Called "Hâfız Cîlânî" because of his tall stature and well-proportioned figure, Hâfız Mehmed Çelebi was an Amasya calligrapher and poet. In the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent he served as secretary in the Amasya divan of first Şehzade Mustafa (Prince Mustafa) and then Şehzade Bayezid (Prince Bayezid); his second master's revolt landed him in prison, but he later rose in the financial service as far as treasurer of Sivas. He died around 1005 (1596-97) and, according to Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, was then over ninety. Relying on the tezkire of Müderris Abdî Efendi, Hüsameddin counts him among the master calligraphers and poets of Amasya. Signed copies in his hand are on record, while not one line of his verse has come down. Hüsameddin's entry is also published on the page Hâfız Mehmed Çelebi-Hâfız Cîlânî.

Hüsameddin's Entry

Hâfız Mehmed Çelebi-Hâfız Cîlânî Amasyalı Süleyman'ın oğludur. Amasya'nın ulemâ ve urefâsından tahsîl-i ma'ârif ederek vâlî Şehzâde Sultân Mustafa'nın küttâb-ı dîvânı zümresine iltihâk etdi. 960'ta müşârün-ileyhin şehîden vefâtı üzerine bir müddet Amasya evkâf-ı sultâniyyesi kâtibi oldu. 965'de Amasya vâlîsi olup gelen Şehzâde Sultân Bâyezîd bunun hüsn-i hattını ve lutf-ı tab'ını takdîr ederek kendisine dîvân kâtibi ta'yîn etdi. Bundan dolayı 966'da habs u tazyîke giriftâr oldu. Sonra bî-günâh olduğu tebeyyün etmekle 967'de kurtuldu. 968'de bu vartaya giriftâr olan es-Şeyh Îcâdî Efendi ile Hicâz'a gidip avdette Amasya'ya geldi. Kibâr evlâdına ta'lîm-i hutût ü ma'ârif ile dem-güzâr olup 974'de Amasya vâlîsi olan Şehzâde Sultân Murad'ın nâ'il-i teveccühâtı olduğundan sânîyen Sultân Bâyezîd imâreti evkâf kâtibi oldu. 982 senesi ramazânında tahta cülûs eden Sultân Murâd Han-ı Sâlis'in zamânında Amasya sancâğı muhassıl-ı emvâli, ba'dehû Sivas defterdârı oldu. Ba'dehû ma'zûlen Amasya'da ikâmet edib 1005 hudûdunda vefât etdi. Kâtib, şâir hattât-ı meşhûr olup hikâyât ü emsâlde bî-nazîr idi. "Hâfız Cîlânî" denirdi. 998'de yazdığı En'âm-ı şerîfi sonunda "ketebehü el-fakîrü'l-hakîr Mehmed bin Süleyman el-Amasî eş-Şehîr bi-Hâfız" diye imzâsı ve defâtir-i mâliye ve vakfiyede kuyûdu görüldü. Boyu uzun, endâmı mütenâsib olduğu münâsebetle "Hâfız Cîlânî" dendi. Mahdûmu Alî Çelebi ve tilmizi Fazlullâh Paşa'dır. Müstakîmzâde Süleyman Sa'deddîn Efendi "Tuhfe"sinde diyor ki: "Mehmed bin Süleyman: Cîlânî olup el-hakk tarîka-i şeyhin vâhid ke'l-elfi ve üstâdânın binde bir gelen sâhib-i mi'e veya elfi olup ma'rifetin cîlî-i cîlîsi ve belki Cîlânî-i zamânı idi. Bin bir târîhinde yazdığı mushaf-ı şerîfi ziyâret olunup ocak şâkirdânından olmağla Şükrullâh Halîfe telâmizesinden olmak iktizâ eder." Hâlbuki müşârün-ileyhin üstâdı 941'de vefât eden Amasyalı hattât-ı meşhûr Ebu'l-fazl Mehmed Efendi'dir. Bunu kendi kalemiyle tasrîh etmişdir. Hîn-i vefâtında yaşı doksanı geçkin idi. Amasya'da esâtize-i hattdan ve şu'arâdan olduğunu Müderris Abdî Efendi tezkiresinde yazıyor.

In present-day English: He was the son of Süleyman of Amasya. Having studied with the scholars and mystics of Amasya, he joined the divan secretaries of the governor Şehzade Sultan Mustafa. On the martyrdom of the prince in 960 he served for a while as secretary of the sultanic endowments of Amasya. Şehzade Sultan Bayezid, who came as governor of Amasya in 965, admired his fine hand and the delicacy of his nature and appointed him divan secretary. For this reason he was imprisoned and pressed in 966; then, his innocence becoming clear, he was released in 967. In 968 he went to the Hejaz with Sheikh Îcâdî Efendi, who had suffered the same misfortune, and on his return came back to Amasya. He passed his time teaching scripts and learning to the children of notables, and having won the favour of Şehzade Sultan Murad, governor of Amasya in 974, he became secretary of the endowment of the Sultan Bayezid imaret for the second time. In the reign of Sultan Murad III, who came to the throne in Ramazan 982, he became revenue collector of the sanjak of Amasya, then treasurer of Sivas. After that, dismissed from office, he lived in Amasya and died around 1005. He was a secretary, poet and famous calligrapher, unrivalled in stories and proverbs. He was called "Hâfız Cîlânî". His signature at the end of an En'âm he wrote in 998, "written by the poor and humble Mehmed bin Süleyman of Amasya, known as Hâfız", and his entries in the financial registers and in a deed of endowment were seen. Because he was tall and well-proportioned he was called "Hâfız Cîlânî". His son was Ali Çelebi, his pupil Fazlullah Pasha. Müstakimzâde Süleyman Sâdeddin Efendi says in his Tuhfe: "Mehmed bin Süleyman: he is Cîlânî; truly a single man worth a thousand on the path of the sheikh, one in a thousand among masters, equal to a hundred or a thousand; the brightest polish of skill, indeed the Cîlânî of his age. A Qur'an he wrote in the year 1001 has been seen; as he was one of the pupils of the hearth, he must have been among the students of Şükrullah Halife." Yet his master was the famous Amasya calligrapher Ebü'l-Fazl Mehmed Efendi, who died in 941; he stated this explicitly in his own hand. At his death he was past ninety. Müderris Abdî Efendi writes in his tezkire that he was one of the masters of calligraphy and one of the poets of Amasya.

Life

If the age at death is correct, ninety-odd years back from 1005 lead to the early 910s (around 1505-10); this is a rough reckoning. Since his master Ebü'l-Fazl Mehmed Efendi died in 941 (1534), he must have learned to write from him in Amasya in his youth. Hüsameddin reports this in firm terms, saying he saw a note the calligrapher wrote in his own hand.

His career as a secretary stayed bound to the fortunes of the princes who came to Amasya. He was a secretary in the divan of Şehzade Mustafa when the prince was strangled near Konya Ereğlisi in 960 (1553), and Hâfız Mehmed withdrew for a time to the secretaryship of the sultanic endowments. Şehzade Bayezid, who came to Amasya five years later, admired his hand and made him divan secretary; the struggle for the throne Bayezid fought with his brother Selim led to his imprisonment as well in 966 (1558-59). A year later he was found innocent and released. In 968 (1560-61) he went to the Hejaz with Sheikh Îcâdî Efendi, who in Hüsameddin's words "had suffered the same misfortune". The journey falls in the years when Bayezid fled to Iran and was killed there. Alongside the intention of pilgrimage there may have been a wish to stay away from Amasya for a while, but Hüsameddin is silent on the point.

On his return he taught calligraphy and learning to the children of notables. According to Hüsameddin, in 974 (1566-67) he won the favour of "Şehzade Sultan Murad, governor of Amasya" and again became secretary of the endowment of the Sultan Bayezid imaret. This record is problematic: Süleyman's grandson, the later Murad III, was in Manisa as sanjak governor of Saruhan from 969 (1562) until his accession. Whether Hüsameddin meant another prince or erred in the year cannot be determined. Under Murad III he became revenue collector of the sanjak of Amasya and then treasurer of Sivas. After his dismissal he returned to Amasya and died around 1005.

Calligraphy

What keeps Hâfız Cîlânî's name alive is his hand rather than his verse. Hüsameddin saw an En'âm he wrote in 998 (1589-90) and quotes his signature: "Mehmed bin Süleyman el-Amasî eş-Şehîr bi-Hâfız." Müstakimzâde, author of the calligraphers' biography Tuhfe-i Hattâtîn, saw a Qur'an of his dated 1001 (1592-93) and wrote a sentence praising him that plays on the name "Cîlânî" and the word "cîlî" (bright, polished). Müstakimzâde took him for a pupil of Şükrullah Halife of the school of Şeyh Hamdullah. Hüsameddin objects and, on the strength of the calligrapher's own note, says his master was Ebü'l-Fazl Mehmed Çelebi. Since Ebü'l-Fazl too was a pupil of Şeyh Hamdullah, Hâfız Cîlânî remains within the same school on either view; the difference lies only in the person through whom the chain passes. Fazlullah Pasha is named as his pupil.

Connection with Amasya

Most of the posts the sources mention were in Amasya. As the son of Süleyman of Amasya he studied in the city, learned to write from an Amasya master, and served as secretary in the divan of two princes there and in the sultanic endowments. The nisba "el-Amasî" in the signature of his En'âm records this bond in his own hand. On leaving the treasury he returned to Amasya once more and died there.

Poetry

Two records tell us he was a poet, yet none of his poems has reached us. One is Hüsameddin's description "secretary, poet, famous calligrapher", the other the tezkire of Müderris Abdî Efendi, which Hüsameddin says counted him among the poets of Amasya; Hüsameddin quotes no couplet of his from it. The remark that Şehzade Bayezid appreciated his "lutf-ı tab'", the delicacy of his nature, may also point to a poetic gift; in divan language this expression is often used of poetic talent, but here it has no certain meaning. Whether the name "Hâfız" was a pen name or a title from having memorised the Qur'an is also unclear; his saying in his signature that he was "known as Hâfız" shows that the name was at least established among the people.

Chronology

960 (1553): On the death of Şehzade Mustafa, becomes secretary of the sultanic endowments of Amasya.

965 (1557-58): Divan secretary of Şehzade Bayezid.

966-967 (1558-60): Imprisoned, then released as innocent.

968 (1560-61): Goes to the Hejaz with Sheikh Îcâdî Efendi.

974 (1566-67): According to Hüsameddin, again secretary of the endowment of the Sultan Bayezid imaret.

998 (1589-90): Signed En'âm.

1001 (1592-93): The Qur'an seen by Müstakimzâde.

Around 1005 (1596-97): Dies in Amasya.

Bibliography

Online sources