INTRODUCTION (13) (Mukaddime)

In Modern English

26- "Melik Gâzi Lodge": It is on the east side of the cemetery northeast of the Yörgüç Paşa Mosque. It was built in 819 [1416-17] by "Gâzi İsmâil Bey, son of Bayram Bey, Emir of Emirs (Melikü'l-Ümerâ)," and its waqfs were arranged. This lodge fell down and was repaired many times; most recently "Kadızâde Seyyid Sünbül Mehmed Efendi," one of the close disciples of "Taşköprülü Şeyh Hacı Abdullah Efendi," in 1241 [1825-26] developed it anew, revived a mescit beside it, served there as both sheikh and trustee, and the lodge became known by the name "Sünbül Tekkesi." When he died in 1271 [1854-55] his son "Seyyid Hâfız Osmân Efendi" became trustee, but the sheikhship remained with "Seyyid Sünbül Efendi" and did not continue after him.

27- "Mevlevîhâne": It is near the Hükûmet Köprüsü, on the bank of the Yeşilırmak, and is the second most important lodge of Amasya in historical terms. It is written in old records and documents by the names "the Mevlevîhâne of the Late Alâeddin in Amasya" and "the Pervâne Mevlevîhâne in Amasya," and in the sharia registers it is recorded as "the Mevlevîhâne of the Late Alâeddin Pervâne Bey." Since the content of its waqf deed, lost in 1071 [1660-61], was proved by testimony and entered in the record in the name of "Alâeddin Pervâne Bey," it is understood that the building was built in 714 [1314-15] by "Alâeddin Ali Pervâne Bey" and that its waqfs were arranged by him.

But there is no doubt that the Mevlevîs' presence in Amasya goes back further than the Mevlevîhâne building. For it is plainly seen from old documents obtained that "Şeyh Veliyyüddin Ahmed Dede" in 675 [1276-77], "Alâeddin Ali Dede" in 683 [1284-85] and "Şeyh Celâleddin Mehmed Dede" in 699 [1299-1300] were Mevlevî sheikhs. At the time "Pervâne Bey" had the Mevlevîhâne built, the Mevlevî sheikh was "Şeyh Yûsuf Dede." In the time of "Şâdgeldi Padişah," "Zileli Nusretzâde Şeyh Cemâleddin Ahmed Dede" and after him his halife "Şeyh Mehmed Cû'î Dede" became sheikhs of the Mevlevîhâne.

When "Şeyh Cû'î Dede" had a Mevlevîhâne built in his own village and withdrew there, "Şeyh Mecdeddin Küpeli Dede," and then in 840 [1436-37] "Şeyh Müstencid Dede" are seen as sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne. In 975 [1567-68], while "Şeyh Ömer Çelebi" and then "Şeyh İbrâhim Çelebi" were Mevlevî sheikhs, a bandit attack occurred, and in 1011 [1602-03] the Mevlevîhâne burned and its sheikh disappeared.

"Şeyh Mehmed Ârif Dede," son of this İbrâhim Çelebi, reported the situation to the former grand vizier "Bayram Paşa"; thereupon in 1047 [1637-38] the Mevlevîhâne was rebuilt by the said grand vizier and its waqfs expanded. First the said "Şeyh Mehmed Ârif Dede," then his son-in-law "Şeyh Mahmûd Dede," then "Abdülkâdir Dede," then "Şeyh Alâeddin Dede" became sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne. In 1112 [1700-01], at his death, "İbrâhim Çelebi" became trustee and "Şeyh Bilâl Efendi" sheikh; in 1113 [1701-02] "Şeyh Bilâl Efendi" also took on the trusteeship.

When Bilâl Efendi died in 1118 [1706-07], both duties (sheikhship and trusteeship) were given to "Hacı Osmân Sâkıb Efendi," of the line of "Mehmed Ârif Dede"; again in 1118, when this person was dismissed, "Şeyh Ebûbekir Dede" became sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne. When "Mustafa Efendi" died in 1121 [1709-10] his son "Ali Çelebi," and when he died in 1126 [1714-15], the said "Hacı Osmân Sâkıb Efendi" became trustee of the Mevlevîhâne. In 1131 [1718-19], at the death of "Şeyh Ebûbekir Dede," "Şeyh Sâlih Dede Efendi," who became sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne, also took on the trusteeship when "Hacı Osmân Efendi" was dismissed, but in 1135 [1722-23] "Seyyid Hâfız Halîl Çelebi" became trustee and his brother "Seyyid Hâfız Mustafa Çelebi" nâzır (supervisor of the waqf).

Later the trusteeship and supervisor duties were taken back and given again several times, and in 1143 [1730-31] "Şeyh Sâlih Dede" became both trustee and supervisor. When he died in 1151 [1738-39], "Derviş Mehmed Dede"; at his death in 1166 [1752-53] "Şeyh İsmâil Dede," mesnevîhân (reader of the Mesnevî) of the "Şeyh Cû'î" lodge; at his death in 1177 [1763-64] "Hacızâde Şeyh Ahmed Dede"; at his death in 1190 [1776-77] "İsmâil Dedezâde Feyzullah Dede"; on his dismissal in 1194 [1780] "Seyyid Hasan Dede"; and when he too was dismissed in 1204 [1789-90], "Şeyh Ahmed Dedezâde Feyzullah Dede Efendi" became sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne and mesnevîhân of "Şeyh Cû'î."

In 1208 [1793-94], when "Feyzullah Dede" was dismissed, his brother "Seyyid Abdullah Dede" became mesnevîhân and "Ahmed Dede's" nephew "Hüseyin Dede Efendi" sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne, but in 1209 [1794-95] he too was dismissed and "Ahmed Dedezâde Seyyid Mehmed Kâmî Dede" became sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne alone. At his death in 1227 [1812], "Şeyh Hüseyin Dedezâde Seyyid Mehmed Efendi" became sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne and "Kâmî Dedezâde Seyyid Mehmed Sâbit Dede" mesnevîhân of "Şeyh Cû'î"; but since Sâbit Dede died in 1228 [1812-13], "Seyyid Mehmed Dede" became both sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne and mesnevîhân of "Şeyh Cû'î."

"Seyyid Mehmed Dede," after serving about fifteen years as sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne, was killed in 1244 [1828-29] on his return from Konya; in his place came "Seyyid Sâbit Dedezâde Seyyid Ahmed Sâlim Dede," then "Hüseyin Dedezâde Seyyid Hasan Dede," then his brother "Seyyid Ali Rızâ Dede," at his death his son "Seyyid Mehmed Sıdkî Dede," then his son "Seyyid Ahmed Dede," and then his son "Seyyid Cemâleddin Mehmed Dede." Today the sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne is this last.

28- "Meydan Lodge": It is at the head of the Meydan Köprüsü, on the northwest side, in the Sâbıkeddin Quarter. It is also called "Ehlî Hâtun Tekkesi." "Ehlî Hâtun," the virtuous daughter of the emir of Amasya "Şâdgeldi Paşazâde Devâtdâr Ahmed Paşa," had the lodge built in 871 [1466-67], arranged its waqfs and left its trusteeship to her brother's "sons of Burak Bey, Ahmed and Mehmed Çelebis." Since the said lady's grave is inside this lodge, she stipulated that seven juz of the Qur'an be read each day by her children, and that the sheikhship be given to those worthy of it.

When "Seyyid Şeyh Ali Efendi," one of the known sheikhs of the Halvetiyye order, died in 1113 [1701-02] while sheikh of this lodge, his sons the Efendis "Seyyid İsmâil, İbrâhim and Osmân" became sheikhs jointly by inheritance. In 1147 [1734-35] "Seyyid İsmâil Efendizâde Şeyh Seyyid Ali Efendi," and at his death in 1155 [1742-43] his son "Seyyid Mehmed Halîfe" became sheikh and trustee. At his death in 1189 [1775-76] "Seyyid Abdullah, Hüseyin and Yûnus"; in 1214 [1799-1800] "Seyyid Mustafa, son of Seyyid Abdullah," and "Seyyid Mehmed, son of Seyyid Hüseyin," jointly; and at "Seyyid Mustafa's" death in 1217 [1802-03] his cousin "Seyyid Mehmed Çelebi" became sole sheikh and trustee, but the lodge fell into ruin.

29- "Nûh Lodge": It is the small cemetery place seen on the road at the east end of the Çeribaşı Quarter, below the Çevrim Cemetery. While this place had formerly been built as a madrasa in 1116 [1704-05] by the former mufti of Amasya "Mütevellîzâde Hacı Ahmed Efendi," it burned in 1143 [1730-31]; since no waqf was left to rebuild it, another "Mütevellîzâde," "Hacı Ali Ağa," had a Halvetî lodge built here, left its sheikhship to dersiâm (authorized to teach in a madrasa) efendis, and arranged its waqfs.

First "Hacı Hızır Efendizâde Şeyh Hacı Nûh Efendi," pulpit sheikh of the "İbâdullah Mosque," then "Şeyh Abdurrahman Efendi," then "Şeyh Mustafa Efendi" became lodge sheikhs. Since Nûh Efendi was at the same time preacher of the "Çeribaşı Mosque," the lodge was called by his name. In the fire of 1233 [1817-18] the lodge burned and its waqf income sources were also lost. Since it had formerly been a place where the lodge's sheikhs were buried, its rebuilding was not possible and it took on the state of a general cemetery.

30- "Yâkûtiye Lodge": It is southwest of the Tımarhâne (Darüşşifa), on the road passing along the Yeşilırmak bank. It has a mescit, sheikh's room, guesthouse and imaret; all of these are of masonry (stone) and exceedingly strong. "Yâkût Paşa," one of the Ottoman emirs, had it built in 814 [1411-12] and set aside its trusteeship first for its first sheikh "Mehmed Buhârî, son of Abdullah," and his children, then for "Yâr Ali Çelebizâde Müeyyed Çelebi" and his children.

"Şeyh Bahâeddin Mehmed Buhârî," as first sheikh, also carried out the trusteeship duty, and his children were trustees for some two hundred years. Many of the scholars served as sheikh of this lodge. When "Şeyh Osmân Efendi," one of the retired scholars, who was both sheikh and trustee in place of the children of "Mehmed Buhârî," whose line had died out, died in 1080 [1669-70], "Müeyyedzâde Abdülbâkî Efendi," proving the condition in the waqf deed and his heirship, became sheikh and trustee of the "Yâkûtiye." When he too died in 1085 [1674-75], his son "Yahyâ Efendi" became sheikh and trustee. At his death in 1124 [1712-13] his sons "Seyyid Mehmed and Ahmed Efendis" became trustees and "Bolulu İbrâhim Efendi," pulpit sheikh of the Mehmed Paşa Mosque, sheikh; in 1141 [1728-29] İbrâhim Efendi's sons "Seyyid Mehmed Emîn and Ali Ârif Efendis" became lodge sheikhs and then also seized the trusteeship.

Later, through the aimlessness and neglect of persons who believed that the sheikhship and trusteeship consisted merely of drawing a salary, the lodge became unusable; for this reason in 1281 [1864-65] a fetvâhane (office of the mufti) was made in it for the mufti of Amasya "Ali Kayazâde Hacı Ahmed Sıdkî Efendi." At his death, since it was abandoned again, in 1300 [1882-83] it began to be used as an "İbtidâî Mektep" (primary school).

31- "Yâ Vedûd Lodge": It is northeast of the Pirinççi Quarter, on the qibla side of the Dersi Tamam Efendi Tomb. This lodge was built in 857 [1453] by "Selâmet Hâtun," the learned daughter of the judge of Amasya "Nizâmeddin Abdurrahman Muslihî," known as "Molla Beylik," who arranged its waqfs. His Excellency "Sun'ullah Buhârî," a halife of His Excellency "Sa'deddin Kâşgarî," one of the great Naqshbandîs, and then his son "Şeyh Abdülvedûd Efendi" became known in a later period as sheikh of this lodge, and the lodge came to be known by this name in relation to "Abdülvedûd Efendi."

Later "Şeyh Edhem Çelebi" and then "Şeyh Mehmed Çelebi" became lodge sheikhs; in 1099 [1687-88] "Şeyh Mehmed Efendi," and in 1110 [1698-99] "Şeyh Mustafa Efendi," became sheikh and lodge-keeper together with the trusteeship. At Mustafa Efendi's death in 1121 [1709-10] his son "Mehmed Çelebi," in 1149 [1736-37] his other son "Osmân Çelebi," and at his death in 1153 [1740-41] his sons "Abdullah and Hasan" became sheikhs. In 1154 [1741-42], with their dismissal, the dersiâm "Seyyid Hâfız Hüseyin Efendi" became sheikh and trustee, and the lodge was turned into a lecture hall. Then his son "Seyyid Mustafa Efendi," at his death in 1178 [1764-65] "Mahmûd Çelebi," at his death in 1210 [1795-96] his son "Mustafa," then his brother "Seyyid Mehmed," and at his death in 1223 [1808-09] the sons of "Fazlîzâde Seyyid Hacı Abdülkâdir Efendi," notables "Seyyid Mehmed Saîd and Mustafa Efendis," became sheikhs. This system of inheritance ruined the lodge. While the lodge's mescit still stands, its waqfs were attached in the name of the "professor" and in 1315 [1897-98] registered in the name of the Maarif (education administration). Now only the tomb of "Selâmet Hâtun" remains.

Her bir ciheti medrese-i ilm ü edebdir
Erbâb-ı zekâ feyzine i'lâ-yı sebebdir
Makbûl-i ümem melce'-i ashâb-ı talebdir
Medhûl olur elbette dilâzâr-ı Amasya

Meaning of the quatrain: Every side of Amasya is a school of learning and manners; it is a cause of people of intelligence finding grace. This city, admired by nations, is the refuge of those who seek knowledge; one who offends the heart of Amasya is of course blamed.

The support of the Islamic sharia and the source of pride of the world of civilization are the sciences and knowledge. Since Amasya is, thanks to learning and knowledge, a mine of scholars and, thanks to madrasas and schools, a center of virtuous persons, every part of it is full of madrasas of learning and every direction with schools of knowledge.

Since Amasya has since ancient times won the people's admiration for the number of its learning institutions and the fame of their superiority in accomplishment, it is understood by an attentive look at history that scholars and students of learning have always applied to this mine of learning, gained grace and reached happiness. To set forth and determine the initial state of learning and knowledge in Amasya and its later progress is possible only by knowing the dates of the building and repair of the madrasas and schools. Before these learning institutions, which are a happy result of advances in the field of thought, to follow the services performed to spread learning and knowledge by the scholars who tried to enlighten minds, and how it developed, serves to understand the value and importance that past Islamic nations, who counted determined conquests among the first of duties, gave and accorded to learning and knowledge; it would also be a capital of alertness and pride for later generations who wish to grasp with resolve and perseverance that they are the grandchildren of their ancestors.

From the beginning of the conquest of Amasya until the year 538 [1143-44], the Danishmendid rulers, extremely busy with settling the Turkish tribes coming in streams to Amasya from the Khwarazm and Khorasan sides, and with defending against and preventing the attacks of the Rum, who attacked anew each year to retake Amasya, and then of the Crusader armies, could only try, with the scholars who came from outside, to secure rights and dispense justice; they did not find a suitable time to spread learning. This is understood from historical research. But Amasya, which passed to the Seljuk dynasty at this date, being a seat of sovereignty, "Seljuk Sultan Mesud," striving to establish Islamic civilization in Amasya, laid the foundations of learning and religious institutions such as the mosque, madrasa and hankah.

Later "Mübârizeddin Halîfe Alp" and "Seyfeddin Torumtay," who were governors of Amasya, each had a high madrasa built and tied sufficient allocation to the scholars and professors who gave lessons. Since both the emirs and the notables and great ones relieved the scholars coming to Amasya from outside of hardship of livelihood by giving them money and salaries, the old documents obtained prove that scholars and fakihs (Islamic jurists) came to Amasya from distant and important countries such as Herat, Khorasan, Khwarazm and Bukhara and strove to spread knowledge and diffuse learning.

Virtuous persons such as "Abdülmelik el-Berkendî," "Ebû Nasr el-Keşânî," "Mahmûd el-Yesevî," "Takıyyüddin Osmân el-Hirevî," "Fahreddin Mahmûd el-Buhârî," "Tâceddin Yûsuf et-Tebrîzî," "Ziyâeddin Îsâ el-Hakkârî," "Necîbeddin Mûsâ el-Ahlâtî" and "Sa'deddin Mehmed er-Rûmîkî" undertook to give lessons in Amasya, set about spreading grace and raised very many students. Of these, virtuous persons such as "Takıyyüddin Osmân er-Rûmî," "Bedreddin İbrâhim el-Kımârî," "Sadreddin Mehmed el-Amâsî" and "Hacı Mecdeddin Îsâ es-Sulgârî" were raised from Amasya and won fame.

Seeing that in the times when the influence of the Ilkhanid state held in Amasya the oppression and evils of the Tatars took a terrible form, these Islamic scholars, without showing any slackness in their scholarly duties, warned the Tatars with gentleness and sweetness, softened their crude thoughts and feelings and brought them into the circle of Islam. This situation proves how effective a weapon of success the power of word and of the higher sciences is where armed force proved powerless.

Accordingly, since at the time when the influence of the "Seljuk dynasty" vanished in Amasya the Tatars' acceptance of the exalted religion of Islam gave speed to the spread of learning and knowledge, from the year 700 [1300-01] the old way came into still greater demand; scholars and virtuous persons who came to Amasya from every side were supported according to their worth and received esteem according to their virtue and maturity. "Nâsıreddin Ahmed Atabeg," one of the well-known emirs, also added one more madrasa to the existing madrasas and spent money and labor to improve the condition of scholars and students of learning.

Among the virtuous persons of this eighth century [hijri; fourteenth century CE] who spread learning in Amasya, after such persons as the greater and lesser "Şemseddin Mehmed Nahcivânî," "Cemâleddin İbrâhim Aksarâyî," "Muslihuddin Mûsâ Sivasî," "Şerefeddin Mehmed Erzincânî," "Sa'deddin Mehmed el-Hocendî," "Zeyneddin Siyâvuş ed-Difrikî" and "Kıvâmeddin Kâsım el-Erzincânî," virtuous persons such as "Mecdeddin Ömer," "Şemseddin Ahmed," "Bedreddin Doğan," "Fahreddin İlyâs," "Nizâmeddin Abdülmelik," "Sadreddin Artuk," "Fahreddin Osmân," "Ziyâeddin Mes'ûd" and "Celâleddin Abdurrahman" were raised from the Sanjak of Amasya and won fame in the fields of professorship, judgeship and the muftiship.

From the year 788 [1386-87], after the emirate of Amasya accepted with great pride the protection of the exalted Ottoman sultanate, its being an educational place where princes grew up and gained strength raised Amasya's value and revived the advance of learning and knowledge. For this reason viziers and notables increased the number of learning institutions by spending money and giving labor.

From the beginning of the ninth century [hijri; fifteenth century CE] until the accession of His Majesty "Süleyman the Magnificent," the number of learning institutions built in Amasya reached its highest point; Amasya has seen very few like the virtuous persons these times produced after this period of maturity. Benefactors such as "Yakub Paşa, Yörgüç Paşa, Hızır Paşa, Mehmed Paşa, Abdullah Paşa, Kâsım Bey, Hüseyin Ağa and Ayas Ağa" each had a high madrasa built and, tying sufficient allocation to scholars and students of learning, served the spread of learning and knowledge with their wealth.

The virtuous persons raised by such virtuous persons left from the eighth century as "Gümüşlüzâde Şücâeddin İlyâs, Celâleddin Abdurrahman, Şemseddin Mehmed Buhârî and Tâceddin İbrâhim Tokâdî," and the virtuous persons who came from outside such as "Pîr Sun'ullah-ı Amâsî, Ferîdeddin Mehmed Devvânî, Müeyyed Çelebi, Müderriszâde Hüsâmeddin-i Rûmî, Celâleddin Yûsuf Çelebi, İbrîzâde Molla Muhyiddin, Seydî Ahmed Kırîmî, Molla Receb-i Rûmî, Seydî Abdullah Efendi, Molla Müderris Abdî, Hatîb Kâsım, Molla Bahşî, Tâceddin Amâsî, Molla Şâdilü Muhyiddin, Molla Sinan Berdaî, Koca Emîr İbrâhim Efendi, Molla Muslihuddin" and the like, made Amasya a university (dârülfünûn) of the first rank.

Although from the year 926 [1519-20] to the year 1041 [1631-32] only two madrasas could be added to the existing madrasas, the Efendis "Hakalalı Molla Muhyiddin, Tokatlı Molla Alâeddin, Molla Kemâl Halîfe, Molla Şeyh İlyâs, Şeyh Sinan, Bahşîzâde Yahyâ, Müeyyedzâde Pîrî and Kadızâde Küçük Mehmed," raised by these persons, became very well known in the world of professorship. The first of the causes that brought them to the degree of maturity must be sought in the giving of the madrasas in Amasya to those fit for them and in the scholars' being brought to prosperity in every respect.

For the system of heredity (the passing of posts from father to son), whose foundation was laid in 1004 [1595-96], gradually showed its effect, and, since scholarly posts were given to the child who had received a license at the time of his father's death, the children of scholars were encouraged to pursue learning, but this system also did not fail to arouse a slight negative effect on persons, and the existing madrasas remained as they were and could not increase in number. The scholars raised by this century are virtuous persons such as the Efendis "Yağmurköylü İsmâil, Hocazâde Abdullah, Caferzâde Hacı Hızır, Uzun Müderris Mehmed, Çorumlu Hacı Ömer and another Hacı İsmâil."

The terrible event of 1098 [1686-87] upset all the scholarly posts in Amasya; since the system of heredity also covered the children still studying, it gave rise to the system of deputation (niyabet) in important posts such as professorship, sheikhship, preachership and imamship. Until 1241 [1825-26] this system of deputation ruined some of the madrasas and kept some standing. Nevertheless within that century well-known virtuous persons such as the Efendis "Çorumlu Müftizâde Abdullah, Mütevellîzâde Hacı Ahmed, Çorumlu Hâfız Mehmed, Tokatlı Şeyh Mustafa, İnallı Hacı Mehmed, Akdağlı Şeyh Mustafa, Iydîzâde Hacı Mustafa Âkif, Uluslu Mehmed and Següköylüzâde Hacı Mehmed Kâşif" were raised and enlivened Amasya.

After these, virtuous persons such as the Efendis "Ürgüplü Hacı Ahmed, Şeyhzâde Abdullah Vecîh, Türkmenzâde Nâbî, Soruklu Hacı Ali and Payaslı Hacı Mehmed" won fame by devoting themselves to the service of spreading learning in Amasya and became teachers of the people. Their students the Efendis "Canikli Hacı Mehmed, Sipâhî Hâfız Ömer and Taşköprülü Hacı Hâfız Abdullah" also became known as everyone's teachers.

Since from 1241 [1825-26] the system of deputation that gave rise to the system of heredity brought only some scholars to prosperity to a degree, Amasya has not lost its former fame solely through a religious zeal, thanks to the efforts of persons who, as remnants of those of the past, studied in the madrasas of Amasya and won fame. Among these zealous persons the Efendis "Caniklizâde Hacı Mehmed, Payaslızâde Hacı Abdülhalîm, İnebazarlı Hacı İsmâil, Malatyalı Sûfî Mehmed, İbekli Hacı Hasan, Şirvânî Hacı Mustafa and Îsâ" are extremely well known, and now their students are spreading learning.

In the time of the "Tanzimat-ı Hayriye," when this system of heredity, contrary to the conditions of waqf deeds, ought to have been brought into a form in accord with reason and law, that laws were made concerning the giving of madrasa professorships and school teacherships, so important in terms of religion and the age, to children, as if dividing among heirs the effects and inheritance property left by the dead, is among the conditions that would make those of good sense weep. That this situation extremely reduced the benefit drawn from the lofty institutions that valuable people of the past brought into being by spending millions will be clearly seen when the conditions of the madrasas, schools and other learning buildings in Amasya are told one by one.

If the madrasas, schools, libraries and dârülkurras (Qur'an recitation schools) that valuable people of the past brought into being in Amasya are examined, it is understood by what great labors they made Amasya a university and center of learning. It is these great labors that made Amasya a famous, great city in history.

In Amasya eight libraries were built and their waqfs arranged: in 870 [1465-66] by "Hızır Paşa" adjoining his madrasa, in 890 [1485-86] by "Sultan Bâyezid Han II" inside his mosque, in 1017 [1608-09] by "Müeyyedzâde Pîrî Çelebi" adjoining the "Hâtuniye Mosque," in 1147 [1734-35] by "Hıfzîzâde Hacı Osmân Fâik Efendi" inside the "Burmalı Minare Mosque," in 1159 [1746-47] by "Emîr-i İmâm Abdüllatîf Efendi" opposite the "Sultan Bâyezid School," in 1248 [1832-33] by "Saçlı Hacı Mahmûd Efendi" above his tomb, in 1258 [1842-43] by "Kapancızâde Hacı Hüseyin Zekî Efendi" inside his muvakkithane (prayer-time room), and in 1329 [1911] by "Yumuk Osmânzâde Mehmed Hamdî Efendi" in the courtyard of "Sultan Bâyezid"; but of these only the libraries of the Efendis "Abdüllatîf, Hüseyin and Hamdî" exist; the others have been dispersed and lost.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

• şark-ı şimâlî: northeast; cenûb-ı garbî: southwest
• evkâfı tanzîm etmek: to arrange one's waqfs, to tie income sources
• zâviye: a small lodge, a place where dervishes lodge and travelers are hosted
• meşîhat: sheikhship; tevliyet: waqf trusteeship, administration
• mütevellî: the person who administers a waqf; nâzır: the person who supervises a waqf
• mahdûm: son; birâderzâde: nephew; ammizâde: paternal cousin
• ref': dismissal from office; fevt: death; irtihâl: decease
• mesnevîhân: the person who teaches and comments on Mevlânâ's Mesnevî
• muhterik olmak: to burn; mün'adim olmak: to vanish, to die
• sadr-ı esbak: former grand vizier
• kürsî şeyhi: the sheikh who preaches from the pulpit in a mosque
• ders-i âm: a senior professor authorized to teach in a madrasa
• akârât-ı mevkûfe: income-yielding properties belonging to a waqf
• teseyyüb: aimlessness, slackness in work
• münderis: effaced, vanished
• medâris, mekâtib: madrasas, schools
• fuzalâ: virtuous, learned persons; tilmîz: student
• dârü'l-fünûn: university
• usûl-i verâset / usûl-i niyâbet: passing of a post from father to son / carrying out of a post by a deputy
• dârü'l-kurrâ: school of Qur'an recitation and readings

The Place of the Section and Hüsameddin's Sources

These pages contain the end (26-31) of the series that lists the lodges of Amasya in numbered items in the Mukaddime part of the book, and the general introduction of the new section that follows, passing to the madrasas. In the lodge entries the material in Hüsameddin's hands is plainly seen: chains of sheikhs and trustees based on waqf deeds, sharia registers and deeds of appointment. For this reason the text in places becomes a list of names and dates; but these lists are among the data to which researchers still turn today. In Kadir Özköse's article studying the Halvetiyye lodges of Amasya, most of the information on the Meydan and Nûh lodges is based directly on Hüsameddin; Abdulhalim Durma, who writes on the Mevlevîhâne, also says plainly that he "learned his information from the author of Amasya Tarihi."

It must be recalled that the dates in the text are hijri and that the Gregorian equivalents in square brackets give an approximate range of years. Since one hijri year can straddle two Gregorian years, spellings such as "1047 [1637-38]" reflect this uncertainty.

Present Traces of the Lodges

The Melik Gâzi (Sünbül) Lodge. No information was found in other sources on this lodge near the Yörgüç Paşa Mosque or on Kadızâde Sünbül Mehmed Efendi, who revived it in 1825-26. One should not make a link between the "Melik Gâzi" in its name and the Danishmendid Melik Gâzi who conquered Amasya; Hüsameddin plainly ties the lodge to "Gâzi İsmâil Bey," who had it built in 1416-17. Likewise the Sünbül Efendi here should not be confused with Sünbül Sinan Efendi, the Halvetî great one who, after Cemâl-i Halvetî, took the post at the Koca Mustafa Paşa Dervish Lodge in Istanbul.

The Meydan (Ehlî Hâtun) Lodge. Özköse writes that the lodge is at the head of the Meydan Köprüsü, that is, today's İstasyon Köprüsü, in the old Sâbıkeddin, new Kurşunlu Quarter, and adds that the place visited by the people as the "Dilek Kuyusu" (Wish Well) is this. Its date of construction (1467), its founder's being Ehl-i Hâtun, granddaughter of Şâdgeldi Paşa, the trusteeship's being left to the sons of Burak Bey and the condition of reading seven juz a day agree exactly with Hüsameddin. One point Özköse draws attention to is important: although it is known that Halvetî sheikhs served in the lodge, it is not recorded to which order those who served earlier were attached. In local studies compiling places of visitation, the Ehlî Hâtun Tomb is today mentioned in the Kurşunlu Quarter.

The Nûh Lodge. According to Özköse the site of the lodge is the waqf cemetery remaining on the road below the cemetery the people call Çorum Cemetery, around today's Çeribaşı Mosque; it is probably where today's Atatürk Primary School stands. Its construction as a madrasa (1704), the fire of 1730 and Hacı Ali Ağa's lodge agree with Hüsameddin. The difference is in the date of the fire: while Hüsameddin says the lodge burned in the fire of 1233 [1817-18], Özköse, relying on studies of nineteenth-century Sufi history, gives the year 1808. This shows either a separate fire or the misreading of one of the dates; with the sources at hand it could not be determined which is correct.

The Yâkûtiye Lodge. This building is easily confused with another work whose name is very similar. The Yakub Paşa Madrasa and lodge that Çelebi Mehmed's vizier Yakub Paşa had built in 1412 and which is known among the people as the Çilehâne is a separate building. Hüsameddin's Yâkûtiye, on the other hand, is southwest of the Darüşşifa, on the river bank. Selim Özcan's study of Amasya in the period of the princes records that the Yakutiye Imaret was built in 1413 in the Yakutiye Quarter by Sinaneddin Yakut Paşa, son of Hacı Kutlu Şah, emir of Amasya, one of the Ottoman emirs. There is a small difference between the date Hüsameddin gives, 814 [1411-12], and 1413; the imaret of this complex, consisting of mescit, guesthouse and imaret, must also be the building Özcan mentions. The area around the Darüşşifa is still called Yakutiye today; the lodge's name lives on in the quarter's name.

The Yâ Vedûd Lodge and the Selâmet Hâtun Tomb. Hüsameddin says "now only the tomb of Selâmet Hâtun remains"; this tomb stands today in the Pirinççi Quarter. It is a small building of square plan, domed, made of cut and rubble stone, and has been left below road level. Among the people it is told that Selâmet Hâtun was buried with her cow, even that she was saved with her cows from Noah's flood; the quarter's women keep the tomb clean voluntarily, and it is visited for blessing and wishes. These accounts have nothing to do with the historical Selâmet Hâtun, a judge's daughter who founded a Naqshbandî lodge in 1453; but they are noteworthy in showing how the name of a waqf-founding woman lives on in popular belief five and a half centuries later.

The Amasya Mevlevîhâne

The Mevlevîhâne entry is the longest and most carefully worked part of these pages. Hüsameddin puts forward that the building was built in 1314-15 by Alâeddin Ali Pervâne Bey, relying on records proved by witnesses though the waqf deed was lost. In his footnote he also rejects the claim that the building belongs to Seljuk Sultan Alâeddin, who died in Shawwal 636 [1239]: since Mevlânâ Celâleddin died in 1273 and the spread of the order was after him, this claim is "very weak." This is a fine example showing that Hüsameddin did not relay records blindly but heeded historical consistency.

Abdulhalim Durma notes that the Mevlevîs' presence in Amasya goes back still further, to Muhammed Ali, sent here as halife in the time of Sultan Veled. According to Eflâkî's Menâkıbü'l-Ârifîn, it is understood that in the years the Mevlevîhâne was built Ulu Ârif Çelebi was also in Amasya and met here Küçük Seyyid Ahmed, sheikh of the Ahmedîs. Durma also puts forward that Zileli Cemâleddin Ahmed Dede, sheikh in the time of Şâdgeldi Paşa, may be the person sent as peace envoy by the emirs defeated by Kadı Burhâneddin in 1387; this is a conjecture and should be read as such.

Şeyh Cû'î Dede's withdrawing to "his own village" is the story of the village of Şeyhcui, attached to Amasya today. According to Durma the sheikh in 1414 had a Mevlevîhâne, tekke, school and fountain built in his village, endowed the village's land to the Mevlevîhâne, spent the rest of his life there and was buried there; the village was later called by his name. The title "Şeyh Cû'î mesnevîhân" that often occurs in Hüsameddin's text shows that some of the sheikhs of the Mevlevîhâne in the city also carried out the duty of teaching the Mesnevî at this village lodge. In the book's footnote it is also listed to whom this duty passed after 1235: Seyyid Hasan Dede, Osmân Halîfe, Ebûbekir Vahdetî Efendi, Hacı Mustafa Rıfkî Efendi and his son Hüsâmeddin Dede Efendi.

A small correction is needed on Bayram Paşa, who rebuilt the Mevlevîhâne in 1637-38: Hüsameddin calls him "sadr-ı esbak," that is, former grand vizier. Yet Bayram Paşa was grand vizier in the time of Murad IV from 2 February 1637 until his death near Urfa during the Baghdad campaign on 26 August 1638; the hijri year 1047 falls exactly in this grand vizierate. Hüsameddin's expression should be understood as a usage of title looking back from his own time. Durma adds that in the same years Bayram Paşa brought water at his own expense to Amasya, suffering from a water shortage, and also had a caravanserai built. In some sources it is put forward that Bayram Paşa was born in Amasya; this information could not be confirmed.

Seyyid Cemâleddin Mehmed Dede, whom Hüsameddin mentions as "today's sheikh of the Mevlevîhâne," is a figure who also appears in the history of the National Struggle. According to Durma, Cemâleddin Efendi for a time served as mayor of Amasya, was in the delegation that invited Mustafa Kemal from Havza to Amasya, and was among the founders of the Amasya Association for the Defense of Rights. The Mevlevîhâne is last heard of in 1919, when it hosted the meeting held to announce to the people a circular Mustafa Kemal sent from Havza. The building does not stand today. Durma writes that it was in the place the ancients called Selağzı, that the cemetery in this district was removed in 1865 by the mutasarrıf Ziya Paşa and shops were built in its place, that the area in time turned into today's Yavuz Selim Square, and he surmises that the Mevlevîhâne was most probably demolished during the square-opening works after the closing of the tekkes in 1925.

Hüsameddin's History of the Madrasas and Present Knowledge

In the introduction devoted to the madrasas, Hüsameddin divides learned life in Amasya into periods: the Danishmendid war years, the Seljuk and Ilkhanid period, the brilliant age of the first two centuries of the Ottomans, and the decline after the seventeenth century. Present research largely confirms this scheme, but differs on some points. Hüsameddin says the Danishmendids did not find opportunity to engage in learning; the entry Amasya in the Türk Maarif Ansiklopedisi, however, records that in the Danishmendid period mosques, bridges, hans, small palaces, bathhouses and madrasas were built north of the river. It is also noted that the oldest Turkish building in the city is the mosque Dânişmendoğlu Melik Gâzi had built on the site of today's Şamlar Mosque. Hüsameddin's tying the first institutions to Seljuk Sultan Mesud is in this respect open to debate; that there is a tomb in the city claimed to belong to Sultan Mesud shows the place of his name in Amasya's memory.

The two Seljuk governors Hüsameddin mentions are the founders of two buildings still regarded as symbols of the city today. The person he calls "Mübârizeddin Halîfe Alp" is Mübârizüddin Halifet Gazi, founder of the Halifet Gazi Madrasa. The date of the madrasa is given differently in the sources: while the entry Amasya in the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi gives 1209-1210, the Türk Maarif Ansiklopedisi writes that the madrasa was built during Halifet Gazi's governorship between 1222 and 1228. The madrasa Seyfeddin Torumtay had built in 1267 has come down to our day under the name Gökmedrese, and Torumtay lies in the tomb beside it. The work of Nâsıreddin Ahmed Atabeg, who Hüsameddin says added a new one to the madrasas "from the year 700," is also the Atabey Madrasa; present sources show it as built in 1322 with five rooms, a lecture hall and a garden. Thus Hüsameddin's chronology is confirmed at this point too. To the picture of the "softening of the Tatars by learning" that Hüsameddin tells for the Ilkhanid years, one must add the Darüşşifa, the most important learning building of the same period: this hospital, built in 1309 by Anber bin Abdullah in the name of Olcaytu Khan and his wife Uldız Hatun, also gave practical medical training, and Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin, author of the Kitâbü'l-Cerrâhiye, was trained here and served for about fourteen years.

The eight names Hüsameddin lists as having built madrasas in the first Ottoman period agree almost exactly with present lists: the Yakub Paşa Madrasa (1412), the Yörgüç Paşa Mosque and Madrasa, the Hızır Paşa Madrasa (1466), the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa (1484), the Abdullah Paşa Madrasa built as a darülhadis (1485), the madrasa that Kâsım Bey, one of Prince Bayezid's emirs, had built in Hakala (1464), the Büyük Ağa Madrasa of Hüseyin Ağa, kapıağası of Bayezid II (1488), and the Küçük Ağa Madrasa of the kapıağası Ayas Ağa (1495). Of these the Büyük Ağa Madrasa was destroyed in the earthquake of 1939, was repaired true to the original in 1978 by the General Directorate of Foundations, and is still in use. According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, at the beginning of the sixteenth century the city had nine mosques, ten madrasas, four lodges, six imarets and fifteen bathhouses. Hasan Telli's study based on Meşihat Archive documents also notes that more than forty madrasas have been identified in Amasya.

Hüsameddin's saying "from 926 to 1041 only two madrasas could be added" is also noteworthy. The Türk Maarif Ansiklopedisi mentions exactly two buildings for this period: the Dârülhadis Madrasa that Osman Çelebi, son of the judge Seydi Ali, had built of wood in 1527, and the Muhyiddin Bey Madrasa that Hacı Beyzâde Muhyiddin Mehmed Çelebi had built in Hakala in 1541. It is highly probable that these are the two madrasas Hüsameddin means. The same source writes that the Hüsâmiye Madrasa that Kubalızâde Şeyh Hüsâmeddin had built in 1453 was damaged in the fires of 1602 and 1688; these two dates correspond to the bandit raid of 1011 and the "terrible event" of 1098 [1686-87] that Hüsameddin mentions. The disaster of 1098 is mentioned in the text without being named; there is no definite information in the sources at hand on what it was.

The name of Següköylüzâde Hacı Mehmed Kâşif Efendi, whom Hüsameddin mentions among the eighteenth-century scholars, lives on in a building: the Kâşifiye Madrasa, built in 1762 by Halil Ağazâde Ömer Ağa, took its name from him. In the same century the Osmaniye (1737), Fevziye (1739), Fâtımiye (1740), Sungurlu and Bekir Paşa (1750) madrasas were added. This shows that Hüsameddin's judgment "the madrasas did not increase" holds for the seventeenth century, while in the middle of the eighteenth century a new activity was experienced.

The Critique of Heredity and Deputation

The harshest pages of the section are directed at the passing of scholarly posts from father to son. According to Hüsameddin this system at first encouraged the children of scholars to study, but over time posts were given to children still of school age, who then began to have the work done by deputies. The details given in the text for the Yâkûtiye and Yâ Vedûd lodges are concrete examples of this critique: the neglect of persons who thought the sheikhship and trusteeship were "merely drawing a salary" made the Yâkûtiye unusable, and at Yâ Vedûd "heredity ruined the lodge." Hüsameddin's accusing the Tanzimat-period arrangements of distributing professorships and teacherships "as if dividing the inheritance of the dead" reflects the anger of an intellectual of his own period at the collapse of institutions.

The figures for the nineteenth century indeed draw a mixed picture. According to the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, the traveler G. Perrot, who came to the city in 1861, calls Amasya "the Oxford of Anatolia" and writes that nearly two thousand students studied in the madrasas; Mustafa Vâzıh Efendi, who lived at the beginning of the nineteenth century, also describes Amasya as a city of students. In contrast the Sivas Yearbook (Salname) of 1870 records forty-four professors and only 278 students in the city's thirty-one madrasas. This picture of a high number of institutions and a low number of students agrees with Hüsameddin's complaint "the institutions exist but the benefit drawn has diminished." According to Telli's finding, in the twentieth century too more than twenty madrasas, including Halifet Gazi, Gökmedrese, Büyük Ağa, Kâşifiye, Bekir Paşa and Kapancızâde, continued teaching.

Libraries

Of the eight libraries listed at the end of the section, there is detail on two in Semavi Eyice's article on the Bayezid II Complex. The muvakkithane in the courtyard of the complex, according to the five-couplet verse inscription on its door, was built by Kapancızâde Hacı Hüseyin Zekî Efendi in 1256 [1840] and also contains a library. Hüsameddin gives this date as 1258; if the inscription date is taken as the basis, the correct one should be 1256. The walls of this small building in Tanzimat style have rich pen-work decorations containing views and pictures of buildings; among them is a picture of the Bayezid Mosque. The library of the Yumuk (in Eyice "Yamuk") Osmanzâde family, on the other hand, was built by will between 1909 and 1911 at the foot of the courtyard wall; this agrees with the date 1329 [1911] Hüsameddin gives. The madrasa of the complex, also known as the Sultaniye, was used for many years as the Provincial Public Library; thus the courtyard in which Hüsameddin recalls the book tradition continued its library function a century later too.

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 1, p. 155–160. amasya.bel.tr
• "Selamet Hatun Türbesi / Amasya – Merkez – Pirinççi Mahallesi", Sosyo Denemeler (based on Abdulhalim Durma, Evliyalar Şehri Amasya, 2003 and Rahime Özdoğan, Amasya'da Adak Yerleri). http://sosyodenemeler.blogspot.com/2013/11/selamet-hatun-turbesi-amasya-merkez.html

Academic studies

• Kadir Özköse, "Amasya'da Bulunan Halvetiyye Tekkeleri", Akademiar 5 (December 2018), p. 91–118. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/606666
• Selim Özcan, "Amasya'da Sancak Beyliği Yapan Şehzadeler Döneminde Amasya Şehri", Amasya Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, no. 5. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/19685
• İlhan Şahin – Feridun Emecen, "Amasya", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 3, İstanbul 1991. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/amasya
• Semavi Eyice, "Beyazıt II Camii ve Külliyesi (Amasya)", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 1992. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/beyazit-ii-camii-ve-kulliyesi--amasya
• Hasan Telli, "Meşîhat Arşivine Göre Amasya Müderrisleri", Kocatepe İslami İlimler Dergisi 7/2 (December 2024), p. 732–758. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4052168

Books

• Yılmaz Karadeniz, "Amasya", Türk Maarif Ansiklopedisi, 2022. https://turkmaarifansiklopedisi.org.tr/amasya

Other sources

• Abdulhalim Durma, "Amasya'da Mevlevilik". https://www.semazen.net/amasyada-mevlevilik-abdulhalim-durma/
• "Bayram Paşa", Vikipedi. https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayram_Paşa