AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ahmed Vehbi Efendi (Doğlalı)

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 233 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Mecidözü kazâsı dâhilinde Doğla köyünden Hüseyin’in oğludur. Amasya’da İnepazarlı el-Hâc İsmâil Hakkı Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib mücâz ü ders-i âm oldu. Sahaflıkla idâre-i mâ’işet ve neşr-i ulûma hizmet ederek 1287’de vefât etdi. Âlim, halûk, sâlih idi. Mahdûmu vükelâ-yı de’âvâdan ve meşâhîr-i erbâb-ı hukûkdan “Hım hım” demekle meşhûr Hoca Mehmed Emin Efendi’dir.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Hüseyin from the village of Doğla in the district of Mecitözü. In Amasya he completed his studies with Hacı İsmail Hakkı Efendi of İnepazarı, received a licence to teach, and gave public lectures. He earned his living as a bookseller (sahaf) and served the spread of learning, and he died in 1287 [1870-71]. He was a scholar, a man of good character and virtue. His son is Hoca Mehmed Emin Efendi, one of the advocates in the courts and a renowned jurist, known for saying "Hım hım".

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • sahaflık: the trade of buying and selling books
  • idâre-i mâ'işet: earning one's living
  • neşr-i ulûm: the spread of learning
  • halûk: good-natured, gentle in temper
  • vükelâ-yı de'âvâ: advocates in lawsuits, those who represent others in the courts
  • erbâb-ı hukûk: those versed in law, jurists

Bookselling and Learning

In the Ottoman lands the sahaf trade, until the end of the eighteenth century, consisted of buying and selling manuscripts. It went through a great change in the nineteenth century, and most traditional sahafs became first printer-booksellers and then bookseller-sahafs. Among the reasons given for this change are the spread of madrasas in the provinces, the opening of new schools, and the rise of a new reading public as literacy increased. The life of Ahmed Vehbi Efendi, which ended in 1287 (1870-71), belongs to this age; but Hüsameddin does not say whether he printed books, and writes only that he lived by bookselling and served the spread of learning. That a professor and licensed scholar lived by bookselling suggests that the book trade was a common occupation for earning a living after a madrasa education; this reading rests on general knowledge and could not be verified separately for Amasya.

Doğla and Mecitözü

Doğla is today a village in the Mecitözü district of Çorum. Mecitözü is a settlement that entered the records under that name in the Danishmend period; it became a district (kaza) in 1874, stayed for many years within the Sanjak of Amasya in the Province of Sivas, and in 1916 was attached to the Sanjak of Çorum in the Province of Ankara. Hüsameddin's calling Ahmed Vehbi Efendi's home "the district of Mecidözü" reflects the administrative situation at the time of writing. That Ahmed Vehbi Efendi studied in Amasya shows that Amasya was a centre of education for the surrounding villages.

His Son Mehmed Emin Efendi

Hüsameddin names the son as Hoca Mehmed Emin Efendi, known for saying "Hım hım", and counts him among the advocates in lawsuits and renowned jurists. No information was found in other sources on the story of this nickname or on Mehmed Emin Efendi.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 233–233. amasya.bel.tr

Books

Other sources

Volume 6 contents