Dîvân-ı hümâyûn küttâbından Merzifônî Ramazân Çelebi bin Alî Çelebi oğludur. İstanbul'da defter emîni olup şehzâde ile muhâberesi olduğundan 960 [312] senesi şevvâlinde Amasya sancağı beyi oldu. Afvını çok ricâ etdiyse de⁵⁹⁶ imkânı olmadığından Amasya'ya sene-i mezbûre zilka'desi evâhirinde geldi.
Şehzâde-i müşârün-ileyhin şehâdetinden Sivas vâlîsi Yahşî Beyzâde Ahmed Paşa da müte'essir olup azl ve tekâ'üde sevk edildi. Yerine Mehmed Paşa beylerbeyi oldu. Ahmed Paşa şehzâdeye hediyyeler takdîm eder, mektûblar yazardı.
Kezâlik Amasya hâsları emîni ve şehzâdenin nedîmi olan Torumtayzâdeler'den Dursun Bey de azl olunup yerine Gümüşlüzâde Mustafa Efendi bin Mehmed Çelebi hâslar emîni ve Abdî Çelebi de kâtibi olup şehzâde lalası Sinan Paşazâde Sun'ullâh Bey ve nişâncısı Dervîş Ahmed Çelebi Amasya'da me'mûr-ı ikâmet oldu.
Şehzâdenin pek ziyâde hürmet etdiği Amasya meşâyih-i kirâmından Şeyhzâde eş-Şeyh Nûh Efendi ve birâderi eş-Şeyh Abdurrahîm Efendi şehzâdeye pek ziyâde acıdılar. Rüstem Paşa'ya bedduâlar etdiler.
Fakat Sun'ullâh Bey'in medâr-ı ma'îşeti olmadığından bîçâre giriftâr-ı düyûn olmuşdu. Amasya beyi Mehmed Bey bunun ve kendisinin perîşân hâllerini yazıyor, Sun'ullâh Bey'e bir medâr-ı ma'îşet ihsânını ve kendisinin afvını istirhâm ediyordu. [313]
961 senesi rebî'ulâhirinde Mehmed Bey'in devlet baş defterdârı olduğu tebşîr edilip yerine mîrlivâ Kaya Bey nasb olundu. Sun'ullâh Bey'e de Bayburd sancağında Yağmur Deresi mezra'aları hâs ta'yîn edilerek bîçâre sevindirildi.
In Modern English
He is the son of Ramazan Çelebi son of Ali Çelebi of Merzifon, one of the scribes of the imperial divan. Since he was defter emini at Istanbul and had correspondence with the prince, he became sanjak bey of Amasya in the month of Shawwal of the year 960 [1553]. Although he begged earnestly to be excused (from this post), since it was not possible he came to Amasya at the end of the month of Dhu al-Qa'da of the said year.
Yahşî Beyzade Ahmed Pasha, governor of Sivas, was also deeply grieved at the said prince's martyrdom and was dismissed and sent into retirement. Mehmed Pasha became beylerbeyi in his place. Ahmed Pasha used to present gifts to the prince and write him letters.
In the same way Dursun Bey of the Torumtayzades, who was the steward of the has revenues of Amasya and the prince's companion, was also dismissed, and in his place Gümüşlüzade Mustafa Efendi son of Mehmed Çelebi became steward of the hases and Abdî Çelebi his scribe. The prince's lala Sinan Paşazade Sun'ullâh Bey and his chancellor Dervîş Ahmed Çelebi were charged with residing at Amasya.
Şeyhzade eş-Şeyh Nûh Efendi, one of the great sheikhs of Amasya, whom the prince greatly respected, and his brother eş-Şeyh Abdurrahîm Efendi felt great pity for the prince. They called down curses on Rüstem Pasha.
But since Sun'ullâh Bey had no means of livelihood, the poor man had fallen into debt. Mehmed Bey, bey of Amasya, wrote of his own and Sun'ullâh's wretched state, asking that Sun'ullâh Bey be given a means of livelihood and that he himself be excused.
In the month of Rabi' al-Akhir of the year 961 [1554] the good news was given that Mehmed Bey had become chief defterdar of the state, and in his place the sanjak bey Kaya Bey was appointed. To Sun'ullâh Bey too, the farmlands of Yağmur Deresi in the sanjak of Bayburt were allocated as has, and the poor man was made glad.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- muhâbere: correspondence, communication
- hâslar emîni: the official who collected and managed the has revenues
- nedîm: a close companion in conversation
- me'mûr-ı ikâmet: charged with residing in a place
- medâr-ı ma'îşet: a means of livelihood
- giriftâr-ı düyûn: in debt
- istirhâm: request
- mezra'a: land suitable for cultivation but not inhabited
- tebşîr: giving good news
- defterdâr: the head of the state's financial affairs
Ramazanzade Mehmed Çelebi
The person in the entry is Mehmed Çelebi, who was born at Merzifon and is called "Ramazanzade" after his father's name; in the previous entry too his name appears as "Ramazanzade Mehmed Çelebi of Merzifon." Mehmed Çelebi, who worked a long time in the scribal posts of the imperial divan, rose to the office of defter emini in 960 (1553). This date agrees with Hüsameddin's sentence "while defter emini at Istanbul he became bey of Amasya in Shawwal 960." The encyclopedia entry, however, does not mention his sanjak bey's office at Amasya. The same entry writes that the following year he rose to reisülküttaplık (head of the divan scribes); this is not the post Hüsameddin calls "chief defterdar." Which is correct, or whether Hüsameddin used a different designation, could not be determined in this study.
Mehmed Çelebi was later rewarded with the nişancılık in 965 (1558) for his success in the survey of the Morea. After a while he was sent to the Arab and Acem defterdarlık centered at Aleppo, then to a sanjak in Egypt. In 969 (1562) he was again appointed nişancı by Süleyman. The work for which he is famous is the "Nişancı Tarihi," which narrates Ottoman history briefly and ends with the killing of Prince Bayezid at Qazvin (1562). That is, this person, who appears to have served briefly as bey at Amasya, is also the contemporary historian of the events narrated in this section. He died in 1571 in Istanbul in his house in the Fatih quarter and was buried in the Emîr Buhârî cemetery outside Edirnekapı.
The Letters
In a footnote Hüsameddin notes that he saw and copied, in Emîrî Efendi's collection, a long letter in which Mehmed Bey, asking to be excused, wrote to Mehmed Ağa, the then influential chief of the white eunuchs (babüssaade ağası). The present whereabouts of this letter, or whether it has been published, could not be found in this study. Whether the phrase "asking to be excused" means excuse from his post or the forgiveness of a fault is not definitely understood from the text.
The Prince's Circle Afterward
The fate of those around the prince after his death is limited to the details Hüsameddin relates. No information was found in other sources on Şeyhzade Nûh Efendi and his brother Abdurrahîm Efendi, Sun'ullâh Bey, Dursun Bey, Gümüşlüzade Mustafa Efendi and Abdî Çelebi. The loyalty of Yahşî Beyzade Ahmed Pasha, governor of Sivas, to the prince could not be confirmed with an independent source in this study either.
Bibliography
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 3, p. 508. amasya.bel.tr
- Abdülkadir Özcan, "Mehmed Çelebi, Ramazanzâde", TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, vol. 28, Istanbul 2003, pp. 449-450 (https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/mehmed-celebi-ramazanzade).