Hatîbzâde Hacı Rıfkı Osman Efendi was the scholar and poet who, as judge of Amasya in 1208 (1793), explained the new corps to the townspeople and encouraged the young men to enlist when recruitment for Selim III's Nizâm-ı Cedîd army began in the city. His father had been preacher of the Saraçhane Mosque, and Rıfkı took over that preachership as well. He rose from imam to a vizier in Istanbul to molla (senior judge) of Ayıntâb, spent the last ten years of his life at the Amasya court as judge, deputy judge and chief clerk, and died in 1211 (1797). To Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar he was "learned, accomplished, a poet", and a calligrapher skilled in the talik script besides.

Life

The entry Rıfkı Osmân Efendi-Hatîbzâde el-Hâc in the tenth volume follows his life step by step from the madrasa to the court:

Amasyalıdır. Sarâchâne Câmii hatîbi el-Hâc Ömer Efendi'nin mahdûmudur. Fâzıl-ı meşhûr Seküköylüzâde el-Hâc Kâşif Mehmed Efendi'den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib ders-i âm ve ba'dehû İstanbul'a gidip vüzerâdan Çelik Mehmed Paşa'ya imâm oldu. Bu esnâda müderris ve 1179'da paşa-yı müşârün-ileyhin irtihâlinde Amasya'ya gelip sânîyen ders-i âm ve bir müddet Yörgüç Paşa müderrisi ve 1198'de mahkeme baş-kâtibi ve 1200'de Ayıntâb mollası oldu. 1206'da Amasya nâibi olup mahkeme kitâbetinde kaldı. Bir yıl sonra niyâbeti hitâm bulup 1210 vak'asında kadının İstanbul'a azîmetinde sânîyen Amasya nâibi olup 1211 senesi recebinde vefât etdi. Âlim, kâmil, şâir, Sarâchâne hatîbi, ta'lîkte mâhir, hattât idi.

English version: He was a man of Amasya, and his father was Hacı Ömer Efendi, preacher of the Saraçhane Mosque. He completed his studies with the renowned scholar Seküköylüzâde Hacı Kâşif Mehmed Efendi and became a ders-i âm (licensed public teacher); then he went to Istanbul and became imam to Çelik Mehmed Paşa, one of the viziers. Meanwhile he obtained the rank of müderris; in 1179, when the pasha died, he returned to Amasya and began teaching again, served for a time as professor of the Yörgüç Paşa madrasa, became chief clerk of the court in 1198 and molla of Ayıntâb (Antep) in 1200. In 1206 he became deputy judge (naib) of Amasya and kept his post as court clerk as well. A year later his deputyship ended; in 1210, when the judge left for Istanbul, he became deputy judge of Amasya a second time, and he died in Receb 1211. He was learned, accomplished, a poet, preacher of the Saraçhane, a calligrapher skilled in talik.

When Rıfkı was born is not known. The order of Hüsameddin's account shows that Rıfkı spent his youth in a vizier's household in Istanbul, returned home on the pasha's death in 1179 (1765-66) and lived the following thirty years in Amasya between the madrasa and the court. The mollaship of Ayıntâb was a judgeship of the mevleviyet rank; with this rank Rıfkı returned to Amasya and went on serving at the city's court. His father's office, the preachership of the Saraçhane, also passed to him, and the name "Hatîbzâde" (son of the preacher) derives from it. The mosque Hüsameddin mentions is the Saraçhane (Şadgeldi Paşa) Mosque in Amasya.

At the Amasya Court and the Nizâm-ı Cedîd

The year-by-year annals of the fourth volume follow Rıfkı's last years in more detail than the entry in the tenth volume and differ from it in a few points. According to them, at the beginning of Cemâziyelevvel 1207 (December 1792) "Hacı Osmân Rıfkı Efendi, court clerk, of the mevâlî rank" became judge of Amasya. The entry, for the same period, speaks of a deputyship in 1206. The two statements may give different names to the years in which Rıfkı, while still court clerk, worked as acting judge and judge.

The following year Amasya witnessed recruitment for the Nizâm-ı Cedîd army created by Selim III. At the beginning of Safer 1208 (September 1793) two officials arrived from Istanbul, Uzun Hâfız Mehmed Efendi of Amasya and Mahmud Efendi; ostensibly they had come to purchase supplies, in reality to explain to the people what the new army was and to sound out the attitude of the ulema and the janissaries. According to Hüsameddin, together with these two officials "the judge of Amasya, Hacı Rıfkî Efendi, gave explanations here and there", urged the people to enlist in the new corps and made a good impression. Many young men and janissaries were entered in the register opened at the court.

The mood soon changed. At the beginning of Cemâziyelevvel a new judge arrived in Amasya; a crowd stirred up by secret letters from the janissary officers raided the court at the beginning of Cemâziyelâhir (January 1794), tore up the register containing the names of the recruits and roughed up some of the court officials. After a long inquiry the instigators were sent into exile; among them was the court clerk Ahmed Efendi. Hüsameddin records that in their place "the former judge and deputy judge Hacı Rıfkî Osmân Efendi" became court clerk. The register was corrected and sent to Istanbul. That Rıfkı, one of those who had explained the Nizâm-ı Cedîd to the people, was brought back to the court after the disturbance suggests that he was counted among the ulema who stood by the new order; this is an interpretation.

In Rebîülevvel 1210 (September-October 1795), when the judge left for Istanbul, "the clerk Hacı Rıfkî Osmân Efendi" again became deputy judge of Amasya. The date of his death differs in the two accounts: the tenth volume gives Receb 1211 (January 1797); the fourth volume writes that "Hatîbzâde Hacı Rıfkı Osmân Efendi, deputy judge and court clerk of Amasya" died at the end of Zilkade 1211 (May 1797) and that Fazlıoğlu Feyzullah Efendi succeeded him as deputy judge. No other document could be found to show which is correct.

Family and Teacher

Rıfkı's father was Hacı Ömer Efendi, preacher of the Saraçhane Mosque. His son Hamdullah Efendi-Hatîbzâde also studied in Amasya, served as judge in various towns and died after 1235 (1819-20); in introducing him, Hüsameddin refers to his father as "Osmân Rıfkı Efendi, of the judges and mevâlî, clerk and deputy judge of the Amasya court". His teacher Seküköylüzâde Hacı Kâşif Mehmed Efendi appears in the entry as "fâzıl-ı meşhûr", a renowned scholar. Rıfkı Ali Efendi-Molla, who follows Rıfkı immediately in the same volume, is a different person recorded as deputy judge of Amasya in 1108; according to the editors' note the author gives no further information about him.

Poetry

The poems of Rıfkı Osman Efendi, whose mastery of the talik script is praised, have not come down to us. Hüsameddin's word "şâir" is backed by no example, and the author does not explain where he learned it. The pen name "Rıfkı" derives from the word rıfk, meaning gentleness and courtesy.

Chronology

1179 (1765-66): On the death of Çelik Mehmed Paşa he returns to Amasya and resumes teaching.

1198 (1783-84): He becomes chief clerk of the Amasya court.

1200 (1785-86): He becomes molla of Ayıntâb.

1206-1207 (1791-1793): Deputy judge of Amasya, then in Cemâziyelevvel 1207 (December 1792) judge of Amasya.

1208 Safer (September 1793): He explains the Nizâm-ı Cedîd recruitment to the people.

1208 Cemâziyelâhir (January 1794): After the raid on the court he becomes court clerk.

1210 Rebîülevvel (September-October 1795): He becomes deputy judge of Amasya a second time.

1211 Receb or Zilkade (January or May 1797): He dies as deputy judge and court clerk of Amasya.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources