AMASYA 05

Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar · İKİNCİ BÂB · BİRİNCİ FASIL

İshak Efendi — Kalelizâde

Encyclopedia · History of Amasya, Volume 7, p. 286 • Edited by: Prof. Dr. Safi ARPAGUŞ- Prof. Dr. Ahmet Hakkı TURABİ

Original Text (Ottoman Turkish)

Amasyalıdır. Fuzalâdan (Kaleli) demekle meşhûr Harşeneli İbrâhim Efendi’nin mahdûmudur. Kadızâde Fâzıl Mehmed Ali Efendi’den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm oldu. Ba’dehû İstanbul’a gidip sudûrdan Amasyalı Hâcezâde Abdullah Efendi’den mülâzım ve müderris oldu.

İstanbul’da medâris-i mu’tâdeyi devrederek Mihrimâh Sultân Medresesi müderrisi oldu. Müşârün-ileyhin câmiinde tedrîs-i ‘ulûm edib Gülfem Hâtun Mahallesi’nde mukîm iken [73] 1058 senesi saferinde vefât etdi. Kibâr-ı ulemâ ve müderrisînden idi. Mahdûmu Salih Efendi’dir.

Our Research Article Editor: Mevlüt Erdem Öztürk

In Modern English

He was from Amasya. He was the son of İbrahim Efendi of Harşena, known as "Kaleli", one of the learned. After completing his studies under Kadızâde Fâzıl Mehmed Ali Efendi, he became a müderris who gave public lectures. Then he went to Istanbul and, from Hâcezâde Abdullah Efendi of Amasya, one of the leading figures, became a mülâzım and müderris.

Passing through the usual madrasas in Istanbul, he became müderris of the Mihrimah Sultan Madrasa. Teaching the sciences in the mosque of the aforementioned, and living in the Gülfem Hatun Quarter, he died in the month of Safer of the year 1058 [1648]. He was one of the great scholars and müderrises. His son is Salih Efendi.

Notes and Research

Old Words in the Text

  • fuzalâ: the learned; scholars
  • Harşeneli: from the place attached to Mount Harşena (the castle of Amasya)
  • ikmâl-i tahsîl: completing one's studies
  • ders-i âm: a müderris who gives lectures open to all
  • sudûr: the leading figures; great men of learning and state
  • mülâzım: a person registered as a candidate for a professorship and awaiting his turn
  • müderris: madrasa professor
  • medâris-i mu'tâde: the usual madrasas passed through in sequence
  • tedrîs-i 'ulûm: teaching the sciences
  • mukîm: resident, living in
  • kibâr-ı ulemâ: great scholars

Which Mihrimah Sultan Madrasa

Mihrimah Sultan was the daughter of Süleyman the Magnificent and had two complexes built in Istanbul. The one in Üsküdar, with a two-minaret mosque opposite the pier, a fountain, a madrasa, a primary school and a caravanserai, was built in 954 [1547]. The one in Edirnekapı consists of a single-minaret mosque, a fountain, a madrasa, a primary school and a double hamam, and was completed in 973 [1566]. The waqf deed of the Edirnekapı complex, dated 978 [1570-71], mentions its madrasa of seventeen cells in front of the mosque; since a müderris was appointed to the madrasa as early as Zilkade 976 [1569], it is understood to have been in operation by that date. Hüsameddin does not say which madrasa it was. That İshak Efendi reached the Mihrimah Sultan Madrasa by passing through the madrasa ranks in Istanbul is understood from the phrase "passing through the usual madrasas"; but the name of this müderris does not appear in the sources read.

The Madrasa Tradition in Amasya

Amasya has been an important center of education since the Seljuk period. It is known that madrasas such as the Halifet Gazi Madrasa, the Gökmedrese, the Alaca Yahya Madrasa and the Ata Bey Madrasa were built in this period. In the Ottoman period the city, called the "city of princes", remained an important center of learning and culture in Anatolia with its madrasas. More than forty madrasas have been identified in Amasya. No comprehensive study of their müderrises has been made so far; an article published in 2024 examined the müderrises of the late nineteenth century on the basis of the Meşihat Archive; the first half of the seventeenth century in which İshak Efendi lived does not fall within the scope of this work.

Sought but Not Found

In the searches made, no record was found in other sources about Kadızâde Fâzıl Mehmed Ali Efendi, Hâcezâde Abdullah Efendi and İbrahim Efendi of Harşena. The place of the Gülfem Hatun Quarter in Istanbul could not be verified either. The month of Safer 1058 given as İshak Efendi's date of death falls before the accession of Mehmed IV [8 August 1648], which took place in Receb of the same year.

The Edirnekapı Complex

The Edirnekapı Mosque is the largest work Mimar Sinan made among single-domed mosques, and it is built on a high site that dominates the city's skyline from the land side. Evliya Çelebi, describing the mosque in the seventeenth century, writes that it is surrounded on four sides by madrasa cells. According to Râşid Mehmed Efendi, the complex was damaged in an earthquake in 1131 [1718-19]. The madrasa courtyard is surrounded on three sides by cells with porticoes. It is not clear whether the madrasa mentioned by Hüsameddin is the same as the one in Edirnekapı.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 286–286. amasya.bel.tr

Academic studies

Volume 7 contents