Amasyalıdır. İbşir Paşa sadâretinde çavûşbaşı olan “Tophâneli” demekle meşhûr Amasyalı Göyükzâde Sarı Mahmûd Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Küçük yaşında İstanbul’a gidip Tophâne civârında ikâmet etdi. Sinan Paşa Zâviyesinde ve Beşiktaş Mevlevîhânesinde zâkirbaşı olarak iştihâr etdi.
Bu esnâda mahdûmu Mahmûd Efendi sadr-ı a’zam Merzifonî Kara Mustafa Paşa’nın imâmı ve mahrem-i hâssı olduğu münâsebetle hayli nüfûz ve şöhret buldu. İbtidâ Fındıklı’da Keşfî Ömer Efendi Tekkesi şeyhi oldu. Sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin 1095 senesi muharreminde i’dâmı üzerine münzevî olup 1100’de Tophâne civârında A’mâ Dede tekkesi şeyhi oldu. [580]
Bu meşîhatı da meşâyîh arasında hayli dedikodu uyandırdı. Şu’arâdan Rehâyî Efendi bunları hülâsa ederek meşîhatı hakkında şu kıt’a-i târîhîyyeyi söylemişdir.
Zâkir Ahmed Çelebi posta geçip şeyh olıcak
Çoğu endîşe-i târîhe düşüb yârânın
Her biri bulmak içün zevk-i tecelli-i merâm
Halka-i fikre girüb devr ider iken anın
Didi târîhini Şâhin Dede âhir dönerek⁶³
Kondu Çıblak Çelebi tekkesine A’mânın
Dört yıl kadar mezkûr tekkede icrâ-i meşihât edib, 1104 senesi evâhirinde vefât etdi. Sâlih, ma’âriften behredâr, halûk idi. Keşfî tekkesi şeyhi iken erbâb-ı hâcâtın merci’i olup “Çıplak Çelebi” demekle meşhûr oldu. Mahdûmları Şeyhülislâm Mahmûd Efendi ve hâce-gân-ı divân-ı hümâyûndan Mehmed Efendi’dir. Bunlara “Top-hânelizâde” dendi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of Göyükzâde Sarı Mahmûd Ağa of Amasya, who had been çavuşbaşı during the grand vizierate of İbşir Pasha and became famous as "Tophâneli". He went to Istanbul at a young age and settled in the Tophâne district. He made his name as zâkirbaşı at the Sinan Pasha Zaviye and at the Beşiktaş Mevlevi lodge.
In those days his son Mahmûd Efendi, being imam and close confidant of the grand vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, gained considerable influence and fame. Ahmed Çelebi first became sheikh of the Keşfî Ömer Efendi Lodge in Fındıklı. When the said grand vizier was executed in Muharrem 1095 [December 1683], he withdrew into seclusion, and in 1100 [1688-89] he became sheikh of the A'mâ Dede Lodge in the Tophâne area.
This sheikhdom stirred up considerable gossip among the sheikhs. The poet Rehâyî Efendi summed these up and recited the following chronogram quatrain about this sheikhdom.
Zâkir Ahmed Çelebi posta geçip şeyh olıcak
Çoğu endîşe-i târîhe düşüb yârânın
Her biri bulmak içün zevk-i tecelli-i merâm
Halka-i fikre girüb devr ider iken anın
Didi târîhini Şâhin Dede âhir dönerek
Kondu Çıblak Çelebi tekkesine A'mânın
Meaning: When Zâkir Ahmed Çelebi took the sheikh's seat, most of his friends fell into anxiety over finding the date. While each of them, to find the joy of reaching the goal, entered the circle of thought and kept going round this date, Şâhin Dede finally turned back and gave its date: Çıplak Çelebi has settled in the lodge of A'mâ. Şâhin Dede was zâkirbaşı at the Beşiktaş Mevlevi lodge; so the date was spoken in his words.
He served as sheikh in the said lodge for about four years and died at the end of 1104 [1693]. He was a good man, a man of insight and gentle disposition. While sheikh of the Keşfî Lodge, he became famous as "Çıplak Çelebi" because it was a place of recourse for those in need. His sons were the şeyhülislam Mahmûd Efendi and Mehmed Efendi, one of the hocas of the Imperial Council. They were called "Tophânelizâde".
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- zâkirbaşı: head of those who recite dhikr and hymns in a lodge
- çavûşbaşı: head of the çavuşes; chief of the class that served as messengers and envoys on behalf of the state
- mahrem-i hâss: special confidant
- nüfûz: influence, power to make one's word count
- meşîhat: sheikhdom
- münzevî: withdrawn into one's corner, in seclusion
- kıt'a-i târîhîyye: a short poem giving the date of an event through the numerical values of its letters
- erbâb-ı hâcât: those in need
- halûk: gentle-natured
- hâce-gân-ı dîvân-ı hümâyûn: the hocas working in the secretarial affairs of the Imperial Council, members of the chancery
- posta geçmek: to take the seat of the sheikhdom
His Son Mahmûd Efendi and Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha
Ahmed Çelebi's son Mahmûd Efendi is the şeyhülislam called İmâm-ı Şehriyârî (İmâm-ı Sultânî) in the sources. Born in Istanbul as the son of Ahmed Ağa, a resident of Tophane, thanks to his beautiful voice he served as imam first to Şeyhülislam Ankaravî Mehmed Emin Efendi, then to the grand vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha. In 1094 [1683] he took part in the Second Siege of Vienna campaign; he became the second imam of Mustafa II, became şeyhülislam on 24 Rebîülâhir 1125 [20 May 1713], was dismissed on 8 Zilhicce 1126 [15 December 1714], and died on 2 Cemâziyelâhir 1130 [3 May 1718], and was buried near the Fâtih Mosque. This information agrees with Hüsameddin's account: the father lived in Tophane, the son became the grand vizier's imam. The difference is that Hüsameddin ties the father to Amasya as "son of Göyükzâde Sarı Mahmûd Ağa"; the encyclopedia entry does not mention the şeyhülislam's grandfather, and only gives his father's name as Ahmed Ağa.
Kara Mustafa Pasha was executed at Belgrade on 6 Muharrem 1095 [25 December 1683] after the siege of Vienna in 1683 ended in failure. Hüsameddin's "executed in Muharrem 1095" fits this date. Hüsameddin writes that the son's position beside the grand vizier also gave influence to the father, and that after the grand vizier's death the father withdrew into seclusion.
The Beşiktaş Mevlevi Lodge
The Beşiktaş Mevlevi Lodge, where Ahmed Çelebi served as zâkirbaşı, stood on the site of the Çırağan Palace. It was built in 1613 by the admiral Uhrili Hüseyin Pasha, and Gelibolulu Ağazâde Mehmed Dede was brought to its sheikhdom. Evliya Çelebi describes the building as a semâhâne facing the sea with a matchless dome. It is written that in 1097 [1685-86] Mehmed IV went there two days a week to listen to the Mesnevî and watch the semâ. The Mevlevi lodge was moved to Maçka in 1868, then to Bahariye. The details of Ahmed Çelebi's service in this building are not in the sources.
Information Not Found
No information was found in other sources on the Sinan Pasha Zaviye, the Keşfî Ömer Efendi Lodge, the A'mâ Dede Lodge and the poet Rehâyî Efendi. A footnote states that Şâhin Dede was zâkirbaşı of the Beşiktaş Mevlevi lodge. How the nickname "Çıblak/Çıplak Çelebi" arose is not explained in the text; it only says the nickname became widespread during his sheikhdom of the Keşfî Lodge. The year that the last line of the chronogram gives by abjad calculation was not computed in this study; Hüsameddin gives the year 1100.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 181–181. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- Mehmet İpşirli, "Mahmud Efendi, İmâm-ı Şehriyârî", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 27, 2003, p. 360-361. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mahmud-efendi-imam-i-sehriyari
- Abdülkadir Özcan, "İbrâhim Paşa, Kara", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 21, 2000, p. 329-330. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ibrahim-pasa-kara
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