Whose son Sâbit Mehmed Efendi was is a question that Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar's book answers differently from one volume to the next. His own entry makes him the son of Seyyid Hacı Abdullah Efendi of Aybatsa, known in the city as the "Tall Mufti" (Uzun Müftü); other pages by the same author suggest that he may have been this mufti's grandson. The main line of his life is clearer. In the late eighteenth century he taught as a müderris at the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa in Amasya, then served as deputy judge (naib) in the towns, went on to Istanbul to join the judges of Anatolia, and died around 1224 (1809-10). Hüsameddin closes the entry with the words "a scholar, poet and man of letters" ("ulemâdan şâir, edîb bir zât idi"), yet not a single example of that poetry is in our hands.

The Entry in Hüsameddin

The entry Sâbit Mehmed Efendi-Uzun Müftüzâde stands among the first pages of the "Sâ" section in the eighth volume of Amasya Tarihi and runs to only a few sentences:

Amasyalıdır. Amasya müftüsü olup "Uzun müftî" demekle meşhûr olan Aybatsalı es-Seyyid el-Hâc Abdullah Efendi'nin mahdûmudur. Amasya fuzalâsından Seküköylüzâde Kâşif el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi'den ikmâl-i tahsîl edib pederinin irtihâlinde birâderiyle Mehmed Paşa müderrisi oldu. Bir müddet tedrîs-i ulûm edib sonra niyâbet mesleğine girdi. Haylî kasabâta nâib olup İstanbul'a gitdi. Orada Anadolu kudâtından olup devr-i bilâd ederek 1224 sâline doğru vefât etdi. Ulemâdan şâir, edîb bir zât idi.

In English: He was from Amasya, the son of Seyyid Hacı Abdullah Efendi of Aybatsa, mufti of Amasya, who was known as the "Tall Mufti". He completed his studies under Seküköylüzâde Hacı Kâşif Mehmed Efendi, one of the learned men of Amasya, and on his father's death became, together with his brother, professor (müderris) of the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa. After teaching for a while he entered the profession of deputy judge, served as naib in a good many towns and then went to Istanbul. There he joined the judges of Anatolia, served from city to city and died towards the year 1224. He was a scholar, a poet and a man of letters.

Since the man's name was Mehmed, the word "Sâbit" at the head of the entry is most probably his pen name (mahlas); in this section Hüsameddin builds his headings from the pen name and the given name. The word means "firm, steadfast". A neighbouring entry invites confusion: the one immediately before belongs to Kadızâde Sâbit Mehmed Efendi of Merzifon, who bore the same pen name and name. A pupil of Âkifzâde Seyyid Abdürrahîm Efendi, this judge died after 1238 (1822-23).

The Tall Mufti and His Family

According to Hüsameddin's entry "Abdullah Efendi-Uzun Müftü" in the twelfth volume, the Tall Mufti came from Aybatsa, lodged in the rooms of the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa while he studied, and attended the lessons of the mufti Hâfız Seyyid Mehmed Efendi of Çorum, the mufti Şeyh Seyyid Mustafa Efendi of Tokat and Hacı Mustafa Efendi of Akdağ. His clear speech and wide reading made him famous among the students; in 1168 (1754-55) he became professor of the Hüseyin Ağa Madrasa, and he was three times appointed mufti of Amasya and member of the council of notables (a'yân meclisi). Late in life he performed the pilgrimage, rose to be head of the city's ulema on the death of the senior professor, and died in Ramazan 1182 (January 1769); he was buried in the Mehmed Paşa Cemetery. He is said to be praised in Âkifzâde Abdürrahîm Efendi's work el-Mecmû. The entry names only Hâfız Seyyid Mehmed and Mustafa Efendi as his sons and adds that they too were called "Uzun Müftüzâdeler", the sons of the Tall Mufti.

The chronicle in the fourth volume gives three moments of the mufti's career with their dates. In 1174 (1760-61), when the mufti Hacı Ali Efendi of Çorum fell ill and withdrew, Hacı Abdullah Efendi of Aybatsa took his place, and the chronicle notes here: "He was called the 'Tall Mufti'." He was dismissed in the first days of Muharrem 1175 and the office passed to İkincizâde Hacı Mehmed Efendi. On the second day of Şaban 1182 Sâbit's teacher Kâşif Mehmed Efendi became mufti of Amasya, and the Tall Mufti died towards the end of the same month. The month of his death is Şaban in the chronicle and Ramazan in the entry.

An Uncertain Line of Descent

Sâbit's entry says that on his father's death he became professor of the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa together with his brother. Since the Tall Mufti died in 1182, this would mean that Sâbit became professor in 1182. Yet in the first volume, where Hüsameddin lists the professors of the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa in order, nobody from this family appears around 1182: Seyyid Abdurrahîm Efendi comes in 1179, his sons in 1197, the fetva clerk Ömer Efendi in 1209, Ahmed Efendi of Karahisar in 1213 followed by Hâfız Mehmed Efendi, and Ömer Efendi again in 1214. The list continues "1220'de vefâtıyla oğulları es-Seyyid Ali, Sâbit ve ba'dehû Uzun Müftüzâde es-Seyyid Mustafa, Sâlih Efendiler" (on his death in 1220 his sons Seyyid Ali and Sâbit, and after them the Uzun Müftüzâde Seyyid Mustafa and Sâlih Efendi); it adds that all of them were removed in 1247. The Tall Mufti's own entry shows him as professor not of the Mehmed Paşa but of the Hüseyin Ağa Madrasa.

The entries for the family's next generation agree with this list. Zihnî Mustafa Efendi in the ninth volume is the son of "Mehmed Paşa müderrisi es-Seyyid el-Hâc Mehmed Efendi bin Uzun Müftü", that is, of the Mehmed Paşa professor Seyyid Hacı Mehmed Efendi, son of the Tall Mufti; on his father's death he became Mehmed Paşa professor, served about thirty years as judge and deputy judge, and died in 1247 (1831-32), and his brother was Seyyid Hacı Ali Efendi. The entry for Hacı Hasan Efendi of Mörek in the eighth volume likewise says that he succeeded "Uzun Müftüzâde es-Seyyid Sâlih Efendi bin es-Seyyid Alî Efendi" in the Mehmed Paşa chair. Set side by side, these records allow the thought that Ali and Sâbit, who took the chair in 1220 (1805-06), were sons of the Tall Mufti's son Hâfız Mehmed Efendi and brothers of Zihnî Mustafa. This reading is not certain: grammatically the word "vefâtıyla" (on his death) in the list attaches to Ömer Efendi, named just before, and Hüsameddin nowhere gives the name of Sâbit's father as Mehmed. But Sâbit's death around 1224 fits more easily with the assumption that his professorship began in 1220 rather than in 1182.

His Poetry

All that is known of Sâbit's poetry is the phrase "ulemâdan şâir, edîb" in the last sentence of his entry; Hüsameddin neither quotes a couplet nor mentions a divan or any poems. His poems have not come down to us. The entry for Zihnî Mustafa Efendi of the family's next generation does not touch on poetry at all. Metin Hakverdioğlu, in his study reading Amasya Tarihi as a biographical anthology of poets (tezkire), counts him among the poets of the eighth volume under the name "Sâbit Mehmed Efendi-Uzun Müftüzâde".

Chronology

1174 (1760-61): The Tall Mufti Abdullah Efendi becomes mufti of Amasya for the first time.

Şaban-Ramazan 1182 (December 1768-January 1769): The Tall Mufti dies; according to the entry, Sâbit and his brother become professors of the Mehmed Paşa Madrasa.

1220 (1805-06): According to the list of Mehmed Paşa professors, the chair passes to the brothers "Ali, Sâbit".

Around 1224 (1809-10): Dies while one of the judges of Anatolia.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources