Receb Bey, who wrote poetry under the pen name Edâyî, was a poet, prose stylist and musician who grew up in Amasya in the middle of the sixteenth century. While Prince (Şehzade) Mustafa, son of Süleyman the Magnificent, was governor of Amasya, Edâyî became his divan secretary and companion; after the prince was put to death in 1553 he went to Istanbul, where he became a secretary of the imperial council and then rose, in the service of the grand admiral Piyâle Pasha, to the post of fief treasurer of the arsenal. Kınalızâde Hasan Çelebi, Âşık Çelebi, Beyânî and Gelibolulu Mustafa Âlî mention him in their anthologies of poets, while Hüseyin Hüsameddin Yasar devotes to him one of the longest poet entries in his Amasya Tarihi and contests Âlî's disparaging verdict on him. No divan of his is known; his poetry consists of scattered couplets preserved in the anthologies and in collections of response poems. The literary circle of the prince in Amasya is treated as a whole in the site's article Prince Mustafa (Muhlisî) and the poets around him in Amasya.

Hüsameddin's Entry

The original text of the part of Hüsameddin's entry that relates his life reads:

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 "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. 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. 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.

In English: He was from Amasya. He was the son of Mirliva Hamza Bey, son of Hacı İlyas Bey, son of Hacı Pervîz Bey, treasurer of Bayezid II in Amasya, being among Hacı Pervîz Bey's descendants. In Amasya he learned calligraphy and letters from Topal Hattatzâde Fazlullah Fazlı Çelebi, and the theory of music from Tanburî Mehmed Çelebi bin İlyas, known as Baba Çelebi. Guided and introduced by his teacher Fazlı Çelebi, one of the poets of Prince Mustafa, governor of Amasya, he attached himself to the prince, and by composing ghazals praising the beauty of Keyvân Ağazâde Gonca Keyvân Bey, the prince's greatest favourite, and kasides in praise of the prince, he became one of his boon companions. In particular, when he presented his kaside opening "Hâl kim ol goncenin la'l-i mey-âşâmındadır", the prince liked it so much that he made him his divan secretary; drawing ever closer to the prince, he became one of his intimates. When Prince Mustafa was martyred in Şevval 960 (October 1553) through the guile and intrigue of the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha, he was deeply grieved and, in the elegies he composed on the prince, used words that would offend Rüstem Pasha. In 961 (1554) he went to Istanbul and took refuge with the chief treasurer Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi, a member of the imperial council; through his favour he joined the secretaries of the treasury or, according to another account, of the imperial council. When Şerîfezâde was dismissed in Zilhicce 965 (1558), he was removed from his secretarial post because of Rüstem Pasha's hostility; in 966 (1558-59), while secretary of the Janissaries, he attached himself to the grand admiral Piyâle Pasha. On Rüstem Pasha's death in 968 (1561) he became Piyâle Pasha's divan secretary, in 970 (1562-63) registrar of the arsenal, and in 974 (1566-67), when Piyâle Pasha was third vizier, fief treasurer of the arsenal. Winning the pasha's complete trust, he served in great comfort and died in 982 (1574-75). He was refined by nature, close to learning, a man of letters, a poet, eloquent, gifted in finding new meanings, a prose stylist, and besides this had a very fine voice and delivery, knew music and was the ornament of gatherings. The entire entry, with its quotations from the anthologies and its glossary, is in the site's Hüsameddin encyclopedia section.

Life

Edâyî was born into an Amasya family known since the reign of Bayezid II. In the third volume of Hüsameddin's work the family's name appears as "Hacı Beyzâde", and Edâyî is counted among the "a'yânzâdeler", the sons of the city's leading families. In his youth two masters were decisive in his training: Topal Hattatzâde Fazlullah Fazlı Çelebi taught him calligraphy and letters, and Tanburî Mehmed Çelebi, known as Baba Çelebi, taught him the theory of music. This Fazlı Çelebi is a different man of Amasya from Kara Fazlî, who was divan secretary to the same prince. Gelibolulu Âlî, for his part, writes that Edâyî joined the prince's secretaries thanks to his closeness to a tambur master named "Baba Tanbûrî". The TEİS entry also notes that Edâyî attracted attention through his knowledge of music and his fine voice, and was thereby appointed secretary to the prince.

Prince Mustafa was governor of Amasya from 1541 to 1553 and had a large circle of poets and companions around him. Within this circle Hüsameddin names poets such as "Hamdî, Zamânî, Edâyî" and companions known by the names of flowers, such as Gonca Keyvân, Benefşe Ahmed and Çiğdem Ali. Edâyî's rise at the prince's side began with the poems he wrote for the prince's favourite, Gonca Keyvân. Kınalızâde writes that Edâyî won great esteem with the prince by composing a murabba (quatrain poem) for Gonca Keyvân; Hüsameddin relates that a kaside he presented to the prince brought him the post of divan secretary. Hüsameddin gives this favourite's name here as "Keyvân Ağazâde Gonca Keyvân Bey", and in the first volume of his work as "Rüstem Beyzâde Gonca Keyvân".

The killing of the prince at Ereğli near Konya in Şevval 960 (October 1553) changed Edâyî's life. According to Hüsameddin the poet wrote elegies for the prince in which he used words offensive to the grand vizier Rüstem Pasha. The text of these elegies is not known today; the site's article Elegies for Prince Mustafa, which collects the elegies written for the prince, also notes that Edâyî's elegy could not be found. The TEİS entry, relying on Âşık Çelebi's anthology, records that after the prince's death Edâyî withdrew into seclusion for a while.

The date of Edâyî's move to Istanbul is given in two ways in the sources. Hüsameddin writes in the poet's own entry that he went to Istanbul in 961 (1554) and took refuge with the chief treasurer Şerîfezâde Mehmed Çelebi. In the third volume of the same author's work, however, it is related that Süleyman, returning from his Nakhchivan campaign, wintered in Amasya and that, when he left Amasya at the beginning of Şaban 962 (June 1555), he took with him to Istanbul, together with scholars, "Edâyî among the poets". The same passage also records that on his return from the Iranian campaign the sultan took the prince's dependants under his protection and admitted them to the imperial council. The two records agree that Edâyî moved to Istanbul within a year or two of the prince's death. These were the years in which Süleyman received the Safavid envoy in Amasya and the Treaty of Amasya was concluded.

His career in Istanbul rose and fell with his patrons. According to Âşık Çelebi's account as quoted by Hüsameddin, Edâyî wished to attach himself to Şerîfezâde, and Şerîfezâde received him "with a smiling face like an opening couplet" and opened a door to him "like verse", so that he entered the ranks of the sultan's secretaries. When Şerîfezâde was dismissed in 965 (1558), he was removed from his secretarial post through Rüstem Pasha's hostility and, while secretary of the Janissaries, attached himself to the grand admiral Piyâle Pasha. After Rüstem Pasha's death in 968 (1561) his path opened, and he became Piyâle Pasha's divan secretary, registrar of the arsenal and finally fief treasurer of the arsenal. Kınalızâde too writes that he died in 982 (1574-75) while fief treasurer under the Kapudan Pasha; Beyânî records only that he was fief treasurer under Piyâle Pasha.

Gelibolulu Âlî's account in the Künhü'l-Ahbâr departs from this sequence. According to Âlî, after Piyâle Pasha died, Edâyî, with the wealth he had gained in his service, became the son-in-law of Dâye Hatun, attached himself to Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, became secretary of the Janissaries and then again fief treasurer in the admiral's office, and died. The TEİS entry follows this sequence too. Hüsameddin, however, argues that Âlî made a chronological error here: according to Kınalızâde Edâyî died in 982, whereas Piyâle Pasha died, according to Mecdî, in 988 and, according to Mehmed Süreyya, in Zilhicce 985; it is therefore impossible for Edâyî to have attached himself to another patron after Piyâle Pasha. According to the TDV Encyclopaedia of Islam, Piyâle Pasha died on 12 Zilkade 985 (21 January 1578); this date appears to confirm Hüsameddin's objection.

Connection with Amasya

Edâyî's Amasya origin is plain in all the sources. Kınalızâde says "he is from Amasya", Âlî that he "came forth from Amasya"; Hüsameddin links him to one of the city's established families and in the first volume of his work counts him among the Amasya poets who became known in Süleyman's reign. The poet's whole literary identity took shape in Amasya, at the prince's court: his teachers were men of Amasya, his first patron was the prince who governed Amasya, his first poems were written for the favourite of that court. His ties with Amasya continued after he moved to Istanbul. At the request of Torumtayzâde Kaya Pasha of Amasya he wrote a couplet to be engraved on Kaya's seal; according to the third volume of Hüsameddin, Kaya Bey of the Torumtay line, apparently the same man, became governor of Amasya in 961 (1554) and went to Istanbul with the sultan in 1555. Whether the couplet was written during Kaya Bey's governorship of Amasya or later is not known. His son Pervîz Bey was likewise administrator of the imperial pious endowments in Amasya when he died in 1618.

Poetry

The anthologists mention Edâyî chiefly for his voice, his delivery and his knowledge of music. Kınalızâde presents him as unrivalled in his time in the theory of music and admired for the finesse of his delivery and the beauty of his voice. Âşık Çelebi, as quoted by Hüsameddin, writes that he possessed fine delivery and a fine voice "in keeping with the pen name Edâyî", surpassed most of his peers, and was especially able to find new meanings and to say subtle things "without grating on the ears of lovers". The fact that the word "edâ" means both delivery or voice and manner of expression links the pen name with this gift of the poet. Âlî, by contrast, considers him "a man of feeling, ignorant of the essence of poetry, who stayed in the path of mere delivery"; TEİS too notes that Âlî found his art weak. Hüsameddin rejects this verdict, saying that even the couplets Âlî himself quotes bear witness that Edâyî was a true poet; he adds that statesmen such as Prince Mustafa, Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, Piyâle Pasha and Şerîfezâde held him in esteem.

The sources mention no divan or other work by Edâyî. His surviving poems are the couplets Hüsameddin gathered from the anthologies and from the collection called Matla'ü'n-Nezâ'ir, together with a few couplets that the TEİS entry quotes from Âlî. Among them are the opening couplet of the kaside presented to the prince, fragments of ghazals that may belong to the circle of Gonca Keyvân, a couplet presented to Şerîfezâde that plays skilfully on the names "Mustafa" and "Muhammed", the Persian-Arabic seal couplet written for Kaya Pasha, and a couplet based on reading the word "recâ" backwards. Each of these poems is given on the site as a separate article with its original text, modern Turkish and English renderings and commentary. The elegies he wrote for the prince have not been found.

Family

According to Hüsameddin, Edâyî's father was Mirliva Hamza Bey, his grandfather Hacı İlyas Bey, and the latter's father Hacı Pervîz Bey, treasurer of Bayezid II in Amasya. His brothers were İdris Pasha, Mehmed Bey and Pervîz Bey; Pervîz Bey, through Edâyî's patronage, rose from the holder of a large fief to the rank of district governor, governed the sanjaks of Midilli, Aydın and Karesi, and died in 989 (1581). Edâyî's sons were Hamza, Pervîz and Mehmed Beys. His son Pervîz Bey was brought up in the palace, became a müteferrika of the imperial court and died in Muharrem 1028 (1618-19) while administrator of the imperial pious endowments in Amasya. His son-in-law and nephew, the chancellor Hamza Pasha bin Mehmed Bey, died in 1015 (1606-07). According to Âlî, Edâyî became in his last years the son-in-law of Dâye Hatun.

On His Name

Hüsameddin gives the poet's name as Receb. The TEİS entry, however, relying on Riyâzî's anthology, writes that the poet's real name was Ahmed and lists him under the heading "Edâyî Çelebi". No document is known that shows which of the two is correct. Most of the anthologies refer to the poet only by his pen name, as "Edâyî Beg" or simply "Edâyî".

Chronology

948 (1541): Prince Mustafa becomes governor of Amasya; in time Edâyî becomes his companion and divan secretary.

Şevval 960 (October 1553): Prince Mustafa is put to death; Edâyî writes elegies.

961-962 (1554-1555): He moves to Istanbul; according to Hüsameddin's entry on the poet in 961, according to his third volume in Şaban 962 together with Süleyman.

Zilhicce 965 (1558): He is removed from his secretarial post after Şerîfezâde's dismissal.

966 (1558-59): While secretary of the Janissaries he attaches himself to Piyâle Pasha.

968 (1561): He becomes Piyâle Pasha's divan secretary.

970 (1562-63): He becomes registrar of the arsenal.

974 (1566-67): He becomes fief treasurer of the arsenal.

982 (1574-75): According to Kınalızâde and Hüsameddin he dies while fief treasurer.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Books

Online sources