AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

İshak Çelebi — Kaya Paşazâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 285 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasya a’yânından Osmân Çelebi bin Ya’kub Çelebi bin Dursun Bey bin Kaya Paşa’nın mahdûmudur. Cedd-i a’lâsı olan Emîr Seyfeddîn Torumtay vakfına mütevellî olup 941 sâlinden sonra vefât etdi. Amasya a’yânından idi. Mahdûmu Dursun Bey’dir.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was the son of Osman Çelebi, one of the notables of Amasya; Osman Çelebi was the son of Yakub Çelebi, Yakub Çelebi the son of Dursun Bey, and Dursun Bey the son of Kaya Pasha. He became trustee of the waqf of his earliest great ancestor, Emir Seyfeddin Torumtay, and died after the year 941 [1534-35]. He was one of the notables of Amasya. His son is Dursun Bey.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • a'yân: the leading, respected people of a town
  • mahdûm: son
  • cedd-i a'lâ: the earliest, greatest ancestor
  • mütevellî: the administrator who runs the affairs of a waqf
  • vakıf: property and institution whose revenues are set aside for charitable purposes
  • Emîr: commander, governor
  • Çelebi: a title given to respected, educated people

Torumtay and His Waqf

Emir Seyfeddin Torumtay was governor of Amasya in the Anatolian Seljuk period. The tomb that bears his name is dated 677 [1278-79] and stands right beside the mosque-madrasa building called Gökmedrese in Amasya. It is known that the tomb was built by Torumtay himself. The waqf deed drawn up by Torumtay himself for the Gökmedrese bears the date 665 [1266-67], and the building is called "Gökmedrese" in this deed; the construction is accepted to have been finished by that year at the latest. So the waqf of which İshak Çelebi was trustee in the sixteenth century was by then an institution about 270 years old. The inscription of the Gökmedrese was removed from its place and has not been found; for this reason the exact date of construction of the building is not known. The waqf deed has been published by İsmet Kayaoğlu in Vakıflar Dergisi.

The tomb has two storeys and is built mainly of hewn stone. It is reported that, besides Torumtay, his children and grandchildren are also buried in the same building. The tomb was repaired in 1891-92, and above the door of the mosque a repair inscription dated 1898-99 has been seen. The name Gökmedrese comes from the use of the entrance section as a madrasa and from the decoration of the adjoining tomb with purple-turquoise tiles and glazed bricks; the building is also called the Torumtay Mosque after its founder.

Genealogy

Hüsameddin lists Osman Çelebi's line through Kaya Pasha, Dursun Bey, Yakub Çelebi and Osman Çelebi, and regards Torumtay as the earliest ancestor of this family. No source was found that confirms or refutes this claim. Since it is reported that Torumtay's children and grandchildren are also in his tomb, it is possible that his line continued in Amasya, but this does not prove the chain Hüsameddin gives. In the searches made, no record was found in other sources of who Kaya Pasha, Dursun Bey and Yakub Çelebi were. İshak Çelebi's son Dursun Bey too is mentioned only in Hüsameddin.

The Buildings Today

The Gökmedrese Mosque and the Torumtay Tomb still stand in Amasya today; the buildings on Torumtay Street are counted among the city's Seljuk-period works. On the page of the provincial directorate of culture and tourism, the tomb is presented as a building erected in 1278 across from the Gökmedrese Mosque.

Structure of the Tomb

The plan and decoration of the Torumtay Tomb differ considerably from other Seljuk tombs. The supporting piers and stair walls of the two-storey building project outward; the stone carving is seen around the doors and windows, especially in the upper part, and is thought to have been left unfinished. On the south facade, on the pediment of an ornate window set in a marble niche, there is a four-line construction inscription, and above it a second inscription with Quranic verses. Among the sarcophagi on the lower floor, the one belonging to Torumtay is worked with verses in celi script.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 285–285. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

  • İsmet Kayaoğlu, "Turumtay Vakfiyesi", Vakıflar Dergisi, no. 12, 1978, p. 91-112 (from the bibliography of the TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi entry "Gökmedrese Camii").

Official sources

Volume 7 contents