Amasya a’yânından Hacı Hamza vakfı mütevellîsi el-Hâc Mehmed Çelebi bin el-Hâc Kâsım Çelebi bin el-Hâc Hamza Bey’in mahdûmudur. İbtidâ Amasya vâlisi Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa ümenâsından olup 960 senesi şevvâlinde onun şehâdetinde menkûb oldu. Ba’dehû Amasya’ya vâlî gelen Şehzâde Sultân Bâyezîd’e tekarrüb etdi.
966’da şehzâde-i müşârün-ileyhe mu’âvenet-i mâliyyesi duyulduğundan altı ay kadar mahbûs olup ahvâli tahkîk ve ıztırâr ve berâ’et-i zimmeti zâhir olduğundan afv ü ıtlâk edilerek 971 [439] hudûdunda vefât etdi. Mahdûmu Pîr Mehmed Çelebi a’yândan bir zât idi.
In Modern English
He is the son of el-Hâc Mehmed Çelebi, trustee of the Hacı Hamza endowment and one of the notables of Amasya, son of el-Hâc Kâsım Çelebi, son of el-Hâc Hamza Bey. At first he was one of the treasury stewards of Prince Sultan Mustafa, governor of Amasya, and in the month of Şevval of 960 [1553], because of the prince's killing, disaster befell him. Then he drew close to Prince Sultan Bâyezîd, who came to Amasya as governor.
In 966 [1558-59], since it was heard that he had given financial aid to the said prince, he was imprisoned for about six months; when, after investigation, it emerged that he had been under duress and was innocent, he was pardoned and released, and he died around 971 [1563-64]. His son Pîr Mehmed Çelebi was one of the notables.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- a'yân: the notables of a town, families with a voice
- mütevellî: the person who administers an endowment
- ümenâ: stewards; officials who look after money and accounts
- şehâdet: being martyred, being killed
- menkûb: struck by disaster
- tekarrüb: drawing close
- mu'âvenet-i mâliyye: financial aid
- mahbûs: imprisoned
- berâ'et-i zimmet: the establishing of one's innocence
- afv ü ıtlâk: pardon and release
Two Princes and Amasya
Prince Mustafa was sent from Manisa to the sanjak of Amasya in 1541 and remained in that post until he was strangled on 6 October 1553 in the camp of his father Süleyman the Magnificent near Ereğli. He is said to have made a name in Amasya as a patron of poetry and learning, a protector of the people, and a just governor liked in the army. Hüsameddin's date of 960 [1553] agrees with this event. The word "menkûb" in the text shows that Hızır Çelebi suffered from this event, but what exactly befell him is not written.
Prince Bayezid, for his part, was transferred from Kütahya to Amasya in September 1558, took this place as an insult and resisted, and reached Amasya in December 1558. In mid-April 1559 he marched on Ankara with his army, was defeated by his brother Selim at Konya on 30-31 May 1559, returned to Amasya, and on 7 July 1559 crossed east with four sons and ten thousand men, and from there into Safavid territory. In the fatwas Süleyman obtained at this time it was stated that it was religiously lawful to fight a prince who gathered troops and money. Hüsameddin's record of 966 [1558-59] concerning "financial aid" falls in the months when Bayezid was in Amasya. How much Hızır Çelebi's aid amounted to and how he was investigated could not be found in other sources.
The Hacı Hamza Endowment
No information was found in a reliable source about the place, founder and present state of the Hacı Hamza Endowment in Amasya. Sources mention a naval commander named Hamza Bey (d. 1460), brother of the grand vizier Bayezid Pasha who is said to be from Amasya; his connection with the Hacı Hamza Bey whom Hüsameddin mentions is not established in any source, so the two have not been identified with each other.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 395–395. amasya.bel.tr
Other sources