AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

Emîn Süleyman Çelebi-Mimâr

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 357 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasyalıdır. İbrâhim oğlu olup “Emîn Mimâr Amasyavî” demekle meşhûr ve Sinan

Paşa’nın vakfiyesinde müsbettir. Amasya‘da sanat-ı mimâriyeyi mimârân-ı hâssadan

öğrendi. Mimârlıkta üstâd olup Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî Amasya’da bir câmi ve imâret inşâsını

emretdikte bunu mimâr ve binâ emîni nasbetdi.

Câmi-i şerîfin binâsına 888’de mübâşeret edib 891’de ikmâl etdi. Kendisine “Emîn Mimâr” dendiğinden adı unutuldu. Mahdûmu Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi imzâsından adının “Süleyman bin İbrâhim” olduğu anlaşıldı.

Amasya‘da Hâtuniye Câmii de bu mimârın eseri binâsı olup 916’da vefât etdi. Sanatında üstâd, mâhir, maârif-âşinâ, emîn, müstakîm bir mimâr idi. Sultân Bâyezîd Amasya’da vâlî iken Amasya Sarayı’nı da bu mimâra yaptırmışdı. Mahdûmları Muhyiddîn Mehmed, Musliheddîn Mustafa Efendilerdir. Hafîdi İstanbul kadısı Mustafa Efendi bin Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi’dir. [307]

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was a native of Amasya. He was the son of İbrâhim; he was famous as "Emîn Mimâr Amasyavî" and is recorded in the waqf deed of Sinan Pasha. He learned the art of architecture in Amasya from the architects of the palace. A master in architecture, when Bayezid II ordered a mosque and imaret to be built in Amasya, he appointed him architect and building steward.

He began the construction of the noble mosque in 888 [1483-84] and completed it in 891 [1486]. Because he was called "Emîn Mimâr", his real name was forgotten. From the signature of his son Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi it was learned that his name was "Süleyman bin İbrâhim".

The Hatuniye Mosque in Amasya is also the work of this architect; he died in 916 [1510-11]. He was a master of his art, skilled, a lover of learning, trustworthy and upright. When Sultan Bayezid was governor in Amasya, he had the Amasya Palace built by this architect as well. His sons are Muhyiddîn Mehmed and Musliheddîn Mustafa Efendis. His grandson is Mustafa Efendi bin Muhyiddîn Mehmed Efendi, judge of Istanbul.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • vakfiye: the document recording the foundation, properties and conditions of a waqf
  • sanat-ı mimâriyye: the art of architecture
  • mimârân-ı hâssa: the palace architects
  • binâ emîni: the official who directs the construction of a building and supervises its expenses
  • mübâşeret: beginning
  • ikmâl: completion
  • mâhir: skilled, capable
  • maârif-âşinâ: familiar with learning, a lover of learning
  • hafîd: grandson

The Bayezid Mosque and Complex

The mosque in the text is the Bayezid II Mosque in Amasya. According to the three-part construction inscription above the main gate and on the two side walls, the mosque was completed in Receb 891 [July 1486]; the inscriptions were written by a calligrapher named Ali b. Mezîd. This date agrees with the 891 in the text. The complex was built on the bank of the Yeşilırmak and consists of the mosque in the centre, the madrasa on its right, and the soup kitchen-imaret and tabhâne on its left. Its waqf deed was written in the middle of Cemâziyelevvel 901 [January 1496] and shows the complex as consisting of a mosque, an imaret, a madrasa and a boys' school.

On the starting date Hüsameddin's own statements do not agree with each other. In this entry he says the building was begun in 888. The encyclopedia, however, reports that Hüsameddin claims construction began in Receb 886 [September 1481], right after Bayezid's accession, and, citing İdrîs-i Bitlisî, that the building was begun as an act of thanks and that the work was entrusted to Prince Ahmed. These details do not contradict the account in this entry, "Bayezid ordered it, and Emîn Mimâr was appointed building steward"; only the starting year appears with two different figures.

The encyclopedia entry read does not name the architect of the complex. In one search result Mimar Hayrüddin was mentioned as the architect of the building, but since that page could not be read in full, this information could not be verified. Hüsameddin's "Emîn Mimâr", Süleyman bin İbrâhim, was not found in the sources read.

The Hatuniye Mosque

The Hatuniye Mosque is in the Hatuniye quarter of Amasya; it was built by Bülbül Hatun, one of the wives of Bayezid II, together with a boys' school and an imaret. In the encyclopedia the Hatuniye Mosque is cited with the date 1510 among the surviving works of Amasya. What Hüsameddin says in this entry and in the next conflicts: according to this entry Emîn Mimâr built the Hatuniye and died in 916 [1510-11]; according to the next entry the building steward of the mosque was Emîn Çelebi, construction of the mosque began in 911 [1505-06], and Emîn Çelebi died in 918 [1512-13], a few years after the mosque was finished. The sources read do not name the architect or the building steward of the mosque, so which of the two accounts is right could not be determined.

The Amasya Palace and the Waqf Deed of Sinan Pasha

No information was found in the sources read on Emîn Mimâr's building of the Amasya Palace, on which Sinan Pasha the waqf deed in which he is recorded belongs to, or on his sons and his grandson Mustafa Efendi, judge of Istanbul; this information could not be verified.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 357. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

Volume 7 contents