Amasya‘da Hacı Hamza Mahallesi üstünde zâviye binâ eden Hâce Sultân Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebizâde Mes’ûd Şâh’ın mahdûmudur. Pederinin irtihâlinde cedd-i vakfına mütevellî ve Amasya a’yânından oldu. Hâce Sultânoğlu demekle iştihâr etdi.
940 senesi vak’asında Şi’ayı tenkîle koşan erbâb-ı hamiyyete yardımlar edib ziyâfetler verdiğinden (Yardım Çelebi) dendi. Kânûnî Sultân Süleyman da bunun mukâbilinde [84] kendisini ağır zeâmetle taltîf etdi. 953’de vefât eyledi. Sahî, zengin, merd idi. Kerîmezâdesi Hüseyin Şâh’dır. Hafîdi Sefer Şâh olup bunlara (Yardımoğulları) dendi.
In Modern English
He was the son of Mes'ûd Şâh, who was the son of Hâce Sultân Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi, builder of the zawiya above the Hacı Hamza Quarter in Amasya. When his father died he became custodian (mütevelli) of his grandfather's endowment and one of the notables of Amasya. He became known as "Hâce Sultânoğlu."
Because he gave aid and held banquets for the zealous men who rushed to suppress the Shiites in the incident of 940 [1533-34], he was called "Yardım Çelebi." In return, Süleyman the Magnificent rewarded him with a heavy zeamet. He died in 953 [1546-47]. He was generous, wealthy and brave. His daughter's son is Hüseyin Şâh. His grandson was Sefer Şâh, and they are called the "Yardımoğulları."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- zâviye: a small, tekke-like building where members of a Sufi order and travelers stay and where worship and conversation take place
- cedd-i vakf: the endowment founded by one's grandfather
- mütevellî: the person who administers an endowment
- a'yân: the notables of a place
- iştihâr: becoming famous
- vak'a: incident
- tenkîl: suppression, punishment
- erbâb-ı hamiyyet: people who show zeal and self-sacrifice
- zeâmet: a military fief granted for service, with an annual yield between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand akçe
- taltîf: rewarding, gratifying
- sahî, merd: generous, brave
- kerîmezâde: daughter's son
- hafîd: grandson
The Hoca Sultan Zâviye
According to one study, the Hoca Sultan of this entry is Şemseddin Ahmed Çelebi, the "hoca-i sultânî," that is, the teacher, of Sultan Bayezid II when he was governor of Amasya. The same study writes that in 880 (1475-76) Şemseddin Ahmed Çelebi had a zawiya built in the Darü's-Selâm Quarter, with a guesthouse and kitchen beside it, and bases this information on Hüsameddin's book. The zawiya was run by sheikhs belonging to the Halvetiyye order.
There is a difference in names here: this entry says the zawiya was above the Hacı Hamza Quarter, while the study says it was in the Darü's-Selâm Quarter. Quarter names may have changed over time, but whether Hacı Hamza and Darü's-Selâm are two names for the same area could not be verified in the sources.
The records on the zawiya's endowment extend into later centuries. According to the 1576 survey register, the revenue of the Hızırlık hamlet attached to the village of Vermiş in the district of Geldiklanâbâd was assigned to the Hoca Sultan Zawiya, and it was proved by the testimony of the local notables that the shares of the Vermiş hamlet belonged to the zawiya. The endowment registers list the zawiya's staff, such as the scribe, sheikh, lamp-keeper, doorkeeper, cook, prayer reciter and tanner. It can be understood from the records that the sheikhs and zawiya keepers were referred to as seyyids, and that the post of sheikh, worth two and a half müd of wheat a year, was voluntarily handed from one seyyid to another. These records show that behind the phrase in the text, "he became custodian of his grandfather's endowment," there was a regularly functioning endowment institution.
A Family of Three Generations
Hüsameddin's sentence is confusing on first reading. The family is arranged as follows: Hâce Sultân Şemseddîn Ahmed Çelebi, who built the zawiya; his son Mes'ûd Şâh; and his son Es'ad Şâh. This is why Es'ad Şâh became custodian of his grandfather's endowment: when his father died, the management of the endowment fell to him. That Hüseyin Şâh and Sefer Şâh, who continued the line, were together called "Yardımoğulları" shows that the nickname passed from an individual to the family.
The Incident of 940 and the "Heavy Zeamet"
Hüsameddin says that in 940 [1533-34], in an incident, Es'ad Şâh helped those who "rushed to suppress the Shiites" and that Süleyman the Magnificent rewarded him with a zeamet. In the searches carried out, no record was found of an Amasya-centered Shiite or Kızılbaş movement in this year; the nature of the incident could not be verified. The phrase "heavy zeamet" also could not be defined in the sources. A zeamet generally means a fief whose annual yield begins at twenty thousand akçe and reaches up to one hundred thousand akçe; whether Hüsameddin meant the upper part of this range by the adjective "heavy" is not clear.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 290–290. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies