Servahdî Mustafa Efendi was a scholar who came to Amasya in his youth from the village of Serva'ât near Kırşehir, was educated there, was twice appointed mufti of Amasya, and died in Şevval 1189 (November-December 1775) after losing his sight. The pen name (mahlas) "Servahdî" was given to him by his teacher Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi, while the townspeople called him "Servatlı" after his village. Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar describes him as a poet able to compose in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and writes that he found and copied one of his ghazals, but that the copy was burned. None of his poems survives today.

Hüsameddin's Record

The entry in the tenth volume of Amasya Tarihi gives the dates of a provincial mufti's appointments and dismissals almost day by day:

Servahdî Mustafa Efendi-Ser-va'âtî, el-Hâc. Kırşehir dâhilinde kâ'in Serva'ât köyünden Abdülgaffâr'ın mahdûmudur. Gençliğinde Amasya'ya gelip Iydizâde el-Hâc Âkif Mustafa Efendi'nin halka-i tedrîsinde ulûm-ı akliyye ve nakliyyeyi ahz ve fıkıh ve usulü meşâhîr-i ulemâdan Taşâbâdî el-Hâc Ahmed, Akdağî el-Hâc Mustafa ve Çorumlu el-Hâc es-Seyyid Ali Efendilerden de tahsîl ü ikmâl ederek mücâz u ders-i âm oldu. Tedrîs-i ulûm esnâsında esâtize-i kirâmının zamân-ı fetvâlarında müsevvid ve emînü'l-fetvâ olup fevka'l-âde iştihâr etdi. Bu esnâda "Büyük Ağa" demekle meşhûr Hüseyin Ağa Medresesi müderrisi olup 1178 senesi recebinde Amasya müftüsü ve 1180 senesi muharrem intihâbında ilâveten Hacı-başı oldu. 1181 senesi rebîülevvelinde Amasya fetvâsından azl edilip zilka'desi gurresinde Amasya kadısı Mehmed Efendi tarafından Amasya nâibi oldu. Bir buçuk yıl kadar niyâbeti devâm edib 1183 senesi rebîülâhiri gurresinde hitâma erdi. 1184 senesi muharreminde sânîyen Hacı-başı olup 1185 senesi zilhiccesinin gurresinde ikinci def'a Amasya nâibi olup 1186 senesi saferinde halefinin vürûdıyla ma'zûl ve hâcıbaşılıktan da munfasıl oldu. 1187'de Meclis-i a'yân a'zâsı olup zilhiccesinin yirmi birinci günü sânîyen Amasya müftüsü olduğu hâlde gözlerine ârız olan amâdan dolayı 1188 senesi muharreminin on ikinci günü azl edildi. Bir buçuk yıldan ziyâde gözleri alîl olarak hasta ve münzevî bir hâlde yaşayıp 1189 senesi şevvâlinde dâr-ı bekâya rihlet etdi. Âlim, fâzıl, şâir, kâmil, edîb, küşâde-meşreb, elsine-i selâsede tanzîm-i eş'âra kâdir, tevârih u muhâzarâta âşinâ olduğu "el-Mecmû"da yazılıdır. Bir gazelini bulup yazmışdım. Hayfâ ki yandı. Kendisine "Servahdî" mahlasını üstâdı Iydîzâde verdi. "Elsine-i âmmede Servatlı" demekle meşhûr idi. Mahdûmları es-Seyyid Mehmed Emîn, Abdullah Efendiler ma'rûftur. Bunlara ve bunların evlâdına "Hacı Servahdîzâdeler" dendi.

In English the record says: He is the son of Abdülgaffar from the village of Serva'ât in the district of Kırşehir. Coming to Amasya in his youth, he studied the rational and transmitted sciences in the teaching circle of Îdîzâde Hacı Âkif Mustafa Efendi, and completed jurisprudence and its principles with the well-known scholars Hacı Ahmed of Taşabat, Hacı Mustafa of Akdağ and Seyyid Hacı Ali of Çorum; he received his licence (icazet) and became a dersiâm, a teacher entitled to give public lessons. While teaching, he became very well known as the müsevvid, the drafter of fatwas, and the fatwa secretary of his teachers during their terms as mufti. At that time he became professor (müderris) of the Hüseyin Ağa Madrasa, known as "Büyük Ağa", and in Receb 1178 mufti of Amasya; in the election of Muharrem 1180 he also became hacıbaşı. In Rebiülevvel 1181 he was removed from the office of mufti, and on the first day of Zilkade of that year he was made deputy judge (naib) of Amasya by the kadı of Amasya, Mehmed Efendi. His deputyship lasted about a year and a half and ended on the first day of Rebiülahir 1183. In Muharrem 1184 he became hacıbaşı for the second time and on the first day of Zilhicce 1185 deputy judge of Amasya for the second time; in Safer 1186, with the arrival of his successor, he was dismissed and also left the post of hacıbaşı. In 1187 he became a member of the council of notables (âyan) and on the twenty-first day of Zilhicce of that year mufti of Amasya once again; but because of the blindness that struck his eyes he was dismissed on the twelfth day of Muharrem 1188. He lived for more than a year and a half with diseased eyes, ill and withdrawn, and died in Şevval 1189. It is written in "el-Mecmû" that he was learned, virtuous, a poet, mature, a man of letters, open-hearted, able to compose poetry in three languages, and familiar with history and the lore of conversation. I had found and copied one of his ghazals; what a pity that it burned. The pen name "Servahdî" was given to him by his teacher Îdîzâde. In the speech of the common people he was known as "Servatlı". His sons Seyyid Mehmed Emin and Abdullah Efendi are known; they and their descendants were called the "Hacı Servahdîzâdes".

Life

Of the family in Serva'ât only the father's name, Abdülgaffar, has come down to us; Servahdî's year of birth was not recorded either. The first firm date Hüsameddin gives is his appointment as mufti of Amasya in Receb 1178 (December 1764-January 1765); since by then he was professor at the Büyük Ağa Madrasa and had served his teachers as drafter for years, he must have been a young student when he came to Amasya and must have spent at least a few decades in the city. This estimate follows from the course of the entry.

The main weight of the entry falls on a decade that moves back and forth between the offices of mufti, deputy judge and hacıbaşı. A few months after he was removed from the office of mufti in Rebiülevvel 1181 (July-August 1767), on the first day of Zilkade (20 March 1768), the kadı Mehmed Efendi chose him as his deputy, and this post lasted until 1 Rebiülahir 1183 (4 August 1769). His second deputyship lasted a few months, between 1 Zilhicce 1185 (6 March 1772) and Safer 1186 (May 1772). Hüsameddin does not explain what the post of "hacıbaşı" was. His remark that the appointment of 1180 was made by "intihâb", that is by election, and his references in other entries to Amasya's council of "hâcıyân u a'yân" suggest that it may have been connected with presiding over the city's council of pilgrims and notables; the entry stops short of saying so.

His last years closed with a misfortune. In 1187 he became a member of the council of notables, and on 21 Zilhicce 1187 (5 March 1774) he was appointed mufti for the second time, but because of the disease in his eyes he was dismissed on 12 Muharrem 1188 (25 March 1774), that is, twenty days later. After this he lived in seclusion, blind and ill, for more than a year and a half, and died in Şevval 1189.

His Connection with Amasya

Servahdî was not born in Amasya. The description "of Amasya" in the master list does not come from his birthplace; it was given because Hüsameddin counts him among the scholars of Amasya. All his education, all his posts and his death were in Amasya, and his descendants continued in the city under the name of the "Hacı Servahdîzâdes". His teacher's life and poems are told on the Îdîzâde Âkif Mustafa Efendi page. Îdîzâde must have been a teacher who liked to give names to his students: Hüsameddin records that it was he who gave Rüsûhî Hasan Efendi, from the same circle, the nickname "Rüsûhî", and the kadı Şevkî Hüseyin Efendi the nickname "Şevkî".

Family

Hüsameddin gives several separate entries reaching down to Servahdî's grandsons. His son Seyyid Hacı Mehmed Emin Efendi, like his father, served muftis as drafter and fatwa secretary, was known for his knowledge of ferâiz, the law of inheritance, and died in 1230 (1814-15). Another son, Hacı Süleyman Efendi, studied with Hacı Ahmed Efendi of Ürgüp, became a member of the councils of pilgrims and notables, was known as "Hacı Servatlıoğlu", and died at the beginning of 1229 (December 1813). Abdullah Efendi's son Servahdî Ahmed Efendi became in 1229 the preacher (hatib) of the mosque of the Eski Kethüdâ quarter, which his father had turned from a masjid into a Friday mosque by adding a pulpit, and died in 1271 (1854-55); because he was connected to the Fazlızâdes through his mother, he was also called "Fazlızâde". Mehmed Emin Efendi's son Seyyid Hacı Süleyman Efendi served muftis as fatwa secretary and died in 1251 (1835-36). The source does not explain why Servahdî's sons bear the title "es-Seyyid" while it is not given to Servahdî himself.

His Poetry

What Hüsameddin says about Servahdî as a poet comes from a compilation he calls "el-Mecmû"; which work this compilation is has not been identified. According to this record Servahdî could compose poetry in the "elsine-i selâse", the three languages, Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and was knowledgeable in history and muhadarat, the anecdotes and witticisms told in gatherings. Hüsameddin says that he found and copied one of his ghazals, but that the copy burned; he does not say in which language the ghazal was written or what it was about. None of Servahdî's poems has come down to us.

The meaning of the pen name is not clear either. Its closeness in sound to Serva'ât, the name of the poet's village, is striking; whether the teacher intended this closeness is unknown, and it can be noted only as a possibility.

Chronology

Receb 1178 (December 1764-January 1765): Becomes mufti of Amasya.

Muharrem 1180 (June-July 1766): Is also elected hacıbaşı.

Rebiülevvel 1181 (July-August 1767): Is removed from the office of mufti.

1 Zilkade 1181 (20 March 1768) - 1 Rebiülahir 1183 (4 August 1769): Serves as deputy judge of Amasya.

1 Zilhicce 1185 (6 March 1772) - Safer 1186 (May 1772): Serves as deputy judge of Amasya for the second time.

21 Zilhicce 1187 (5 March 1774): Becomes mufti of Amasya for the second time.

12 Muharrem 1188 (25 March 1774): Is dismissed because of blindness.

Şevval 1189 (November-December 1775): Dies.

Bibliography

Primary sources

Online sources