AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Ebu'l-Hasan Alâeddîn Ali Çelebi

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 81 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasyalı Ahmed oğludur. Ulemâdan tahsîl-i ulûm edib Amasya’da ders-i âm ve ba’dehû şehzâdeliğinde Amasya vâlisi iken Sultân Murâd Hân-ı Sânî’ye imâm oldu. Sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhin cülûsunda Atabeg müderrisi, ba’dehû Amasya vâlîsi şehzâde Sultân Ahmed mu’allimi oldu. 841’de şehzâdenin irtihâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Kibâr-ı ulemâdan idi. Mahdûmu el-Hâc Enbiyâ Çelebi ve bunun oğulları Pîr Ahmed, Mehmed Çelebilerdir. Bunlara “Ebu’l-Hasan oğulları” dendi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Ahmed of Amasya. Having acquired learning from the scholars, he began teaching in Amasya; later he became imam of Sultan Murad Khan II, who was governor of Amasya in his princeship. At the Sultan's accession he became professor of the Atabey Madrasa, and then tutor of Prince Sultan Ahmed, the governor of Amasya. In 841 [1437-38], after the prince's death, he too died. He was among the great scholars. His son was el-Hac Enbiyâ Çelebi, and the sons of the latter were Pîr Ahmed and Mehmed Çelebi. They were called "Ebu'l-Hasanoğulları."

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • tahsîl-i ulûm: study of the sciences
  • ders-i âm: a professor who gives lessons open to all, one who has begun to teach
  • cülûs: accession to the throne
  • mu'allim: teacher, tutor
  • irtihâl: death, passing away
  • kibâr-ı ulemâ: the great scholars

Murad II's Years in Amasya

Murad II, whose imam Ebu'l-Hasan Ali Çelebi was, was born in Amasya in Dhu al-Hijja 806 (June 1404). According to what Halil İnalcık relates, when he turned twelve he was sent to Amasya with the governorship of the province of Rum, which comprised the regions of Amasya, Tokat, Sivas, Çorum and Osmancık, and his tutor Yörgüç Pasha was with him. In these years he took part with the Amasya forces in suppressing the revolt of Börklüce Mustafa, returned to Amasya because of the Black Tatars who were causing disorder in the region, and together with his new atabey, the beylerbeyi of Rum Hamza Bey, took Samsun from İsfendiyaroğlu. His accession to the throne in Bursa upon the death of his father Çelebi Mehmed was on 23 Jumada al-Akhira 824 (25 June 1421). Hüsameddin's note "he became imam in his princeship, and at his accession he became professor of the Atabey Madrasa" fits these dates: Ebu'l-Hasan's imamship should fall between 1416 and 1421, and his appointment to the Atabey Madrasa in 1421. No other document confirming this appointment was found.

The Atabey Madrasa

The Atabey Madrasa, to whose professorship Ebu'l-Hasan was appointed, was built in 1327 by Nâsıreddin Ahmed Atabey, emir of Amasya, at Sığırpazarı, on the bank of the stream. According to a compilation on the madrasas of Amasya, although it was a sturdy structure of stone, it was ruined by earthquakes and was repaired again and again with waqf revenues. Its first professor was Cemâleddin İbrahim-i Aksarâyî. The madrasa, which had five rooms, a lecture hall and a garden in the middle, has been an empty plot since 1877, and blacksmiths' shops were built around it; the building in which Ebu'l-Hasan taught is not standing today.

Prince Ahmed Çelebi

Prince Ahmed, whose tutor Ebu'l-Hasan was, was the eldest son of Murad II. Born in Amasya in 1420, he was also called "Büyük Ahmed" (Ahmed the Elder). After Yörgüç Pasha was sent to the garrison command of Edirne in 1435 he became sanjak governor of Amasya, and after remaining in this post for about three years he died in Amasya in 1438. The year 841 that Hüsameddin gives extends from the summer of 1437 to the summer of 1438; accordingly, as regards the date of the prince's death, Hüsameddin and present-day research agree. It has been claimed that after Prince Ahmed's death his younger brother Mehmed (the Conqueror) was sent to the sanjak first, but Halil İnalcık finds this claim doubtful. In 1440 the other brother, Alâeddin Ali, became sanjak governor of Amasya.

No information was found in other sources about Ebu'l-Hasan Ali Çelebi himself, his son Enbiyâ Çelebi or his grandsons.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 81–81. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

Official sources

Volume 6 contents