Amasya’nın a’yân-ı kadîmesinden Dânîşzâde el-Hâc Hâfız Osmân Efendi evlâdından Bâyezîd Paşa vakfı mütevellîsi Osmân Efendi bin Ahmed Ağa bin Osmân Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. Cedd-i a’lâsı 920 senesi ricâlinden ve meşâhîr-i şu’arâdan Şermî Osmân Çelebi bin Mehmed Çelebi ve cedd-i karîbi de mevâlîden Dânîş Mehmed Efendi bin Mustafa Efendi’dir. [774]
Cedd-i akrebi es-Seyyid Osmân Ağa, baba tarafından Molla Halîl Oğlu ve ana tarafından Sâdât-ı Hüseyniyyeden “Hacı Vehhâboğlu” demekle meşhûr bir yeniçeri olup yeniçeriler arasında Cılkızsız, Osmân Ağa denmişdi.
Fethiye Mahallesi’nde 1252’de doğdu. Hutût-ı mütenevvi’ayı hattât-ı meşhûr Emrullah Vehbî Efendi’den ve ulûmu da Şirvânî el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi’den ahzedib 1280’de mahkeme-i şer’iyyede zabıt kâtibi, ba’dehû şer’iyye baş-kâtibi, 1296’da adliyye baş-kâtibi olup 1301’de infisâl etdi.
Ba’dehû ma’ârif kâtibi, 1307 senesi zilhiccesinde Amasya nüfus me’mûru, 1308 rebîülevvelinde ma’zûl olup eyyâm-ı uzletde, “Devr-i dâ’im Takvimi”ni te’lîf ederek 1310’da İstanbul’a gitdi. Orada takvimini bastırıp Ma’ârif Nezâretine beğendirdiğinden 1312 saferinde Erzurum, 1319’da Çatalca, 1320’de Kal’a-i Sultânîye ma’ârif muhâsebecisi oldu.
1326’da meşrûtiyyetin ilânını müte’âkib ma’zûlen İstanbul’a gelip 1327’de vefât etdi. Âlîm, kâtib, lâ’übali-meşreb, libâs ve ta’amında [775] bî-tekellüf, te’lîf-i âsâra münhemik bir zât idi. İlm-i nücûm ve hesabda ihtisâsı, ilm-i kelâm ve târîhe merâkı vardı. Te’lîf etdiği takvim asırlarca isti’mâle sâlih bir eserdir.
In Modern English
He is the son of Osman Efendi, son of Ahmed Ağa, son of Osman Ağa, trustee of the Bâyezîd Pasha Waqf, a descendant of Dânîşzâde Hacı Hâfız Osman Efendi, one of the old notables of Amasya. His most distant great-grandfather was Şermî Osman Çelebi, son of Mehmed Çelebi, one of the notables of the year 920 [1514-15] and a famous poet; his near ancestor was Dânîş Mehmed Efendi, son of Mustafa Efendi, of the learned class (mevâlî).
His nearest grandfather, Seyyid Osman Ağa, was a Janissary known as "Hacı Vehhâboğlu," a descendant of Molla Halîl on his father's side and, on his mother's side, of the Husaynid sayyids; among the Janissaries he was called "Cılkızsız Osman Ağa."
He was born in the Fethiye quarter in 1252 [1836-37]. Having learned the various scripts from the famous calligrapher Emrullah Vehbî Efendi and the sciences from Şirvânî Hacı Mustafa Efendi, he became record clerk of the sharia court in 1280 [1863-64], then chief clerk of the sharia court; in 1296 [1878-79] he became chief clerk of the justice department and left the post in 1301 [1883-84].
Then he became an education clerk. In Dhu al-Hijjah 1307 [1890] he became population registrar of Amasya and was dismissed in Rabi al-Awwal 1308. In his days of seclusion he wrote the "Devr-i Dâim Takvimi" and went to Istanbul in 1310 [1892-93]. There he had his calendar printed and won the approval of the Ministry of Education, so that in Safar 1312 [1894] he became education accountant at Erzurum, in 1319 [1901-02] at Çatalca, and in 1320 [1902-03] at Kal'a-i Sultâniye.
In 1326 [1908], in the days following the proclamation of the constitution, he was dismissed, came to Istanbul and died in 1327 [1909]. He was a scholar, a clerk, unconcerned by nature, unostentatious in dress and food, and absorbed in writing works. He had expertise in astronomy and arithmetic, and an interest in theology and history. The calendar he wrote is a work fit to be used for centuries.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- a'yân-ı kadîme: old notable families
- mütevellî: administrator of a waqf
- cedd-i a'lâ: the most distant, highest great-grandfather
- cedd-i karîb, cedd-i akreb: near grandfather
- ricâl: the notables of state and society
- mevâlî: members of the learned class such as müderrises and kadıs
- sâdât-ı Hüseyniyye: sayyids descended from Husayn
- hutût-ı mütenevvi'a: various kinds of script
- hattât: calligrapher
- zabıt kâtibi: clerk who wrote records
- infisâl: leaving a post
- ma'ârif muhâsebecisi: official responsible for the finances of the education administration
- eyyâm-ı uzlet: days of seclusion, of being alone
- lâ'übâlî: unconcerned, indifferent to worldly affairs
- bî-tekellüf: unostentatious, plain
- münhemik: absorbed in something, devoted to it
- ilm-i nücûm: the science of the stars
- ilm-i kelâm: the discipline that grounds the principles of Islamic belief in reason
- takvim: a table showing the arrangement of years, months and days
A Family Register: Şermî Osman Çelebi and the Dânişzades
The line of descent in the entry forms a bridge between old learned families and Janissary families of Amasya. The distant ancestor Şermî Osman Çelebi is counted among the notables of the year 920 and among the poets. No information was found in the sources examined about this name and pen name. The near ancestor Dânîş Mehmed Efendi is said to belong to the mevâlî, which shows that the family belonged to the circle of müderrises and kadıs. The near ancestor on the father's side was a Janissary and is mentioned as a seyyid descended from Husayn. The meaning of the nickname "Cılkızsız" cannot be understood from the text. Bayezid Pasha was a statesman born in Amasya who served as grand vizier from 1413 to 1421 under Mehmed I and Murad II; the waqf that the family administered as trustees bears his name. Since when the waqf was in this family's hands could not be determined.
A Career from the Clerkship to Education
Ahmed Kâmil Efendi's career shows the passage, in the second half of the nineteenth century, of people of madrasa background from the court clerkships to the administrative and education offices: record clerk in the sharia court, chief clerk, then chief clerk of the justice department, education clerk and population registrar. If one takes into account that after 1879 a record system collecting the personal histories of officials was set up, it is possible that such detailed information on posts and years reached Hüsameddin from a register entry or from the man's own résumé; this cannot be established from the text. No information was found in the sources examined about the calligrapher Emrullah Vehbî Efendi, mentioned as his writing teacher. As for Şirvânî Hacı Mustafa Efendi, Hüsameddin names him in the first volume among those who spread learning in Amasya.
The Devr-i Dâim Takvimi
The calendar, the work of Ahmed Kâmil Efendi named in the text, appears from its title to have been designed not for a single year but as a perpetual calendar usable every year; Hüsameddin too writes that the work is "fit to be used for centuries." No information was found in the sources examined about the copies, place of printing or contents of this calendar; the judgement "usable for centuries" therefore belongs to Hüsameddin and could not be verified. In this period the hijri and fiscal (rûmî) calendars were used together in the Ottoman state; for example, the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era corresponds to 10 July 1324 rûmî, or 23 July 1908. The date Hüsameddin gives, "the proclamation of the constitution in 1326," fits 1908 by the hijri count.
Dismissal After the Constitution
The text reports that Ahmed Kâmil Efendi was dismissed in the days following the proclamation of the constitution; a similar departure is told in the entry for Yeğenzâde Ahmed Bey on the same page. The reason for the dismissal is not given for Ahmed Kâmil Efendi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 239–239. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 1, section on learning and the ulema of Amasya (original edition p. 260-261).
- "Sicill-i Ahvâl Defterleri", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/sicill-i-ahval-defterleri
Academic studies
- Mehmet Faruk İlkhan, Mustafa Azmi Ömer Akalın'ın Hayatı ve Eserleri (1858-1940), master's thesis, Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi, 2025.
Other sources