Amasyalıdır. Kâtib-i masraf-ı şehriyârî el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi’nin evlâdından hattât-ı meşhûr Resmî Ahmed Efendi bin Mehmed Efendi bin el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi mahdûmudur. Pederinden hutût-ı mütenevviayı ahz ve ta’lim ederek Amasya‘da ikâmet ve “Köse Hattât” demekle iştihâr etdi.
Sultân Bâyezîd imârethânesi ittisâlinde kâin hücresinde tâlibâna ta’lim-i hatt ederek Sultân Bâyezîd evkâfı kâtibi oldu. 1192’de Amasyalı es-Seyyid İbrâhim Hıfzı Paşa’nın dîvân efendisi olduysa da müşârün-ileyhin iki yıl sonra irtihâlinde Amasya‘ya avdet etdi. [316]
1198’de pederinin Şam’da vefâtı üzerine İstanbul’a gidip bu esnâda Selîm Sırrı Paşa vezâretle Belgrâd vâlisi oldukda müşârün-ileyhin kâtib-i dîvânı sonra bâ-rütbe-i hâcegânî Kapı kethüdâsı olup devr-i bilâd etdi.
1208’de vezîr-i müşârün-ileyhin irtihâli üzerine İstanbul’a avdet etdi. Ba’dehû Amasyalızâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Reşid Efendi’nin himmetiyle Enfiye emîni oldu. Ba’de’l-azl 1215 senesi ramazânında vefât eyledi. Eyüp’de Kaşgarî yolunda medfûndur. Kâtib, maârif-âşinâ, hattât-ı meşhûr idi.
In Modern English
He was a native of Amasya, the son of the celebrated calligrapher Resmî Ahmed Efendi, who was a son of Mehmed Efendi and a grandson of el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi, of the line of el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi, scribe of the sultan's expenditure. He learned the various scripts from his father, settled in Amasya and became known as "Köse Hattat".
By teaching writing to those who wanted it in his cell beside the soup kitchen of Sultan Bayezid, he became scribe of the Sultan Bayezid waqfs. In 1192 [1778-79] he became divan efendisi to es-Seyyid İbrahim Hıfzı Pasha of Amasya, but when the Pasha died two years later he returned to Amasya.
In 1198 [1783-84], on the death of his father in Damascus, he went to Istanbul, and when Selim Sırrı Pasha became governor of Belgrade with the rank of vizier at that time, he went about the country as the Pasha's divan scribe and then, with the rank of hâcegân, as his Kapı kethüdâsı.
In 1208 [1793-94], on the death of the vizier, he returned to Istanbul. Later, through the efforts of Amasyalızâde el-Hâc İbrâhim Reşid Efendi, he became superintendent of snuff. After being dismissed he died in Ramazan 1215 [1801]. He is buried in Eyüp on the Kaşgarî road. He was a scribe, a lover of learning and culture, and a celebrated calligrapher.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kâtib-i masraf-ı şehriyârî: the scribe who kept the record of the sultan's expenditure
- evlâd: descendants, children and grandchildren
- hutût-ı mütenevvia: the various styles of script
- iştihâr: becoming famous
- imârethâne: soup kitchen
- evkâf kâtibi: the scribe who kept the record of the income and expenditure of waqfs
- dîvân efendisi: the scribe who handled a vizier's correspondence and council affairs
- irtihâl: departure, death
- hâcegân: the senior scribes of the Imperial Council
- Kapı kethüdâsı: the representative of a governor in Istanbul
- devr-i bilâd: going about the country, staying in the provinces
- enfiye emîni: superintendent of snuff (tobacco taken through the nose)
- maârif-âşinâ: a lover of learning and culture
Who Is Köse Hattat?
Hüsameddin's entry "İbrâhim Efendi-Masraf Kâtibi" in volume 6 (p. 58) calls İbrâhim Efendi's son Mehmed Emîn Efendi "scribe of the Sultan Bayezid waqfs in Amasya, an unequalled calligrapher" and writes that he was called "Köse Hattât". The same nickname is used in the entry "Ahmed Kâmil Efendi-Kâtibzâde" in volume 6 (p. 225) for the uncle and writing teacher "Kâtib Masrafzâde Mehmed Emin Efendi", and in the entry "Emîn Mehmed Efendi-Şerîf Efendizâde" in volume 7 (p. 361) for the teacher "Köse Hattât Emîn Mehmed Efendi" who taught writing. In all three places the nickname belongs to a calligrapher connected with the Bayezid waqf in Amasya. In volume 6, however, the father is İbrâhim Efendi, who is buried in Üsküdar in 1173 [1759-60]; in this entry the father is Resmî Ahmed Efendi, who died in Damascus in 1198 [1783-84]. The names and the kinship statements do not agree; whether the records describe one man or two men bearing the same nickname could not be determined from the sources read.
The Kâtibzâde Family and the Bayezid Waqf
Hüsameddin's entry "Ahmed Kâmil Efendi-Kâtibzâde" in volume 6 (p. 225) lists a line descending from Kâsım Efendi, scribe of the Sultan Bayezid waqfs in Amasya: Kâsım Efendi, scribe of the sultan's waqfs, Ahmed Efendi, el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi, scribe of the sultan's expenditure, Abdülbârî Efendi, Ahmed Efendi and Abdullah Efendi. The same entry notes that Abdullah Efendi became müderris of the Sultan Bayezid Madrasa in 1233 [1817-18] and learned writing from Köse Hattat. The name "Kâtibzâde" thus points to a family that carried on the clerkship of the Sultan Bayezid waqf in Amasya. The Bayezid Complex itself is counted in the encyclopedia entry among the principal buildings of Amasya under the name Bayezid II Mosque and Complex (1486).
İbrahim Hıfzı Pasha and Selim Sırrı Pasha
In Hüsameddin's annual narrative in the supplement to volume 4 (p. 678–679) the death of Hacı Ahmed Ârif Ağa, çukadar of "İbrâhim Hıfzı Pasha of Amasya", is mentioned; this record shows that there was an İbrahim Hıfzı Pasha of Amasya, but the years of his offices and the date of his death could not be found in the sources read. For Selim Sırrı Pasha, Cevdet Küçük's entry on Hurşid Ahmed Pasha names him as governor of Rumelia and reports that he was the master of Hurşid Ahmed Pasha. The entry "Reşîd Mustafa Paşa-Hatîbzâde" in volume 10 of the book (p. 217–218) writes that Reşîd Mustafa, the Amasya-born son of Halil Rüşdü Efendi, imam of Selim Sırrı Pasha, entered the mektûbî chancery at the Porte under the Pasha's protection. Selim Sırrı Pasha's governorship of Belgrade in 1198 [1783-84] and his death in 1208 [1793-94] could not be verified from the sources read.
The Snuff Superintendency
No information on the office of snuff superintendent, or on Amasyalızâde İbrâhim Reşid Efendi or Resmî Ahmed Efendi, was found in sources other than the book. The grave in Eyüp on the Kaşgarî road mentioned in the text could not be verified either.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 360. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 58 ("İbrâhim Efendi-Masraf Kâtibi") and p. 225 ("Ahmed Kâmil Efendi-Kâtibzâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc"); vol. 7, p. 361 ("Emîn Mehmed Efendi-Şerîf Efendizâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc"); vol. 10, p. 217–218 ("Reşîd Mustafa Paşa-Hatîbzâde"); Supplement to vol. 4, p. 678–679 ("Süleymân Bey").
Academic studies