Known by the nickname "Topal Kadı" (the Lame Judge), Bezmî Abdullah Efendi of Merzifon was a scholar and poet who spent the last quarter of the sixteenth century as a judge in the towns of Anatolia. He was trained in Istanbul in the lessons of Ahmed Efendi, son of the chancellor and historian Ramazânzâde Mehmed Çelebi; when his teacher left for Medina in 985 (1577-78) he entered the judicial career, and he died around 1015 (1606-07) after his dismissal from the judgeship of Çankırı. Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar counts him "meşâhîr-i şu'arâdan", that is, among the well-known poets. The only couplet left from him is a witticism that Hüsameddin remembered from the now lost biographical anthology of Abdî Efendi and attributed to "Bezmî Çelebi of Merzifon"; that this couplet most probably belongs to the Lame Judge is discussed below.

Hüsameddin's Entry

The entry stands in the seventh volume of Amasya Tarihi, immediately before the entry on Şeyhzâde Bezmî Mehmed Efendi:

Merzifonludur. Derviş Mehmed Çelebi mahdûmudur. Genç iken ilme çalışdı. Amasya'da bir müddet tahsîl-i ulûm edib sonra İstanbul'a gitdi. Ramazânzâde Ahmed Efendi'nin halka-i tedrîsine mülâzemet ederek ders-i âm oldu. 985'de müşârün-ileyhin Medine-i Münevvere'ye müteveccihen hareketinde meslek-i kazâya sülûk edib hayli kasabât ve bilâda kadı oldu. Kâh İstanbul'da ve kâh Merzifon'da ikâmet ederek Çankırı kazâsından ma'zûlen 1015 sâline doğru vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i şu'arâdan âlim, edîb, Topal Kadı demekle meşhûr idi.

In modern English: He is a native of Merzifon, born to Derviş Mehmed Çelebi. As a young man he devoted himself to learning; after studying for a while in Amasya he went to Istanbul. Attending the teaching circle of Ramazânzâde Ahmed Efendi, he became a lecturer (dersiâm). In 985, when his teacher set out for Medina, he took up the judicial career and served as judge in many towns and cities. He lived sometimes in Istanbul and sometimes in Merzifon, and died towards the year 1015, having been dismissed from the judgeship of Çankırı. He was counted among the well-known poets, a scholar and man of letters; he was known as "Topal Kadı".

His Teacher Ramazânzâde Ahmed Efendi

Bezmî's teacher belonged to one of the best-known families that Merzifon produced. His father Ramazânzâde Mehmed Çelebi was born in Merzifon, rose to the office of chancellor (nişancı), became known for his work on Ottoman history and died in 979 (1571). According to the article in the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, his son Ahmed Efendi rose to be professor at the Haseki madrasa and judge of Medina. In another entry Hüsameddin records that this Ahmed Efendi set out as judge of Medina and died on the way in Safer 986 (April-May 1578). The family's name also lived on in the Ramazâniyye madrasa in Merzifon.

Hüsameddin links Bezmî's move into the judiciary to his teacher's departure from Istanbul, but does not explain the relation between the two events. He does not list the towns in which he served; he says only that his last post was Çankırı. Nor is it explained whether the nickname "Topal Kadı" arose from a bodily disability or from some other cause.

His Place in the Gatherings of Amasya

The chronicle in Hüsameddin's third volume shows Bezmî within a city gathering. Mustafa Bey, who came to Amasya as sanjak governor in 993 (1585), had risen from the post of chief taster (çaşnigirbaşı) of Selim II and wrote poetry under the pen name "Şâmî"; he is said to have admitted the Amasya poets Kelâmî, Turâbî and Sükûtî Çelebi to his gathering for exchanges of verse, and to have brought scholars together for debates. Hüsameddin goes on: "Bu zamânlarda Kelâmî ile Sükûtî arasındaki mutâyebelere Merzifônî Bezmî Çelebi şeker katardı." That is, in those days Bezmî Çelebi of Merzifon added sweetness to the jesting between Kelâmî and Sükûtî.

It is not certain that this Bezmî Çelebi was the same person as the Lame Judge, but it is a strong possibility. His being from Merzifon and the date fit him: in 993 Bezmî Abdullah was a scholar who had been a judge for eight years and lived at times in Merzifon. The other Amasya poet bearing the same pen name, Şeyhzâde Bezmî Mehmed Efendi, died in 1087 (1676-77), and his presence at a gathering in 993 is hard to imagine. The difference between the titles "Çelebi" and "Efendi" does not by itself separate the identities.

In the fourth volume, when Hüsameddin lists the districts and notables of the sanjak of Amasya in the year 1017 (1608-09), he says among the notables of Merzifon: "Topal Kadı demekle meşhûr Bezmî Abdullah Efendi meşâhir-i şu'arâdan idi" (Bezmî Abdullah Efendi, known as the Lame Judge, was one of the well-known poets). This sentence does not fully agree with the entry that says he died around 1015; since the date of death is given approximately, it is possible that Bezmî lived a few more years, or that the list is a retrospective mention.

His Poetry

No divan or collection of poems by Bezmî Abdullah Efendi is known. After describing the gathering of Şâmî Mustafa Bey, Hüsameddin adds: "Bezmî'ye nisbet edilen şu beyt-i latîf Tezkire-i Abdî Efendi'de görülüp hâtırda kaldığından buraya nakl edildi" (this witty couplet attributed to Bezmî, having been seen in the anthology of Abdî Efendi and remaining in memory, is quoted here). The couplet he quotes plays on the pen names of the two poets of the gathering:

Kelâmî söylenir ammâ Sükûtî bahş eder altun
Sakın boş sanma Bezmî tınmanın da serveti vardır

The couplet was not copied from a manuscript but remained in Hüsameddin's memory, and its source, the anthology of Abdî Efendi, is no longer extant. Hüsameddin's phrase "attributed to Bezmî" shows that he himself did not give the couplet with a firm attribution. The joke built on the three pen names is worked out in detail in the commentary on the couplet Kelâmî söylenir ammâ Sükûtî bahş eder altun.

The same pen name also appears in the Merzifon Cönkü, a poetry notebook compiled in Merzifon; the identity of Bezmî, the author of two poems there, is uncertain, but the notebook appears to be about a century old and there is no record linking him to the Lame Judge.

Chronology

979 (1571): Ramazânzâde Mehmed Çelebi, chancellor and historian, father of his teacher Ahmed Efendi, dies.

985 (1577-78): When his teacher sets out for Medina, Bezmî enters the judicial career.

Safer 986 (April-May 1578): Ramazânzâde Ahmed Efendi dies on the way to Medina as its judge.

993 (1585): Şâmî Mustafa Bey becomes sanjak governor of Amasya; "Bezmî Çelebi of Merzifon" is mentioned in his gathering.

Around 1015 (1606-07): He dies, having been dismissed from the judgeship of Çankırı.

1017 (1608-09): Hüsameddin mentions him among the well-known poets of Merzifon.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Online sources