İskiliplidir. Orada Karacalı Türkmenlerinden Ali bin Kalander bin Mûsâ bin Halîl’in oğludur. Amasya’da Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed ve Lâz İbrâhim Efendilerden ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm ve tûl-i müddet tedrîs-i ulûm ederek benâm oldu.
Türedizâde el-Hâc Süleyman Ağa’nın binâ eylediği Süleymaniyye Medresesi müderrisi, Saraçhâne Câmii hatîbi olduğu hâlde 1206’da vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i ulemâdan olup evlâdına “Türkmenoğulları” dendi. [291]
Mahdûmu Hâfız Mehmed Efendi 1221’de vefât etdi. Dâmâdı ammizâdesi Ali Efendi olup mahdûmu el-Hâc Ebûbekir Efendi de aşağıda gelir. Diğer ammizâdesi müfessir-i meşhûr Abdunnebî Nâbî Efendi fuhûl-ı ulemâdandır.
In Modern English
He is from İskilip. There he is the son of Ali, son of Kalender, son of Mûsâ, son of Halîl, of the Karacalı Turkmens. In Amasya he completed his studies under Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed Efendi and Lâz İbrâhim Efendi and became a ders-i âm, and by teaching for a long time he gained fame.
While müderris of the Süleymaniyye Madrasa, built by Türedizâde el-Hâc Süleyman Ağa, and khatib of the Saraçhane Mosque, he died in 1206 [1791-92]. He was among the well-known scholars; his descendants were called "Türkmenoğulları".
His son Hâfız Mehmed Efendi died in 1221 [1806-07]. His son-in-law is his cousin Ali Efendi; the latter's son el-Hâc Ebûbekir Efendi will also be described below. The son of his other uncle, the famous commentator Abdünnebî Nâbî Efendi, is among the foremost of the scholars.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
- tûl-i müddet: a long time
- tedrîs-i ulûm: teaching, giving lessons
- benâm olmak: to gain fame
- hatîb: the official who delivers the Friday and festival sermon in a mosque
- meşâhîr-i ulemâ: famous scholars
- ammizâde: son of a paternal uncle, cousin
- müfessir: a scholar who comments on and explains the Qur'an
- fuhûl-i ulemâ: the most accomplished of the scholars, the foremost
From İskilip to Amasya
According to the genealogy Hüsameddin gives, Ebûbekir Efendi belongs to a family of the Karacalı Turkmens in İskilip. No information on this community was found in the sources examined; local records, on the other hand, relate that the İskilip and Çorum region was the home of Turkmen tribes from the Danishmendid period on and that the region was for a time under the rule of Turkmen tribal beys. That the descendants of Ebûbekir Efendi were called "Türkmenoğulları" in Amasya shows that the family carried this origin in the city as a nickname too.
His teachers in Amasya coincide with the teachers of the other scholars described on the same page. Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Mehmed Kâşif Efendi is a figure whom Hüsameddin in the first volume counts among the scholars who revived Amasya in the twelfth century of the Hijra; as executor he took the lead in the building of the Kâşifiye Madrasa in 1175 [1761-62], and in 1179 [1765-66] he became müderris of the Bekir Pasha Madrasa. Lâz İbrâhim Efendi is the scholar whom Hüsameddin calls a "famous master" and counts first among the müderrises of the Bekir Pasha Madrasa. Merzifonlu Müftü Şeyh Ebûbekir Efendi had also attended his lessons in Amasya.
The Süleymaniyye (Narlı Bahçe) Madrasa
The Süleymaniyye Madrasa, where Ebûbekir Efendi served as müderris, is known in Amasya more commonly as the Narlı Bahçe Madrasa. In the first volume Hüsameddin relates that this madrasa stood on the road, west of the cemetery in front of the Tomb of the Princes (Şehzadeler Türbesi), and was built of wood with eleven rooms, a lecture hall and a large garden. Since its garden was famous as the "Narlı Bahçe" (Pomegranate Garden), the madrasa and the cemetery around it were also called by this name. The building was built in 1167 [1753-54] by Türedizâde el-Hâc Hâfız Süleyman Ağa, one of the Amasya ayan and the city kethüda, who also arranged its waqfs, and the madrasa was also called "Medrese-i Süleymaniye" after its founder's name. The madrasa, already ruined, was torn down in 1281 [1864-65] by Ziya Pasha, mutasarrıf of Amasya, because it lay right on the route when he opened the highway; more than half of its plot was added to the road, and the remainder was given to the müderris Hâfız Mehmed Efendi. Yılmaz Karadeniz also records that the madrasa was built of wood by Türüdüzâde Hafız Süleyman Ağa and torn down in 1865 by Ziya Pasha.
There is a discrepancy to be noted here too. In the first volume Hüsameddin lists the Narlı Bahçe müderrises with dates: the first müderris was Hâfız Abdullah Efendi; on his death in 1189 [1775-76], Elbistanlı İbrâhim Efendi; in 1200 [1785-86], Hâfız Mehmed Efendi; in 1205 [1790-91], Erzincanlı Evliya İbrâhim Efendi; in 1211 [1796-97], es-Seyyid Hasan Efendi. The name of Türkmen Ebûbekir Efendi, who is said to have died in 1206 as müderris of this madrasa, does not appear in this list. Since in that period professorial shares could be divided among several people, it is possible that Ebûbekir Efendi taught here with a share; but the information in the author's two volumes does not confirm each other on this point.
The Saraçhane Mosque
The Saraçhane Mosque, where Ebûbekir Efendi served as khatib, is one of the old mosques of Amasya that still stand today. It was built in 1372 by Şadgeldi Pasha, emir of Amasya, and was at first called the Şadgeldi Pasha Mosque after its founder. Because of the saddlers' shops (saraç dükkânları) around it, it has been called the Saraçhane Mosque since the time of Çelebi Mehmed. The building, originally of square plan with a single dome, was later given an added space that turned the plan into a rectangle. Rubble stone and brick were used together, and its minaret is of brick with a cylindrical shaft. The interior, entered through the seven-bay last-congregation porch on the north, is decorated with painted work (kalem işi). The mosque has undergone many repairs down to the present.
The Türkmenzâde Family
When the last paragraph of the entry is read together with two records in Hüsameddin's first volume, three generations of the family become clear. The author, after the well-known scholars of the twelfth century of the Hijra, counts "Türkmenzâde Nâbî Efendi" among the scholars who spread learning in Amasya and gained fame as "the master of everyone"; this must be the Abdünnebî Nâbî Efendi called "famous commentator" in the entry. Among the müderrises of the Bekir Pasha Madrasa, in 1233 [1817-18] the name "Türkmenzâde el-Hâc Ebûbekir Efendi, nephew of Nâbî Efendi" appears. This person is el-Hâc Ebûbekir Efendi, son-in-law of Ebûbekir Efendi and son of his cousin Ali Efendi, of whom the entry says "he will come below." This nephewship is most easily explained by Ali Efendi and Nâbî Efendi being brothers; Hüsameddin's mentioning both as cousins of Ebûbekir Efendi agrees with this possibility, but the brotherhood is not stated explicitly in the text. No information on Abdünnebî Nâbî Efendi's tafsir work was found in other sources.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 96–96. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 1, section on scholarly life and madrasas (the Bekir Pasha, Kâşifiye and Narlı Bahçe madrasas). https://amasya.bel.tr/uploads/e-kitap/kitap/1-4/files/basic-html/page161.html, https://amasya.bel.tr/uploads/e-kitap/kitap/1-4/files/basic-html/page166.html, https://amasya.bel.tr/uploads/e-kitap/kitap/1-4/files/basic-html/page175.html, https://amasya.bel.tr/uploads/e-kitap/kitap/1-4/files/basic-html/page177.html
Official sources
Books