, where the müderris post was held, was built in Amasya between 1414 and 1419. Its founder Bayezid Pasha was sent against Prince Mustafa in the reign of Murad II, was taken prisoner when most of his soldiers went over to the other side, and was killed the next day (1421). When Evliya Çelebi visited Amasya around 1646, he described the mosque as "a garden like Irem". The building is among the finest examples of the "tabhaneli" or "zaviyeli" mosque plan common in early Ottoman architecture: the domed rooms on its sides were meant for guests and dervishes. The courtyard wall around the mosque and the soup kitchen beside it no longer exist. An important repair paid for by a benefactor named Mazhar in 1305 [1887-88] is also known.
When the madrasas that were still teaching in Amasya in the twentieth century are listed, the Bayezid Pasha Madrasa is among them; the institution where Vâyis Beyzâde served as müderris therefore remained standing for centuries. In Ottoman madrasas those who completed their studies successfully received an icâzet (licence to teach), and what mattered was not which madrasa a student attended but which teachers he studied under. Hüsameddin's mention of Şeyhzâde Abdullah Vecîh Efendi as his teacher fits this tradition.
Amasya in His Day
In the early nineteenth century, when Mehmed Efendi lived, Amasya was still a "city of madrasas". The French traveller Perrot, who came in 1861, described it as "the Oxford of Anatolia" and wrote that nearly two thousand students were studying in its madrasas. Mustafa Vâzıh Efendi, who lived in the city at the beginning of the century, also describes Amasya as a city of students. That the Bayezid Pasha müderris post passed from father to son, and that the line kept its nickname for a long time, shows how families of learning and standing took root in such an environment.
No information on the Vâyis Beyzâde family, on Ahmed Nafiz Bey or on Mustafa Sıdkı Bey was found in other sources. Studies on the learned class of Amasya do not mention the family either.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 226–227. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies