Amasyalıdır. Amasya’da Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî’nin defterdârı olan Hacı Pervîz Bey’in ahfâdından Mirlivâ Hamza Bey bin el-Hâc İlyas Bey bin el-Hâc Pervîz Bey’in mahdûmudur. Amasya’da Topal Hattâtzâde Fazlullah Fazlı Çelebi’den hutût ve edebiyâtı ve Baba Çelebi demekle meşhûr Tanbûrî Mehmed Çelebi bin İlyas’tan da ilm-i edvârı ahz ve teallüm etdi.
Amasya Vâlisi Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa şuarâsından olan üstadı Fazlı Çelebi’nin sevk ve ta’rifiyle şehzâde-i müşârün-ileyhe intisâb edib şehzâdenin en ziyâde sevdiği keyvân Ağazâde Gonca Keyvân Bey’in hüsn-i cemâlini medih ve sitâyiş hakkında gazeller ve Şehzâde’yi medh ü senâ için kasîdeler tanzîm ederek nüdemâsından oldu. Hâssaten; [17]
Hâl kim ol goncenin la’l-i mey-âşâmındadır
Dâğ-ı hasretdir ki gönlüm lâlesi câmındadır
matla’lı kasîdesini arz ve takdîm eyledikte Şehzâde pek ziyâde beğenip dîvân kâtibi yaptı. Şehzâdeye gitdikçe takarrub ederek cümle-i havâssından oldu.
960 senesi şevvâlinde Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa Hân Sadr-ı a’zam Rüstem Paşa’nın mekr ve siâyesiyle şehîden irtihâl-i dâr-ı cinân etdikte pek ziyâde müteessir oldu. Şehzâde hakkında mersiyeler söylerken Rüstem Paşa’yı rencîde edecek sözler sarfetmişdi.
961’de İstanbul’a gidip Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn erkânından Baş Defterdâr Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi’ye çatdı.⁹⁹ Bu zâtın himmetiyle Hazîne-i Hümâyûn alâ rivâyetin Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn küttâbı zümresine iltihâk etdi.
965 senesi zilhiccesinde Şerîfezâde’nin azli üzerine Sadr-ı a’zam Rüstem Paşa’nın garazkarâne harekâtından dolayı Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn kitâbetinden azl edilip 966’da Yeniçeri Kâtibi olduğu esnada Kaptân-ı Deryâ Piyâle Paşa’ya intisâb etdi. [18]
968’de Sadr-ı a’zam Rüstem Paşa’nın vefâtı üzerine Piyâle Paşa’nın Kâtib-i Dîvânı 970’de Tersâne Tezkirecisi ve 974’de Piyâle Paşa vezîr-i sâlis olduğu esnada Tersâne Tımar Defterdârı oldu. Piyâle Paşa’nın pek ziyâde i’timâdını kazanıp gâyet müreffeh bir hayât içinde îfâ-yı vazîfe ederek 982’de vefât etdi.
Tab’an latîf, maârif-âşinâ, edîb, şâir, belîğ, îcâd-ı meânîye muktedir, münşî olmakla beraber savt ve edâsı pek güzel, mûsikî-şinâs, meclis-ârâ bir zât idi. Tezkire-i şuarâlarda ve “Matlaü’n-Nezâir”de görülen eş’ârından şunlar nakledildi.
Başım üzre yeri var dilberin ağyârı ile
Gül gibi dokunuruz başımıza hârı ile
Bu da onundur;
Âsumân-ı hüsnde ey ebru hilâlî sen misin
Yoksa gözler görmedik bir tâk-ı âlî sen misin
Tîğden niçün geçürdiler bugün ey hat seni
Rûmda başkaldıran yoksa Celâlî sen misin [19]
Bu da onundur;
Devleti tîr-i felek verse no’la nâdâne,
Gâh olur pâre-i lahmi sege kassâb verir.
Bu da;
Dilberâ cân içre buldum sen cihân-ârâyı ben
Yoksa kim bulur seni cânâ cihân-ârâyı ben.
Bu da;
Bulmadı eflâki dokuz dolaşup âhım seni,
Hangi burcun kevkebisin bilsem ey mâhım seni.
Bu da;
Müşerref etse bezmi dilberân-ı dilrübâ yer yer
Eliflerle tenin zeyn eyler erbâb-ı safâ yer yer.
Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi’ye takdîm eylediği kasîdesinde en ziyâde şu beyti beğenmiş olduğundan bu sâyede kendisini takdîr ederek Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn Küttâbı zümresine ilhâk etdirmişti.
Mustafânın no’la ger bir iki üftâdesine,
Pertev-i nûr-ı Muhammedden irerse lemeât.
Amasyalı Torumtayzâde Kaya Paşa mührüne hakk [20] etdirmek üzere bir beyit söylemesini ricâ etdikte şu beyti söylemiş, Kaya Paşa da bunu mührüne hak etdirmişdir.
مهر شريف مهر تو يا سيد البشربر سينهء قيا شده كالنقش فى الحجر ¹⁰⁰
Bu da onundur;
Kalma havf ile recâ ile edâ-yı haktan
Ecre tebdîl olunur kalbe eğer gelse recâ¹⁰¹
Amasya kadısı Müslimî Efendinin yeğeni Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi “Tezkiretü’ş-Şu’arâ”sında sâhib-i terceme hakkında diyor ki;
“Edâyî Bey Amasya’dandır. Evâil-i hâlinde Hâkân-ı sâhib-kırân Süleyman’ın oğlu Sultân Mustafa’nın âsitânesine intisâb ile hayli celâlet iktisâb edib meclis-i hâssına dâhil olmakla gerçekten devlete vâsıl ve nâil olmuşdu.”
“İlm-i edvârda bî-nazîr-i rûzigâr ve ol fenn-i pür-i’tibârda sâhib-i iştihâr, lütf-ı edâsı, hüsn-i sadâsı gibi makbûl-i ulü’l-ebsâr olup, hattâ şehzâdenin mahbûblarından Gonca Keyvân derler bir mâh-ı şehr-âşûbe mürabba’ deyip şehzâde-i sipihr-i [21] iktidâr yanında hayli i’tibar bulmuşdu.”
“Ba’dehû tünd-bâd-ı havâdis ol şehriyârın derd-i vücûdunu târumâr ve rûzgâr-ı zûrkâr-ı cem’iyyet-i dîvânın evrâk-ı dîvânı gibi perişan-ı rûzgâr etdikte İstanbul’a gelip zümre-i küttâb-ı hazîne-i sultân-ı kâm-yâbdan olduktan sonra Âsaf-ı pür-safâ Hazret-i Piyâle Paşa’nın meclis-i dil-küşâsında câm-ı mürüvvet ve atâsından mest-i mütemâil ve zerrevâr ol âfitâb-ı pür-envâra mukâbil olmakla menâsıb-ı âliyeye vâsıl olmuşdu.”
Kaptan yanında Tımar Defterdârı iken sene-i isneyn ve semânîn ve tis’amiede (982) âlem-i bekâya intikâle sülûk etmekle nâmı ezfâr-ı fenâ ile defter-i bekâdan mahkûk oldu.”
Bursalı Mehmed Âşık Çelebi “Meşâirü’ş-Şuarâ” adlı tezkiresinde Mîr-i mümâ-ileyhin terceme-i hâlini şöyle kaydediyor:
“Edâyî, zaîm, hazîne kâtiplerinden ve ol zümrede kemâl-i ma’rifet sâhiblerindendir. Evvel Sultân Mustafa şâirlerinden ve zimmet-i himmetine deyn-i lâzımü’l-edâ olan hüsn-i [22] nevâziş ve sitâyişleri arasına mukârin mazhar-ı ihsân-ı vâfirlerinden idi.”
“Çünki ol merhûmun kâfiye-i direngi idi. Teng geldiği ecilden kasîde-i hayâtı girizgâhından geçip makta’a vâsıl oldu ve yanında olan şâirlerin ahvâlleri efkârı şâir gibi evkâr ve erbâb-ı dîvânî, evrâk-ı müsvedde gibi perîşân-ı rûzgâr oldu.”
“Mezbûr Edâyî, Şerîfezâde ki, hakkan erkân-ı dîvânın revnakı ve hakk-ı istihkâkı devletin müstehakkı idi. Ona kasd-ı intisâb eyledi. Ol dahi matla’ gibi hande-rûluk arzeyledi. Nazm gibi feth-i bâb eyledi. Ol vakitten berû küttâbhâne-i pâdişâh-ı kâm-yâb zümresinde dâhil ve müsvedde-i ahvâl ve âmâli beyâza çıkmaya vâsıl oldu. Hâliyen züamâdan ve şuarâ-i izâmdandır. Ol zamanda Şerîfezâdeye bir kıt’a demişdir. Bu bahirde bu kâfiyede;
Mustafânın no’la ger bir iki üftâdesine
Pertev-i nûr-ı Muhammedden irerse lemeât
“Ba’dehû mâlik-i mülk-i deryâ-bâr Piyâle gerdân-ı bezm-i ibtihâc ve [23] iftihâr hazretlerinin hizmetine erdi. Devir bunun yâdına ve dost-kâmı bunun adına içilip sâğar-ı pür-mey-i murâddan eline dolu girdi. Hâliyen hudemâdan ve şuarâ-i küremâdan idiler.”
“Filhakîka hüsn-i edâya ve hüsn-i sadâya mâlik, Edâyî mahlasına muvâfık ve ekser-i akrânına fâik ve hâssaten meânî îcâdına kudreti ve gûş-i uşşâka dokunmadan gûşeler nazmına istitâatı vardır.”
Amasya Sancağı beyi olan Gelibolulu Âlî Bey “Künhü’l-Ahbâr” adlı târihinde diyor ki;
“Edâyî Amasya’dan peydâ olmuş ve hizmet-i kitâbetle neşv ü nemâ bulmuş husûsan dürr-i meknûn nazmın mağzından gâfil ve mücerred edâ vâdisinde kalmış bir ehl-i dil idi.”
“Evâil-i civânîde “Baba Tanbûrî” nâm tanbur-nüvâz üstada karâbetle Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa merhûm âsitânesindeki küttâba, belki şuarâdan addolunan zürefâ-i zevi’l-elbâba karışıp gâhî ba’zı ma’nîlerde dest-res bulmak ve silk-i nazma getirip mukaffa ve müreddef kelâm [24] üslûbunda edâsına kâdir olmak müyesser olurmuş.”
“Vüzerâdan merhûm Piyâle Paşa deryâ kaptanlığına kâm-kâr bir deryâ-dil sâhib-i edâ olmakla mezbûru kâtip edinir. Ağır zeâmetle ve giderek musâhib mertebesinde rağbetle behre-mend kılar. Pes sâkî-i rûzgâr ki ol kaptan-ı cezâyir-gîr âb-ı ömr-i piyâlesini şikest ve encümeni fenâ’nın nakl ü zevâdesini şâhid-i zindegânîsine derdest etdikte mezbûr Edâyî onların sâye-i devletinde tahsîl etdiği malla ne ân ki arz-ı maârif ve kemâlle Dâye Hâtuna dâmâd olup Mehmed Paşa-yı Toyluk cenâbına derûnî intisâb-ı meâlle zeâmetten Yeniçeri Kitâbeti ile behredâr ve ba’dehû yine Kaptan Kalemi’nde Defterdâr-ı Timâr olup vefât eyledi.”
“Ahdî-i Acemî kavlince ve Mevlânâ Âşık zu’munca kendine şâir-i yakîn ve sâde kelimâtına nazm-ı mübîn ıtlâk olunmuş. Hâkkan sümme hakkan tahkîk-i tabakât-ı ehl-i irfânda râcil idikleri gereği gibi zâhir olmuş. Bu ebyât, mezbûrun nazmındandır:
Kıl hâkimi öldükte i çeşm-i ter âb-âmîz
Tâ olmaya ol servi de dâmân türâb-âmîz [25]
Ve lehû,
Hâli kim ol goncenin la’l-i mey-âşâmındadır
Dâğ-ı hasretdir ki gönlüm lâlesi câmındadır
Âlî Bey, bütün üdebâ ve müverrihîn nezdinde meşhûr ve kendi âsâr ve müellefâtından ma’lûm olduğu üzere kendini pek yüksek görür, muâsırlarını bir türlü beğenmez. İzzet-i nefsine pek mağlûp bir zâttır.
Muâsırı bulunan Edâyî Bey’in hakkında yazdığı sözleri, karaladığı ibâreleri, hattâ merhûmun ebyâtından îrâd eylediği şu iki beyti bile yüksek sesleriyle şehâdet ediyor ki Edâyî Bey hakîkaten şâir, icâd-ı ma’âniye muktedir, rikkat-ı tab’a, letâfet-i hisse ve vüs’at-ı hayâle mâlik bir edîb-i mâhirdir.
Herkesin ve âmme-i müverrihînin, hatta kendisinin kabûl ve teslîm etdikleri üzere gâyet maârif-perver kadirşinâs, erbâb-ı kemâle müteveccih olan Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa, Sadr-ı a’zam Sokullu Mehmed Paşa, vezîr-i sânî Kaptân Piyâle Paşa, başdefterdâr Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi gibi erkân-ı [26] millet Edâyî Bey’i takdîr ediyor.
Edâyî Bey’i takdîr eden Bursalı Âşık Mehmed Çelebi meşâhir-i ulemâdan şâir, edîb, sühân-şinâs olup Üsküb kadısı iken 979 senesi şa’bânında vefât etdi. Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi, meşâhir-i fuzalâ-yı sudûrdan Kınalızâde Ali Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Fuzalâ-yı mevâlîden olup 1012 senesi şevvâlinde vefât etdi.
Ahdî-i Acemî dediği zât ise kibâr-ı fuzalâ ve mevâlîden es-Seyyid Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi bin Kâdı-i Bağdad es-Seyyid Kıvâmeddîn Yûsuf el-Hüseynî mahdûmudur. İstanbul’da tevellüd edib 1002’de vefât etmiş âlim, edîb olan es-Seyyid Mehmed Ahdî Çelebi’dir.
Şâyân-ı hayretdir ki Âlî Bey, kendi zamanında olan vakâyi’-i târihiyyeyi bile sehv ve hatadan sâlim bir sûrette kayd ve zabt edemediği Edayî Bey’in tercemesinde yazdığı şeylerden anlaşılır.
Âlî Bey’in zabtına göre Edâyî Bey, Kaptan Paşa’nın vefâtından sonra Sokullu Mehmed Paşa’ya intisâb etmiş, [27] Dâye Hâtun’a dâmâd olmuş, bu sâyede yeniçeri kâtibi, ba’dehû yine Kaptan kaleminde defterdâr-ı tımâr oldukdan sonra vefât etmiş!
Kınalızâde Fâzıl Hasan Çelebi’nin zabtı üzere Edâyî Bey, Tımâr defterdârı iken 982’de vefât etmişdir. Kaptan Piyâle Paşa da “Zeyl-i Şakâyık”da Mecdî Mehmed Efendi’nin zabtı üzere 988’de ve “Sicill-i Osmânî”de Süreyya Bey’in kaydı üzere 985 senesi zilhiccesinde vefât etmişdir. Hele Kaptan Piyâle Paşa’nın vefâtını ve Edâyî Bey’in Mehmed Paşa-yı tavîle intisâbını tasvîr eden Âlî Bey’in ibâresi, bir numûne-i edebiyâttır ki Edâyî Bey’in iktidâr-ı şâirânesini tezyîfe yeltenen Âlî Bey’in iktidârını gösterir.
Edâyî Bey’in mahdûmları Hamza, Pervîz, Mehmet Beyler ve birâderleri de İdris Paşa ile Mehmed, Perviz Beylerdir. Dâmâdı ve yeğeni nişâncı Hamza Paşa bin Mehmed Bey 1015’de ve birâderi Perviz Bey 989’da ve mahdûmu Perviz Bey de Amasya‘da Evkâf-ı Sultânîyye mütevellîsi iken 1028 muharreminde vefât etdi. Bunların terâcim-i ahvâli aşağıda gelir. [28]
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was a descendant of Hacı Pervîz Bey, the treasurer (defterdâr) of Sultan Bayezid II in Amasya; he was the son of Mirliva (sanjak governor) Hamza Bey, son of Hacı İlyas Bey, son of Hacı Pervîz Bey. In Amasya he learned calligraphy and literature from Topal Hattâtzâde Fazlullah Fazlı Çelebi, and the theory of music (ilm-i edvâr) from Tamburî Mehmed Çelebi son of İlyas, who was famous as Baba Çelebi.
Through the guidance and recommendation of his teacher Fazlı Çelebi, who was one of the poets of Prince Mustafa, the governor of Amasya, he attached himself to the said prince. He composed ghazals praising the beauty of Gonca Keyvân Bey, the son of Keyvân Ağa and the prince's most beloved companion, and odes in praise of the prince himself, and so became one of his table companions. In particular, when he presented the ode beginning with the following couplet:
Hâl kim ol goncenin la'l-i mey-âşâmındadır
Dâğ-ı hasretdir ki gönlüm lâlesi câmındadır
the prince liked it very much and made him a secretary of his council. He drew ever closer to the prince and became one of his innermost circle.
In the month of Şevvâl 960 [1553], when Prince Sultan Mustafa Khan was martyred through the cunning and scheming of the Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha and departed to the abode of paradise, he was deeply grieved. While composing elegies for the prince, he had used words that would offend Rüstem Pasha.
In 961 [1553-54] he went to Istanbul and sought the protection of Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi, Chief Treasurer and a member of the Imperial Council. Through this man's favor, and according to one account by way of the Imperial Treasury, he joined the body of clerks of the Imperial Council.
In the month of Zilhicce 965 [1558], when Şerîfezâde was dismissed, he too was removed from his clerkship in the Imperial Council because of the spiteful conduct of the Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha. In 966 [1558-59], while serving as Clerk of the Janissaries, he attached himself to the Grand Admiral Piyâle Pasha.
In 968 [1560-61], on the death of the Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha, he became Piyâle Pasha's Clerk of the Council; in 970 [1562-63], Memorandum Clerk of the Arsenal; and in 974 [1566-67], when Piyâle Pasha became third vizier, Treasurer of the Arsenal Timars. He won Piyâle Pasha's great confidence, served in great prosperity, and died in 982 [1574-75].
By nature he was refined, fond of learning, a man of letters, a poet, eloquent, capable of inventing new meanings, and a munshi (prose writer); and he also had a very beautiful voice and manner of recitation, knew music, and adorned every gathering. The following verses of his, found in the poets' biographical dictionaries and in the "Matlaü'n-Nezâir," have been transmitted:
Başım üzre yeri var dilberin ağyârı ile
Gül gibi dokunuruz başımıza hârı ile
This too is his:
Âsumân-ı hüsnde ey ebru hilâlî sen misin
Yoksa gözler görmedik bir tâk-ı âlî sen misin
Tîğden niçün geçürdiler bugün ey hat seni
Rûmda başkaldıran yoksa Celâlî sen misin
This too is his:
Devleti tîr-i felek verse no'la nâdâne,
Gâh olur pâre-i lahmi sege kassâb verir.
And this:
Dilberâ cân içre buldum sen cihân-ârâyı ben
Yoksa kim bulur seni cânâ cihân-ârâyı ben.
And this:
Bulmadı eflâki dokuz dolaşup âhım seni,
Hangi burcun kevkebisin bilsem ey mâhım seni.
And this:
Müşerref etse bezmi dilberân-ı dilrübâ yer yer
Eliflerle tenin zeyn eyler erbâb-ı safâ yer yer.
In the ode he presented to Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi, he had been especially pleased with the following couplet, and for this reason Şerîfezâde praised him and had him admitted to the body of clerks of the Imperial Council:
Mustafânın no'la ger bir iki üftâdesine,
Pertev-i nûr-ı Muhammedden irerse lemeât.
When Torumtayzâde Kaya Pasha of Amasya asked him for a couplet to be engraved on his seal, he composed the following couplet, and Kaya Pasha had it engraved on his seal:
مهر شريف مهر تو يا سيد البشربر سينهء قيا شده كالنقش فى الحجر
Its meaning: "O master of mankind, your seal is your noble affection (it is your face, radiant like the sun and giving light), and it has been engraved on the breast of Kaya like an inscription carved in stone" — a verse in Arabic and Persian.
This too is his:
Kalma havf ile recâ ile edâ-yı haktan
Ecre tebdîl olunur kalbe eğer gelse recâ
Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi, the nephew of Müslimî Efendi, the kadı of Amasya, says of this man in his "Tezkiretü'ş-Şu'arâ":
"Edâyî Bey is from Amasya. At the beginning of his life he attached himself to the threshold of Sultan Mustafa, son of Süleyman, conqueror of the world, and gained considerable standing; having entered the prince's private assembly, he had truly reached the state and obtained his share."
"He was unequalled in his age in the theory of music and renowned in that precious science. Like the delicacy of his recitation and the beauty of his voice, he was approved by people of insight; he even composed praises of a moon-faced youth called Gonca Keyvân, who set the city in turmoil and was one of the prince's favorites, and gained considerable credit with the prince, a prince of the heaven of power."
"Then, when the violent wind of events scattered that sovereign's existence, and the harsh wind of the age scattered everyone like the pages of the divan's register, he came to Istanbul and, after joining the clerks of the Sultan's joyful treasury, in the heart-opening assembly of the cheerful vizier Piyâle Pasha, intoxicated with the cup of generosity and bounty and standing like an atom before that sun full of light, he had attained high offices."
"While he was Timar Treasurer under the Admiral, in the year two and eighty and nine hundred [982] he set out for the world of eternity, and his name was erased from the register of immortality by the pages of mortality."
Mehmed Âşık Çelebi of Bursa records the biography of the said bey in his dictionary "Meşâirü'ş-Şuarâ" as follows:
"Edâyî was a zeamet holder, one of the treasury clerks, and among those in that body who were mature in knowledge. First he was one of the poets of Sultan Mustafa; amid the fine favors and praises that weighed on him like a debt that had to be paid, he enjoyed [the prince's] abundant bounty."
"For the rhyme of that late man had been delayed [that is, the end of his life had come]. The ode of his life passed from its prelude to the final couplet; and the circumstances of the poets about him were scattered like their thoughts, and the people of the divan like pages of a rough draft."
"The said Edâyî sought to draw near to Şerîfezâde, who was truly the ornament of the divan and the one most deserving of the state's favor. He showed him a smiling face like an opening couplet and opened the door like a poem. Since then he has been among the body of the Sultan's clerks, and the rough draft of his circumstances and hopes has begun to be copied out fair. Today he is one of the zeamet holders and the great poets. At that time he composed for Şerîfezâde a quatrain in this meter and this rhyme:"
Mustafânın no'la ger bir iki üftâdesine
Pertev-i nûr-ı Muhammedden irerse lemeât
"Then he entered the service of Piyâle, lord of the realm that rains the sea, the head of the assembly of delight and pride. The age was drunk in his memory, and his friends' desire was drunk in his name; from the cup full of the wine of desire, his hands were filled. Today he is among the servants and the generous poets."
"In truth he possesses a beautiful recitation and a beautiful voice; he suits his pen name Edâyî and surpasses most of his contemporaries; and especially he has the power to invent meanings and the ability to compose verse in every corner without grating on the ears of lovers."
Gelibolulu Âlî Bey, the bey of the Sanjak of Amasya, says in his history "Künhü'l-Ahbâr":
"Edâyî arose from Amasya and grew and developed through the service of clerkship; he was a man of heart who was, in particular, unaware of the kernel of poetry, a hidden pearl, and remained solely in the valley of recitation."
"In his early youth, through closeness to the master lute player called 'Baba Tamburî,' it is said that he came to mingle with the clerks at the late Prince Sultan Mustafa's court, and even with the witty men of intellect counted among the poets, gained mastery in some matters, and succeeded in turning them into verse and in becoming able to recite in the style of rhymed and refrained speech."
"The late vizier Piyâle Pasha, who had attained the admiralty, a sea-hearted man with the gift of recitation, takes the said man as a clerk. He grants him benefit through a heavy zeamet and, gradually, esteem at the rank of companion. Then, when the cupbearer of the age — that admiral who took the islands — broke the cup of the water of life and handed the assembly of mortality's moving and returning to its living witness, the said Edâyî, with the wealth he had gained in the shadow of their state and while he showed learning and maturity, became son-in-law to Dâye Hatun and, through sincere attachment to Mehmed Pasha-yı Toyluk [the Tall], was granted the Clerkship of the Janissaries from the zeamet, then became Timar Treasurer again at the Admiral's Office and died."
"By the word of Ahdî-i Acemî and by the supposition of Mevlânâ Âşık, he was called a true poet, and his plain words were said to be clear verse. Truly, when it was examined again and again, it became manifest as it should among the ranks of the people of insight that they were men of this road. These couplets are from the said man's verse:"
Kıl hâkimi öldükte i çeşm-i ter âb-âmîz
Tâ olmaya ol servi de dâmân türâb-âmîz
And it is his:
Hâli kim ol goncenin la'l-i mey-âşâmındadır
Dâğ-ı hasretdir ki gönlüm lâlesi câmındadır
Âlî Bey is famous among all men of letters and historians and, as is known from his own works, thinks himself very high and cannot bring himself to approve of his contemporaries. He is a man overcome by his own self-regard.
The words he wrote about his contemporary Edâyî Bey, the passages he scribbled, even the two couplets he cited from the late man's verse, bear witness in a loud voice that Edâyî Bey was truly a poet, able to invent meanings, of delicate nature, fine feeling, and wide imagination, a skilled man of letters.
As everyone and most historians, even he himself, accept and concede, Prince Sultan Mustafa, who was in the extreme a patron of learning, appreciative, and inclined toward the people of perfection; Grand Vizier Sokullu Mehmed Pasha; the second vizier, Admiral Piyâle Pasha; and Chief Treasurer Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi — such leading men of the nation — all valued Edâyî Bey.
Bursalı Âşık Mehmed Çelebi, who valued Edâyî Bey, was a poet, man of letters, and discerning speaker among the famous scholars, and died in the month of Şa'bân 979 [1571-72] while kadı of Skopje. Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi is the son of Kınalızâde Ali Efendi, one of the famous scholars. He was among the scholars of the mevâlî (upper learned class) and died in the month of Şevvâl 1012 [1603-04].
The man he calls Ahdî-i Acemî is the learned man and man of letters es-Seyyid Mehmed Ahdî Çelebi, son of es-Seyyid Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi, himself the son of the Kadı of Baghdad es-Seyyid Kıvâmeddîn Yûsuf el-Hüseynî, a great scholar of the mevâlî. He was born in Istanbul and died in 1002 [1593-94].
It is astonishing that Âlî Bey could not record even the historical events of his own time free of error and mistake; this is clear from what he wrote in Edayî Bey's biography.
According to Âlî Bey's record, after the Admiral Pasha's death Edâyî Bey attached himself to Sokullu Mehmed Pasha and became son-in-law to Dâye Hatun; by this means he became janissary clerk, and then, after becoming timar treasurer again at the Admiral's office, he died!
According to the record of Kınalızâde Fâzıl Hasan Çelebi, Edâyî Bey died in 982 [1574-75] while Timar Treasurer. The Admiral Piyâle Pasha, in turn, died in 988 [1580-81] according to the record of Mecdî Mehmed Efendi in "Zeyl-i Şakâyık," and in the month of Zilhicce 985 [1578] according to Süreyya Bey's record in "Sicill-i Osmânî." Above all, Âlî Bey's passage describing the death of the Admiral Piyâle Pasha and Edâyî Bey's attachment to Mehmed Pasha-yı Tavîl is a specimen of literature, which reveals the ability of Âlî Bey, who ventured to belittle Edâyî Bey's poetic talent.
Edâyî Bey's sons are Hamza, Pervîz, and Mehmet Beys, and his brothers are İdris Pasha, Mehmed, and Pervîz Beys. His son-in-law and nephew, the chancellor (nişancı) Hamza Pasha son of Mehmed Bey, died in 1015 [1606-07]; his brother Pervîz Bey in 989 [1581-82]; and his son Pervîz Bey, while trustee of the imperial endowments (Evkaf-ı Sultâniyye) in Amasya, in the month of Muharrem 1028 [1618]. Their biographies follow below.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- ahfâd: grandchildren, later generations
- mahdûm: son
- hutût: kinds of script, the art of fine writing
- ilm-i edvâr: the theory of rhythmic cycles and modes in music
- nüdemâ: table companions, the circle of friends of a sultan or prince
- matla': the opening couplet of an ode or ghazal
- mersiye: an elegy written for a dead person
- münşî: prose writer, clerk of official writing
- tezkire: a work collecting short biographies and sample poems of poets
- zeâmet: a large military fief, a high-income timar
- ağyâr: the beloved's other lovers, rivals
Prince Mustafa and the Circle of Amasya
Edâyî's story goes back to the years when Amasya was the city of princes. Until the middle of the sixteenth century, Amasya was one of the main centers to which Ottoman princes were sent to gain administrative experience, and in the periods when princes were present many scholars, artists, and poets gathered in the city. Süleyman's son Mustafa, after Manisa, was transferred to Amasya on 16 June 1541 and remained there as sanjak governor until 1553. During this post he is recorded as having gained a reputation as a patron of poetry and learning, a guardian of the people, and a man known for his justice. It is known that the prince was strangled in his father's camp at Ereğli near Konya on 6 October 1553. The event caused great grief, Grand Vizier Rüstem Pasha was dismissed soon after, and poets wrote elegies that counted the prince as a martyr. Hüsameddin's date "960 Şevvâl" agrees with this event. That Edâyî used words offensive to Rüstem Pasha in his elegies fits this atmosphere; but I could not verify in another source in which work these elegies are found today.
In the Service of Piyâle Pasha
Piyâle Pasha, with whom Edâyî spent his last years, was born in Tolna in Hungary as the son of a Croatian shoemaker, was taken captive at the Battle of Mohács in 1526, and was admitted to the palace in 1535. On 7 January 1555 he was appointed to the admiralty as sanjak governor of Gelibolu; in the Malta campaign of 1565 he was commander of the fleet, and in 1566, with the taking of Chios, he received the title of ghazi. At the end of the same year, in Selim II's first council, he was given a dome vizierate as the sultan's son-in-law, and in the Cyprus campaign of 1570 he led the fleet as third vizier and commander. After the defeat at Lepanto he became second vizier. Piyâle Pasha died on 12 Zilkade 985 (21 January 1578) of a urinary tract illness and was buried in the graveyard of the mosque he had built in Kasımpaşa. The Sicill-i Osmânî record cited by Hüsameddin gives Zilhicce 985, and Mecdî Efendi's record gives 988; that is, the sources differ in month and year.
Here the basis of Hüsameddin's objection is clear: according to Kınalızâde, Edâyî died in 982 [1574-75], whereas Piyâle Pasha lived until 1578. Gelibolulu Âlî's statement that "after the Admiral Pasha's death he attached himself to Mehmed Pasha" cannot be reconciled with this order. This is the basis of Hüsameddin's criticism of Âlî, and the chronology appears to confirm it.
Other Sources on Edâyî
I could not find Edâyî's name in searches on the poets of Amasya and the prince's circle; no separate entry under this pen name appears in Islamic encyclopedias or in the relevant articles. For this reason, what is known of his life remains limited to the biographical-dictionary and historical records transmitted by Hüsameddin (Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi, Âşık Çelebi, Gelibolulu Âlî). No information was found in other sources on Gonca Keyvân, Torumtayzâde Kaya Pasha, Topal Hattâtzâde Fazlı Çelebi, or Baba Tamburî Mehmed Çelebi either.
A striking detail is the Arabic seal couplet said to be the poet's own: Kaya Pasha's name is worked in through the word "kaya" (rock) with the simile of "an inscription carved in stone." The footnote Hüsameddin added also points out that the word "recâ" becomes "ecr" when written in reverse; this is an example of the poet's fondness for wordplay.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 269–272. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources