Nihâd Bey, whom Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar dismisses in his grandfather's entry with a single phrase, "şâir-i heccâv", the satirical poet, was the son of the judge and poet Saîd Sîret Bey and grandson of the vizier Şerîf Mehmed Paşa, a man of Amasya origin. Born in 1214 (1799-1800), he began in the chancery of the imperial council (divan-ı hümayun), went on to a secretary's post in Cairo and several years as a sojourner in Mecca, and came back in the end to İstanbul. Fatîn Dâvud gives a ghazal of his in his tezkire, or anthology of poets, and follows it with a sharp warning to keep away from the man, since he satirised nearly everyone he knew. His connection with Amasya runs only through his family line.

Records in the Sources

Closing the entry he devotes to Nihâd's grandfather Şerîf Mehmed Paşa, after speaking of Saîd Sîret Bey, Hüsameddin says:

Bunun mahdûmları şâir-i heccâv Nihad Bey ile Küçük Şerîf Mehmed Paşa'dır.

In English: His sons are the satirical poet Nihâd Bey and Küçük Şerîf Mehmed Paşa.

Fatîn's record in Hâtimetü'l-Eş'âr is more detailed:

Nâzım-ı mûmâ-ileyh Nihâd Beg Şerîf Pâşâzâde sâlifü't-terceme Sa'îd Sîret Beg merhûmun sulbünden bin iki yüz on dört târîhinde kadem-nihâde-i sâha-i vücûd olup mukaddemâ bir müddet dîvân-ı hümâyûn kalemine devâm muahharen Mısr-ı Kâhire cânibine azîmet eyleyüp bir vakt hizmet-i kitâbetde istihdâm ile bi'l-âhire ihtiyâr-ı tekaüdî eyleyerek Kâhire-i mezbûrede gûşe-gîr-i istirâhat ve bir vakt mürûrunda Mekke-i mükerremeye azîmetle bir kaç sene müddet peygûle-güzîn-i mücâveret olduktan sonra Kâhire-i mezbûreye avdet ve bir müddet ikâmet ile iki yüz altmış senesi Dersaâdet'e muvâsalat eyleyüp sâniye rütbesine nâil ve zirâat meclisi azâsı sınfına dâhil olmuştur. Mûmâ-ileyh bezle-gû bir şâir-i hande-rev olup dîvânçe olacak kadar eş'ârı ve hezlgûne bir mikdâr güftârı vardır. Tahzir: Siğâr u kibârdan kendisiyle ülfet u ihtilât itmiş ve belki kazâen bir mahallde kendüye âşinalık eylemiş olanlardan bir nev hicv u zemmine veyahut bir sûretle şeâmet-i kademine uğramamış ferd-i âferîde kalmamışdır. Binâenaleyh "tesme'a bi'l-mu'aydiyyi hayrün min en terâhu" kelâmı zamîme-i terceme-i hâl-i melâmet-encâmı kılınmıştır.

In English: The poet in question, Nihâd Bey, is a Şerif Paşazâde; he came into the world in the year one thousand two hundred and fourteen as the son of the late Saîd Sîret Bey, whose life has been told above. First he attended the chancery of the imperial council for some time, then he went to Cairo in Egypt and was employed for a while in secretarial service; finally, choosing retirement, he withdrew into a corner of that city to rest. After some time he went to Mecca and lived there for several years as a mücavir; then he returned to Cairo, stayed there for a while, and in the year two hundred and sixty he came to İstanbul, attained the rank of sâniye and joined the members of the Council of Agriculture. He is a jesting poet who makes people laugh; he has enough poems to make a small divan and a number of sayings in the manner of hezl (ribald humour). Warning: among great and small, of those who have been friendly and intimate with him, or even made his acquaintance by chance somewhere, not a single creature has escaped some kind of satire and blame from him or, in one way or another, the ill luck of his footsteps. Therefore the saying "It is better to hear of al-Muʿaydī than to see him" has been appended to the account of this blameworthy life.

Life

While his father moved from judgeship to judgeship in the learned profession, Nihâd chose the career of the pen and began working in the chancery of the imperial council; where he was born is not recorded. The later part of his life is bound up with Egypt. When he went to Cairo is unknown; Fatîn says only that he worked there as a secretary for a time, retired and lived in the city, and spent several years in Mecca as a mücavir, that is, one who lives near the holy city in devotion. If one considers that his father passed through Cairo with his family on his way to the judgeship of Mecca in 1829, and that his younger brother Muhammed Şerif grew up under the patronage of Mehmed Ali Paşa (Muhammad Ali), governor of Egypt, it may be supposed that the family's tie with Cairo was formed in these years; Fatîn does not make this connection.

In 1260 (1844) he returned to İstanbul, received the rank of sâniye and became a member of the Council of Agriculture. Fatîn's record shows him still alive; the date of his death is unknown.

In the archive of the İstanbul Ansiklopedisi left by Reşad Ekrem Koçu there is an unpublished handwritten draft of an entry opened for Nihâd Bey. The subject tags of the draft mention Keçecizâde İzzet Molla, an exile to Sivas, service as a boon companion (nedim) of Mehmed Ali Paşa of Kavala and İbrahim Paşa in Egypt, Kanlıca and Fatîn's tezkire. Since the text itself could not be read, these subjects have not been added here as information about Nihâd's life.

His Connection with Amasya

Hüsameddin mentions Nihâd within a family record; the men of Amasya were his grandfather Şerîf Mehmed Paşa and his great-grandfather Zaîm Ali Ağa. In a life spent between İstanbul, Cairo and Mecca the name of Amasya never comes up: nothing has been found to show that he was born in the city, lived there or even passed through. His claim to be counted a man of Amasya is therefore open to question.

His Poetry

According to Fatîn, Nihâd had enough poems to fill a small divan, as well as sayings in the manner of hezl, that is, jest and mockery. No copy of this little divan is known to have survived. Only one ghazal of his remains, in Fatîn's tezkire: "Cûlarla kûhsârda çağlardı kûhken", which sets Ferhad's weeping in the mountains beside the poet's own tears, is given with its text and commentary on a page of its own. Although Fatîn calls him "şâir-i hande-rev", a poet who makes people laugh, the one ghazal we have contains no satire; no example of his satires has survived. Fatîn closes the record with an Arabic proverb: it is better to hear of al-Muʿaydī than to see him. The anthologist uses it right after saying that no one, great or small, escaped Nihâd's tongue.

Chronology

1214 (1799-1800): Is born.

1246 (1830-31): His father Saîd Sîret Bey dies.

1260 (1844): Returns from Cairo to İstanbul; receives the rank of sâniye and becomes a member of the Council of Agriculture.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Academic studies

Online sources