Sivaslıdır. İlyâs mahdûmu olup Amasya‘da Sultân Ahmed muallimi Hatîb Kasım Efendi’den tahsîl-i ulûm ederek [276] ders-i âm oldu. Esnâ-yı tedrîsinde “Ferâiz-i Sirâciyye”yi nazm ve şerhederek te’lîf eylediği kitâbını 900’de Amasya Vâlisi Şehzâde Sultân Ahmed’e takdîm etdi.
Şehzâde-i müşârün-ileyh merhûmun edebiyât-ı Arabiyyedeki iktidârını takdîr ederek Sarây-ı Ğılmânına muallim ta’yîn etdi. 914’de Torumtay müderrisi olup 9l8’de şehzâde-i müşârün-ileyhin fecîâ-i irtihâlinde vefât etdi. Edebiyât-ı Arabîyyede mâhir, fâzıl, edîb idi.
In Modern English
He was from Sivas. He was the son of İlyâs. Having studied in Amasya under Hatîb Kasım Efendi, the teacher of Sultan Ahmed, he became a müderris with the right to give open lessons. While teaching, he presented to the governor of Amasya, Prince Sultan Ahmed, in 900 [1494-95] the book he had composed by versifying and annotating the "Ferâiz-i Sirâciyye."
The late prince, admiring his command of Arabic literature, appointed him teacher in his own gılmân palace. In 914 [1508-09] he became müderris of the Torumtay, and in 918 [1512-13] he died at the time of the prince's sudden death. He was a master of Arabic literature, a scholar and a man of letters.
Notes and Research
Old Words in the Text
- mahdûm: son
- muallim: teacher
- tahsîl-i ulûm: studying the sciences
- ders-i âm: a müderris with the authority to give lessons open to all
- esnâ-yı tedrîs: while he was teaching
- nazm: putting into verse
- şerh: a commentary, a book of explanation
- te'lîf: writing a book
- takdîm: presenting
- iktidâr: ability, competence
- Sarây-ı Gılmân: the section of the prince's palace where the young attendants (gılmân) stayed (a meaning inferred from context; could not be verified)
- fecîâ-i irtihâl: a sudden and grievous death
- fâzıl: learned, virtuous
The Ferâiz-i Sirâciyye
The work that Ümmet Efendi versified is the book on inheritance law by Ebû Tâhir Sirâcüddîn Muhammed b. Muhammed es-Secâvendî (d. after 596/1200). The TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi writes that this work is one of the most consulted sources in the science of ferâiz and that many commentaries and glosses were written on it. The work is based on the Hanafi school, but on disputed questions of the inheritance law clearly laid down in the Qur'an it also gives the views of the other schools. Among the versified works written on it the encyclopedia lists Abdurrahman-ı Câmî's in Persian and Dursunzâde Abdullah Feyzî's in Turkish; those listed are the "principal" ones, and Ümmet Efendi's book does not appear in this list. This absence does not deny the book's existence; it shows only that it is not in the encyclopedia's list. No information was found on the book's present whereabouts and copies.
Prince Ahmed and Amasya
The prince in the text is Prince Ahmed, son of Bayezid II. In the sources his governorship of Amasya is given as 12 March 1481 to April 1512; the year 900 [1494-95] that Hüsameddin gives falls within this period. Ahmed refused to accept the sultanate of Yavuz Sultan Selim and rebelled; he was defeated at the Battle of Yenişehir in 1513 and strangled, and his death is dated 24 April 1513. The year 918 [1512-13] given by Hüsameddin comes close to this date; by our own calculation, April 1513 falls at the beginning of the Hijri year 919, so the small difference may stem from a slip of one year in the reckoning. This is an inference.
The Torumtay Madrasa
Torumtay is Seyfeddin Torumtay, governor of Amasya in the thirteenth century; the buildings linked to his name are known as the Gök Medrese. In some sources the complex is said to have been built in 1267, in others the tomb in 1278. Whether the madrasa in Hüsameddin's phrase "müderris of the Torumtay" is this building cannot be understood from the text; this is an inference and could not be verified.
Searches on Ümmet Efendi's origins in Sivas, his teacher Hatîb Kasım Efendi, and whom the phrase "teacher of Sultan Ahmed" refers to (the teacher of Prince Ahmed, or another Ahmed) turned up no information. Although the context of the text points to Prince Ahmed, this is a choice of reading.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Abdîzâde Hüseyin Hüsâmeddîn Yasar, Amasya Tarihi, Amasya Belediyesi Kültür Yayınları, 2022, vol. 7, p. 348–348. amasya.bel.tr
Academic studies
Official sources
- T.C. Amasya Valiliği, "Medreseler" page, Gök Medrese
- "Torumtay Türbesi", Kültür Portalı, Amasya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü
Other sources