Two princes sent to Amasya as sanjak governors, Mustafa and Bayezid, gave Belîğî Mehmed Çelebi both a secretary's pen and a seat in their gatherings, and he saw each of them fall at close quarters. His father was Şermî Osman Çelebi, a muezzin and poet known for his recitation at the Amasya court of Şehzade Ahmed (Prince Ahmed). According to the short entry in Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's Amasya Tarihi, he moved from a clerkship at the mint to the post of divan secretary to Prince Mustafa, from there to the secretaryship of the endowments of Sultan Bayezid, and then became a boon companion of Prince Bayezid, dying in 969 (1561-62). Hüsameddin describes him as a poet and secretary with a fine voice and delivery, a wit and a connoisseur of music; no specimen of his verse, however, made its way into the book.

The Entry in Amasya Tarihi

The entry Belîğî Mehmed Çelebi-Şermîzâde, which stands among the names beginning with the letter "be" in the seventh volume, consists of three short paragraphs:

Amasya vâlisi Şehzâde Sultân Ahmed şu'arâsından Amasyalı Şermî Osmân Çelebi bin Mehmed Çelebi mahdûmudur. Amasya'da iktisâb-ı me'ârif edib darphâne kâtibi iken Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa Amasya'ya vâlî olarak geldikde takdîm etdiği kasîdesini beğenip dîvân kâtibi yaptı.
On beş yıl kadar müşârün-ileyhin dîvânında kitâbet ve müşârün-ileyhe münâdemet edib 960 senesi şevvâlinde Sultân Mustafa'nın şehâdeti üzerine menkûb ve 961'de Sultân Süleyman Hân'ın Amasya'yı teşrîfinde Sultân Bâyezîd evkâfı kâtibi oldu.
965'de Şehzâde Sultân Bâyezîd'ın Amasya'ya vâlî olup geldiği zaman nedîm-i hâssı olduysa da 967'de menkûb ve 969'da merhûm oldu. Şâ'ir, kâtib, savt ü edâsı güzel, lâtîfe-gû, mûsîkişinâs idi.

Put into modern English: His father was Şermî Osman Çelebi bin Mehmed Çelebi of Amasya, one of the poets of Prince Sultan Ahmed, governor of Amasya. He was educated in Amasya; while he was a clerk at the mint, Prince Sultan Mustafa came to Amasya as governor, and when he presented him with a kaside (qasida), the prince liked it and made him divan secretary. For about fifteen years he served as secretary and boon companion in the prince's divan; on Sultan Mustafa's martyrdom in Shawwal 960 he fell from favour, and in 961, when Sultan Süleyman Han honoured Amasya with his presence, he became secretary of the endowments of Sultan Bayezid. In 965, when Prince Sultan Bayezid came to Amasya as governor, he became his intimate companion, but in 967 he again fell from favour, and in 969 he died. He was a poet and a secretary, with a fine voice and delivery, a teller of witty sayings and a connoisseur of music.

His Life

Mehmed Çelebi bore his grandfather's name; Hüsameddin records his father Şermî as "son of Mehmed Çelebi" and lists Şermî's sons as Mehmed and Mahmûd. His year of birth is unknown. His first post, a clerkship at the mint, is a reminder that Amasya was one of the cities where coin was struck in the sixteenth century; Hüsameddin does not say in which years he held it. Most studies place Prince Mustafa's arrival in Amasya in 948 (1541). Belîğî's rise closely resembles that of Edâyî Receb Bey of Amasya, who served as secretary in the same prince's divan: both were taken on as divan secretaries on the strength of a kaside presented to the prince. In the stories of these two men one sees plainly how poetry could serve as a kind of examination when a prince's court was looking for secretaries.

The phrase "about fifteen years" in the entry does not quite fit the chronology. From Mustafa's arrival in Amasya to his death in Shawwal 960 (September-October 1553) is about twelve years. Hüsameddin either rounded the figure or thought that Belîğî had attached himself to the prince before Amasya; the source does not explain. The prince's execution in his tent at Ereğli scattered the secretaries and companions around him at a stroke. The word "menkûb" used for Belîğî means that he lost his post and fell from favour.

His new post is tied to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent's arrival in Amasya during his Persian campaign. Hüsameddin gives the year as 961 (1554) and says that Belîğî then became secretary of the endowments of Sultan Bayezid; the same information appears where the staff of the public kitchen of the Bayezid II Complex are described. The last step is the Amasya governorship of Prince Bayezid. Hüsameddin places his arrival in 965; other studies, however, date the prince's entry into the city to December 1558, that is, the beginning of the year 966. Bayezid's clash with his brother Selim, his departure from Amasya in 1559 and his flight to Iran must be the background to Belîğî's second fall from favour. He died two years later, in 969 (1561-62).

His Poetry

Of the kaside to which he owed his divan secretaryship, neither the title nor a single couplet was ever recorded. Hüsameddin plainly counts him a poet, yet no other page of the book holds a line by him either; Belîğî's poems are lost. What remains is a trace of his voice rather than of his verse. The descriptions "savt ü edâsı güzel" (fine of voice and delivery) and "mûsîkişinâs" (versed in music) are almost the same words used for his father Şermî, who was himself one of the head muezzins of the Bayezid Mosque known for his voice. From this likeness between father and son one may infer that Belîğî was also valued in the princes' gatherings as a companion who recited and knew the musical modes, rather than only as one who composed verse.

The State of the Sources

The pen name (mahlas) Belîğî did not belong to this man of Amasya alone. The Belîgî in the biographical anthology of poets (tezkire) of Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi is a poet from Istanbul, one of the sons of janissaries, and is remembered in the tezkire for a famous ghazal on coffee; no connection with Amasya is shown. Nor does Hüsameddin's entry say that it rests on Kınalızâde or any other tezkire. What is known today rests entirely on Amasya Tarihi and could not be confirmed by another source.

Chronology

948 (1541): Prince Mustafa becomes sanjak governor of Amasya; Belîğî becomes his divan secretary through a kaside he presents to him.

Shawwal 960 (September-October 1553): Prince Mustafa is executed; Belîğî loses his post.

961 (1554): While Sultan Süleyman is in Amasya, he becomes secretary of the endowments of Sultan Bayezid.

965 (1557-58): According to Hüsameddin, Prince Bayezid comes to Amasya and Belîğî becomes his intimate companion.

967 (1559-60): He falls from favour again.

969 (1561-62): He dies.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources