Cem (864–900/1459–95) was the third son of Sultan Mehmed II (Sulṭān Meḥmed II, r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81) and the brother of Bayezid II (Bāyezīd II, r. 886–918/1481–1512), who defeated him in the struggle over succession. Cem was born on 27 Safer (Ṣafar) 864/22 December 1459, in Edirne. His mother, Çiçek Hatun (Çiçek Khātūn), was probably of Serbian origin. In accordance with the custom for an Ottoman prince (şehzade, şehzāde), Cem was appointed to a provincial governorship (of Kastamonu) in 1469. He went to Istanbul for his circumcision in July 1472 a…

Cem Sadisi (Cem Saʿdīsi, Saʿdī-i Cem, “Saʿdī of [Prince] Cem”) was a ninth/fifteenth century high culture ( divan) poet and the best known of the “Cem Poets”. His real name is Sadullah (Saʿdullāh), although in his poems he used the pen name Sadi (Saʿdī). His father’s name was Mustafa. He was born in Sivrihisar (formerly Karahisar, Seferihisar) in west central Anatolia (Beyani [Beyānī],40; Āli [ʿĀlī], 137), but some biographers give his birthplace as Siroz, an area near to the larger town of Sivrihisar, close to the province (eyalet) Karaman in south central Anatolia (Latifi [Latīf…

Born probably in Punuševci near the Serbian town of Vranje, Gedik Ahmed Paşa (Gedik Aḥmed Pasha, d. 887/1483) was a page ( iç oğlanı) in the court of Sultan Murad II (Sulṭān Murād II, r. 824–48/1421–44 and 850–5/1446–51) and was appointed beylerbeyi (beğlerbeği) of Rūm under Sultan Mehmed II (Sulṭān Meḥmed II, r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81). Sometime after 866/1462 or 867/1463 he was promoted to the rank of beylerbeyi of Anatolia, where he achieved several important victories. His first known military success was the conquest of Koyulhiar (Koyulḥiṣār, 865/…

İsmail (İsmāʿīl) Dede Efendi (1192–1262/1778–1846), generally known simply as Dede Efendi, was a composer of Ottoman/Turkish classical music, and perhaps the greatest composer in that tradition. He was born in Istanbul, the son of an owner/manager (ṣāḥib/müsteʾcir) of a hamam (ḥammām) (whence his often-used kunya (patronymic) Hamamcıoğlu, or Hamamizade), and he began his musical education (meşk/meşq) at primary school. Apprenticed as a scribe in a government office, he soon left to join the Yenikapı Mevlevi (Mevlevī) convent of dervishes, with which…

Koca Mustafa (Qoca Muṣṭafā) Paşa b. Abdülmuin (ʿAbd al-Muʿīn) (d. 918/1512), an Ottoman official, military commander, and grand vizier during the reign of Sultan Bayezid (Bāyezīd) II (r. 886–918/1481–1512), was probably of Greek devşirme (periodic levy of male Christian children to serve in the Janissary corps or palace administration) origins. He was raised at the palace in Istanbul, and later entered the service of Prince Bayezid, who held court in Amasya (Reindl, 302). After Bayezid ascended to the throne in 886/1481, Koca Mustafa Paşa was appointed to several offices, including k…

Ahmed Paşa (Aḥmed Pasha), Bursalı (d. 902/1496–7) was an Ottoman poet of renown and considerable influence, born in Edirne but known as Bursalı because he spent most of his life in Bursa. After having been a teacher (müderris) in Bursa, then a judge (kadı, qāḍī) in Edirne, he gained the favour of Mehmed II (Meḥmed II), who first appointed him kazasker (qāḍī-ʿasker), then made him his own companion and tutor. Later falling into disfavour, he was imprisoned, then pardoned but sent to Bursa as administrator (mütevelli, mütevellī) of pious foundations, then appointed commander-in-chief (san…

Dede (Turkish for “elder”) is an honorary title in Turkish dominated Sufi Islam, used prominently in the Mevlevi tradition, where it is attributed to fully initiated dervishes, and in the Kızılbaş-Alevi tradition, with which this entry is concerned. The office of dede, or dedelik, is a core institution of the socio-religious groups in Anatolia and adjacent regions, which were historically linked with two popular opposition movements of charismatic and antinomian Ṣūfī character that launched rebellions against the Seljuk and Ottoman centr…

Muḥammad Nūr al-Dīn al-ʿArabī (1813–87) was a Turkish saint who left a lasting impression on the Balkans and Macedonia. Originally from Egypt, where he went by the name of Muḥammad ʿArab Khūja (later, in Albanian, Muhamet Arab Hoxha), he spent his early years in the study of the great mystic Ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) of Andalusian origin; he was later influenced by the mystical connections between the Hesychastic meditations of Balkan Orthodox Christianity and Ṣūfism, especially the movement associa…

Beyani (Beyānī, d. 1006/1597), whose real name was Mustafa (Muṣṭafā) and who was known to have had the nickname Carullahzade (Cārullāhzāde), was an Ottoman author about whose life we have little information. While the majority of sources inform us that he was born in Rusçuk—currently a town in Bulgaria—others claim that his birthplace was Niğbolu (also in modern Bulgaria). Beyani began his education in his home town before furthering it in Istanbul. Having received the talik icazet ( taʿlīq icāzet, talik) from Şükrüllah Halife (Şükrüllāh Khalīfe, d. 950/1543) and become a …

The Alevīs are a number of heterogeneous socio-religious communities in Turkey and the Balkans, historically referred to as Qızılbaş, who, in the twentieth century, began to share a common trans-regional Alevī identity called Alevism (Tr. Alevilik). 1. Genealogy There are four primary historical meanings of the name Alevī (Ar. ʿAlawī): (1) a descendant from the first Shīʿī Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Tālib; (2) a person following ʿAlī and thus a Shīʿī in the widest sense; (3) pejoratively, a heretic with Shīʿī tendencies; and (4) since the ear…

Aydede (literally “grandfather moon,” a term used by children for the moon) was an important Turkish political satirical magazine, which was published twice weekly from 2 kanun-ı sani ( qānūn-i thānī, January) to 9 teşrin-i sani ( teşrīn-i thānī, November) 1922. Ninety issues of four pages each appeared in print. Refik Halid (Refīq Khālid) [Karay] (1888–1965), who wrote his famous editorials nakş-ı berab (naqş-i berāb), or “drawings on the water,” under the pseudonym “Aydede,” was the owner and director (sahip ve müdür/ṣāḥib ve müdīr) of the journal. Beginni…

Alevi music, specifically that of the bağlama (plucked folk lute), is a central element of Alevi-Bektaşi expressive art forms that strengthen Alevi communitas through reviewing sect beliefs and doctrines during ritual ceremonies (cemler). The Turkish bağlama is a sacred instrument (with its origins in Central Asian Turkmen minstrelsy) that symbolizes Alevi identity. Bağlama performers (zakir, sazende) in cem rituals are often descendents of dede (holy man) lineages (ocaklar) and/or minstrels (aşıklar, ozanlar), who sing the verses (deyişler, nefesler) of mystical poets s…

Hafız (Ḥāfıẓ) Post was the nickname of the Istanbul musician and composer Mehmed (Meḥmed, 1040?–1101/1630?-90). He was also a poet and noted calligrapher, but is renowned above all for his musical achievements, and has the reputation of being, after Itri (ʿIṭrī, d. 1123/1712), the most significant Ottoman composer of the second half of the eleventh/seventeenth century. He was a distinguished performer on the tanbur ( ṭanbūr, a long-necked lute) and a singer, and although not a court musician, he was a major musical figure during the reign of Mehmed (Meḥmed) I…

Karamani Mehmed (Qaramānī Meḥmed) Paşa (d. 886/1481) was an Ottoman grand vizier, poet, and historian. He was born in Konya, and was descendant of the mystic Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī (d. 672/1273) (Sehi Beg, 117). He was a protégé of Grand Vizier Mahmud (Maḥmūd) Paşa (d. 878/1474), whom he served as an advisor and as professor (müderris) in his medrese (madrasa) in Istanbul. He served Sultan Mehmed (Meḥmed) II (r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81) as vizier from 862/1458 and became nişancı ( nişāncı, the head of the chancery of the Ottoman imperial council) in 869/1464, before bei…

Melihi (Melīḥī, fl. ninth/fifteenth century) was a famous divan poet of the reign of Sultan Mehmed (Meḥmed) II (r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81). The date of his birth is unknown. Tezkire ( tedhkire, collections of biographies of poets) writers such as Latifi (Laṭīfī, d. 990/1582), Hasan (Ḥasan) Çelebi (d.1012/1604), Riyazi (Riyāḍī, d. 1054/1644), and Mustafa Ali (Muṣṭafā ʿĀlī, d. 1008/1600) say that Melihi was from Tokat, in north-central Anatolia; Âşık (ʿĀşıq) Çelebi (d. 979/1572), on the other hand, indicates that he w…

Fuzuli (Fuḍūlī, 888–963/1483–1556) was the pen name of Mehmed b. Süleyman (Meḥmed b. Süleymān), an illustrious lyric poet and author of Azeri literature, with as revered a place in Ottoman literature. Since the sources refer to him as Fuzuli of Baghdad (Fuḍūlī-yi Baghdādī), it is surmised that he was born in Baghdad or its environs. Some accounts also report his birthplace as Najaf, Ḥilla, or Karbalā (Mazıoğlu, 9–54). Recent studies confirm that he was born in 888/1483. Fuzuli lived under the administrations of various states that ruled Baghdad and its vicinity. His yout…

Avni (ʿAvnī) was the pen name of Mehmed (Meḥmed) II (r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81), who was both the Ottoman sultan and a poet. The son of Murad (Murād) II (r. 824–48/1421–44 and 850–5/1446–51) and Hüma Hatun (Hümā Khatun), Mehmed II was born on 26 Recep (Rajab) 835/March 1432 in Edirne. Writing under the pen-name Avni (ʿAvnī, “pertaining to aid”), Mehmed himself became a well-known literary figure whose divan ( dīvān, collection of a poet’s literary output) still survives. He was a sultan, statesman, and military leader as well as an intellectual interest…

A Persian word meaning son-in-law, dāmād was a title given to high-ranking officials married to princesses of the Ottoman dynasty. The practice of marrying sisters, daughters, and granddaughters of the reigning sultan to statesmen began in earnest in the late ninth/fifteenth century, as dynastic marriages with other ruling houses waned. Sultans of the tenth/sixteenth century drew many of their viziers from among the dynasty’s dāmāds; six of the grand viziers of Sulṭān Süleymān I (r. 926–74/1520–66) were dāmāds. Emerging during the empire’s high imperial phase (1453 to 1566), dāmād-…

Kınalızade Hasan Çelebi (Qınalızāde Ḥasan Çelebi) (953–1012/1546–1604) was an Ottoman poet and author of a tezkire-i şuara (tedhkire-i şuʿarāʾ, biographical chronicle of poets). He was born in Bursa in 953/1546, into a family known by the name of Kınalızadeler (Qınalızādeler). A disciple of the Ottoman kadı (qāḍī, judge) and scholar Ebussuud (Abū l-Suʿūd) Efendi (897–982/1491–1574), he received an education that matched his family’s high status. He worked as a müderris (mudarris, professor) and kadı (qāḍī) in a number of locations, including Bursa, Edirne, Gelibolu (G…

Kıvami (Qıvāmī) was an Ottoman poet who flourished in the time of Mehmed (Meḥmed) II (r. 848–50/1444–6 and 855–86/1451–81) and Bayezid (Bāyezīd) II (r. 886–918/1481–1512) and authored the Fetihname ( Fetḥnāme/Fatḥnāma, “Book of Conquests” of Mehmed II). Information about him is scarce, and little is known of his life. “Kıvami” is mentioned five times in the Fetihname in conjunction with either “Yusuf” or “Kasım,” and thus it can be deduced that the author of the work was named Kıvameddin Yusuf (Qıvāmeddīn Yūsuf) or Kıvameddin Kasım (Qıvāmeddīn Qāsim)…