Amasya’nın Pervâne Bey Mahallesi’nde ikâmet eden Zileli el-Hâc [309] Mehmed Efendi’nin oğludur. Gençliğinde Gökmedrese Mahallesi’ndeki Bektâşî tekkesi müdâvimlerinden olup Çırçırlı oğlu Arslan Ali Baba’nın terbiyesini gördü. Biraz ilm ü ma’rifet öğrendi. Ba’dehû Kırşehir’den Amasya’ya menfiyen gelen Bektâşî erenlerinden Hamdullah Baba’ya dâmâd ve mürîd oldu.
Mu’ahharan Hacı Bektâş velî âsitânesi şeyhi olan Merzifonî İbrâhim Baba’nın tavsiyesiyle İstanbul’a gidip müderris olarak kazâ niyâbetleriyle kayrıldı. Bu esnâda devriyye Mevlevîyeti aldı. 1263’de Merzifon’da Pîrî Baba Tekkesinde Nakşıbendîye şeyhi olan es-Seyyid el-Hâc Sâlih Efendi’nin vefâtıyla kendisine Nakşıbendî süsü vererek mezbûr tekke şeyhi oldu.
Bu târîhden i’tibâren tekkede Bektâşî ocağını uyandırdı. Züvvârın cehl ve gafleti sâyesinde müreffeh bir hayâta erdi. Ancak 1284’de tekkeye misâfir gelen bir zengini oğulları Hamdullah, İbrâhim Selâmet adlı süfehâ ile öldürdükleri altı ay sonra anlaşıldığından her üçü de habs edilip 1285’de mahbus-hânede vefât etdi. Âilece fâsık, câhil, ahlaksızdı. [310]
Kuyûd-ı resmiyyede Ebûbekir Vahdetî Efendi’nin vefâtı üzerine Pîri Baba Tekkesine Mehmed Şükrî Dede şeyh olup 1288 senesi zilka’desinde mûmâ ileyhin ref’iyle Ebûbekir Vahdetî’nin veled-i kebîri Hamdullah veled-i sagîri İbrâhim Selâmet müştereken tekke-i mezbûre şeyhi olmuşlardır.
Derler ki 1288 recebinin ikisinde Şeyhülislâm olan Koca Yûsuf Paşazâde Ahmed Muhtâr Bey tarîkat-i Bektâşîye ricâlinden olduğu münâsebetle Hamdullah ve İbrâhim Selâmet, katl maddesinden berâ’at edib müşârün-ileyhin emriyle şeyh oldular. 1299 ramazânında Muhtâr Bey’in Meşîhat-i İslâmiyye mesnedinden azli üzerine bunlar yine ma’zûl olup Hâfız Mehmed Şükrî Dede sânîyen şeyh oldu. 1317’de Merzifon’a gidip Şirvânî Hacı Yûsuf Efendi’yi tekkede şeyh olarak ziyâret etdim.
In Modern English
He was the son of Zileli Hacı Mehmed Efendi, who lived in the Pervâne Bey quarter of Amasya. In his youth he was a regular at the Bektashi lodge in the Gökmedrese quarter and was trained by Çırçırlıoğlu Arslan Ali Baba. He learned a little knowledge and learning. Later he became son-in-law and disciple of Hamdullah Baba, one of the Bektashi erens (dervishes of the path) who had come to Amasya in exile from Kırşehir.
On the advice of İbrâhim Baba of Merzifon, who later became sheikh of the Hacı Bektâş-ı Velî Lodge, he went to Istanbul and, as a müderris, was favored by being appointed to district naibships (deputy judgeships). At this time he received the devriye mevleviyeti (rotating rank of senior judgeship). In 1263 [1846–47], when Seyyid Hacı Sâlih Efendi, the Naqshbandi sheikh at the Pîrî Baba Lodge in Merzifon, died, he gave himself the appearance of a Naqshbandi and became sheikh of this lodge.
From this date on he revived the Bektashi hearth in the lodge. Thanks to the ignorance and heedlessness of the visitors he attained a life of abundance. But in 1284 [1867–68], when it came to light six months later that they had killed a rich man who came to the lodge as a guest, together with his sons Hamdullah and İbrâhim Selâmet, two fools, all three were imprisoned, and he himself died in prison in 1285 [1868–69]. The whole family were sinful, ignorant and immoral.
According to official records, on the death of Ebûbekir Vahdetî Efendi, Mehmed Şükrî Dede became sheikh of the Pîrî Baba Lodge; in Zilkade 1288 [January–February 1872], when the said man was removed from office, Ebûbekir Vahdetî's elder son Hamdullah and younger son İbrâhim Selâmet jointly became sheikhs of this lodge.
It is related that on the second of Receb 1288 [17 September 1871] Koca Yûsuf Pasazâde Ahmed Muhtâr Bey, who became şeyhülislam, being one of the leading figures of the Bektashi order, acquitted Hamdullah and İbrâhim Selâmet of the charge of murder and that they became sheikhs by his order. In Ramazan 1299 [July–August 1882], when Muhtâr Bey was dismissed from the office of şeyhülislam, they too were again removed from office and Hâfız Mehmed Şükrî Dede became sheikh for the second time. In 1317 [1899–1900] I went to Merzifon and visited Şirvanlı Hacı Yûsuf Efendi, who was serving as sheikh at the lodge.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- müdâvim: a regular visitor
- menfiyen: in exile
- erenler: dervishes of the path in Bektashism
- âsitâne: the central lodge of an order
- kazâ niyâbeti: district naibship, deputy judgeship
- devriyye mevleviyeti: the rank of senior judgeship given in rotation
- züvvâr: visitors
- müreffeh: in abundance
- süfehâ: fools, those who live without moderation
- mahbus-hâne: prison
- fâsık: one who transgresses the commands of religion
- kuyûd-ı resmiyye: official records
- ref': removal from office
- veled-i kebîr, veled-i sagîr: elder son, younger son
- berâ'at: acquittal
- Meşîhat-i İslâmiyye: the office of şeyhülislam
- sânîyen: for the second time
Bektashism and Amasya after 1826
The story of Ebûbekir Vahdetî Efendi is an example of how the Bektashi order, abolished together with the Janissary Corps in 1826, survived in the following years. That year the Bektashi lodges were closed and some of the dervishes were exiled to cities where the ulema were numerous. According to Fahri Maden's study based on archival documents, Amasya is among the places to which the Bektashis were exiled in 1826. Hamdullah Baba, of whom Hüsameddin says "who came in exile from Kırşehir," belongs to this circle. In Hamdullah Baba's own entry Hüsameddin relates that he was sent to Amasya in 1244 [1828–29] on the report of Çerkeşli Mehmed Efendi, who was charged with inspecting the Bektashi lodges, that for a time he presented himself as Ahl al-Sunna, that after the death of Mahmud II he again performed the Bektashi ritual, and that he died in 1271 [1854–55]. The person mentioned there as his son-in-law is "the famous Zilelizâde Ebûbekir Vahdetî Efendi."
The Pîrî Baba Lodge
The Pîrî Baba Lodge in Merzifon bears the name of Pîrî Baba, who is believed to have lived in the fifteenth century and is thought to have been a Kalenderî dervish. Evliya Çelebi, passing through Merzifon in 1647, describes the zaviye as a Bektashi zaviye; researchers, however, note that the lodge was under Bektashi control in the seventeenth century, and that it cannot be said to have been founded as a Bektashi zaviye from the start. Pîrî Baba's tomb is in the Tekke quarter of Merzifon and was last repaired in 1977 by the General Directorate of Foundations.
According to Fahri Maden's study, the lodge was closed in 1826 together with the other Bektashi lodges, the meydan room (the room where the dervishes gathered and worshipped) was demolished, a minbar was placed in the lodge, turning it into a mosque, and a preacher was appointed. The tomb was left untouched; İbrâhim Dede, the Bektashi sheikh at the lodge, and his dervishes were removed, and a Naqshbandi, Osman Efendi, from the ulema of Merzifon, was made keeper of the tomb. The Pîrî Baba Mosque southwest of the tomb today is thought to be the structure that emerged from this conversion. The picture Hüsameddin describes of a "Bektashi sheikh adopting the guise of a Naqshbandi" is better understood when one considers that after 1826 Naqshbandi sheikhs were placed at the head of this lodge.
Archive Records and Hüsameddin's Account
The archive records confirm the main lines of Hüsameddin's account and differ from it in some details. According to the waqf (Evkaf) records Maden used, Şeyh Hacı Sâlih, who held the lodge's waqf, died in 1845 and Şeyh Hasan son of Hasan Halife was appointed in his place; Hüsameddin, on the other hand, places Sâlih Efendi's death in 1263 [1846–47] and says Ebûbekir Vahdetî succeeded him. Ahmed Rıfkı also writes that the lodge was left to the management of Bekir Vahdetî Efendi, but counts him not as a Naqshbandi but "among the sheikhs of the Bedeviye path."
For the later years the records are as follows: in 1870 Şükrü Dede was appointed to the lodge as zaviyedar, and a year later Ebûbekir Vahdetî's sons Hamdullah and İbrâhim Selâmet Efendi appear jointly as zaviyedar. Hüsameddin's record dated 1288 [1871–72] agrees with this. According to the same documents, Hamdullah Efendi was removed from the sheikhship because he went to prison over a killing, and in 1873 Şükrü Dede again appears as zaviyedar. In 1886 the Naqshbandi Şeyh Hamza Efendi was put in place of İbrâhim Selâmet Efendi on the ground that he was too young; in 1891 Hamdullah Efendi, released from prison, wished to return to his post but could not because of the objection of Şeyh Hamza Efendi. İbrâhim Selâmet Efendi died childless and his share was given to Şeyh Hamza Efendi.
Şeyhülislam Ahmed Muhtâr Bey
Of the dates in the rumor Hüsameddin relays with "they say," one is correct and the other wrong. Ahmed Muhtâr Beyefendi (Molla Bey) was a grandson of the grand vizier Koca Yûsuf Pasha and became şeyhülislam on 17 September 1871; this is the same as the date Hüsameddin gives, 2 Receb 1288. However, Ahmed Muhtâr Bey left this post on 5 November 1872, was şeyhülislam for a second time between 18 April and 4 December 1878, and died on 22 December 1882. The Ramazan 1299 [July–August 1882] that Hüsameddin gives as the date of dismissal does not agree with his years in office. No information was found in other sources on Muhtâr Bey's closeness to Bektashism or on his having had a role in the acquittal of the brothers. That the archive records show Hamdullah Efendi remaining in prison until 1891 also weakens the rumor that "they were acquitted of the charge of murder."
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 101–102. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 9, entry "Hamdullah Baba-Bektaşî", Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022.
Academic studies
- Fahri Maden, "Merzifon'da Bir Erenler Ocağı: Piri Baba Tekkesi, Türbesi ve Vakfı", Alevilik Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2 (Winter 2011), p. 245-264. https://isamveri.org/pdfdrg/D04118/2011_2/2011_2_MADENF.pdf
- Haşim Şahin, "Pîrî Baba", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 2007. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/piri-baba
- Mehmet İpşirli, "Ahmed Muhtar Beyefendi, Molla Bey", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1989. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/ahmed-muhtar-beyefendi-molla-bey