His teacher used to call him "Fâzıl". Ayntâbîzâde es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi was the favourite pupil of Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi, the scholar who trained a great many students in mid-eighteenth-century Amasya; in 1172 (1758-59) he became teacher at the Hızır Paşa madrasa, then served as judge in small towns, and died in the last months of 1173 (1760), having just been removed from the judgeship of Zile. The author of Amasya Tarihi records him as "fâzıl, edîb, şâir", virtuous, a man of letters and a poet, yet does not quote a single couplet of his.

The Entry in Amasya Tarihi

The entry Abdullah Efendi-Ayntâbîzâde es-Seyyid in volume 12 reads in full:

Esbak Amasya müftüsü ve Hüseyniyye müderrisi Ayntâbî el-Hâc Kara Osmân Efendi'nin oğludur. Allâme Iydîzâde Hacı Âkif Mustafa Efendi'nin halka-i tedrîsine mülâzemet ederek ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm ve yıllarca ders okutup be-nâm oldu. Akl ü zekâsı ile üstâdının teveccühünü kazandığından ulemânın gözdesi olup 1172 senesinde Hızır Paşa müderrisi oldu. Ba'dehû ba'zı kasabâta kadı olup Zile'den ma'zûl olduğu hâlde 1173 senesi evâhirinde vefât etdi. Meşâhîr-i ulemâdan fâzıl, edîb, şâir bir zât idi. Üstâdı kendisine "Fâzıl" demişdi.

Its sense, in modern words: a son of Hacı Kara Osman Efendi of Ayıntap, former mufti of Amasya and teacher at the Hüseyniyye madrasa, he attended the teaching circle of the great scholar Îdîzâde Hacı Âkif Mustafa Efendi, completed his studies, became a ders-i âm and made his name by teaching for years. Because his intelligence won his teacher's affection he became the favourite of the scholars, and in 1172 he was appointed teacher at the Hızır Paşa madrasa. Afterwards he served as judge in some small towns, and died towards the end of 1173, having been dismissed from Zile. He was one of the well-known scholars, virtuous, a man of letters and a poet. His teacher used to call him "Fâzıl".

Life

Abdullah Efendi was born in a mufti's household. The by-name of his father, Kara Osman Efendi, shows that the family had come from Ayıntap (today's Gaziantep). Osman Efendi had served as mufti of Amasya and taught at the Hüseyniyye madrasa. In another of Hüsameddin's entries his name also appears among the teachers from whom Laz Hoca Hacı İbrâhim Efendi, who taught for more than forty years in the Sultan Bayezid Mosque, received his licences. The son's title "es-Seyyid" indicates that the family was counted among the descendants of the Prophet.

The real centre of his education, however, was Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi. Known as Koca Müftü, Âkif Efendi taught for forty-five years and was himself a poet with a divan, and many of the Amasya madrasa teachers and judges of that generation came out of his circle. Abdullah Efendi won his teacher's favour so completely that Âkif Efendi began to call him "Fâzıl". The word means "virtuous, learned". Hüsameddin presents it as a nickname. Hakverdioğlu, listing the poets of Amasya Tarihi, writes "Fâzıl" in brackets beside the name and so takes it to be the poet's pen name. A pupil adopting as his pen name the name his master gave him is something found in the divan tradition, but we have no couplet showing that Abdullah Efendi signed his poems with it.

The Hızır Paşa madrasa, where he became teacher in 1172, had been founded in the fifteenth century by Hayreddin Hızır Paşa. Abdullah Efendi did not stay there long. He moved into the judiciary, served in several small towns, and died in the last months of 1173, at a time when he had been dismissed from the judgeship of Zile. His teacher Âkif Efendi had died in Receb of the same year, in March 1760. The pupil thus outlived his teacher by only a few months. As his date of birth is unknown, his age at death cannot be worked out.

His Pupil

At least one scholar is known to have come out of Abdullah Efendi's teaching circle. Karamânîzâde es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi, son of Hâfız Ahmed Efendi, teacher at the Halfet Gâzi madrasa, studied according to Hüsameddin with his father and with "Ayntâbîzâde es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendi", was given half of the teaching post of the Halfet Gâzi madrasa in 1189 and died in 1215. The trace left by Ayntâbîzâde's short career as teacher and judge is visible in this pupil's record.

His Poetry

There is nothing of his verse to read today. Beyond the word "şâir" in the entry, nothing is in hand: no divan, no poem copied into an anthology. Should a poem signed "Fâzıl" turn up one day, it would have to be tested separately before being given to him, for a great many Ottoman poets used that pen name.

Chronology

1172 (1758-59): He becomes teacher at the Hızır Paşa madrasa.

24 Receb 1173 (March 1760): His teacher Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi dies.

Late 1173 (1760): He dies, having been dismissed from the judgeship of Zile.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources