Yedikuleli Seyyid Abdullah Efendi (

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 ...

: ''Yedikuleli Seyyid Abdullah Efendi'') (1670-1731) was an Ottoman master

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 career

Born Hâşimîzâde Abdullah Efendi in 1670 in Istanbul, his father was Sayyid Hassan al-Hashimite, the imam of Imrahor Mosque. He was born into a family of calligraphers and grew up in the 'Yedikuleli' district from which he derived the nickname. He was descended from the prophet, Mohammed through both his paternal and maternal line, which allowed him to use the title of Seyyid. He studied calligraphy with the great master,

Hâfiz Osman Hâfiz Osman ( Modern Turkish: ''Hâfız Osman'') (1642–1698) was an Ottoman calligrapher noted for improving the script and for developing a layout template for the hilye which became the classical approach to page design. History Born Osm ...

. He became a court calligrapher and was a favourite of Sultan Ahmed III. He was appointed as the instructor of calligraphy at the Topkapi Palace in 1708, where he taught Egrikapili Mehmed Rasim Efendi. He wrote many copies of the

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

.Safwat, N.F., ''Understanding Calligraphy: The Ottoman Contribution'', Part One, London, 2014, p.322 At one point Ahmed III was so intrigued by the ink that Seyyid used in his calligraphy, that he sent a messenger to learn the secret. Seyyid sent back a full inkwell with the messenger. When the Sultan received the gift, he reportedly emptied the ink, refilled the inkwell with gold, and sent it back.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yedikuleli Seyyid Abdullah Efendi Culture of the Ottoman Empire Calligraphers from the Ottoman Empire 1731 deaths 18th-century artists from the Ottoman Empire

Life and career

See also

References