Emrî Ali Efendi's working life began in the madrasa and continued on the bench. He taught at the Mehmed Paşa madrasa in Amasya in his father's place until 1098 (1686-87), then entered the career of judge (kadı); as defterdar of Sivas in 1131 (1718-19) he took part in collecting confiscated property, and he died out of office in 1136 (1723-24). His father was the müderris Çelebizâde Hacı Ömer Efendi, whom Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's book calls "fâzıl-ı meşhûr", a renowned man of learning. Hüsameddin describes the son as a secretary, a poet, a gentle man and a lover of travel.

Hüsameddin's Record

Amasya'da Mehmed Paşa Medresesi müderrisi iken 1095'de vefât eden el-Hâc Ömer Efendi'nin mahdûmudur. Pederinden tahsîl-i ulûm ederek ders-i âm oldu. Pederinin irtihâlinde Mehmed Paşa müderrisi, 1098'de silk-i kudâta girdiğinden müderrisliği âhara verildi.
Devr-i kasabât ve bilâd ederek kibâr-ı kudâtdan olup 1131'de Çankırı kazâsından Sivas defterdârı olarak Bostancıbaşı Sivaslı Seyyid Mehmed Ağa'nın ve mahdûmu Ahmed ve birâderi Ahî Mehmed Paşaların müsâdere edilen emvâl ve emlâkını kabz ve tahsîlde ibrâz-ı hizmet ve 1136'da ma'zûlen vefât etdi. Kâtib, şâir, hâlim, gerdî-meşreb bir zât idi.

In English: His father was Hacı Ömer Efendi, who died in 1095 while müderris of the Mehmed Paşa madrasa in Amasya. He studied with his father and became a ders-i âm, a teacher licensed to give public lessons. When his father died he became müderris of Mehmed Paşa; in 1098 (1686-87), because he entered the profession of judge, the professorship was given to someone else. Serving in towns and cities in turn, he became one of the senior judges. In 1131 he was moved from the judgeship of Çankırı to the post of defterdar of Sivas, and rendered service in taking over and collecting the confiscated goods and properties of Seyyid Mehmed Ağa of Sivas, head of the palace guards (bostancıbaşı), of his son Ahmed Paşa and of his brother Ahî Mehmed Paşa. He died in 1136, out of office. He was a secretary, a poet, gentle in temper and of a roving disposition. A glossary of the old words and a short note on the Mehmed Paşa complex are on the page Emrî Ali Efendi-Çelebizâde.

His Father Çelebizâde Ömer Efendi

Hüsameddin mentions Emrî Ali's father in three other places in his book. The chronicle in the fourth volume records that on the night of the seventh of Muharrem 1095 (25 December 1683) the former grand vizier Kara Mustafa Paşa was executed in Belgrade, and a few days later "Çelebizâde Ömer Efendi, müderris of Mehmed Paşa, one of the renowned scholars" died in Amasya. In the eighth volume, in the entry on his pupil Sânî Abdullah Efendi, it is written that after the teacher's death in 1095 "the field of learning" was left to this pupil, and that his lessons on Qur'anic exegesis in the Sultan Bayezid Mosque were filled with listeners. In the eleventh volume, finally, it is told that another pupil and son-in-law, Şirvânîzâde Abdülcebbâr Efendi, was so vexed when at his teacher's death the Mehmed Paşa professorship was given "to another" that he went to Çorum, where he died in 1123 (1711-12) as müderris and mufti.

The müderris's family name is not written the same way in these records: the chronicle calls him "Çelebizâde", and the headings of the entries on Emrî Ali and on Halîmî, apparently his nephew, bear the same name, while the entry on Sânî Abdullah writes "Çillîzâde" and the entry on Abdülcebbâr "Çilizâde". Common to all of them is the information that the müderris taught at the Mehmed Paşa madrasa and died in 1095.

The Question of the Successor at the Madrasa

Emrî Ali's entry says that he himself succeeded to the Mehmed Paşa professorship on his father's death and held the post until 1098. The chronicle of the fourth volume, however, says immediately after the same news of death: "in his place the renowned scholar Hâfız es-Seyyid Mehmed Efendi of Çorum became müderris". The phrase "it was given to another" in Abdülcebbâr Efendi's entry also tells that the professorship went not to the son-in-law but to someone else, without saying to whom. This disagreement within the book could not be resolved from the records read.

Family

The entry "Halîmî Ömer Efendi-Çelebizâde" in the ninth volume introduces another poet of the same family. Hüsameddin gives him as the son of "Abdulhalim Efendi, son of Ömer Efendi, the renowned scholar who died in 1095 while müderris of Mehmed Paşa". The death in 1095 is the same as that of Emrî Ali's father Ömer Efendi, and in the sentence it belongs not to Abdülhalim but to his father Ömer Efendi; "Ömer Efendizâde" itself means son of Ömer Efendi. Hüsameddin states no brotherhood between the two entries; on this reading, however, Abdülhalim Efendi was Emrî Ali's brother and Halîmî his nephew. Halîmî studied with Hâfız Seyyid Mehmed Efendi of Çorum, who according to the chronicle succeeded his grandfather as müderris and was later known as mufti; he entered the judgeship in 1143 (1730-31), and died after returning to Amasya when he was dismissed from the deputy judgeship of Tokat in 1161 (1748). Hüsameddin calls him too "edîb, şâir", a man of letters and a poet. Halîmî's own entry is published on the site as Halîmî Ömer Efendi-Çelebizâde.

His Poetry

Hüsameddin's "kâtib, şâir" is all there is on Emrî Ali's literary side; the entry quotes no couplet, and it uses the name "Emrî" only in the heading, not in the text. Emrî Ali Efendi's poems have not been found. Metin Hakverdioğlu's study, which examines Amasya Tarihi as a tezkire of poets, counts him among the poets of the seventh volume under the name "Emrî Ali Efendi-Çelebizâde". A likeness of names may mislead the reader: two other men in the book are called Emrî, Emrî Ahmed Çelebi of the Hacı Beyzâde, who died in 1029, and Emrî Emrullah Efendi of the Yüzbaşızâde, who died after 1191.

Chronology

Early Muharrem 1095 (December 1683-January 1684): His father Çelebizâde Ömer Efendi dies; Emrî Ali becomes müderris of Mehmed Paşa.

1098 (1686-87): He enters the profession of judge; the professorship is given to someone else.

1131 (1718-19): He is moved from the judgeship of Çankırı to the post of defterdar of Sivas.

1136 (1723-24): He dies out of office.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources