Amasyalıdır. Üçler Mahallesi’nde Emîr kızı oğlu el-Hâc Osmân Ağa bin Mehmed Ağa ahfâdından Kemançecioğlu Mehmed Ali Ağa bin Osmân Ağa’nın mahdûmudur. 1284’de Üçler Mahallesi’nde [45] doğdu. Amasya mekteb-i rüşdiyesinde tahsîl-i maârif edib adliye ketebesinden iken Lâdik mahkemesi başkâtibi oldu.
1314’de ma’zûlen İstanbul’a gidip tercemesi yazılan vekil-i harç Edhem Bey’in himmetiyle 1316’da Aşiret Mektebi mubassırı, 1319’da mekteb-i mezkûrda Kavânîn-i Adliye muallimi oldu. Ba’dehû rütbe-i sâniye alıp 1324’de mütemâyiz rütbesiyle Nâile Sultân binti Sultân Abdülmecid Hân kethüdâsı, 1325’de encümen-i teftîş ve muâyene a’zâsı oldu.
1327’de Maârif teşkilâtı yapılırken teftîş ve muâyene encümeni lağv edildiğinden Nâile Sultân kethüdâlığında kaldı. 1337’de Sultânın vefâtıyla yeni açılan Çamlıca Leylî Kız Lisesi başkâtibi oldu. Maârif-âşinâ, halûk, müstakîm bir zâttır. Birâderi adliye ketebesinden İsmâil Efendi’dir.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was born in the Üçler quarter, the son of Kemançecioğlu Mehmed Ali Ağa son of Osmân Ağa, a descendant of Hacı Osmân Ağa son of Mehmed Ağa, who was the son of the daughter of an Emîr. He was born in 1284 [1867-68] in the Üçler quarter. He studied at the Amasya Rüşdiye and, while a clerk of the justice department, became chief clerk of the Lâdik court.
In 1314 [1896-97] he was dismissed and went to Istanbul. With the help of the vekilharç Edhem Bey, whose biography has been written, he became supervisor (mubassır) at the Imperial School for Tribes (Aşiret Mektebi) in 1316 [1898-99] and teacher of Judicial Laws (Kavânîn-i Adliye) at the same school in 1319 [1901-02]. After receiving the second rank, in 1324 [1906-07], with the rank of mütemâyiz, he became steward (kethüdâ) to Nâile Sultan, daughter of Sultan Abdülmecid Han, and in 1325 [1907-08] a member of the inspection and examination commission.
In 1327 [1909-10], when the Ministry of Education was being organized, the inspection and examination commission was abolished and he remained in his stewardship to Nâile Sultan. In 1337 [1918-19], on the Sultan's death, he became chief clerk of the newly opened Çamlıca Girls' Lycée (Leylî Kız Lisesi). He is a man keen on education, of good character and upright. His brother is İsmâil Efendi, one of the justice-department clerks.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- ahfâd: grandsons, descendants
- mekteb-i rüşdiye: the Ottoman school above the primary level, at the secondary level
- adliye ketebesi: clerks working in the justice offices
- ma'zûlen: having been dismissed from office
- mubassır: supervisor, the official who watches over order in a school
- Kavânîn-i Adliye: judicial laws
- mütemâyiz: a civil-service rank, the step between sânîye and evlâ
- kethüdâ: the assistant who ran the affairs of a palace member or a vizier
- encümen-i teftîş ve muâyene: an inspection and examination commission
- maârif-âşinâ: keen on education, knowledgeable about education
- halûk: of good character, good-natured
- müstakîm: upright, honest
The Imperial School for Tribes
The Imperial School for Tribes (Aşiret Mekteb-i Hümâyunu), which Kemançecizâde entered in 1316, was a special school attached to the palace that Abdülhamid II opened in Istanbul in 1892. It was not a public school under the Ministry of Education; at first the children of the chiefs of Arab tribes, later of other tribes, were admitted. The aim was to teach these children Turkish, to increase their loyalty to the Sublime State and the caliphate, and to make them useful to the state when they returned to their own regions. The school was residential and free. Its curriculum included the Qur'an, catechism, vocabulary, arithmetic, orthography, calligraphy, Islamic history, and Turkish together with Ottoman geography and history; over time French, double-entry bookkeeping and geometry were added. Although it was not a military school, it also had military drill classes. It was closed in February 1907 after the students rose against the administration, dissatisfied with the food.
It is interesting that Hüsameddin speaks of a teacher of "Kavânîn-i Adliye" here in 1319: in the source read, when the school's curriculum is listed, law or judicial statutes are not mentioned. This course may have been added later, or the source may not have listed all the courses; nothing certain can be said. Since the school closed in 1907, Kemançecizâde's service of 1316-1319 falls within the last decade of the school.
His Helper: The Vekilharç Edhem Bey
The person called in the text "the vekilharç Edhem Bey, whose biography has been written" is Çûçûoğlu Edhem İbrâhim Bey, the subject of the previous entry; he served as vekilharç of Yıldız Palace from 1301 to 1327 and was himself from Amasya. From Hüsameddin's record it is clear that Kemançecizâde's going to Istanbul in 1314 and taking a post at the Imperial School for Tribes two years later were with Edhem Bey's support.
The Question of Nâile Sultan
Hüsameddin says that Kemançecizâde was steward to "Nâile Sultan, daughter of Sultan Abdülmecid Han" from 1324 to 1337. In the source read, the daughter of Abdülmecid named Nâile was born in 1856, married Kabasakal Çerkes Mehmed Pasha in 1876 and died on 18 January 1882. In that case it does not seem possible that the Nâile Sultan whose steward he was between 1324 and 1337 was this lady. Either Hüsameddin is speaking of another Nâile Sultan or there is a confusion in the name or dates. This could not be clarified in the sources read. Likewise no information was found on the Çamlıca Girls' Lycée or the Inspection and Examination Commission.
Lâdik and Amasya
Lâdik was at that time a district (kaza) attached to the sanjak of Amasya; today it is a district of Samsun province. The chief clerkship of the Lâdik court, one of Kemançecizâde's first professional stops, was therefore a post that remained within the Amasya region.
What Could Not Be Read
No information was found in other sources on Kemançecioğlu Mehmed Ali Ağa, Hacı Osmân Ağa or the present state of the Üçler quarter. The origin of the family's "Kemançeci" nickname could not be determined in the sources read either.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 277–277. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Other sources