![Mevlana ziyareti Mustafa Paşa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Mevlana_ziyareti_Mustafa_Pa%C5%9Fa.jpg)
Gelibolulu Mustafa Âlî bin Ahmed bin Abdülmevlâ Çelebi (b. 28 April 1541 – d. 1600) was an
Ottoman historian, bureaucrat and major literary figure.
Life and work
Mustafa Ali was born on 28 April, 1541 in
Gelibolu
Gelibolu, also known as Gallipoli (from el, Καλλίπολις, ''Kallipolis'', "Beautiful City"), is the name of a town and a district in Çanakkale Province of the Marmara Region, located in Eastern Thrace in the European part of Turkey on th ...
, a provincial town on the Dardanelles. His father, Ahmad, son of Mawla, was a learned man and a prosperous local merchant. The family was well-connected. Ali's uncle was Dervish Chalabi, imam to the
Sultan Suleyman. The family was possibly of Bosnian ancestry.
He began his formal education at age 6 and was trained in religion and logic. At the age of 15, he began to write poetry and initially wrote under the pen-name Chasmi (The Hopeful), but before long took up the name of Âlî (The Exalted). He continued his education in Istanbul where he studied holy law, lettering and grammar. He gained employment as a cleric at the Chancery, after writing a poem, ''Mihr ü Mâh'' (The Sun and the Moon), designed to impress
Prince Salim
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
. He later entered the Court of the
Sultan Suleyman, but his ambition displeased the court members and he was sent back to the Prince's Court.
While working at the Prince's Court, he accepted an offer to serve as the confidential secretary to
Lala Mustafa Pasha
Lala Mustafa Pasha ( – 7 August 1580), also known by the additional epithet ''Kara'', was an Ottoman Bosnian general and Grand Vizier from the Sanjak of Bosnia.
Life
He was born around 1500, near the Glasinac in Sokolac Plateau in Bosnia t ...
, a former mentor to the Prince. For the next twenty years, his life paralleled that of his employer, who by that time was a Grand Vizier. Ali's duties took him various parts of the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East including Aleppo, Damascus and Egypt.
When Prince
Selim succeeded his father to the throne, Pasha and Ali entered the Royal Court in Istanbul. He used the opportunity to enter literary society and mingle with prominent literary figures of the day. However, that interlude was short-lived. Ali was assigned military duties and spent seven years in Bosnia, after which he served various administrative roles in provincial towns as far away as Baghdad and Dalmatia. He felt that these military and administrative posts were unsuited to him, as a man of letters and a man of the pen. He regularly appealed to the Court for better assignments and desperately tried to find a way back to Istanbul, to no avail. His constant frustrations and resentment, however, stimulated an active period of literary output. Many of his best works were written during this period. During his time in Baghdad, he used the opportunity to carry out research for his grand history, later published as ''Künhü'l-aḫbār'' (The Essence of History).
He became a major literary figure in the second half of the sixteenth century, and had a prolific output. He is most famous for his immense work of world history, entitled ''Künhü'l-aḫbār'', covering the period from the creation of the world to the year 1000 of the Islamic calendar (1591/92 AD). This work remains an important primary source for 16th-century Ottoman history. He also wrote poetry as well as a work of
nasihatname literature entitled ''Nuṣḥatü's-selāṭīn'' (Counsel for Sultans).
In July, 1599 he travelled to Cairo before taking up what would be his last appointment as Governor of
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
. He spent five months in Egypt, where he wrote a book on the customs and traditions of Cairo. He became ill in Jeddah and died there at the age of 58.
Selected writings
Ali wrote some 55 works. Ali not only composed and penned his works, he also provided some of the illustrations. At the time, the illustration of historical works was a new trend.
* ''Nuṣḥatü's-selāṭīn'' (Counsel for Sultans), 1581
* ''Nusretnāme'' (Book of Victory), 1580 - an illustrated history of the
Shirvan
Shirvan (from fa, شروان, translit=Shirvān; az, Şirvan; Tat: ''Şirvan''), also spelled as Sharvān, Shirwan, Shervan, Sherwan and Šervān, is a historical Iranian region in the eastern Caucasus, known by this name in both pre-Islam ...
campaign
* ''Cāmi'i'l-Buhür der Mecalis-i-Sür'' (Gathering of the Seas), 1583
* ''Menlāab-i Hüner-Verān'' (Epic Deeds of Artists and Calligraphers), 1586
* ''Ferā'i'dü'l-Vilāde'' (Unique Pearls of Birth), 1587
* ''Künhü'l-aḫbār'' (The Essence of History), 1587
* ''Mir'atü-avālim'' (Mirror of Worlds), c. 1587
* ''Sadef-i Sad Guher'' (Lustre of One Hundred Jewells), 1593
* ''Mevadü’n-nefa'is fı qavā'idi’l Mecālı's'' (Table of Delicacies Concerning the Rules of Social Gatherings), 1599 - a work detailing etiquette in Cairo
Selected Illustrations from Mustafa Âlî's book, ''Nusretnāme''
File:1578-Departure from the palace of the army for the war-Nusretname-large.jpg, The Army's departure from the palace
File:1578-Lala Mustafa Pasha in camp after his Victory at Kars-Nusretname-detail.jpg, Lala Mustafa Pasha in camp after his victory
File:1578-Banquet given by Lala Mustafa Pasha to the Jannissaries in Izmit-Nusretname.jpg, Banquet given by Lala Mustafa Pasha to the Jannissaries
File:Ottoman army at Tiflis in 1578 (Nusretname miniature).jpg, Ottoman army at Tiflis in 1578
See also
*
Culture of the Ottoman Empire
Ottomans culture evolved over several centuries as the ruling administration of the Turks absorbed, adapted and modified the various native cultures of conquered lands and their peoples. There was influence from the customs and languages of Isla ...
*
Islamic art
Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...
*
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). '' ...
*
List of Ottoman calligraphers
The following is an incomplete List of Ottoman Calligraphers:
15th–16th century
*Hâfiz Osman
*Seyyid Kasim Gubari
* Ahmed Karahisari
*Sheikh Hamdullah
* Kahdi Mahmud Efendi (d. 1575)
* Ahmed Pasa (d. 1611) son of Kahdi Mahmud Efendi
* Mustafa ...
*
Ottoman art
Turkish art refers to all works of visual art originating from the geographical area of what is present day Turkey since the arrival of the Turks in the Middle Ages. Turkey also was the home of much significant art produced by earlier cultures, ...
References
Bibliography
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External links
''Les calligraphes et les miniaturistes de l'Orient musulman'' by Huart, Clément– digital copy of a work that draws on Mustafa Âlî's ''Epic Deeds of Calligraphers and Artists''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali, Mustafa
1541 births
1600 deaths
People from Gelibolu
16th-century historians from the Ottoman Empire