Amasyalıdır. Hattât-ı meşhûr Amasyalı Abdullah Efendi bin İlyâs Çelebi mahdûmudur. Hutût-ı mütenevvi’ayı esâtize-i kirâmdan olan pederinden ve kıbletü’l-küttâb Amasyalı eş-Şeyh Hamdullah Efendi’den ahz u temeşşuk etdi. Ulemâdan da ahz-ı ulûm ederek her iki tarafdan me’zûn oldu.
Amasya’da Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî şehzâdesi Sultân Ahmed’in hatt mu’allimi olduğu münâsebetle büyük bir şöhret ve teayyün buldu. Ba’dehû kâtib-i sultânî olup 918’de şehzâde-i müşârün-ileyhin irtihâlinde İstanbul’a i’zâm edildi. Yazdığı [248] nâdîde bir mushaf-ı şerîfi 920’de Sultân Selîm Hân’a hediye ederek ikrâm u iltifâta mazhar oldu. Bu mushaf-ı şerîf teberrüken Ebû Eyyüb Ensârî türbesine vaz’ ve kendisine yevmî elli akçe ihsân buyuruldu.
925’de istihsâl eylediği afv-ı pâdişâhî üzerine vazifesiyle beraber Amasya’ya avdet ve ta’lîm-i hutûta himmet ederek pek çok şâkirdân ve hattâtân yetiştirdi. 941 senesi evâ’ilinde vefât etdi. Âlim, şâir, edîb, hattât-ı meşhûr idi.
Yazdığı bir kıt’a en’âm-ı şerîfin sonunda “Ketebehû el-fakîr en-nâsî Ebu’l-fazl Mehmed bin Abdullah el-Amâsî min telâmizeti ebîhi” diye imzâsı görüldü. Pederinin yazdığı en’âm-ı şerîf de Şehîd Ali Paşa Kütübhanesinde manzûrum oldu. Mahdûmu olan Fazlullah Efendi de meşâhîr-i hattâtîn ve ulemâdandır.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of the famous calligrapher Abdullah Efendi bin İlyas Çelebi of Amasya. He learned the various scripts by practicing under his father, who was one of the esteemed masters of calligraphy, and under Şeyh Hamdullah Efendi of Amasya, regarded as the qibla of scribes. He also acquired learning from the scholars and received a license (icazet) in both fields.
In Amasya he gained great fame and standing by being the calligraphy teacher of Sultan Ahmed, the prince (şehzade) of Sultan Bayezid II. He then became the sultan's scribe, and in 918 [1512-13], on the death of the said prince, he was sent to Istanbul. In 920 [1514-15] he presented a rare Qur'an he had written to Sultan Selim Han and was honored with generosity and favor. This Qur'an was placed in the tomb of Ebû Eyyûb el-Ensârî for blessing, and a daily stipend of fifty akçe was assigned to him.
In 925 [1519], on obtaining the sultan's pardon, he returned to Amasya together with his post, devoted effort to teaching calligraphy, and trained many students and calligraphers. He died in early 941 [1534]. He was a scholar, poet, man of letters and a famous calligrapher.
At the end of an En'âm-ı şerif he wrote, an Arabic signature was seen meaning "This was written by the weak and forgetful Ebu'l-Fazl Mehmed bin Abdullah el-Amâsî, one of his father's students." I also saw in the Şehid Ali Pasha Library an En'âm-ı şerif written by his father. His son Fazlullah Efendi is also one of the famous calligraphers and scholars.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- hutût-ı mütenevvi'a: various scripts (sülüs, nesih, muhakkak, etc.)
- esâtize-i kirâm: esteemed masters
- kıbletü'l-küttâb: the qibla of scribes; the title of Şeyh Hamdullah
- ahz u temeşşuk: learning by taking a teacher's model and practicing writing (meşk)
- me'zûn: one who has received a license (icazet)
- hatt mu'allimi: writing teacher, calligraphy teacher
- teayyün: gaining standing, standing out
- irtihâl: death
- i'zâm: sending
- mushaf-ı şerîf: a copy of the Qur'an
- teberrüken: for blessing, as a good omen
- istihsâl: obtaining
- afv-ı pâdişâhî: the sultan's pardon, leave from office
- şâkirdân: students
- en'âm-ı şerîf: a prayer book made up of the Sura al-An'am and selected suras
- manzûrum oldu: it was seen by me
His Father Abdullah Amâsî
Abdullah Efendi, father of Ebu'l-Fazl Mehmed, nicknamed Topal Hattat (Lame Calligrapher), was one of the well-known calligraphers of Amasya at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century. His dates of birth and death are not known; considering that he lived to the age of eighty and that a piece of his calligraphy dated 1518 exists, it has been suggested that he was born in the time of the Conqueror and died in the time of Yavuz Sultan Selim. He was a relative and probably a student of Şeyh Hamdullah; after Hamdullah's death he trained Hamdullah's son Mustafa Dede. He came to Istanbul in the time of Bayezid II and developed a distinctive style of writing. Among his few surviving works, a copy of a Turkish Mevlid written in nesih script in the Topkapı Palace Museum Library (Yeni Yazmalar, no. 172) stands out. The En'âm copy that Hüsameddin says he saw in the Şehid Ali Pasha Library must also be a link in this small body of work.
The School of Şeyh Hamdullah
Ebu'l-Fazl's second teacher, Şeyh Hamdullah, is the master of Amasya known by the titles "kıbletülküttâb" and "kutbülküttâb." Born in the Eslem Hatun (today Dere) neighborhood of Amasya, he learned the religious sciences and the sciences of language and literature from Hatib Kâsım Efendi, and received his license in the six scripts called aklâm-ı sitte from Hayreddin Mar'aşî. He became the calligraphy teacher of Bayezid II, whom he had met in Amasya in his princely days, and when Bayezid came to the throne he went to Istanbul with his family. According to the register of gratuities (in'amat defteri) for 909-917 (1503-1512), the highest of the gifts the sultan gave to scholars and artists was given to Şeyh Hamdullah in return for the Qur'ans he wrote. After the death of Bayezid II he withdrew into seclusion for eight years and died in 926 (1520).
This information provides a frame for the life story Hüsameddin tells. Teaching calligraphy to princes in Amasya is a repetition of Şeyh Hamdullah's own path: Hamdullah taught Bayezid II writing in his princely days, and Ebu'l-Fazl rendered the same service to Bayezid's son Prince Ahmed. Muhyiddin Mehmed Efendi, son of Hatib Kâsım Efendi, the teacher of Şeyh Hamdullah, had likewise tutored Prince Ahmed in the time of Bayezid II and had returned to Istanbul when the prince died. Thus it can be seen that in Prince Ahmed's palace in Amasya the lessons in learning and writing were entrusted to teachers from the same Amasya circle.
The Death of Prince Ahmed and a Difference in Dates
Hüsameddin places Prince Ahmed's death in the year 918. Ahmed, son of Bayezid II, was born in 1465 and had served for many years as sanjak governor in Amasya. Refusing to accept his brother Selim's accession, he marched with forces gathered in Amasya on Konya and from there on Bursa, was defeated and captured at the Battle of Yenişehir, and was put to death by order of Selim I. The date of death is given as 24 April 1513; his body was buried in the Muradiye Complex in Bursa. This Gregorian date falls in the early part of the Hijri year 919; there is thus a small difference from the 918 Hüsameddin gives. That Ebu'l-Fazl was sent to Istanbul after the prince's death and had to obtain a separate pardon from the sultan in 925 in order to return to Amasya suggests that having been in the prince's service was for a time met with suspicion under the new reign; this is an interpretation drawn from the word "afv" in the text.
No information was found in other sources on the Qur'an Hüsameddin mentions being placed in the tomb of Eyüp Sultan and on the daily fifty akçe assigned to the calligrapher.
His Students and His Son
Hüsameddin's own book supports the statement that Ebu'l-Fazl "trained many calligraphers" in Amasya. In the eighth volume it is written that the teacher of Hâfız Cîlânî Mehmed bin Süleyman (d. around 1005), who had served as divan scribe to Prince Mustafa and Prince Bayezid, was "the famous calligrapher of Amasya, Ebu'l-Fazl Mehmed Efendi, who died in 941," and that the calligrapher states this in his own hand; with this record Hüsameddin corrects the different chain of teachers given for Cîlânî in Müstakimzâde's Tuhfe. In the sixth volume it is stated that the judge of Amasya Mü'eyyedzâde Ahmed Efendi (d. around 975) learned various scripts from "the famous calligrapher Ebu'l-Fazl Mehmed" and from Celal Efendi.
His son Fazlullah appears in Hüsameddin as "Topal Hattatzâde Fazlullah Fazlı Çelebi." According to an entry in the seventh volume, Fazlı Çelebi, one of the poets of Prince Mustafa, governor of Amasya, taught calligraphy and literature to his student Edâyî Receb Bey and introduced him to the prince's assembly. That the father was close to Prince Ahmed and the son to Prince Mustafa shows the family's tie with the princely palaces in Amasya lasting two generations. No information was found on the source of Ebu'l-Fazl's nickname "Topal Hattat."
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 83–84. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 6, entry "Ahmed Efendi-Mü'eyyedzâde", p. 144; vol. 7, entry "Edâyî Receb Bey-Hacıbeyzâde", p. 269–272; vol. 8, entry "Hâfız Mehmed Çelebi-Hâfız Cîlânî", p. 559.
Academic studies
Books
Other sources