Amasyalıdır. A’yân-ı ulemâdan Ziyarelizâde Mevlânâ Şerefeddîn Ya’kûb Çelebi bin Mevdûd Çelebi bin Ali ez-Ziyârî mahdûmdur. Kibâr-ı kudât ve ulemâdan Şemseddîn Mehmed bin Mûsâ el-Hallâtî ve Mevlânâ Ebu’l-Fazl Ahmed bin Mehmed es-Sinobî gibi fuzalâdan ahz-ı ulûm ederek ders-i âm oldu.
Ba’dehû Amasya kadı’l-kudâtı Mevlânâ İmâdeddîn Ömer bin el-Hallâtî nâibi olarak yıllarca hizmet-i şer’iyyede bulundu. Amasya emîri Musliheddîn Kutluşâh ve mahdûmu beylerbeyi [313] Hacı Şâdgeldi Padişâh devrinde Amasya kadı’l-kudâtı oldu. 767’de vefât etdi. Fâzıl, kâmil bir zât idi. Mahdûmu Mevlânâ Sa’ideddîn Mevhûb Çelebi ve birâderi Mevlânâ Takiyyeddîn Osmân Çelebi’dir. Diğer mahdûmu Ya’kûb Çelebi’dir.
In Modern English
He is from Amasya. He was the son of Ziyârelizâde Mevlânâ Şerefeddîn Ya'kûb Çelebi, one of the foremost scholars; Ya'kûb Çelebi was the son of Mevdûd Çelebi, who was the son of Ali ez-Ziyârî. Studying with scholars such as Şemseddîn Mehmed bin Mûsâ el-Hallâtî, one of the great judges and scholars, and Mevlânâ Ebu'l-Fazl Ahmed bin Mehmed es-Sinobî, he became a müderris giving lectures open to all (ders-i âm).
Then, as the nâib, that is, deputy judge, of the chief judge (kadı'l-kudât) of Amasya, Mevlânâ İmâdeddîn Ömer bin el-Hallâtî, he served for years in sharia judicial service. In the time of the emir of Amasya Musliheddîn Kutluşâh and his son the beylerbeyi Hacı Şâdgeldi Padişah he became chief judge of Amasya. He died in 767 [1365–66]. He was a virtuous and mature man. His son is Mevlânâ Sa'îdeddîn Mevhûb Çelebi and his brother is Mevlânâ Takiyyeddîn Osmân Çelebi. His other son is Ya'kûb Çelebi.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- a'yân-ı ulemâ: the foremost of the scholars
- mahdûm: son
- kibâr-ı kudât: great, esteemed judges
- fuzalâ: virtuous scholars
- ahz-ı ulûm: acquiring learning, taking lessons
- ders-i âm: a high-ranking müderris who gave lectures open to all
- kadı'l-kudât: judge of judges, chief judge
- nâib: deputy of the kadı, assistant judge
- hizmet-i şer'iyye: judicial duty in the sharia court
- birâder: brother
The Kutluşah Family and the Era of Şâdgeldi
The years in which Ebû Sa'îd Ahmed Çelebi served as judge coincide with the period when Amasya was governed as a semi-independent emirate under the loosening authority of the Eretna Beylik. Kutluşâh, whom Hüsameddin calls "emir of Amasya," appears in the sources as Hacı Kutlu Şah; Hacı Şâdgeldi is his second eldest son. According to present-day research, Şâdgeldi became emir of Amasya in August–September 1359, at first remained attached to Eretna Bey, after his death acted as an independent emir, and remained in this post until his death in 1381. In the sources his name also appears in the form "Hacı Seyfeddin Şâdgeldi Padişah"; the title "Padişah" in Hüsameddin's text agrees with this usage. It is also recorded that Şâdgeldi took lessons in Amasya from Mevlânâ Fahreddin İlyas.
The date of death Hüsameddin gives, 767 [1365–66], agrees with this framework: Ahmed Çelebi's chief judgeship must have fallen in the first years of Şâdgeldi's emirate. In the text the name of İmâdeddîn Ömer el-Hallâtî, who held this post before him, is mentioned. That he bears the same nisba as his teacher Şemseddîn Mehmed el-Hallâtî suggests that in this period the judgeships and müderrisships in Amasya passed among a few long-established scholarly families; but the detailed genealogical record of this family could not be verified in the sources considered here.
Ziyâre and the Ziyârelizâdes
The names "ez-Ziyârî" and "Ziyârelizâde" borne by the family are a nisba to Ziyâre. In another place in his book Hüsameddin tells of someone coming from Ziyâre to Amasya in the morning passing in front of the Aynalı Cave; this shows that the place lay east of the city, on the road running along the river. Today there is a belde (small town) called Ziyaret attached to the central district of Amasya; it is very probable that Ziyâre is the same settlement, but this is an inference. No information was found in other sources on Ahmed Çelebi himself, his sons and his brother.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies
Other sources