[287] Amasyalıdır. Amasya‘da Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî evkâf-ı mütevellîsi iken l079’da vefât eden mîrlivâ Amasyalı el-Hâc Selîm Bey bin Mirza Bey’in mahdûmudur. Amasya’da doğdu. Bir müddet Hatûniye hatîbi Fazlullah Efendi’den temeşşuk-ı hatt etdi.
Ba’dehû İstanbul’a gidip bir tarafdan tahsîl-i maârif ve diğer tarafdan sülüs, nesîh, tevkî’, dîvânî hatlarını hattât-ı meşhûr Seyyid Haşimî Çelebi’den ahz ve temeşşuk ederek mücâz oldu. Dîvân-ı Hümâyûn ketebesinden iken Mısır vâlisi Firârî Mustafa Paşa’ya dîvân kâtibi oldu.
1067 senesi şa’bânında vezîr müşârün-ileyhin azil ve firârında bir müddet Şam’da kalıp 107l’de muhâsebe-i Şam kâtibi ve 1073’de paşa meydana çıkıp 1074’de Şam vâlisi oldukda yine müşârün-ileyhin kâtib-i dîvânı olarak devr-i bilâd etdi.
1082’de paşasının Basra’da vefâtı üzerine dönüp İstanbul’a geldi. Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın himmetiyle arpa emîni, l090’da baş muhâsebeci l095’de mukâtaacı oldu. l099’da tekâüd edilip [288] lll0’da vefât etdi.
Tekâüd edildikden sonra Tarîkat-ı Kâdirîyyeden inâbe etmiş şâir, zarîf, hattât-ı mâhir idi. Buna Emîn Süleyman Çelebi de denirdi. Müstakîmzâde Süleyman Sâdeddîn Efendi “Tuhfetü’l-Hattâtîn” adlı eserinde diyor ki:
“Süleyman Emnî bin Selîm şehrîdir. Selîmzâde demekle arîf ve Tarîk-i Kâdiriyye’den bir şâir-i zarîf idi. Hüsn-i hatt-ı sülüs ve nesih ve tevkî’ ve Dîvânî’de Seyyid Hâşimî’den temeşşuk ile mâhir-i bî-müdânî olmuş idi. Mısır vâlisi Firârî Hasan Paşa’nın dîvan kâtibi iken çâr mısra’-ı ahşîcânı tahmîs 1110 tarihinde mısra’-i tecrîd-i ruhânî ile tahmîs olundu. Bu güfte-zâde-i tab’-ı ruhânîlerindendir.
Kadri gâyetde a’lâdır Şeyh Abdülkâdirin
Cedd-i pâki Mustafâdır Şeyh Abdülkâdirin
Sen dahi sa’y eyle Emnî anlara kıl ittibâ’
Pîr-i dânî evliyâdır Şeyh Abdülkâdirin
Ancak Mısır vâlisi Firârî Hasan Paşa değil, tercemede arz edildiği üzere Mısır vâlisi Firârî Mustafa [289] Paşa’dır. Bu tarihlerde Mısır vâlisi Firârî Hasan Paşa adlı bir vezîr tarihen yoktur. Tarafımdan yazılan terceme kuyûd-ı resmiyyeden muktebesdir.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Hacı Selim Bey, the son of Mirza Bey, a mîrlivâ [sanjak governor] of Amasya who was trustee of the endowments of Bayezid II in Amasya and died in 1079 [1668-69]. He was born in Amasya. For a time he practiced writing under Fazlullah Efendi, preacher of the Hatuniye Mosque.
Afterwards he went to Istanbul, where he studied the sciences on one hand and on the other learned the sülüs, nesih, tevki' and divanî scripts from the famous calligrapher Seyyid Haşimî Çelebi, practicing under him until he received his diploma. While among the clerks of the Imperial Council he became divan secretary to Firarî Mustafa Pasha, governor of Egypt.
In the month of Shaban 1067 [1657], when the said vizier was dismissed and fled, he stayed in Damascus for a time. In 1071 [1660-61] he became accounting clerk of Damascus, and in 1073 [1662-63], when the pasha reappeared, and in 1074 [1663-64], when he became governor of Damascus, he again traveled through the lands as the said pasha's divan secretary.
In 1082 [1671-72], when his pasha died in Basra, he returned and came to Istanbul. Through the favor of Köprülüzade Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha he became barley steward, in 1090 [1679-80] chief accountant and in 1095 [1683-84] mukataa clerk. He was retired in 1099 [1687-88] and died in 1110 [1698-99].
After his retirement he had joined the Qadiri order; he was a poet, a refined man and a master calligrapher. He was also called Emin Süleyman Çelebi. Müstakimzâde Süleyman Sâdeddin Efendi says in his work "Tuhfetü'l-Hattâtîn":
"Süleyman Emnî, son of Selim, is a city man. Known as Selimzâde, he was a refined poet of the Qadiri order. Practicing under Seyyid Hâşimî in the sülüs, nesih, tevki' and divanî scripts, he had become a master without equal. While he was divan secretary to Firarî Hasan Pasha, governor of Egypt, his four-line ahşîcân was given a tahmis in 1110 [1698-99] with a spiritual detached line. This verse is among the products of his spiritually inclined nature."
Kadri gâyetde a'lâdır Şeyh Abdülkâdirin
Cedd-i pâki Mustafâdır Şeyh Abdülkâdirin
Sen dahi sa'y eyle Emnî anlara kıl ittibâ'
Pîr-i dânî evliyâdır Şeyh Abdülkâdirin
Meaning of the poem: Sheikh Abdülkâdir's rank is exceedingly high, and his pure forefather is Mustafa [the Prophet Muhammad]. You too, Emnî, strive and follow them; the learned pîr, Sheikh Abdülkâdir, is a saint.
However, the governor of Egypt was not Firarî Hasan Pasha but, as stated in the biography, Firarî Mustafa Pasha, governor of Egypt. In these years there was no vizier named Firarî Hasan Pasha governor of Egypt in history. The biography I wrote is taken from official records.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mîrlivâ: sanjak governor; the administrator of a sanjak
- evkâf mütevellîsi: trustee of endowments
- temeşşuk-ı hatt: practice of fine writing, that is working on one's script under a master
- sülüs, nesih, tevkî', dîvânî: kinds of script used in Ottoman calligraphy
- mücâz: one who has received a diploma (icazet), authorized to teach the script
- ketebe: clerks
- müşârün-ileyh: the said, the aforementioned
- devr-i bilâd: traveling through the lands
- tekâüd: retirement
- inâbe: repenting and attaching oneself to a path
- tahmîs: making a five-line stanza out of a couplet by adding three lines that match the other lines
- ahşîcân: the meaning of this word in the text is unclear; it may be a copying error or a special term, and could not be read with certainty
Firarî Mustafa Pasha and Hüsameddin's Correction
Hüsameddin writes that the "Firarî Hasan Pasha" in the lines he quotes from Müstakimzâde was really Firarî Mustafa Pasha, and bases the correction on official records. Other sources support this correction. Firarî Kara Mustafa Pasha, also called Halıcı Damadı, was the son-in-law of Halıcızade Mehmed Pasha; raised in the palace, he became silahdar and in early May 1656 was removed from the post of kapudan pasha and sent to the beylerbeyilik of Egypt. At the order of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha he was dismissed from this post and sentenced to death; while in Aleppo he hid on the advice of Abaza Mehmed Pasha, the guardian of Aleppo, and fled secretly to Istanbul. Because he stayed in hiding for a long time he took the nickname "Firarî" (the fugitive). With the death of Köprülü and Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha's becoming grand vizier he was pardoned in 1661; in the same year he became governor of Van, and between 1664 and 1671 three times beylerbeyi of Baghdad. It is written that he died in office in Baghdad.
Emnî's life line matches these records to a large extent: Shaban 1067 [May-June 1657] falls in the same period as the pasha's dismissal and flight, and Emnî's staying in Damascus is consistent with the pasha being in Aleppo at the time. Hüsameddin's note "in 1074 he became governor of Damascus" does not appear in the source cited; there the pasha is said to have been appointed to Van in 1661 and to Baghdad after 1664. This difference may come from the sources giving an incomplete account, or from the records Hüsameddin used showing another post; which of the two could not be determined. A similar situation holds for the note "died in Basra in 1082": Silahdar Kara Mustafa Pasha, as governor of Baghdad, led the Basra campaigns in 1667 and 1671, and his death is in 1671. The reading that the pasha died during a Basra campaign is an inference; the text does not say it outright. That the Silahdar Kara Mustafa Pasha who led the Basra campaigns is the same person as Firarî Mustafa Pasha is likewise inferred from the same name and the title "silahdar" appearing for both.
Tuhfe-i Hattâtîn
The work Hüsameddin quotes is the book of Müstakimzâde Süleyman Sâdeddin Efendi (d. 1202 [1788]) on calligraphy and calligraphers. Menâkıb-ı Hünerverân, Gülzâr-ı Savâb and Devhatü'l-küttâb were written before Müstakimzâde; the Tuhfe is regarded as the most comprehensive book written on its subject after these works. İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal published it in Istanbul in 1928. A comparison of the Emnî entry as Hüsameddin quotes it with the wording of the printed text could not be made.
His Teacher Seyyid Haşimî Çelebi
The identity of Seyyid Haşimî Çelebi, named as Emnî's writing teacher, could not be determined. The Istanbul Encyclopedia has two calligraphers named Seyyid Mehmed Hâşimî and Hâşim Efendi (d. 1139 [1726-27]); both lived in the eighteenth century. Emnî died in 1110 [1698-99], so it hardly seems possible that they were his teacher. This inference is meant to prevent a confusion arising from the shared name.
Amasya and Family
No information was found in other sources on his father Selim Bey's being trustee of the endowments of Bayezid II or on Fazlullah Efendi, preacher of the Hatuniye Mosque.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 351–352. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- M. Uğur Derman, "Tuhfe-i Hattâtîn", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/tuhfe-i-hattatin
- Ahmet Yılmaz, "Müstakimzâde Süleyman Sâdeddin", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mustakimzade-suleyman-sadeddin
- Emirhan Özçelik, "Silahdar Kara Mustafa Paşa'nın Basra Seferleri ve Basra Eyaletinin İntizamı (1667-1671)", Kadim, no. 4, 2022, p. 1–25 (only the abstract was read). https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/kadim/article/1134510
Other sources