Amasyalıdır. Yeniçerilerden Çırçırlıoğlu Mehmed Ağa bin Ali Ağa’nın oğludur. Amasya’da bir müddet eş-Şeyh Hasan Sinânî [20] Efendi hizmetinde biraz ilm ve irfân edindi. Sonra Bektâşî erenlerinden Merzifon’da Pîrî Baba Tekkesi şeyhi Süleyman Baba’ya inâbet ve hizmet etdi. Bundan hilâfet alıp Amasya’ya geldikde 1230’da Gökmedrese civârında Çırçır mevkiinde binâ eylediği Bektâşiye tekkesi şeyhi oldu. On iki yıldan ziyâde yeniçerilerin muktedâsı tanındığından Amasya’da çıkan Yeniçeri-Talebe vak’alarında dahl ü te’sîri olduğu söylenmekle beraber makâmını muhâfaza edebildi.
Fakat yeniçeri ocağının sönmesinde nüfûzu kalmadı. 1243 senesi evâhirinde Amasya’dan kaldırıldı. Sultân Mahmûd-ı Sânî devrinin evâhirinde mu’ahharan Amasya’ya geldi. Hânesinde ikâmet ve dindârâne hareket ederek 1257 senesi hilâlinde yetmiş sekiz yaşlarında vefât etdi. Gâyet müşekkel, natûk, mehîb, oldukça âlim, latîfe-gû, müeddeb bir kimse idi. Hikâyât ü letâ’ifi, nevâdiri vardır.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya, the son of Çırçırlıoğlu Mehmed Ağa son of Ali Ağa, one of the Janissaries. In Amasya he acquired some learning and spiritual knowledge in the service of Sheikh Hasan Sinânî Efendi for a time. He then attached himself to Süleyman Baba, sheikh of the Pîrî Baba Lodge at Merzifon, one of the Bektashi saints, and served him. Having received the caliphate (hilâfet) from him, he came back to Amasya and in 1230 [1814-15] became sheikh of the Bektashi lodge that he had built at the locality of Çırçır, near the Gökmedrese. For more than twelve years he was known as the leader of the Janissaries, and although he is said to have had influence and a hand in the Janissary-Student disturbances that broke out in Amasya, he was able to keep his position.
But he had no influence left when the Janissary corps was extinguished. Toward the end of 1243 [1827-28] he was removed from Amasya. Toward the end of the reign of Sultan Mahmud II he came to Amasya again. Living at home and conducting himself piously, he died in 1257 [1841-42], at about seventy-eight years of age. He was a well-built, eloquent, imposing, fairly learned, witty and well-mannered man. He has stories, jests and rare anecdotes attached to his name.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- erenler: people who have reached spiritual maturity, dervishes
- hilâfet: a sheikh's grant of authority, caliphate
- tekke: a place where dervishes gather
- muktedâ: a leader, one who is followed
- dahl ü te'sîr: interference and influence
- nüfûz: the power to have one's word heeded
- müşekkel: shapely, well-built
- natûk: eloquent
- mehîb: imposing
- latîfe-gû: one who makes witty remarks, a joker
- müeddeb: well-mannered
- nevâdir: interesting, rare stories
The Janissary Corps and the Bektashi Lodges
Bektashi sheikhs and dervishes had close ties with the Janissary corps. These ties occasionally led the Bektashis to take part in Janissary rebellions. When Mahmud II abolished the Janissary corps in 1826, he also had the Bektashi lodges closed; this event is called the "Vaka-yı Hayriyye" (the Auspicious Incident). The removal of Arslan Ali Baba from Amasya, as Hüsameddin relates it, took place in 1243 [1827-28], about a year after these events. After his exile he was able to return to Amasya and lived a pious life at home.
The Pîrî Baba Lodge
The Pîrî Baba Lodge at Merzifon, of which Arslan Ali Baba became a caliph, is a Bektashi center thought to have been founded in the 15th century. The only written source on Pîrî Baba is Evliya Çelebi's Seyahatname; various popular accounts circulate, such as that he took part in the Babai rebellion or was one of the caliphs of Hacı Bektaş Veli. The researcher Vehbi Cem Aşkun notes that Pîrî Baba's name is not among those caliphs. The lodge continued its activity until 1826, when it was closed along with the other Bektashi lodges. The main building was demolished and turned into a mosque, and its sheikh İbrahim Dede and the dervishes were removed; the tomb section was left untouched, and the Naqshbandi sheikh Osman Efendi was appointed as keeper of the tomb.
No record was found for Süleyman Baba, Hasan Sinânî Efendi or the Çırçır Lodge other than Hüsameddin. Arslan Ali Baba's being regarded as leader of the Janissaries in Amasya and his place in the "Janissary-Student disturbances" are not elaborated in the text; the date at which these events occurred in Amasya could not be determined from another source.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 16–17. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources