Amasyalıdır. Fuzalâdan Amasyalı Hacı Nefîszâde Mustafa Efendi’nin birâderi Mehmed Efendi’nin mahdûmu olup “Ebe Dâmâdı” demekle meşhûrdur. Ceddi Hacı Nefîs Çelebi Âşık Paşazâde Elvân Çelebi ahfâdından olduğu bâlâda yazıldı.
Amcası sâyesinde İstanbul’a gelip tahsîl-i ilm ü ma’rifet etdi. Hutût-ı mütenevvi’âyı Timurcu Kulu Yûsuf Efendi’den ahz ü temeşşuk ederek mâliye kalemine girdi. Sultân İbrâhim’in ebesine dâmâd olup tefeyyüz ederek Bayram Paşa’nın sadâretinde mukâta’ât emîni, ba’dehû baş-muhâsib olup Hacı Efendizâde İbrâhim Paşa’nın defterdârlığında orta defterdâr ve 1054 muharreminde Kara Hasan Paşa üzerine baş-defterdâr oldu. [96]
1054 cumâdelevvelinde mevki’ini yeniçeri ağası Bosnalı Sâlih Ağa’ya kapdırdığından ma’zûl oldu. 1055 şevvâlinin yirmi sekizinde Sâlih Paşa’nın sadr-ı a’zam ve Kara Hasan Paşa da defterdâr oldukta Hasan Paşa’nın yerine Trablusşâm beylerbeyi ve 1057’de Anadolu vâlisi ve 1058’de vezâretle kubbe-nişîn oldu.
1058 recebinde Sultân İbrâhim’in hal’i ve dördüncü Sultân Mehmed Hân’ın cülûsu vak’asında tekâ’üde sevk edilerek Ayasofya ve Şehzâde vakıfları zevâidinden vazîfe ta’yîn edilip 1060 senesi saferinin on sekizinci günü vefât eylediği Ayasofya mahzeninde ele geçen “Defter-i Zevâ’id-i Havârân-ı Selâtîn” unvânlı defterde görüldü.
Vezîr-i müşârün-ileyh gerek defterdârlığı gerek vezâreti, Defâtîr-i Mâliye’de bulunabildi. Nâ’imâ Târîhi’nde “Ebe Dâmâdı İbrâhim Efendi” unvânıyla defterdâr olduğu yazılıdır. Defâtîr-i Mâliyye’de “Nefîszâde İbrâhim Efendi” diye mukayyed ve Defter-i Zevâ’id-i Havârân-ı Selâtîn”de “Vezîr-i Hattât İbrâhim Paşa” diye mestûrdur. Bunların üçü de [97] bir zât olduğu Mâliye Defterlerinden anlaşıldı.
Vezîr-i müşârün-ileyh, âlim, muhâsib, hattât-ı meşhûr olup Gülzâr-ı Savâb adlı hatt u hattâta dâ’ir bir eseri vardır. Yazdığı kitaplara İbrâhim bin Mehmed en-Nefîsî diye imzâ vaz’ ederdi. Şöhreti Nefeszâde’dir.
Müstakîmzâde Süleyman Sa’âdeddîn Efendi “Tuhfetü’l-Hattâtîn” adlı eserinde diyor ki: “Seyyid İbrâhim bin Mustafa bin Nefes. Nefeszâde şehrîdir. Pederleri mezkûrdur. Hüsn-i hat risâlelerinden Gülzâr-ı Savâb nâm kitap kendi eser-i kalem-i tedvînleridir. Ol eser-i mu’teber şehâdetiyle sâhib-i şi’r ü inşâ ve mâlik-i meleke-i külliye-i âlem-bahâ oldukları sâbitü’l-fehvâdır. İbrâhim el-Halîl 1060 târîhi hudûdunda murâkabe-i eltâf-ı hafiye-i rabbâniye ile habs-i nefs ve andelîb-i revânî gülzâr berd ü selâm-ı bekâya pervâz ile gonce-i bağ-ı visâle dest-res buldu.”
Pederi dediği Mustafa Efendi hakkında da diyor ki: “Mustafa bin Nefes. Amasya’da pederi el-Hâc Nefes nâm zât-ı enfesdir. Bu cihetten kendileri Nefeszâde demekle şöhr-dâdedir. Atâyî kavlince Süleymaniye müderrisi iken Hâkâniye [98] Medresesine nakl olunup ol esnâda (Bahçe 1011) târîhinde bağ-ı cinâne vuslatla âzâde oldu. Hüsn-i hatt-ı şâhâneyi Şükrüllah Halîfe’den temeşşuk edib hutût-ı vaktinde izn ü nefes almıştı. Ferzend-i ercümend-i seyyid İbrâhim Efendi dahi mezkûrdur.”
Şeyhü’l-Hattâtîn olan Amasyalı Hamdullah Efendi’nin dâmâd ve şâkirdi Amasyalı Şükrullah Halife 950 târîhinden mukaddem vefât etdiği münâsebetle Mustafa Efendi’nin bundan temeşşuk etmesinde bir yanlışlık olduğu gibi Nefiszâde Hattât İbrâhim Efendi’nin de Mustafa Efendi’nin mahdûmu olmasında bir yanlışlık vardır.
Çünkü Amasyalı Nefeszâde Mustafa Efendi, Amasya’da tahsîl-i ulûm ve hutût etdikden sonra İstanbul’a gitdiği Atâyî Efendi’nin nakletdiği terceme-i hâlinden anlaşılır. Mustafa Efendi, hutûtu Amasya’da kendi amcası Hamdullah Hamdi Efendi’den temeşşuk etmişdir. Pederinin adı mazbût olduğu üzere el-Hâc Nefîs Çelebi’dir. Halk arasında Hacı Nefes demekle meşhûr idi. Hattât İbrâhim Paşa, amcası Mustafa Efendi’nin nezdinde büyüdüğü münâsebetle mahdûmu [99] zann edilmiş olmalıdır.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Mehmed Efendi, brother of Hacı Nefîszâde Mustafa Efendi, one of the scholars of Amasya; he is known as "Ebe Dâmâdı" (son-in-law of the midwife-nurse). It was written above that his grandfather Hacı Nefîs Çelebi was among the grandchildren of Elvân Çelebi, son of Âşık Paşa.
Through his uncle he came to Istanbul and learned knowledge and refinement. He learned the various kinds of script from Timurcu Kulu Yûsuf Efendi, practised writing, and entered the finance bureau. He rose by becoming son-in-law to the nurse (ebe) of Sultan İbrâhim; under the grand vizierate of Bayram Pasha he became steward of the mukataas, then chief accountant, and under the defterdarship of Hacı Efendizâde İbrâhim Pasha, middle defterdar. In Muharram 1054 [1644] he became chief defterdar in place of Kara Hasan Pasha.
In Jumada al-awwal 1054 [1644], because he lost his post to the Janissary agha Bosnalı Sâlih Agha, he was dismissed. When Sâlih Pasha became grand vizier and Kara Hasan Pasha defterdar on the twenty-eighth of Shawwal 1055 [1645], he became, in Hasan Pasha's place, beylerbey of Trablusşam, in 1057 [1647] governor of Anatolia, and in 1058 [1648], with the rank of vizier, kubbe vizier.
In Receb 1058 [1648], at the deposition of Sultan İbrâhim and the accession of Sultan Mehmed Han IV, he was retired, and a salary was assigned to him from the surplus revenues of the Hagia Sophia and Şehzade waqfs. It was seen from the register named "Defter-i Zevâ'id-i Havârân-ı Selâtîn" (Register of the Surplus Revenues of the Sultans' Waqfs), found in the vault of Hagia Sophia, that he died on the eighteenth day of Safar 1060 [1650].
Both the defterdarship and the vizierate of the said vizier could be found in the Finance Registers. In Na'îmâ's History it is written that he was defterdar under the title "Ebe Dâmâdı İbrâhim Efendi." In the Finance Registers he is recorded as "Nefîszâde İbrâhim Efendi"; in the Defter-i Zevâ'id-i Havârân-ı Selâtîn he is written as "Vezîr-i Hattât İbrâhim Paşa." That all three are the same person was understood from the Finance Registers.
The said vizier was a scholar, an accountant and a famous calligrapher, and has a work on writing and calligraphers named Gülzâr-ı Savâb. He used to sign the books he wrote as "İbrâhim bin Mehmed en-Nefîsî." His fame is Nefeszâde.
Müstakîmzâde Süleyman Sa'âdeddîn Efendi says in his work Tuhfetü'l-Hattâtîn: "Seyyid İbrâhim son of Mustafa son of Nefes. He is known in the city as Nefeszâde. His fathers are the person mentioned. Among the treatises on fine writing, the book called Gülzâr-ı Savâb is a work from his own pen. By the testimony of that reliable work it is established that they were possessors of poetry and composition, of a great talent worth the world. İbrâhim el-Halîl, around 1060 [1650], contemplating God's hidden favours, held back his self, and as the nightingale of the spirit flew from the rose garden to the everlasting abode of peace and reached the bud of the garden of union."
About Mustafa Efendi, whom he calls his father, he also says: "Mustafa son of Nefes. In Amasya his father is a delightful person named el-Hâc Nefes. For this reason they became known as Nefeszâde. According to Atâyî, while professor at the Süleymaniye he was transferred to the Hâkâniye Madrasa, and at that time (in the chronogram 'Bahçe,' 1011 [1602-03]) he reached the garden of paradise and was saved. He learned the royal script from Şükrullah Halîfe and in the writings of his time had received permission and breath (authority). His worthy son Seyyid İbrâhim Efendi is also mentioned."
Since Şükrullah Halîfe of Amasya, son-in-law and student of Hamdullah Efendi of Amasya, the sheikh of the calligraphers, died before 950 [1543-44], there is an error in Mustafa Efendi's having learned writing from him, just as there is an error in the calligrapher Nefîszâde İbrâhim Efendi's being the son of Mustafa Efendi.
For it is understood from the biography transmitted by Atâyî Efendi that Nefeszâde Mustafa Efendi of Amasya went to Istanbul after learning knowledge and writing in Amasya. Mustafa Efendi learned writing in Amasya from his own uncle, Hamdullah Hamdi Efendi. His father's name, as it entered the records, is el-Hâc Nefîs Çelebi; among the people he was known as Hacı Nefes. The calligrapher İbrâhim Pasha must have been thought to be his son because he grew up with his uncle Mustafa Efendi.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- Ebe Dâmâdı: son-in-law of the sultan's ebe (wet nurse or nanny)
- ahfâd: grandchildren, continuation of the lineage
- hutût-ı mütenevvi'a: various kinds of script
- mukâta'ât emîni: official responsible for the financial affairs of the mukataa revenues
- baş-muhâsib: chief accounting officer
- kubbe-nişîn: vizier "under the dome," a vizier with the right to sit in the divan
- cülûs: accession to the throne
- hal': deposition from the throne
- mahzen: storehouse, archive room
- murâkabe: turning inward and contemplating God
- sâbitü'l-fehvâ: one whose statement is known to be true, established
- temeşşuk: calligraphic practice
Calligrapher and Defterdar
Nefeszâde İbrâhim Efendi is the author of Gülzâr-ı Savâb, one of the main sources for the history of the art of calligraphy. The work gives information about calligraphers, paper and ink making, pens and materials; it is regarded as one of the most important studies dealing with the tools and materials of the arts of the book. The first part of the book bears the name "Tabakât-ı Küttâb" (Classes of Scribes); the author notes that Murad IV occupied himself with ta'lik script and adorned the introductory section with his name. The manuscript copy of the work is kept in the Mustafa Âşir Efendi Library; it was published in 1938 by Kilisli Muallim Rıfat. Nefeszâde died in 1060 [1650]; this date is the same as the date Hüsameddin gives. It is reported that he learned writing from Demircikulu Yusuf Efendi and received a licence; the teacher Hüsameddin calls "Timurcu Kulu Yûsuf Efendi" must be the same person, but the nickname is written differently in the two sources.
His Father or His Uncle?
In modern calligraphy sources Nefeszâde İbrâhim Efendi is mentioned as the son of Nefeszâde Mustafa Efendi, a professor-calligrapher of Amasya who was born in Istanbul. Hüsameddin, however, argues that this is wrong: according to him İbrâhim is the son of Mustafa Efendi's brother and was thought to be his son because he grew up with his uncle. Hüsameddin's reasoning rests on dates. Müstakîmzâde's statement that Mustafa learned writing from Şükrullah Halîfe conflicts with Şükrullah's having died before 950; Şükrullah was the son-in-law and student of Şeyh Hamdullah. Hamdullah was born in Amasya; he learned the six scripts (aklâm-ı sitte) from Hayreddin Mar'aşî and became the writing teacher of Prince Bayezid. Şeyh Hamdullah and the divan secretary Hamdullah Hamdi Çelebi in entry 101 are different persons; according to Hüsameddin, Mustafa Efendi learned writing from the second, that is, from his uncle. The calligraphy sources consulted do not mention the calligrapher's career as defterdar and vizier; this information comes from Hüsameddin's research based on the Finance Registers.
The most striking aspect of this entry in Hüsameddin is that he brings together from the registers the appearance of a single person in three different records under three different titles: Ebe Dâmâdı İbrâhim Efendi in Na'îmâ, Nefîszâde İbrâhim Efendi in the Finance Registers, and Vezîr-i Hattât İbrâhim Paşa in the Zevâ'id register. The phrase "his forebear Hacı Nefîs Çelebi" in the text refers to Hacı Nefîs Çelebi, who is counted among the brothers in entry 101; thus the Nefeszâde family is tied to one branch of the lineage of Âşık Paşa and Elvân Çelebi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 6, p. 39–41. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Books
- Nefeszâde İbrahim Efendi, Gülzâr-ı Savâb, Kilisli Muallim Rıfat (ed.), Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi, 1938.
Other sources