To Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Hâmid Ahmed Efendi was a judge before he was anything else: the entry praises him as "fahrü'l-kudât, umdetü'l-vülât", the pride of kadis and the mainstay of governors, and gives his poetry a single word after these titles. He came from Amasya's Hâcezâde family. He studied with his father Remzî Abdullah Efendi and with well-known teachers of the town, taught in Amasya's madrasas, then rose to the judgeship of Trabzon and from there to the rank of rotating molla; he died around 1103 (1691-92). Of his verse, as of that of his brother Şevkî Mehmed Efendi, whom the same entry calls "a famous poet", not a line is left.

Life

Amasya Tarihi places the entry in its eighth volume, among the names beginning with the letter "hâ":

Amasyalıdır. Amasya fuzalâsından Hâcezâde Abdullah Remzî Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Pederinden ve Uzun Mehmed Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm ve Amasya medreselerinden bir kaçına sırasıyla müderris ba’dehû kâdı oldu. 1087’de terfî’an Trabzon kazâsına ta’yîn edilip sonra devr-i bilâd ederek mevâlî-i devriyyeden olduğu hâlde 1103 senesi hudûdunda vefât etdi. Fahrü’l-kudât, umdetü’l-vülât, âlim, şâir, edîb idi. Birâderi şâir-i meşhûr Şevkî Mehmed Efendi’dir.

In modern English: A native of Amasya and son of Hâcezâde Abdullah Remzî Efendi, one of the town's scholars. He completed his studies with his father and with Uzun Mehmed Efendi and was licensed as a ders-i âm; after teaching in turn at several of Amasya's madrasas he became a kadi. In 1087 he was promoted to the judgeship of Trabzon, then, moving from city to city, joined the rotating mollas and died around the year 1103. He was the pride of kadis and the mainstay of governors; learned, a poet, a cultivated writer. His brother is the famous poet Şevkî Mehmed Efendi.

A ders-i âm was a teacher licensed to give public lessons from the mosque lectern; after this step Hâmid taught in the town's madrasas and then turned to the judiciary. His appointment to Trabzon in 1087 (1676-77) is recorded as "terfî'an", that is, as a promotion. The phrase "mevâlî-i devriyye" describes kadis of molla rank who held the judgeships of the great cities in rotation; Hâmid spent the end of his life at this rank. Which cities he served in, where he died and where he lies buried, Hüsameddin does not say.

His teacher "Uzun Mehmed Efendi" appears in his brother Şevkî's entry as Fâzıl Mehmed Efendi, known as "Uzun Müderris" (the Tall Professor). The same teacher turns up again some twenty pages after Hâmid's entry, in that of Habîb Efendi-Vâsi' Çelebizâde of the Mü'eyyedzâde family: Habîb Efendi studied first with "Hâcezâde Abdullah Efendi" and then with Uzun Müderris Mehmed Efendi. The two teachers, Hâmid's father and the Tall Professor, thus trained more than one pupil in mid-seventeenth-century Amasya.

His Place in the Hâcezâde Family

The Hâcezâdes descend from the müderris Kadızâde Mehmed İlmî Efendi, known by the nickname "Küçük Hâce" (the Little Master). Hâmid's father Remzî Abdullah Efendi was this Mehmed İlmî's son, which places Hâmid in the family's third generation. The book does not give this order consistently: the entry on Şevkî Mehmed Efendi introduces him as "the son of Mehmed İlmî Efendi bin Abdullah Remzî Efendi", which seems to swap father and grandfather. Hâmid's entry and that of Remzî Abdullah Efendi-Hâcezâde, however, confirm each other and count both brothers as Remzî's sons. For all the branches and generations of the family, see The Hâcezâdes.

His brother Şevkî Mehmed Efendi served as kadi in frontier provinces such as Uyvar, Crete, Kamaniçe and Hotin, was known as a master of the ta'lik script, and died around 1100 (1688-89). The two brothers studied with the same teachers and both chose the judiciary; Hâmid seems to have outlived his brother by three or four years. Whereas Şevkî is called "a famous poet", Hâmid's entry offers no sample of his verse, no title of a work and no description of his poetry.

Poetry

The sequence "âlim, şâir, edîb" in the entry is all we know of Hâmid as a poet; Hüsameddin gives no authority for the word and quotes no couplet to illustrate it. No poems by Hâmid Ahmed Efendi have been found. Metin Hakverdioğlu's 2024 study, which reads Hüsameddin's book as an anthology of poets, has nothing on him beyond his name.

Chronology

1087 (1676-77): Appointed kadi of Trabzon.

Around 1100 (1688-89): His brother Şevkî Mehmed Efendi dies.

Around 1103 (1691-92): Dies while holding the rank of rotating molla.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources