Amasya ‘ulemâsından el-Hâc Muhyiddîn Mehmed bin İdris Karamânî mahdûmudur. Pederiyle beraber Karaman ilinden Amasya’ya 846’da hicret ve Amasya ulemâsından ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek tedrîs-i ulûma himmet etdi.
Ba’dehû Sultân Bâyezîd-i sânî Amasya‘da vâlî iken sarayı hüddâmına muallim ve ders-i âm-ı meşhûr oldu. Amasya ekâbirinden Muslihîzâde Seydî Ahmed Çelebi’ye dâmâd olup sultân-ı müşârün-ileyhe takarrüb ederek bir aralık muallimi de oldu. 886’da Sultân Bâyezîd-i Sânî taht-ı saltanata cülûs etdikde Amasya’da yeniden ihyâ edilen Şâdiyye Medresesi müderrisi olup 893’de vefât etdi. Meşâhir-i ulemâdan bir zât idi. Mahdûmu sudûr-ı ulemâdan Seydî Ahmed Efendi’dir. [34]
In Modern English
Hacı Muhyiddin Mehmed, one of the scholars of Amasya, was the son of İdris Karamânî. He migrated with his father from the province of Karaman to Amasya in 846 [1442-43]; after completing his studies under the scholars of Amasya he devoted himself to teaching.
Later, when Sultan Bayezid II was governor of Amasya, he became a müderris (madrasa professor) known as the teacher of the palace attendants and for his public lectures. He married a daughter of Muslihîzâde Seydî Ahmed Çelebi, one of the notables of Amasya, drew close to the aforementioned sultan, and for a time became his teacher as well. In 886 [1481-82], when Sultan Bayezid II ascended the throne, he became müderris of the Şâdiyye Madrasa, which had been revived in Amasya, and died in 893 [1487-88]. He was one of the renowned scholars. His son is Seydî Ahmed Efendi, one of the leading scholars.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- ulemâ: scholars, learned men trained in the madrasa system
- ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
- tedrîs-i ulûm: teaching the sciences, giving lessons
- hüddâm: attendants, servants
- ders-i âm: a professor who gives public lectures
- ekâbir: notables, leading men
- dâmâd: son-in-law
- takarrüb: drawing close, gaining intimacy
- cülûs: accession to the throne
- sudûr-ı ulemâ: the foremost scholars
İdris Çelebi's Amasya
The book gives 846 [1442-43] as the year İdris Çelebi came from Karaman to Amasya with his father. In those years Amasya was a sanjak governed by a prince; in later centuries it would be called the "city of princes," and the number of its madrasas would exceed forty. In a city with so many madrasas, teaching and holding a professorship were a career path in their own right. The short life sketch Hüsameddin gives follows this path: first study in a madrasa, then public lectures, then teaching in a palace circle, and finally the professorship of a madrasa.
Bayezid and Amasya
The "aforementioned sultan" in the text is Bayezid; at that time he was still a prince and served as governor in Amasya. Another name from the same circle is the renowned calligrapher Celâl Amâsî. According to the sources, Celâl Amâsî also entered Bayezid's circle when Bayezid became governor of Amasya, was summoned to Istanbul when Bayezid took the throne, returned to Amasya after a while, and died here on 9 Zilhicce 893 [14 November 1488]. This death year is the same as İdris Çelebi's (893). In other words, two men of learning from Bayezid's close circle in Amasya died within the same year. Hüsameddin's remark in this passage that he "for a time became his teacher as well" indicates that İdris Çelebi was one of Bayezid's teachers; however, no further detail on this could be found in other sources.
Bayezid's accession also left a mark on the building history of Amasya. According to Hüsameddin, construction of the Sultan Bayezid II Complex in Amasya began right after the sultan's accession, in Receb 886 [September 1481], while according to the mosque's inscription it was completed in Receb 891 [July 1486]. The complex's madrasa is used today as the provincial public library. Hüsameddin states that the professorship of this madrasa was reserved for the muftis of Amasya and that its first teacher was the renowned Şeyhülislam Zenbilli Ali Efendi. Hüsameddin refers to the building where İdris Çelebi served as professor as the Şâdiyye Madrasa; this name differs from the madrasa of the complex known as Sultaniye.
Another name among Bayezid's teachers in Amasya is known: Hatib Kasım, son of Yakub of Amasya, taught Bayezid while he was in Amasya; when Bayezid took the throne on 22 May 1481 he was appointed teacher of his son Prince Ahmed, and he died around 894-895 [1489-90]. Hüsameddin's remark that İdris Çelebi "for a time became his teacher as well" is consistent with this circle; however, İdris Çelebi's name does not appear in the studies read.
The construction date of the complex is disputed among researchers. According to one source the complex was completed in 893; another writes that work on the mosque began in 890 and that the madrasa and soup kitchen were finished the following year; Hüsameddin, for his part, reports that the building began in Receb 886 and was completed in Receb 891, that is, over five years. The mosque inscription gives 891. The building was erected on the order of his father Bayezid under the supervision of Prince Ahmed, governor of Amasya.
What Could Not Be Read
No information was found in other sources on the location and founding of the Şâdiyye Madrasa, on Muslihîzâde Seydî Ahmed Çelebi, or on İdris Çelebi's son Seydî Ahmed Efendi. The relationship of the name Muslihîzâde to Hocazâde Muslihuddin Efendi, who lived in the same period, could not be determined either; the two names should not be confused.
Bibliography
Primary sources
Academic studies
- İnan Demirtaş, "Şehzade Ahmed'in Amasya Sancak Beyliği", Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları 13, ed. Hasan Yerkazan - Önder Eryılmaz, Amasya Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2024, p. 133–159.
- Recep Orhan Özel, "Amasya Sultan II. Bâyezîd Câmii ve Külliyesinin İnşâ Tarihi Problemi", Sosyal Bilimler Araştırmaları 13, Amasya Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2024, p. 5–16.
Other sources