While writing his Amasya Tarihi, Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar asked his fellow townsman Dâimî Ali Efendi for a ghazal or a short poem; Ali Efendi promised one but never kept his word. That small note also explains why the verse of this poet of Amasya's last Ottoman generation is not in our hands. Born in 1278 (1861-62), Ali Efendi attended the classes of Mîr Hasan Efendi after the middle school, spent many years as chief clerk of the Amasya population registry, built up a fortune in the seed trade on the side, and died in Rajab 1343 (February 1925). His nickname "Dırdır", the Chatterer, sits beside the word "talkative" that Hüsameddin uses in describing him.

Hüsameddin's Entry

Amasyalıdır. Meşâhîr-i ulemâdan Benderli Medresesi müderrisi Çırakçızâde Hâfız Ahmed Efendi'nin birâderi Ali Ağazâde Seyyid Ahmed'in oğludur. 1278'de doğdu. Mekteb-i Rüşdiyeden ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek çıkıb bir müddet Mir Hasan Efendi'nin dersine devam etdi. Bu esnâda nüfûs idâresi kalemine girib baş-kâtib oldu. Hayli müddet baş-kitâbetde kaldı. Haricen de tohum ticaretiyle iştigâl ederek oldukça bir servet edindi. Meşrutiyet devresinde tekâüde sevk edilib mebûsluğa hayli özendiyse de muvaffak olamadı. Sonra bir âile meselesi yüzünden 1343 senesi recebinin yirmi birinci pazar günü müntehiren vefât etdi. Mûmâ-ileyh kısa boylu, nahifü'l-bünye, kâtib, oldukça âlim, şâir, çok sözlü, hod-pesend, latîf bir zât idi. Eş'ârından bir gazel yahud bir kıt'a taleb ve ricâ etdiğim halde vaadini her nedense incâz edemedi. Evlâdı vardır.

Rendered into English: Amasya was his home town. His father, Ali Ağazâde Seyyid Ahmed, was the brother of the well-known scholar Çırakçızâde Hâfız Ahmed Efendi, teacher at the Benderli Madrasa. He was born in 1278 (1861-62). After completing the rüşdiye school he attended the classes of Mîr Hasan Efendi for a time. Meanwhile he entered the office of the population registry and became its chief clerk, remaining chief clerk for a long time. Outside his post he dealt in the seed trade and acquired a considerable fortune. In the Constitutional period he was retired; he was very eager to become a deputy but did not succeed. Then, because of a family matter, he took his own life on Sunday, the twenty-first of Rajab 1343 (15 February 1925). He was short, of slight build, a scribe, quite learned, a poet, talkative, self-satisfied and agreeable company. Although I asked and begged him for a ghazal or a short poem from his verse, for some reason he never kept his promise. He has children.

Family and Education

Ali Efendi came from a family close to the learned establishment of Amasya. His uncle Çırakçızâde Hâfız Ahmed Efendi was a teacher at the Benderli Madrasa whom Hüsameddin counts among the "famous scholars"; his father Seyyid Ahmed is called "Ali Ağazâde", and the title "seyyid" shows that the family traced its descent to the Prophet. The family name Çırakçı is also the name of a city quarter; Hüsameddin links the quarter's name to Çırakçızâde el-Hâc Halîl Çelebi, a companion of Şehzade Mustafa who built a small mosque there in 957 (1550). Whether Ali Efendi's family was descended from that man is not stated in the source; the shared name only points to a possibility.

His education follows the typical course of a clerk raised in Amasya in the second half of the nineteenth century: first the new-style rüşdiye school, then the circle of an old-style teacher. His teacher Mîr Hasan Efendi was a scholar from Shirvan, known for his depth in the rational sciences, who had come from Karabakh to Amasya with Hacı Hamza Nigârî in 1281 (1864-65) and died in 1323 (1905). Hüsameddin names many of the city's madrasa teachers among those who attended his classes. Ali Efendi is said to have followed them "for a time"; Hüsameddin's description of him as "quite learned" must rest on these years.

From the Registry Office to Parliamentary Hopes

Ali Efendi's life was spent more in the government office than in the madrasa. He joined the population registry as a clerk, rose to chief clerk and stayed in that post for a long time. His trade in seed during the same years shows a provincial efendi combining his official post with private business and in this way gaining "quite a fortune". He was retired in the Constitutional years. Hüsameddin's remark that he "was very eager to become a deputy" records one of the ambitions that elections to the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies stirred in the provinces after 1908; Ali Efendi tried to stand or to be elected, but without success. In which election and with whose support he tried is not known.

The portrait Hüsameddin draws stands apart from many of the dry entries in his book. He clearly knew Ali Efendi in person: he records together his short stature, his slight build, his talkativeness, his self-satisfaction and, for all that, his pleasant company. The nickname "Dırdır" may well come from this talkativeness; Hüsameddin does not explain it. Ali Efendi died on a Sunday, 21 Rajab 1343; Hüsameddin writes that his death was a suicide brought on by a family matter and gives no details.

His Poetry

No poem of his is known today. Hüsameddin's book contains not a single line by him, and the author himself gives the reason: the ghazal or short poem he asked for was never given to him. No printed collection is known, nor any poem published in a journal or newspaper. His pen name "Dâimî" is the same as that of Arabzâde Dâimî Mehmed Baba, sheikh of the Bektashi Hacı Dede lodge in Havza at the end of the eighteenth century; Hüsameddin treats the two one after the other, in separate entries. Hüsameddin's text, with the meanings of its older words, can be read in the entry Dâimî Ali Efendi-Dırdır; his teacher's own record bears the title Hasan Efendi-Mîr.

Chronology

1278 (1861-62): Born in Amasya.

1323 (1905): His teacher Mîr Hasan Efendi dies.

After 1908: Retired in the Constitutional period; seeks to become a deputy without success.

21 Rajab 1343 (15 February 1925): Dies in Amasya.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources