Tahsîn Hasan Efendi, who wrote under the pen name Nelmî, was a divan poet born and raised in Amasya in the last quarter of the nineteenth century; he completed his madrasa education in Istanbul, became a müderris (madrasa teacher) and ended his short life in Amasya. Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar knew him closely, received ghazals from his hand at their last meetings, and devoted a fairly long entry to him, together with his poems, in his Amasya Tarihi. The Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü (Dictionary of Names in Turkish Literature), for its part, describes the copy of his divan in Ankara, written out in the poet's own hand. The two sources differ on his date of birth; his death is recorded only by Hüsameddin. Hüsameddin's entry also appears in the encyclopedia section of our site under the title Tahsîn Hasan Efendi-Nelmî (in Turkish); those of his poems whose texts survive in the sources are given on separate pages in this category.

Hüsameddin's Record

In the eighth volume of Amasya Tarihi, Hüsameddin tells Nelmî's life as follows (the poems are not included here, since they are given on separate pages):

Amasyalıdır. Kapancızâde müderrisi İnepazarlı el-Hâc İsmâ'îl Hakkı Efendizâde Kıllı Mehmed Nûrî Efendi'nin büyük mahdûmudur. 1292 saferinin on ikisinde Hacı Hamza mahallesinde doğdu. İbtidâ'î tahsîlinden sonra 1303'de Rüşdiyye mektebine girdi. 1307'de birincilikle mektebden çıkıp eşrâftan Topçuzâde Münîb Bey'in mahdûmları Sâlih, Hilmî Beylere mu'allim oldu. Bunların himmetiyle tahrîrât kalemine girip ser-mübeyyiz ve meclis-i idâre baş-kâtib mu'âvini oldu. Bu esnâda Bekir Paşa müderrisi Hâfız Abdurrahmân Kâmil Efendi'nin halka-i tedrîsine mülâzemet ederek tahsîl-i ulûma çalışdı. Fakat mu'allimi bulunduğu Mehmed Hilmî Bey'in câzibe-i hüsnüne pek meftûn olduğu münâsebetle tahsîl ü tefeyyüzüne fütûr gelmiş kendisi de Hilmî'ye hem-kâfiye olmak üzere "Nelmî" diye bir mahlas intihâb ederek şi'r ü inşâya düşmüştü. 1309'da ba'zı hayır-hâhânın delâlet ve tavsiyesiyle İstanbul'a gidip rindâne hareketini bıraktı. Bâyezîd ders-i âmlarından Perşembeli Ahmed Remzî Efendi'nin halka-i tedrîsine mülâzemet ederek Çorlulu Alî Paşa'nın medresesinde mu'ahharan alay müftüsü olan Amasyalı Mustafa Âsım Efendi ile beraber ikâmet etdi. Hattı güzel, isti'dâdı mükemmel olduğu münâsebetle 1311'de Galata mahkemesine kitâbetle mülâzım ve 1313'de ikmâl-i tahsîl ederek mücâz ve recebde hâcesi kısmet-i askeriyye mahkemesi mukayyidi olduğu münâsebetle mu'âvini olup iki yüz kuruş ma'aşa nâ'il oldu. Bu esnâda Şeyhülislâm velî ni'metim Yûsuf Efendizâde Mehmed Cemâleddîn Efendi Hazretleri'ne bir kasîde takdîm ederek 1314 senesi şevvâlinde Devriyye müderrisi oldu.
Hayfâ ki tab'ında olan ibtilâ-yı hüsnün bir sâ'ikası olarak hocazâdesi Mehmed Ârif Efendi'nin aşkına giriftâr oldu. O esnâda Ârif Efendi de Hilmi Bey'in ayârında gâyet güzel ve câzibe-i hüsn ü ânı mükemmel bir nev-civân idi. Bundan dolayı hocasının hânesine daha yakın olan Molla Kestel medresesine nakl-i ikâmet etdi. Mehmed Ârif Efendi sabah ve akşam yanından ayrılmazdı. Çünkü Tahsîn Efendi cidden afîf ü ınnîn idi. Kendisinden bir fenâlık ümîd edilmezdi. 1314 senesi zilhiccesinde medresede yalnız kaldığından gece kendisine ârız olan bir vehm ü kâbusdan dolayı şu'ûruna bir ihtilâl geldi. Her şeyden tevahhuş eder uykudan bile ürkerdi. 1315 senesi rebîülevvelinde bi'z-zarûre Amasya'ya avdet edib Kapancızâde medresesinin bir hücresine kapandı. Halk ile ülfet ü ünsiyetten çekilip kendi âleminde şi'r u tasavvuf ile iştigâle koyuldu. Kimseyi yanına sokmadı, müdhîş bir hayrete daldı. 1317 senesi recebinde İstanbul'dan Amasya'ya geldiğim esnâda aralık aralık kendisi ile görüşürdüm. Ne yazık ki sene-i mezbûre zilhiccesinin on yedinci günü sabahleyin kendisini Yörgüç Paşa imâretinin üst tarafından ırmağa atıp intihâr etdi. Gâyet zekî, tab'an latîf, cevvâl, müsta'id, şi'r u inşâsı ve kitâbeti güzel, küşâde-meşreb, latîfe-gû, beşûş âlim idi. Sonradan fevka'l-âde durgun, mütehayyir oldu. Hîç gülmez, kimse ile konuşmaz, hîç bir yere çıkmazdı.

In modern English the record says the following. Tahsîn Hasan Efendi was a native of Amasya. He was the eldest son of Kıllı Mehmed Nûrî Efendi, müderris of the Kapancızâde Madrasa and son of Hacı İsmâil Hakkı Efendi of İnepazarı. He was born on 12 Safer 1292 in the Hacı Hamza quarter. After his primary schooling he entered the rüştiye (middle school) in 1303 and finished it first in his class in 1307. He became tutor to Sâlih and Hilmî Beys, sons of Topçuzâde Münîb Bey, one of the town's notables; with their help he entered the government secretariat and became chief fair-copyist and assistant chief clerk of the administrative council. Meanwhile he attended the lessons of Hâfız Abdurrahmân Kâmil Efendi, müderris of the Bekir Paşa Madrasa, and pursued his studies. But because he became deeply infatuated with the beauty of his pupil Mehmed Hilmî Bey, his studies slackened; he chose the pen name "Nelmî" so that it would rhyme with Hilmî, and took to writing verse and prose.

In 1309, on the guidance of some well-wishers, he went to Istanbul and gave up his libertine ways. He attended the lessons of Ahmed Remzî Efendi of Perşembe, one of the lecturers of the Bayezid Mosque, and lodged in the madrasa of Çorlulu Ali Paşa together with Mustafa Âsım Efendi of Amasya, who later became a regimental mufti. Because his handwriting was fine and his ability excellent, he entered the Galata court as an assistant clerk in 1311. In 1313 he completed his studies and received his licence (icazet); in Receb of the same year, when his teacher became registrar of the military estates court, he became his assistant and obtained a salary of two hundred kuruş. At this time he presented a kaside (qasida) to the Şeyhülislam Yûsuf Efendizâde Mehmed Cemâleddîn Efendi and in Şevval 1314 became a müderris of the Devriyye grade.

Unfortunately, as a consequence of the attraction to beauty in his nature, he fell in love with Mehmed Ârif Efendi, his teacher's son. Ârif Efendi was then a very handsome and charming youth, of the same standard as Hilmî Bey. For this reason he moved to the Molla Kestel Madrasa, which was nearer his teacher's house. Ârif Efendi did not leave his side morning or evening, for Tahsîn Efendi was a truly chaste man and no wrong was expected of him. In Zilhicce 1314, one night when he was alone in the madrasa, an illusion and nightmare that came upon him disturbed his mind; he grew frightened of everything, even of sleep. In Rebiülevvel 1315 he was obliged to return to Amasya and shut himself in a cell of the Kapancızâde Madrasa. He withdrew from company and occupied himself in his own world with poetry and Sufism; he let no one near him and sank into a deep bewilderment. When Hüsameddin came to Amasya from Istanbul in Receb 1317, he met him from time to time. On the morning of 17 Zilhicce of that year Nelmî took his own life by throwing himself into the river from above the Yörgüç Paşa İmareti. Hüsameddin remembers him as a very intelligent, naturally refined, lively and gifted scholar, fine in verse, prose and handwriting, open-hearted, witty and cheerful; he adds that later he became extremely withdrawn and bewildered, never laughed, spoke to no one and went nowhere.

His Life

According to Hüsameddin, Nelmî was born on 12 Safer 1292, that is, in March 1875. İsmail Hakkı Aksoyak, author of the entry in the Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü, gives his year of birth as 1288 (1871-72) on the basis of the note at the beginning of the divan manuscript. According to the same note, Tahsîn lost his mother at the age of three, received his first education from his father, then went to Istanbul to study at the Bayezid madrasa and later returned to his hometown. Aksoyak gives his father's name as "İsmailoğlu Nûrî Efendi, müderris of Kapıcızâde, otherwise known as müderris of the new grade", and notes that he was known by the nickname "Kıllı". This agrees with Hüsameddin's record: Kıllı Mehmed Nûrî Efendi, müderris of Kapancızâde, son of İsmâil Hakkı Efendi. The two sources describe the same man; the point on which they differ is the year of birth. The day and month Hüsameddin gives fit the dates of his entering the rüştiye (1303) and graduating (1307); the 1288 of the divan note, on the other hand, may be information from the poet's own hand. Which is correct could not be determined.

Nelmî's life falls into two short periods. The first is the years of his upbringing in Amasya: the rüştiye, his clerkship in the government secretariat and the lessons of Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi. The second is the Istanbul years, beginning in 1309 (1891-92). There he completed his studies under one of the Bayezid lecturers, worked as a clerk at the Galata court and the military estates court, and in Şevval 1314 (March 1897) became a müderris of the Devriyye grade. This rise lasted only a few months; the mental crisis that began in Zilhicce 1314 (May 1897) brought him back to Amasya in Rebiülevvel 1315 (July-August 1897). He spent his last two years alone in a cell of the Kapancızâde Madrasa. On 17 Zilhicce 1317, in mid-April 1900, he died by throwing himself into the Yeşilırmak near the Yörgüç Paşa İmareti. The Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü writes that the date of his death is unknown; Hüsameddin's record fills this gap.

His Connection with Amasya

Nelmî was born in the Hacı Hamza quarter of Amasya and grew up around the Kapancızâde Madrasa, where his father taught. One of his first teachers was Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi, who would later be mufti of Amasya during the Turkish War of Independence; Nelmî attended his lessons at the Bekir Paşa Madrasa. He tutored the children of the Topçuzâde family, among the town's notables, and worked in the secretariat of the sub-province. He chose his pen name in this circle too, so that it would rhyme with the name of his pupil Mehmed Hilmî Bey. Even in his Istanbul years he lived among fellow townsmen from Amasya, sharing a room in the Çorlulu Ali Paşa Madrasa with Mustafa Âsım Efendi of Amasya. Both his life and his poetry began and ended in Amasya.

His Poetry

The only known copy of the Dîvân-ı Nelmî, which collects Nelmî's poems, is in the Library of the Faculty of Languages, History and Geography of Ankara University (M Con no. 53). According to Aksoyak the manuscript was copied by the poet himself on 20 Muharrem 1314 (1 July 1896); in other words, the divan was compiled while the poet was still in Istanbul and in good health. The divan contains joint poems written together with other poets; Aksoyak concludes from these that Nelmî was fond of joint poetry and suggests that Sabrî and İsmetî, with whom he wrote poems, may have been his fellow townsmen. The identity of these two poets could not be established. The divan has not been published to date.

Those of his poems that can be read today are found in two sources. Hüsameddin quotes five pieces in Amasya Tarihi: the ghazal with the refrain "etdim seni", which Nelmî wrote extempore at the beginning of his love for Ârif Efendi and gave him; a kıt‘a giving advice to the heart; couplets surviving from two ghazals on the unity of God written in his last years; and the ghazal with the refrain "aglasun", which he gave him at their last meeting. The Türk Edebiyatı İsimler Sözlüğü gives as a sample from the divan a joint ghazal with the refrain "aşk", written together with Sabrî. These poems trace a short path from the garden-filled ghazals of a young man in thrall to beauty to the Sufi couplets of the years of solitude. The phrases "Kerbelâ-yı gam" (the Karbala of grief) and "hasret ateşi" (the fire of longing) in the last ghazal carry the atmosphere of the final days Hüsameddin describes.

Hüsameddin, under his pen name Asrî, composed tahmis (five-line expansions) on two of Nelmî's ghazals. He says he wrote the tahmis of the ghazal with the refrain "etdim seni" "at one time" but does not give its text; of the tahmis of the ghazal with the refrain "aglasun" he says he wrote it after Nelmî's death "in his voice", and includes it in his book with its five stanzas. This tahmis is Hüsameddin's poem and belongs among his works.

The poems in this category are: Ghazal 1 ("Sevdigim aşkınla câna yâdigâr etdim seni"), Kıt‘a 1 ("Ey dil sana kendin gibi bir yâr bulunmaz"), Ghazal Fragment 1 ("Öyle mahfîsin ki sen hayrân âlemdir sana"), Ghazal Fragment 2 ("Sensin ey cânânım idrâk eyledim cân ‘âleme"), Ghazal 2 ("Âh dirdim bir zamân sevdâ ile cân aglasun") and Joint Ghazal 1 ("Âlem-i tevhîdi tenvîr eyleyen bir yâr-ı aşk"). Each is given on a separate page with the original text, an English rendering and commentary.

His Circle

Several people hold a prominent place in Nelmî's life. His teacher Abdurrahman Kâmil Efendi was among the leading scholars of late Ottoman Amasya. Hüsameddin, as a fellow townsman, saw him again in Amasya, listened to his poems and after his death set down his memory in his book; the closeness between them is evident from Hüsameddin's account of reading his ghazal aloud and weeping with him. His teacher in Istanbul, Ahmed Remzî Efendi of Perşembe, and his roommate Mustafa Âsım Efendi are the other people named in Hüsameddin's record. For Hüsameddin's life see Hüseyin Hüsameddin Yasar.

The State of the Sources

What is known about Nelmî rests on two sources, and these largely confirm each other. They diverge on two points. The first is the year of birth: Hüsameddin says 12 Safer 1292 (March 1875), while Aksoyak, relying on the divan note, says 1288 (1871-72). The second is his death: Aksoyak writes that the date of death is unknown, whereas Hüsameddin records firmly, as a witness, that he lost the poet in Zilhicce 1317 (April 1900). That the poet died in 1900 also shows that his poems are in the public domain. Aksoyak's statement that he studied at the Bayezid madrasa agrees with Hüsameddin's account that he attended the lessons of Ahmed Remzî Efendi, one of the Bayezid lecturers.

Chronology

12 Safer 1292 (March 1875): According to Hüsameddin, born in the Hacı Hamza quarter of Amasya (according to the divan note, 1288/1871-72).

1303 (1885-86): Enters the rüştiye.

1307 (1889-90): Finishes the rüştiye first in his class and becomes tutor to the sons of Topçuzâde Münîb Bey.

1309 (1891-92): Goes to Istanbul.

1311 (1893-94): Enters the Galata court as an assistant clerk.

1313 (1895-96): Completes his studies and receives his licence.

20 Muharrem 1314 (1 July 1896): Copies his divan in his own hand.

Şevval 1314 (March 1897): Becomes a müderris of the Devriyye grade.

Rebiülevvel 1315 (July-August 1897): Returns to Amasya and withdraws to the Kapancızâde Madrasa.

17 Zilhicce 1317 (April 1900): Dies in Amasya.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Books

Online sources