AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

İbrâhim Çelebi — Muhâsebeci

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 6, p. 32 • Edited by: Doç. Dr. Recep Orhan ÖZEL - Doç. Dr. Metin HAKVERDİOĞLU

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Mâliye defterlerinde görüldüğü üzere Amasyalı Ahmed’in oğludur. Sultân Fâtih Mehmed Hân devrinde hizâne-i âmire ketebesinden olarak terakkî edib 882’de muhâsebeci ve 888’de Anadolu defterdârı ve 892’de Rumeli kethüdâsı ve ba’dehû Rumeli defterdârı görüldü. 896 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Hâcegân-i divân-ı hümâyûndan “Muhâsebeci Amasyalı İbrâhim Çelebi” demekle meşhûr idi. Mahdûmu Mehmed Çelebi’dir. [72]

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

As seen in the financial registers, he was the son of Ahmed of Amasya. In the time of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror Han, rising from among the scribes of the state treasury, he is seen as muhasebeci (accountant) in 882 [1477-78], as defterdar of Anatolia in 888 [1483], and in 892 [1487] as kethüda of Rumeli, and then as defterdar of Rumeli. He died after 896 [1490-91]. He was one of the masters of the imperial divan and was known as "the Muhasebeci İbrâhim Çelebi of Amasya". His son was Mehmed Çelebi.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • hizâne-i âmire ketebesi: the scribes of the state treasury
  • muhasebeci: an official who handles accounts and keeps registers
  • defterdâr: the official at the head of the state's financial affairs
  • kethüdâ: deputy of a manager, steward
  • hâcegân-ı divân-ı hümâyûn: the high-ranking officials of writing and registry affairs in the imperial divan

A Native of Amasya on the Financial Path

The defterdar is the official at the head of the state's financial affairs; it is written that in the time of the Conqueror and afterwards separate defterdars were appointed for Rumeli, that there was a deputy for Anatolia, and that records were kept in a half-Persian, half-Turkish script (siyakat). That İbrâhim Çelebi in the entry passed through these steps in order (muhasebeci, defterdar of Anatolia, kethüda of Rumeli, defterdar of Rumeli) shows that a scribe trained in Amasya could reach the upper ranks of state finance. Hüsameddin states his own information as "as seen in the financial registers"; that is, the entry rests on the archival records used by the book's author.

The search results also yield another Amasya native of the same name, İbrâhim Çelebi, who is mentioned in the 16th century (in records corresponding to the years 942-944, that is 1535-1538) as second defterdar and chief defterdar. Since the subject of this entry died after 896, the two cannot be the same person; a kinship between them, if any, could not be verified in this research.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Volume 6 contents