Emîr Hacı-Abdullatîf Çelebi

In Modern English

He was from Amasya. He was the son of Hâcezâde Abdüllatîf Efendi, born three months after his father's death. One of the well-known notables, his life story appears below under the heading "Abdüllatîf Çelebi, Emîr Hacı." His descendants were called "Emîr Hacı Oğulları" (the Emîr Hacı family).

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• tevellüd: being born
• mahdûm: son
• meşâhir-i a'yân: well-known notables, those among the a'yân of the city
• a'yân: the notables of a city or region, local notables who mediated with the administration
• terceme: life story, biography

His Father and His Birth

According to the relevant entries in volume 12 of the book, the father was Hâcezâde Abdüllatîf Efendi, son of Kadızâde Mehmed Efendi, known in Amasya as "Küçük Hâce." He obtained the authority to give open lessons, became preacher of the Fethiye Mosque, then served as müderris in the madrasas of Amasya, and retired with the post of preacher at the Pervâne Bey Mosque. He died in Zilhicce 1065 [1655]. The information in the text that the son was born "three months after his death" places the birth at the end of 1655 or the beginning of 1656; this is an inference from the date of death, since the book does not give the year of birth separately. The orphaned child grew up under the guardianship of his elder brother Hâfız Halîl Efendi. Among Hâfız Halîl's sons is Emîr İmâm Abdüllatîf Efendi; entry 329 is about him.

The Title Emîr and His Political Standing

Hüsameddin writes that the title "emîr" was given to him because his mother was a descendant of Hazrat Hasan. Since he was a relative of Velî Emîr Mehmed Pasha, he was brought up in the Pasha's household and later settled in Amasya as the Pasha's son-in-law. According to Hüsameddin, he was the first member of the council of notables established in 1102 [1690-91]; he served in turn as deputy of the nakîbüleşraf of Amasya, member of the council of notables, city steward (kethüda) and chief of the notables. The nakîbüleşraf is the official who keeps the registers of seyyids and sharifs and decides questions of descent and privilege. According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, this office usually resided in Istanbul, while in other cities there were deputies of the nakîbüleşraf chosen for a period; since such a deputyship was an important source of influence and income, it was usually given to members of influential families. Emîr Hacı's standing in Amasya fits this description.

His career was not a steady rise. In Zilhicce 1123 [1712], when his political rivals applied to the Imperial Council with a joint petition of complaint, he was removed from the stewardship and the nakîb's office and imprisoned in the Amasya Citadel. The man who arrested him was Hacı Ahmed Pasha of Amasya, the Kaptan-ı derya; when the Pasha himself became deputy of Istanbul (kaymakam), he issued a decree in 1124 [1712] for Emîr Hacı's release. In 1126 [1714] Emîr Hacı again became deputy of the nakîbüleşraf; in 1127 he was removed again after complaints and obliged to stay at home. In 1129 he went on the pilgrimage for the second time and returned in 1130. At the beginning of 1135 [1722] he once more became deputy of the nakîbüleşraf.

The Atmacaoğulları and His Last Years

According to Hüsameddin, because the governor, the notables and the forces of Amasya were busy with the Persian campaign, brigands had appeared, and the Atmacaoğulları in particular were cutting the Sivas-Amasya road. In Rebîülevvel 1135 [1722-23] Emîr Hacı was ordered, together with his companions, to suppress the Atmacaoğulları; he went to Çamlıbel with a hundred infantry and fifty cavalry, dispersed the brigands within fifteen days, and was rewarded with the rank of kapıcıbaşı. His term as nakîb lasted three and a half years, and he died in Şaban 1138 [1726]. He had the prayer ground (musallâ) at Okmeydanı rebuilt and had mosques and fountains built in various places; he is buried opposite the mihrab of the musallâ, by the road. His mansion was a large building in İçerişehir above the Upper Bath, and some two hundred armed sekbans were kept beside it. Hüsameddin writes that the ruins of its harem section could still be seen in his own time. His only son, Hüseyin Çelebi, died before him; his grandsons Ali and Mustafa Ağa and their descendants were called "Emîr Hacıoğulları," and his son-in-law was the vizier Abdülganî Abdî Pasha.

In Other Sources

Searches on Emîr Hacı Abdüllatîf Çelebi's life, his struggle with the Atmacaoğulları and his deputyship of the nakîbüleşraf found no source apart from Hüsameddin's book. No record could be found of the present state of the musallâ and mosques. The information above is therefore a summary of the volume 12 entry and could not be verified.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 354–354. amasya.bel.tr
• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 12, entry "Abdüllatîf Çelebi-Emîr Hacı," p. 579–580.
• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, vol. 12, entry "Abdüllatîf Efendi-Hâcezâde," p. 579.

Academic studies

• Ş. Tufan Buzpınar, "Nakîbüleşrâf", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 32, İstanbul 2006, p. 322–324. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/nakibulesraf