Köprülüdür. Köprülü Mehmed Paşa ve mahdûmu Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa imâmetlerinden imâm-ı sâlis-i Sultânî olan Köprülü Halil Efendi bin Mehmed Efendi’nin birâderidir. Tahsîl-i ilim ve ma’rifet ederek Köprülü Mehmed Paşa’nın kâtib-i dîvânı oldu.
Paşa ile devr-i bilâd edib sadâretinde mektubçu, 1069’da tezkireci, 1071’de kâim-makâm-ı reisü’l-küttâb görüldü. 1074’de reisü’l-küttâb Şâmîzâde Mehmed Paşa’nın katlinde sâniyen kâim-makâm-ı re’isü’l-küttâb, ba’dehû asâleten reisü’l-küttâb olup 1081 senesi evâilinde vefât etdi.
Mahdûmları Abdullah, Mehmed Çelebilerdir. Mehmed Efendi, Küçük Çelebi demekle meşhûr olup Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Paşa’nın konağında terbiye görmüşdür. Bunun mahdûmu Şeyhülislâm İsmâil Asım Efendi’dir. “Ferâşet Defteri”nde “İsmâil Efendi birâder-i Halil Efendi imâm-ı sadr-ı âlî Köprülü Mehmed Paşa” diye mezkûrdur. [138]
In Modern English
He was from Köprü. He was the brother of Köprülü Halil Efendi, son of Mehmed Efendi, who served as imam to Köprülü Mehmed Pasha and his son Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha and became the third imam of the Sultan. Having acquired learning and knowledge, he became secretary of the divan to Köprülü Mehmed Pasha.
After travelling the provinces with the Pasha, he served during his grand vizierate as letter clerk, in 1069 [1658-59] as tezkireci, and in 1071 [1660-61] as deputy of the reisülküttab. In 1074 [1663-64], when the reisülküttab Şâmîzâde Mehmed Pasha was killed, he was deputy reisülküttab a second time and then reisülküttab in his own right, and he died early in 1081 [1670].
His sons were Abdullah and Mehmed Çelebi. Mehmed Efendi was famous as Küçük Çelebi and was brought up in the mansion of Köprülüzâde Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha. His son was Şeyhülislam İsmâil Asım Efendi. In the "Ferâşet Defteri" he is recorded as "İsmâil Efendi, brother of Halil Efendi, imam of the grand vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha."
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- imâm-ı sâlis-i Sultânî: the third imam of the Sultan (one of the palace imams)
- kâtib-i dîvân: secretary of the divan, a clerk handling the grand vizier's correspondence and records
- devr-i bilâd: touring the lands and provinces
- mektubcu: the clerk in charge of the grand vizier's letters
- tezkireci: the clerk who prepared tezkires (official memoranda) in the divan
- kâim-makâm-ı reisü'l-küttâb: deputy of the reisülküttab, the person standing in for him
- asâleten: not as deputy but in one's own right, as the full holder of the post
- mahdûm: son
- mezkûr: mentioned, named
The Killing of Şâmîzâde Mehmed Efendi
Hüsameddin writes that in 1074, when the reisülküttab Şâmîzâde Mehmed was killed, İsmâil Efendi became deputy for the second time and then reisülküttab in full. This date corresponds to 1663. An academic study on the rise of the Köprülüs and the execution of Şâmîzâde Mehmed Efendi in 1663 (Ö. Kolçak, 2023) confirms that the event took place in this year. The full text of the study could not be reached; only its citation and title could be read, so the details of the event are not given here.
Küçük Çelebi and Şeyhülislam İsmâil Âsım Efendi
The grandson in the text is Çelebizâde İsmâil Âsım Efendi. Born in Istanbul, he became court chronicler (vak'anüvis) in 1723 by the appointment of Damad İbrâhim Pasha, in place of Râşid Mehmed Efendi; in 1748 he became kadı of Istanbul; in 1759, on the recommendation of Koca Râgıb Pasha, he became şeyhülislam, and he died on the night of 16 February 1760. An encyclopedia entry reports that he was known as "Küçükçelebizâde" or "Çelebizâde" after the title of his father, the reisülküttab Mehmed Efendi. This agrees with Hüsameddin's words "Mehmed Efendi is famous as Küçük Çelebi"; the information that Mehmed Efendi was himself a reisülküttab appears only in that entry and not in the record in Amasya Tarihi.
The Grand Vizierate of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha became grand vizier on 15 September 1656; his son Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha held the office for more than fifteen years. İsmâil Efendi's years as a scribe extend from the beginning of Köprülü Mehmed Pasha's grand vizierate to the first years of Fâzıl Ahmed Pasha's term (early 1081, 1670).
Could Not Be Verified
No detail was found in the sources read on Köprülü Halil Efendi's post as third imam of the Sultan or on İsmâil Efendi's steps as a scribe. The "Ferâşet Defteri" could not be located.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 305–306. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
- "Âsım Efendi, Çelebizâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 3, İstanbul 1991, p. 477-478. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/asim-efendi-celebizade
- Müctebâ İlgürel, "Köprülü Mehmed Paşa", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 26, Ankara 2002. https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/koprulu-mehmed-pasa
- Ö. Kolçak, "Paths of Glory: The Rise of the Köprülüs and the Execution of Şamizade Mehmed Efendi (1663)", "Buyurdum ki…" The Whole World of Ottomanica and Beyond: Studies in Honour of Claudia Römer, Brill, 2023, p. 451-476 (citation only was read).