AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

İlyâs Efendi-Müftizâde el-Hâc

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 347 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Merzifonludur. Oranın ulemâsından Nurullah Efendi bin Müftî Mehmed Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Bade’t-tahsîl Merzifon mahkemesi kâtibi, Zeynel Bey Medresesi müderrisi, ba’dehû Merzifon kadısı oldu. lll6’da vefât etdi. Ulemâdan idi. Mahdûmu Şeyhülislâm Mehmed Dürrî Efendi’dir. [273] İstanbul’da Dürrîzâde hânedânı bu zâtın evlâdıdır.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was from Merzifon. He was the son of Nurullah Efendi, one of the scholars of that town; Nurullah Efendi was in turn the son of Mufti Mehmed Efendi. After completing his studies he became a clerk of the Merzifon court, a müderris (madrasa professor) at the Zeynel Bey Madrasa, and then the kadı (judge) of Merzifon. He died in 1116 [1704-05]. He was one of the scholars. His son was Şeyhülislam Mehmed Dürrî Efendi. The Dürrîzade house of Istanbul descends from this man.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • ulemâ: scholars, men of learning
  • mahdûm: son
  • bade't-tahsîl: after completing his studies
  • müderris: a teacher who gives lessons at a madrasa
  • ba'dehû: after that
  • hânedân: a distinguished family, a dynasty of scholars
  • evlâd: children and grandchildren, descendants

On Reading the Text

The heading of the entry gives the name İlyâs Efendi; the name does not appear in the text itself. The text begins "Nurullah Efendi bin Müftî Mehmed Efendi'nin mahdûmudur." According to this sentence, the İlyâs Efendi of the heading is the son of Nurullah Efendi, and Nurullah Efendi is the son of Mufti Mehmed Efendi. One might think that the epithet "Müftîzâde" comes from the grandfather's service as mufti, but this is an inference; the text does not explain the epithet.

Dürrî Mehmed Efendi and the Dürrîzades

The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi presents Dürrî Mehmed Efendi as the first member of the Dürrîzade family, which produced many scholars and six şeyhülislams in the Ottoman state, and records him as the son of İlyas Efendi. This entry points the same way as Hüsameddin's sentence "the Dürrîzade house of Istanbul descends from this man." The encyclopedia entry does not say that İlyas Efendi was from Merzifon; the Merzifon link appears only in Hüsameddin.

Dürrî Efendi completed his madrasa education and became a müderris. In 1116 [1704-05], while a müderris at the Süleymaniye, he moved into the judicial career. He was appointed kadı of Egypt in 1707, of Mecca in 1716 and of Istanbul in 1720; in 1721 he was removed from the last post on the charge of negligence over the bakers of Istanbul failing to keep to the fixed price. In 1726 he was appointed kazasker of Anatolia, but after complaints from the judges he was dismissed and ordered to go to Tatarpazarcığı, his arpalık (assigned revenue). In October 1730 he became kazasker of Rumelia, in August 1734 he was appointed to the same post for a second time, and on 31 October 1734 he was appointed şeyhülislam. He was quite old at the time. In February 1736 he suffered a stroke; until he recovered, Mahmud I allowed him to use a seal instead of a signature on documents such as fatwas and hüccets. He was dismissed on 13 April 1736, spent the rest of his life in his house in Üsküdar, and was buried in the Yeşilkapı Cemetery near the Karacaahmet Miskinler Tekke. His son Dürrîzade Mustafa Efendi also became şeyhülislam.

Hüsameddin does not give Dürrî's year of death; the encyclopedia gives 1149 [1736]. The year 1116, given as İlyâs Efendi's year of death, is the same year in which, according to the encyclopedia, Dürrî moved from his Süleymaniye professorship to the judgeship. The sources draw no link between the two events.

On the Zeynel Bey Madrasa and İlyâs Efendi's posts in Merzifon, no information was found in the sources consulted; these details could not be verified.

Bibliography

Volume 7 contents