The repair of the Pervâne Bey Mosque, known today as the Burmalı Minare Mosque, and of its minaret was undertaken by Vâsî Çelebizâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Ahmed Efendi in the years when he was trustee of its endowment. A member of the old Müeyyedzâde family of Amasya, Ahmed Efendi also served as müderris (madrasa teacher) and deputy judge, and died on 7 Rebiülahir 1159 (1746). Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar gives him two entries in Amasya Tarihi: one in the sixth volume under his name, one in the ninth under the pen name "Hamdî". In the first he calls him "a poet with the pen name Hamdî", in the second "meşâhîr-i şuarâdan", one of the well-known poets. A work of his called Mu'înü'l-vâ'izîn is also recorded. Of his own verse, nothing has been found. Both entries are published separately on the site: the sixth-volume one as Ahmed Efendi-Vâsî Çelebizâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc, the ninth-volume one as Hamdi Ahmed Efendi-Vâsi' Çelebizâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc.

Hüsameddin's Two Records

The main biography is in the sixth volume, in the section where Hüsameddin lists men named Ahmed:

Ahmed Efendi-Vâsî Çelebizâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Pervâne Bey vakfı mütevellîsi Yahyâ Efendi bin Habib Efendi bin Abdülvasi Çelebi bin Habib Çelebi bin Pîrî Ahmed Efendi bin Yahyâ Efendi bin Abdülvasi Çelebi bin Şemseddîn Ahmed Efendi bin Mehmed Çelebi bin Mü'eyyed Çelebi mahdûmudur. Mü'eyyedzâdelerdendir. Büyük birâderi es-Seyyid Hâfız Mehmed ve Halfet Gâzi müderrisi eş-Şeyh Mahmûd Efendilerden ahz-ı ulûm ederek ders-i âm ve üstâdının vefâtında Halfet Gâzi müderrisi, 1140'da Ya'kûb Paşa ve 1141'de Pervâne Bey vâkıflarına mütevellî 1147'de müsevvid ve eminü'l-fetvâ oldu. Bu me'mûriyyetinde fazilet-i ilmiyyesi zâhir olup 1155'de Fîrûz Ağa Vakfı'nın tevliyeti nizâ'ında bâ-fermân-ı âlî müvellâ ve müte'âkib Amasya kadısı Fazlullah Efendi tarafından Amasya nâibi oldu. Niyâbeti hitâmında tedrîsine devam edib 1159 senesi rebîülahirinin yedisinde vefât etdi. Âlim, fâzıl, edîb, "Hamdî" mahlasıyla şâir, ulûm-ı şer'iyyede mâhir, hasîb, talik-nüvîs bir zât idi. "Mu'înü'l-vâ'izîn" adlı bir eseri vardır. Zaman-ı tevliyetinde Pervâne Bey Câmii ve minâresini imâr ve ihyâ etdi. Diğer birâderi es-Seyyid Muhyiddîn Habib Efendi de âlim ve hattât idi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid Yahya, Mahmûd, Abdullah Efendilerdir. Bunların siyâdetleri ana tarafından Havzalızâdelere müntehîdir. Es-Seyyid Mahmûd Efendi'nin oğulları es-Seyyid İsmâil, Ahmed, Abdullah Efendilerdir. Es-Seyyid Abdullah Efendizâde, es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi fuzalâdandır.

In simplified form: his father was Yahyâ Efendi, trustee of the Pervâne Bey endowment; on his father's side his line goes up through Habîb Efendi, Abdülvâsi Çelebi and, further back, Şemseddin Ahmed Efendi to Müeyyed Çelebi, so he was one of the Müeyyedzâdes. He studied under his elder brother es-Seyyid Hâfız Mehmed and under Sheikh Mahmûd Efendi, müderris of the Halfet Gâzi madrasa, and became a ders-i âm; when his teacher died he became müderris of the Halfet Gâzi madrasa. In 1140 he became trustee of the Ya'kûb Paşa endowment, in 1141 of the Pervâne Bey endowment, and in 1147 drafting clerk and fetva emini (keeper of legal opinions) at the mufti's office. Because his learning became evident in this post, in 1155, in a dispute over the trusteeship of the Fîrûz Ağa endowment, he was made "müvellâ" by imperial decree, that is, appointed to this endowment; then the kadı of Amasya, Fazlullah Efendi, made him deputy judge of Amasya. When his deputyship ended he went on teaching, and he died on 7 Rebiülahir 1159. He was learned, virtuous, a man of letters, a poet with the pen name "Hamdî", expert in the religious sciences, a good accountant and a writer of the talik script. He wrote a work called Mu'înü'l-vâ'izîn. During his trusteeship he repaired and restored the Pervâne Bey Mosque and its minaret. His other brother es-Seyyid Muhyiddin Habîb Efendi was also a scholar and calligrapher. His sons are es-Seyyid Yahyâ, Mahmûd and Abdullah Efendi; their descent from the Prophet (siyâdet) comes through their mother from the Havzalızâdes. Mahmûd Efendi's sons are İsmâil, Ahmed and Abdullah Efendi; Abdullah Efendi's son es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mustafa Efendi was also a scholar.

The entry in the ninth volume stands in the section where Hüsameddin also arranges poets by their pen names, and it is only a cross-reference:

Hamdi Ahmed Efendi-Vâsi' Çelebizâde es-Seyyid el-Hâc Amasyalıdır. Pervane Bey vakfı mütevellîsi Yahya Efendi bin Habib Efendi bin Abdülvâsi' Çelebi mahdûmudur. Terceme-i hâli yukarıda cilt 6, sahife 633'de yazıldı. Meşâhîr-i şuarâdan âlim, hattât bir zât idi.

That is: an Amasya native and son of Yahyâ Efendi, trustee of the Pervâne Bey endowment; his life is written in the sixth volume, and he was one of the well-known poets, a scholar and calligrapher. This second record also confirms his Amasya origin, which the first does not state explicitly.

Life

No birth date is recorded, but all his posts clearly lay in Amasya: teaching at the Halfet Gâzi madrasa, trusteeship of two of the town's old endowments, clerkship of legal opinions at the mufti's office, and the deputy judgeship. According to the entry, the learning he showed as drafting clerk led in 1155 (1742-43), during a dispute over the trusteeship of the Fîrûz Ağa endowment, to his appointment to that endowment by decree; Hüsameddin's word "müvellâ" suggests the post was the trusteeship, but the text leaves this unstated. Since his father Yahyâ Efendi had also been trustee of the Pervâne Bey endowment, Ahmed Efendi's trusteeship from 1141 (1728-29) continued the family's right over this endowment.

Hüsameddin's sentence "zaman-ı tevliyetinde Pervâne Bey Câmii ve minâresini imâr ve ihyâ etdi" (during his trusteeship he repaired and restored the Pervâne Bey Mosque and its minaret) concerns today's Burmalı Minare Mosque. That the mosque burned in the fire of 1143 (1730-31) and that a "Hacı Ahmed Efendi" then had it repaired and built a minaret of stone is told in the article Burmalı Minaret Mosque. Set beside Hüsameddin's sentence, this Hacı Ahmed Efendi, briefly named there, turns out to be Vâsî Çelebizâde, whose trusteeship falls in exactly those years. The differing views of scholars on the date of the minaret are discussed in the same article.

His Poetry and His Work

Hüsameddin names him as a poet in two separate places, and in the second counts him among the "meşâhîr-i şuarâ", the well-known poets. Yet neither entry contains a single couplet with the pen name Hamdî. The title Mu'înü'l-vâ'izîn, "the helper of preachers", suggests a handbook for preachers; Hüsameddin says nothing of its subject, language or manuscripts. Since Amasya Tarihi contains other Amasya men with the pen name Hamdî, attributing to him a "Hamdî" signature found in an anthology would require separate evidence. No poem from his pen has turned up so far.

Family

Ahmed Efendi belonged to the Vâsî Çelebi branch of the Müeyyedzâdes, who held the trusteeship of the Pervâne Bey endowment for generations. His elder brother es-Seyyid Hâfız Mehmed was one of his first teachers; his other brother Muhyiddin Habîb Efendi was a scholar and calligrapher. The siyâdet of his sons Yahyâ, Mahmûd and Abdullah Efendi came through their mother from the Havzalızâdes. The wider family tree and the other members of this generation are given in the article The Müeyyedzâdes.

Chronology

1140 (1727-28): He becomes trustee of the Ya'kûb Paşa endowment.

1141 (1728-29): He becomes trustee of the Pervâne Bey endowment.

1143 (1730-31): The Pervâne Bey Mosque burns; its repair and the stone minaret are carried out during his trusteeship.

1147 (1734-35): He becomes drafting clerk and fetva emini.

1155 (1742-43): In the dispute over the Fîrûz Ağa endowment he is appointed to it by decree, then becomes deputy judge of Amasya.

1159 (1746): He dies on 7 Rebiülahir.

Bibliography

Online sources