[316] Tebrîzlidir. Şehzâde Sultân Ahmed bin Sultân Bâyezîd Hân-ı Sânî’nin Amasya vâliliği zamanında İrân’dan gelip Amasya’da iştihâr ve teayyün etdi. Üçlerin başı olan Mîr Gıyâseddîn Şirâzî sâyesinde şehzâdeye fevkalâde hulûl ederek matbah emîni oldu.
Şâh İsmâil Safevî tarafından âdetâ Amasya’da yerleştirilmiş bir câsûs gibi hareket ederek Sünnîleri, hâssaten ulemâyı kendisinden tenfîr etmiş olduğundan Şehzâde Sultân Ahmed’in 918 senesinde katl ve ihnâkı esnâsında zehresi çâk olarak vefât etdi. Müteneffizân-ı asrdan bir adamdı. Münîrî Efendi Mecmu’âsında beşûş, latîfe-gû, gâyet mizâc-gîr olduğu yazılıdır. Mahdûmları Ali, Hasan Çelebilere “Acemoğulları” dendi.
In Modern English
He is from Tabriz. During the governorship of Amasya of Prince Sultan Ahmed, son of Sultan Bâyezîd Han II, he came from Iran, became known in Amasya and gained standing. Through Mîr Gıyâseddîn Şîrâzî, head of those called "the Three" (Üçler), he became extremely close to the prince and became matbah emini, that is, the person in charge of the palace kitchen.
Because he behaved almost like a spy planted in Amasya by Shah İsmâil the Safavid and turned the Sunnis, especially the scholars, against himself, when Prince Sultan Ahmed was killed and strangled in 918 [1512–13], he died of fright, his gall bladder bursting. He was one of the influential men of his age. In Münîrî Efendi's Mecmua it is written that he was a cheerful, witty man who knew very well how to win people's hearts. His sons Ali and Hasan Çelebi were called "Acemoğulları."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- iştihâr ve teayyün etmek: to become known and counted among the notables
- Üçler: a rank in the order of saints in Sufism; here it is not clear whether it points to a group around the prince
- hulûl etmek: to draw close to someone, to enter his favor
- matbah emini: the official responsible for the expenses and running of the palace kitchen
- tenfîr etmek: to make people feel aversion, to alienate
- katl ve ihnâk: killing and strangling
- zehresi çâk olmak: to have one's gall bladder burst, to die of fear
- müteneffizân-ı asr: the influential persons of one's age
- beşûş: cheerful
- latîfe-gû: one who jokes and makes witty remarks
- mizâc-gîr: one who knows how to behave according to the temperament of the person before him
Prince Ahmed's Palace in Amasya
Acem Hoca's life is tied to the period in which Amasya remained longest in the hands of a prince. Prince Ahmed, the elder son of Bayezid II, born in Amasya, became sanjak governor of Amasya in his father's place when the latter ascended the throne in 1481 and stayed here for nearly thirty years. In the first volume of his book Hüsameddin speaks of a münşeat (letter-collection) mecmua of Münîrî Çelebi of Amasya; according to this, the mecmua collects the petitions and letters written to his father Bayezid II and to other beys by Prince Ahmed, governor of Amasya between 886 and 917 [1481–1512], and it was found among the münşeats in the Veliyyüddin Efendi Library. The "Münîrî Efendi Mecmuası" referred to in the text when describing Acem Hoca's character is most probably this work. Prince Ahmed, like his father, opened his palace to poets and scholars, and the woman poet of Amasya Mihrî Hatun presented most of her odes to him. That a man from Tabriz rose so quickly in such a palace shows how open this circle was to Iranian men of letters and officials.
The Safavid Danger and the Accusation against Acem Hoca
Hüsameddin's describing Acem Hoca as "a spy planted in Amasya by Shah İsmail" must be read together with the political climate of his time. The greatest event that shook Anatolia in the last years of Bayezid II's reign was the Şahkulu rebellion of Iranian origin, which embraced Amasya as well. Prince Ahmed marched with his forces against Şahkulu but was defeated and forced to withdraw. When he went to Istanbul for the throne, his son Prince Murad, whom he had left in his place in Amasya, joined Nur Ali, one of the Safavid khalifas, with ten thousand men; the rebels were driven out of Amasya by Yahşi Beyzâde Ahmed Pasha, and Murad went to Shah İsmail, served as an administrator in Iran for several years and died there. In this atmosphere an Iranian official in the prince's palace being regarded with suspicion by Sunni scholars is understandable. However, no document could be found, other than Hüsameddin's account, that Acem Hoca really worked on behalf of the Safavids; the expression "almost like a spy" in the text reflects his contemporaries' view of him more than an accusation.
The Date of His Death
According to the text, Acem Hoca's death falls in the same days as the killing of Prince Ahmed. Prince Ahmed continued the struggle for the throne after his brother Selim ascended it in 1512, lost the battle fought at Yenişehir near Bursa, was captured and executed. The date of this battle and execution is given in some sources as 24 April 1513 and in some studies as 1514. The date 24 April 1513 falls in the first months of the Hijri year 919; the year 918 [1512–13] given by Hüsameddin is the year the chain of events began, the year Selim ascended the throne. The difference may arise from Hüsameddin's giving a rounded date. No information was found in other sources on Acem Hoca himself and his sons.
Bibliography
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