Amasyalıdır. Kibâr-ı ulemâdan şehzâdeler muallimi Hayreddîn Hızır Çelebi bin İdris Çelebi bin Ebûbekir Çelebi mahdûmudur. Amasya vâlisi Şehzâde Sultân Ahmed muallimi Hatîb Kasım Efendi’den vesâir ulemâ-yı benâmdan tahsîl-i ulûm edib ders-i âm oldu.
Pederinin sâye-i ikbâlinde iştihâr edib Halfet, Torumtay, Mehmed Paşa medreselerine sırasıyla müderris oldu. Sultân Ahmed’in devr-i ikbâlinde pek muhterem iken 918’de Sultân Selîm Hân’ın cülûsunda Karahisâr-ı Şarkî’ye gönderildi. Orada bir müddet müderris oldu. 927 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Birâderi Lütfullah Efendi’dir. Her ikisi de meşâhir-i ulemâdan idi.
In Modern English
He was from Amasya. He was the son of Hayreddin Hızır Çelebi, one of the great scholars and a teacher of princes; Hayreddin Hızır Çelebi was the son of İdris Çelebi, who was the son of Ebûbekir Çelebi. He studied the sciences under Hatip Kasım Efendi, teacher of Prince Sultan Ahmed, governor of Amasya, and under other famous scholars, and became a müderris (madrasa professor) giving public lectures.
He rose to fame under his father's patronage and became müderris, in turn, of the Halfet, Torumtay and Mehmed Pasha madrasas. While he was held in great respect during Sultan Ahmed's days of glory, he was sent to Karahisâr-ı Şarkî when Sultan Selim Han ascended the throne in 918 [1512-13]. He served as müderris there for a while. He died some time after 927 [1520-21]. His brother is Lütfullah Efendi. Both were renowned scholars.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- kibâr-ı ulemâ: great scholars
- muallim: teacher, tutor
- tahsîl-i ulûm: studying the sciences
- ders-i âm: a professor who gives public lectures
- sâye-i ikbâl: the shadow of good fortune and prestige, that is, patronage and influence
- iştihâr: gaining fame
- devr-i ikbâl: a person's brilliant, favoured period
- cülûs: accession to the throne
- Karahisâr-ı Şarkî: Eastern Karahisar, today's Şebinkarahisar
- meşâhir-i ulemâ: renowned scholars
The Halfet Madrasa
The "Halfet" madrasa in the text must be the Halîfet Gazi Madrasa, which people call Hilfet Gazi; Hüsameddin wrote the name in short form. The complex stands in the Şamice quarter of Amasya, on Torumtay street. According to its inscription it was built in 606 [1209-10]. Its founder Halîfet Gazi was one of the Danishmend emirs; when the Danishmend principality came to an end he entered the service of the Seljuks, was appointed governor of Amasya in 1222 in the time of Alâeddin Keykubad I, fell as a martyr in the campaign against the Georgians in 1232, and was buried in his tomb in Amasya. The madrasa's waqf deed, dated 622 [1225], survives. After the 1647 earthquake the müderris Hasan Efendi had the collapsed parts rebuilt in timber, and in 1888 the mufti of Amasya, Hacı Osman Hilmi Efendi, had the building thoroughly repaired. Today the south wall and the eastern section partly stand. For the other two madrasas in the text there is no such certainty: which buildings the Torumtay and Mehmed Pasha madrasas were could not be determined in the sources read.
Prince Ahmed's Circle
Hüsameddin introduces İdris Efendi's teacher Hatip Kasım Efendi as the teacher of Prince Ahmed, governor of Amasya. Another scholar of Amasya from the same circle is Hatibzâde Muhyiddin Mehmed: born in Amasya on 27 Şâban 864 [17 June 1460], his father's name is recorded as Hatib Kasım. Hatibzâde served as müderris in madrasas in Amasya and Bursa, taught Prince Ahmed, and was then called to Istanbul and became the first müderris of the madrasa Yavuz Sultan Selim built near Hagia Sophia. He died on 2 Zilkade 940 [15 May 1534] and was buried in Eyüp. Another study also has information on Hatib Kasım: when Hatib Kıvameddin Kasım Efendi, Prince Ahmed's teacher from the Halfetioğulları family, died in Ramazan 894 [August-September 1489], Birgilizâde Muslihiddin Mustafa Efendi came from Istanbul to take his place. The same study presents Hatibzâde Muhyiddin Efendi as Hatib Kasım's son. In another note, however, Kasım appears as the son of Yakub of Amasya, is said to have taught Bayezid while he was in Amasya, to have died in 1490 and to have been close to the Sufis. The discrepancy in the father's name and the year of death between the two records could not be resolved. The name Halfetioğulları comes from the same root as Halîfet Gazi; İdris Efendi's service as müderris at the Halfet Madrasa, among others, may point to a relationship with this family, but this link is not documented. Among Prince Ahmed's teachers the calligrapher Celâl Amâsî is also mentioned; Celâl Amâsî taught calligraphy to Prince Ahmed, governor of Amasya.
Being Sent to Karahisâr-ı Şarkî
Hüsameddin mentions Sultan Selim's accession in 918 [1512-13] when saying that İdris Efendi was sent to Karahisâr-ı Şarkî, but he does not give the reason for the dispatch. The appointment of a scholar respected in Prince Ahmed's circle as müderris in a remote district under the new sultan should be read together with the political situation of those years; however, no source establishing this connection was found, so it could not be verified. Prince Ahmed remained governor in Amasya from 1481 to 1512, and with Selim's accession in April 1512 a struggle for the throne began between the two brothers. Ahmed's vizier Yularkısdı Sinan Pasha was killed at Koyulhisar in 1513. It is possible that İdris Efendi, as a member of Prince Ahmed's circle, was sent to a remote district during this turmoil, but there is no record in the sources to that effect.
What Could Not Be Read
No information was found in other sources on İdris Efendi, his father Hayreddin Hızır Çelebi, or his brother Lütfullah Efendi.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 274–274. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies