Derviş Ali (

Modern Turkish Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languages of Cyprus. Si ...

: ''Derviş Ali'') (d. 1673) was a 17th-century Ottoman

calligrapher Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...

Life and work

His is known as Derviş Ali, the elder or by the nicknames ''Büyük'', ''Birinci'' or ''ayırt Mâruf'' (to distinguish him from the two different calligraphers of the same name, who lived at a later time). Very little is known about his early life. His date of birth is unknown. He was raised as a slave in the household of a

Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

officer by the name of Kara Hasan-oglu Huseyn Aga. As a young man, he served as a subaltern with the Janissaries. He later trained as a calligrapher with Halid Erzurumi (d. 1651). He worked in the

Köprülü Library Köprülü Library is a library in Istanbul. It was founded by Ottoman Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha in 1678. It was the first public library in the Middle East. The library currently contains 3,790 manuscript volumes. Foundation Located ...

, where he trained many calligraphers, of whom the most famous were the Grand Vizier,

Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha (, ; ; 1635 – 3 November 1676) was an Ottoman nobleman and statesman, who belonged to the renowned Köprülü family of Albanian origin, which produced six grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire. Life He ...

, Hâfiz Osman and Suyolcuzade Mustafa Eyyubi Another of his students was Ismail Efendi, who executed the tomb of Hâfiz Osman and also produced 44 copies of the Q'ran. He died at an advanced age in 1673, and was buried outside Topkapı (ancient gate of Saint-Romain).''Turkish Biographical Index'', Walter de Gruyter, 2011, p. 286; Huart, C., ''Les Calligraphes et les Miniaturistes de l'Orient Musulman'' , 1972, p. 14
Digital copy (in French)
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References

Culture of the Ottoman Empire Calligraphers from the Ottoman Empire 1673 deaths Year of birth missing Place of birth missing 17th-century calligraphers 17th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 17th-century artists from the Ottoman Empire {{Ottoman-bio-stub

Life and work

See also

References