AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Emîn Mehmed Efendi, Zilelizâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 364 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Muhaddis-i meşhûr Zileli Ali Şükrü Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Fâzıl-ı meşhûr Canikli el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi’nin halka-i tedrîsinde ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm ve 1250’de Benderli Medresesi müderrisi olduğu halde 1259’da vefât etdi. Âlim, kâmil, zekî bir zât idi.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of the famous hadith scholar Ali Şükrü Efendi of Zile. He completed his studies in the teaching circle of the well-known scholar Canikli Hacı Mehmed Efendi and received the licence to teach publicly. In 1250 [1834-35] he became müderris (madrasa professor) of the Benderli Madrasa, and he died in 1259 [1843-44]. He was a learned, mature and intelligent man.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • mahdûm: son
  • muhaddis: a scholar who specializes in hadith
  • halka-i tedrîs: the teaching circle that gathers around a teacher
  • ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
  • ders-i âm: a scholar who holds a licence and gives lessons open to all
  • müderris: a teacher at a madrasa
  • kâmil: mature, accomplished

The Benderli Madrasa

In the section on madrasas, Hüsameddin places the Benderli Madrasa in the Kocacık quarter, down a side street behind the tomb of İğnecizâde. It was built in 1228 [1812-13] by the Amasya merchant Benderli el-Hâc Hâfız Feyzullâh Ağa, who also set up its waqf. The wooden building had a lecture hall, a garden and a water supply. It fell into ruin around 1300 [1882-83] and burned in the fire of 1311 [1893-94]. When Şeyh Ahmedzâde el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi died in 1316 [1898-99], he left instructions in his will that a third of his property should be used to rebuild the madrasa; his son-in-law Hacı Müsevvidzâde el-Hâc Hâfız Mehmed Tevfîk Efendi rebuilt it in 1318 [1900-01] and revived its old soup kitchen.

Hüsameddin lists the professors as follows: Benderli Hâfız Mehmed Efendi when the building was first made; Zileli el-Hâc Ali Şükrî Efendi in 1247 [1831-32]; then Cırıkçızâde Hâfız Ahmed Efendi, Taşâbâdî el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi and his son Mehmed Ârif Efendi. Emîn Mehmed Efendi's name does not appear in this list. Yet according to another entry in the book, Cırıkçızâde Ahmed Efendi became müderris of the Benderli Madrasa in 1253 [1837-38] and died in 1263 [1846-47]. The text does not explain how Emîn Mehmed's professorship in 1250 sat alongside his father's post of 1247, or how the post passed from father to son. No document on this was seen.

His Teacher and His Father's Circle

In Hüsameddin's book, Canikli el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi appears as the son of Derviş Mustafa and a former mufti of Amasya. One of his sons, Ahmed Efendi, studied under his father and under Sipâhî Hâfız Ömer Efendi, and died childless in 1267 [1850-51]. Mehmed Hilmi Efendi later became mufti of Amasya, while Rüşdü Ali Efendi went to Taşköprü in 1254 [1838-39] and became mufti and a well-known müderris there. Among the teachers of Mehmed Hilmi and Rüşdü Ali was Zilelizâde's father, Zileli Ali Şükrü Efendi. Emîn Mehmed's teacher and his father thus appear as two names who knew each other in the same Amasya scholarly circle of that period.

One point needs care. A study based on the Meşîhat Archive documents mentions another Amasya teacher, also known as "Canikli Mehmed Efendi", whose real name was Seyyid Mehmed Hamdi Çarşambavî and who issued a licence to his pupil in 1892 [1309]. Because the gap in time is large, this person should not be taken to be the same as Canikli Hacı Mehmed Efendi of the 1830s, Zilelizâde's teacher. It appears that two different teachers with the same epithet are meant; this is an inference.

No detailed information on Zileli Ali Şükrü Efendi was found in independent sources.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, 7. Cilt, p. 364. amasya.bel.tr
  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 1, pp. 161–167 (Benderli Madrasa); vol. 6, pp. 228–229 and 238 (entries on Cırıkçızâde Ahmed, Caniklizâde Ahmed and Mehmed Hilmi); vol. 9, pp. 70–71; vol. 10, p. 212.

Academic studies

Volume 7 contents