Amasyalıdır. Amasya müverrihi müderris Abdî Efendi ahfâdından ve şu’arâdan es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Rüşdi Efendi bin es-Seyyid eş-Şeyh Ali Efendi bin müderris Abdî Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Amasya fuzalâsından Iydîzâde el-Hâc Mustafa Akif Efendi’den tahsîl-i maârif edib İstanbul’a gitdi.
Orada Bâb-ı âlî aklâmından birine girdi. Ba’dehû Amasyalı Firârî es-Seyyid Hasan Paşazâde es-Seyyid Abdullah Paşa’ya intisâb edib sadâretinde bâ-rütbe-i Hâcegânî tezkire-i sânî, ba’dehû mâliye mektubçusu oldu. Sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin 1163 senesi muharreminde azlinden az sonra azledildi.
1165 senesi recebinde Belgrad eyâleti defderdârı olarak [50] taşra gönderildi. Ba’dehû devr-i menâsıb ederek 1175’de ma’zûlen İstanbul’a geldi. 1177 senesi şevvâlinde Sadr-ı a’zam olan Bâhir Mustafa Paşa’nın himmetiyle kethüdâ kâtibi oldu. 1178 senesi şevvâlinde sadr-ı müşârün-ileyhin azl ve i’dâmıyla ma’zûl olup 1181 senesi evâhirinde vefât etdi. Âlim, kâtib, ise de talihsizdi. Mahdûmu es-Seyyid Abdurrahman Efendi’dir.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Seyyid Hacı Ahmed Rüşdi Efendi, a descendant of the müderris Abdî Efendi, the historian of Amasya, and a poet; Ahmed Rüşdi Efendi was the son of Seyyid Sheikh Ali Efendi, who was the son of the müderris Abdî Efendi. He studied with Iydîzâde Hacı Mustafa Akif Efendi, one of the scholars of Amasya, and went to Istanbul.
There he entered one of the scribal bureaus of the Sublime Porte. Afterwards he attached himself to Seyyid Abdullah Pasha, known as Firârî Seyyid Hasan Paşazâde, of Amasya, and during his grand vizierate became second tezkireci with the rank of hâcegân, and then finance mektupçu. Shortly after the said grand vizier's dismissal in Muharram 1163 [December 1749-January 1750], he too was dismissed.
In Receb 1165 [May-June 1752] he was sent to the provinces as defterdar of the province of Belgrade. Afterwards, going from post to post, in 1175 [1761-62] he came to Istanbul, dismissed. In Şevvâl 1177 [April 1764], through the efforts of Bâhir Mustafa Pasha, who had become grand vizier, he became kethüdâ scribe. In Şevvâl 1178 [March-April 1765], on the dismissal and execution of the said grand vizier, he was dismissed and died at the end of 1181 [1767-68]. He was a scholar and a scribe, but unlucky. His son is Seyyid Abdurrahman Efendi.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- müverrih: historian
- ahfâd: grandsons, descendants
- şu'arâ: poets
- fuzalâ: learned men, scholars
- aklâm: the clerical bureaus (kalems) of government departments
- intisâb etmek: to attach oneself, to enter someone's patronage
- bâ-rütbe-i hâcegân: with the rank of hâcegân
- tezkire-i sânî: the second tezkireci
- mâliye mektubçusu: the scribe who ran the finance department's correspondence
- müşârün-ileyh: the said, the one mentioned above
- defterdâr: a senior official in charge of finance
- devr-i menâsıb: passing from post to post
- kethüdâ kâtibi: the scribe who ran the secretarial work of the grand vizier's steward
- azl ve i'dâm: dismissal and execution
Grand Vizier Abdullah Pasha and His Time
Seyyid Abdullah Pasha, to whom Edîb Mehmed Efendi attached himself, is the grand vizier also known as Firârîzâde. His father is Seyyid Hasan Pasha, nicknamed "Kesici." Hüsameddin counts him as from Amasya; the encyclopedia entry read uses the epithet Kerkükli (of Kirkuk) for the father and does not mention Amasya. This difference could not be resolved in the sources read. Abdullah Pasha was raised in the palace, held posts such as armorer and kapıcıbaşı, became chief master of the stables (mîrâhur) in Muharram 1151 [1738], and was made grand vizier by Mahmud I on 17 Şaban 1160 [24 August 1747]. His grand vizierate, which lasted about thirty months, was spent in efforts to keep in force the agreement with the dynasty newly established in Iran after the killing of Nadir Shah. On 24 Muharram 1163 [3 January 1750] the seal of office was taken from him. The dismissal date in Hüsameddin's record matches this exactly. Afterwards he served as governor of Egypt, Aleppo, Raqqa and Diyarbekir and died in Aleppo in March 1761. His contemporaries describe him as generous, gentle, fine in handwriting and a supporter of learning.
Bâhir Mustafa Pasha
Bâhir Mustafa Pasha (Köse Mustafa Pasha), who secured the kethüdâ clerkship, was grand vizier three times, under Mahmud I, Osman III and Mustafa III. He was appointed to his third grand vizierate on 24 Rebîülâhir 1177 [1 November 1763], dismissed on 5 Şevval 1178 [28 March 1765], exiled to Lesbos and strangled in Zilkade 1178 [May 1765]. Hüsameddin's record "dismissal and execution in 1178" agrees with this. There is, however, a small difference in the date of the grand vizierate: the encyclopedia entry places his return to the grand vizierate in November 1763, while Hüsameddin writes Şevvâl 1177, that is, April 1764. It is possible that the scribe's appointment came after the start of the grand vizierate.
The Defterdarship of Belgrade
The post to which Edîb was sent in 1165 is one of the provincial defterdarships established in the provinces among the Ottomans from the second quarter of the sixteenth century. The provincial defterdar supervised in his province the revenues belonging to the central treasury, and he had a treasury office made up of bureaus such as accounting, mukataa and ruzname. Hüsameddin's expression "devr-i menâsıb" tells that from then on Edîb moved around various provincial posts for about ten years.
Abdî Efendi
The "müderris Abdî Efendi, historian of Amasya" named in the text is not directly introduced in the sources read. In writings on the madrasas of Amasya persons named Abdî Efendi are mentioned: it is said that hadith scholars such as Şermîzâde Takıyyüddin Efendi and Abdî Efendi taught at the Abdullah Pasha Madrasa, and that in 1031 [1622], to settle a dispute connected with the Yakub Pasha Lodge, the professorship of the madrasa there was given to Sheikh Abdî Efendi. Whether these are the historian Hüsameddin mentions could not be determined.
What Could Not Be Read
No information was found in other sources on Edîb Mehmed Efendi, his father Ahmed Rüşdi Efendi, his grandfather Sheikh Ali Efendi, his teacher Iydîzâde Hacı Mustafa Akif Efendi or his son Abdurrahman Efendi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 278–279. amasya.bel.tr
- "Defterdar", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi.
Academic studies
Other sources
- Yılmaz Karadeniz, "Amasya", Türk Maarif Ansiklopedisi, 2022.