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, S̲h̲ayk̲h̲ Abu ’l-Fatḥ Isḥāḳ, son of Amīn al-Dīn D̲j̲ibrāʾīl and Dawlatī, born 650/1252-3, died 12 Muḥarram 735/12 September 1334 at Ardabīl [ q.v.], eponymous founder of the Ṣafawid Order of Ṣūfīs and hence of the Ṣafawid dynasty, rulers of Persia 907-1148/1501-1736 [see ṣafawids ]. Traditional hagiographical accounts depict Ṣafī al-Dīn as being destined for future greatness from infancy. As a boy, he spent his time in religious exercises, experienced visions involving angelic beings, and was visited by the abdāl and awtād [ q.vv.]. As he grew up, he could find no murs̲h̲id …

, the names of two Ottoman poets. 1. ʿAbd al-Razzāḳ , known as Newres, or more accurately, Newres-i Ḳadīm, “Newres the Elder”, to distinguish him from ʿOt̲h̲mān Newres [see below], came from Kirkūk in northern ʿIrāḳ and was probably of Kurdish origin. He seems, however, to have come to Istanbul at an early age to prosecute his studies. Here he became a müderris but in the year 1159/1746 entered upon a legal career. According to the Sid̲j̲ill-i ʿot̲h̲mānī , he held the office of ḳāḍī in Sarajevo and Kütahya. His sharp tongue, which found particular expressi…

, the classical Neo-Caesarea in Bithynia, a town lying on the southern rim of the Pontic mountain chain of Asia Minor (the modern Turkish Kuzey Anadolu Dağlari) on the right bank of the Kelkit river. It is situated at an altitude of 350 m/1,150 feet in lat. 40°35′ N. and long. 36°59′ E. The nucleus of the town is picturesquely situated at the foot of a hill, crowned by the ruins of a mediaeval castle which was erected from the material provided by the numerous buildings of antiquity there. Here in remote antiquity was Cabira and after its decline …

(980-1044/1572-1635), the greatest satirist of the Ottomans. ʿÖmer Efendi, whose nom-de-plume ( mak̲h̲laṣ ) was Nefʿī came from the village of Ḥasan Ḳalʿa near Erzerūm (eastern Anatolia). Not much is known of his early life. He spent his early years in Erzerūm where the historian ʿĀlī [ q.v.], who was a defterdār there, became acquainted with him. During the reign of Aḥmed I, fate brought him to the capital Istanbul where he worked for a time as a book-keeper. He failed in an attempt to gain the sultan’s favour or that of his son, the unfortunate ʿOt̲h̲mān II, with some brilliant ḳaṣīdas . It wa…

, the name of two Ottoman statesmen. I. Pertew Meḥmed Pas̲h̲a , Ottoman admiral and wezīr , started his career on the staff of the imperial harem, became ḳapud̲j̲i̊ bas̲h̲i̊ [see Ḳapi̊d̲j̲i̊ ], later Ag̲h̲a of the Janissaries, and in 962/1555 he was advanced to the rank of wezīr; in 968/1561 he was appointed third wezīr, in 982/1574 second wezīr and finally commander ( serdār ) of the imperial fleet under the ḳapudan pas̲h̲a Muʾed̲h̲d̲h̲in-zāde ʿAlī Pas̲h̲a. He had fought at the Battle of Lepanto [see aynabak̲h̲ti̊ ]. He later fell into disgrace and died in I…

, modern Turkish Osmancık, the administrative centre of an ilçe or district of the same name in the il or province of Çorum [see čorum ] in northern Anatolia, in the southern part of classical Paphlagonia. It lies on the Halys or Ḳi̊zi̊l I̊rmaḳ [ q.v.] at an important crossing-point of that river by the Tosya-Merzifun road (lat. 40°58′ N., long. 34°50′ E., altitude 430 m/1,310 ft.). ¶ The town is situated in a picturesque position at the foot of a volcanic hill which rises straight out of the plain and is crowned by a castle which formerly commanded the celebrat…