A Chronogram Dating the Construction of the Mevlevi Lodge in Gelibol

Kocatürk, Saba Dilşad

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| 48 A	Chronogram	Dating	the	Construction	of	the	Mevlevi	Lodge	in	Gelibolu	Saba	Dilşad	Kocatürk				Author:	MA	Student,	Department	of	Turkish	Language	and	Literature,	Bosporus	University	sd.kocaturk@gmail.com				ORCID:	0009-0006-9503-2751			Keywords:	Chronogram,	Gelibolu,	Mevlevi	lodge,	Ağazade	Muhammed	Efendi,	ʿAyānī,		17th	century			Cite	this	article:	Kocatürk,	Saba	Dilşad.	“A	Chronogram	Dating	the	Construction	of	the	Mevlevi	Lodge	in	Gelibolu”	Keshif:	E-Journal	for	Ottoman-Turkish	Micro	Editions	2/1	(Winter	2024):	48-52.	Available	under	https://doi.org/10.25365/kshf-24-01-07.				_____________________________________________	Article	DOI	10.25365/kshf-24-01-07	Published	online	March	18,	2024	©	2024	Saba	Dilşad	Kocatürk,	published	by	Keshif:	E-Journal	for	Ottoman-Turkish	Micro	Editions.	This	is	an	Open	Access	article	licensed	under	the	Creative	Commons	Attribution	4.0.	International	License	(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Saba	Dilşad	Kocatürk,	The	Mevlevi	Lodge	in	Gelibolu	│49 Context	The	 chronogram	 (Tr.	 tārīḫ)	 examined	 in	 this	 article	 can	 be	 found	 in	 a	 collection	 of	correspondence	in	the	Halet	Efendi	Collection	at	the	Süleymaniye	Manuscript	Library	under	the	catalog	number	264369.1	Chronograms	are	dates	hidden	within	texts	based	on	the	 numerical	 values	 of	 the	 Arabic	 alphabet	 and	 are	 usually	 penned	 in	 the	 form	 of	couplets.	They	signify	notable	events	such	as	an	enthronement,	the	birth	or	death	of	an	influential	person,	or	the	construction	of	a	monument	or	building.2	The	chronogram	in	the	above-mentioned	document	was	written	by	a	poet	with	the	pseudonym	ʿAyānī	and	marked	the	date	of	the	construction	of	Gelibolu	Mevlevi	Lodge	by	Ağazade	Şeyh	Mu-hammed	Efendi.	Deciphering	the	last	line	of	the	second	couplet	by	adding	up	the	nu-merical	values	of	the	letters	reveals	the	date	of	1020	AH	(1611-12	AD),	and	it	overlaps	with	the	construction	date	noted	in	the	document.		 Shortly	after	this	chronogram	was	recorded,	the	historian	Mustafa	Safi	referred	to	Gelibolu	 as	 “the	 lock	 of	 the	Aegean	 Sea”	 (deryā-yı	 sefīdiñ	 kilidi),	 as	 the	 city	 played	 a	crucial	role	during	the	early	modern	Ottoman	period	due	to	its	strategic	location	in	the	northern	entrance	 to	 the	Dardanelles.3	The	 founder	and	head	 (postnişīn)	of	Gelibolu	Mevlevi	 Lodge	 was	 Ağazade	 Şeyh	 Muhammed	 Efendi,	 as	 stated	 in	 the	 document.	According	to	Esrar	Dede’s	collection	of	biographies	(teẕkire)	on	Mevlevi	poets,	Ağazade	Muhammed	was	born	in	Gelibolu	as	the	son	of	a	janissary	agha.	In	addition	to	his	role	at	Gelibolu	Mevlevi	Lodge,	he	was	also	the	head	of	Beşiktaş	Mevlevi	Lodge	in	Istanbul	for	a	while.	The	Beşiktaş	Mevlevi	Lodge	in	Istanbul	was	built	by	Ohrili	Hüseyin	Pasha.4	After	the	Pasha	was	executed,	Ağazade	Muhammed	left	his	post	in	Beşiktaş	and	stayed	in	Gelibolu,	where	he	died	in	1063	AH	/	1652-1653	AD.5	Although	the	exact	date	of	its	 1		 Anonymous	Mecmūʿa-i	Münşe’āt.	Süleymaniye	Yazma	Eserler	Kütüphanesi,	Halet	Efendi	Koleksi-yonu	nr.	264369.	vr.	3a.	2  Ali	Asghar	Seyed-Gohrab,	“Chronogram,	Persian.”	In	Encyclopaedia	of	Islam,	THREE,	edited	by	Kate	Fleet,	Gudrun	Krämer,	Denis	Matringe,	John	Nawas,	and	Devin	J.	Stewart,	accessed	23.12.	2023.	3  Feridun	Emecen,	 “Gelibolu,”	TDV	 İslâm	Ansiklopedisi,	 https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gelibolu,		accessed	23.12.2023.	4  Esrâr	Dede,	Tezkire-i	Şu’arâ-yı	Mevleviyye,	ed.	İlhan	Genç,	(Ankara:	T.C.	Kültür	ve	Turizm	Bakanlığı,	2018),	27-28.	5  Ş.	Barihüda	Tanrıkorur,	“Gelibolu	Mevlevihanesi,”	TDV	İslâm	Ansiklopedisi,	50 | Keshif:	E-Journal	for	Ottoman-Turkish	Micro	Editions,	Winter	2024,	vol.	2/1 establishment	 is	 unknown,	 as	 the	 foundation	 certificate-charter	 (vaḳfiyye)	 has	 not	survived,	Tanrıkorur	argues	that	the	foundation	of	the	Mevlevihane	predated	1621,	the	date	when	Ohrili	Hüseyin	Pasha	assumed	the	position	of	grand	vizier.6	 	His	estimate	does	not	contradict	the	date	of	1020	AH	/	1611-12	AD	given	in	the	chronogram.			 In	the	light	of	the	transcribed	document,	it	can	be	ascertained	that	ʿ Ayānī,	the	poet	who	penned	the	couplets,	was	a	17th-century	poet	who	lived	during	the	reign	of	Sultan	Ahmed	I.		ʿAyānī	may	be	the	same	person	as	Beyānīzāde	(son	of	Beyānī)	ʿAyānī,	one	of	the	poets	of	Sultan	Ahmed	I’s	reign,	whose	ghazals	Ahmet	Sevgi	came	across	in	a	mis-cellany	 	 in	 the	 Konya	Manuscript	 Library.7	 The	 fact	 that	 Cārullāhzāde	 Beyānī	was	 a	Halveti	sheikh	who	had	spent	some	time	in	a	convent	(zāviye)	in	Gelibolu8	and	a	refe-rence	to	the	city	found	in	Beyānīzāde’s	ghazals	both	lend	weight	to	this	theory.				Transcription	Tārīḫ-i	binā-yı	Mevlevīḫāne-i		Gelibolı	be-ẕāt-ı		Aġazāde	Şeyḫ	Meḥemmed	Efendi		Devr-i	ʿadlinde	şeh-i	baḥr	u	berr	Aḥmed	Ḫānıñ	Sāʿī-i	ḫayr-ı	cemīl	oldı	Meḥemmed	Aġa		Söyledi	aña	ʿAyānī-yi	süḫan-dān	tārīḫ	Mevlevīḫāne-i	iʿlāʾ	cinān-āsā	cā	1020	 	 https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gelibolu-mevlevihanesi,		accessed	23.12.2023.	6  Ibid. 7  Ahmet	Sevgi,	 “Beyânîzâde	Ayânî’nin	Gazelleri,”	Selçuk	Üniversitesi	Edebiyat	Fakültesi	Dergisi	 34	(2015):	90.	8  Mustafa	İsen,	“Beyani”.	In	Encyclopaedia	of	Islam,	THREE,	edited	by	Kate	Fleet,	Gudrun	Krämer,	Denis	Matringe,	John	Nawas,	and	Devin	J.	Stewart,	accessed	24.	12.	2023. Saba	Dilşad	Kocatürk,	The	Mevlevi	Lodge	in	Gelibolu	│51 Translation	Chronogram	of	the	construction	of	the	Gelibolı	Mevlevi	Lodge	by		Ağazade	Sheikh		Mehemmed	Efendi			In	the	reign	of	justice	of	Ahmed	Khan,	the	sultan	of	sea	and	land	Mehemmed	Agha	was	zealous	(in	his	pursuit)	for	good	deeds.		The	eloquent	ʿAyānī	said	its	chronogram,		The	exalted	Mevlevi	lodge,	a	place	like	the	heavens	1020		Bibliography	Emecen,	Feridun.	“Gelibolu,”	TDV	İslâm	Ansiklopedisi.		https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gelibolu,	accessed	23.12.2023.		Esrar	Dede.	Tezkire-i	Şu’arâ-yı	Mevleviyye.	Ed.	İlhan	Genç.	Ankara:	T.C.	Kültür	ve	Turizm	Bakanlığı,	2018.	İsen,	Mustafa.	“Beyani.”	In	Encyclopaedia	of	Islam,	THREE,	edited	by	Kate	Fleet,	Gudrun	Krämer,	Denis	Matringe,	John	Nawas,	and	Devin	J.	Stewart,	accessed	24.12.2023.		Sevgi,	Ahmet.	 “Beyânîzâde	Ayânî’nin	Gazelleri.”	Selçuk	Üniversitesi	Edebiyat	Fakültesi	Dergisi	34	(2015):	89-122.	Seyed-Gohrab,	Ali	Asghar.	“Chronogram,	Persian.”	In	Encyclopaedia	of	Islam,	THREE,	edited	by	Kate	Fleet,	Gudrun	Krämer,	Denis	Matringe,	John	Nawas,	and	Devin	J.	Stewart,	accessed	23.12.	2023.	Tanrıkorur,	Ş.	Barihüda.	“Gelibolu	Mevlevihanesi”,	TDV	İslâm	Ansiklopedisi,		https://islamansiklopedisi.org.tr/gelibolu-mevlevihanesi,	accessed	24.12.2023.		 	52 | Keshif:	E-Journal	for	Ottoman-Turkish	Micro	Editions,	Winter	2024,	vol.	2/1 Facsimile						

A Chronogram Dating the Construction of the Mevlevi Lodge in Gelibolu

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A Chronogram Dating the Construction of the Mevlevi Lodge in Gelibolu

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