Divan-i Rahmi - ديوان رحمي

This volume contains the Divan of Mustafa Rahmi Efendi (died 1165 AH/ 1752 CE) of Bakhchysarai (Turkish: Bahçesaray) in Crimea. He was a chronicler and a poet with the mahlas of Rahmi. He was also known as Kırımi Rahmi Efendi. Mustafa Rahmi Efendi served in the offices of the Grand Vizier Nevşehirli Damad İbrahim Paşa (died 1143/1730), and was appointed to the Mühürdarlık (clerk responsible for seals) of his son Mehmed Paşa. He later became a katib (clerk) at the Imperial Arsenal (Tersane-i Amire). In 1160 AH/1747-48 CE, he accompanied Kesriyeli Hacı Ahmed Paşa, who had been appointed as an envoy to Iran, as Chief Secretary (mektupçu). On the basis of this trip, he composed the Sefâretnâme-i İran, in which he recorded the names of cities, towns, and other places from Üsküdar to Hamadan, and the distances and times between each of these locations. He also recorded some of the events he encountered. When he returned to Istanbul, he became a clerk at the Kurşunlu Mahzen, a depot of the Imperial Arsenal storing supplies and equipment for shipbuilding. He died on 27 Ramazan 1165 AH/ 8 August 1752, and was buried outside of Edirne Kapı. Mustafa Rahmi Efendi was a poet known for his knowledge and insight. He was especially skilled at composing chronograms (tarih) commemorating the dates of memorable events and deaths. His tarihler take up an entire section of his Divan. There are fine illuminated headpieces on ff 2v, 28v, and 54v. The headpiece on f 2v includes the title (upper): 'Divan-i fesahat-i unvan merhum ve mağfur leh Kırımi Mustafa Rahmi Efendi Katib-i evvel-i Mahzen-i (…) Tersane-i Amire Rahmetullahi [aleyh].' It also includes the heading (lower): Na't-i şerif-i Hazret-i Seyyidü'l-kainat ve mefhar-i mevcudat aleyhi efdalü't-tahiyyat ve ekmelü't-teslimat.'. The full contents are as follows:. ff 2v-26r: Eulogies of the Prophet Muhammad (na't-i şerif), followed by kasideler eulogising various personalities, beginning with Hazret-i Mevlana (likely Mevlana Rumi), and followed by former and serving bureaucratic officials, including the late Damad İbrahim Paşa and the late Kaptan-ı Derya Mustafa Paşa (known as Kaymak/Atlamacı Mustafa Paşa, died 1143 AH/1730 CE). The two latter personalities were executed in the Patrona Halil rebellion. The next objects of Mustafa Rahmi's praise are: the former Grand Vizier Ali Paşa (Hekimoğlu Ali Pasha, died 1171 AH/1758 CE), who served as Grand Vizier on two occasions and would do so again after Mustafa's death; former Grand Vizier Firarizade Abdullah Paşa, (died 1174 AH/1761 CE); Köprülüzade Ahmed Paşa, Kaymakam-ı Rikab-ı Hümayun (?); el-Hac Ahmed Paşa, former Grand Vizier and present governor of Aleppo (Nişancı or Sehla Ahmed, died 1166 AH/1753 CE); former grand vizier Devâtdâr Mehmed (Emin) Paşa, (died 1166 AH/1753 CE); the Divanhane of the Tersane-i Amire; Halil Ağa, Kethüda of the Grand Vizier; Unspecified subjects on 23r-v; Der evsaf-ı cariye-i mütribe; Hazret-i Ağa-yı Darüssaade ağası; Katib Ağa-yı Darüssaade. section ends with two manzumeler. Notable in this section is the absence of any sultan, incumbent or former. ff 26r-28r: Blank. ff 28v-52v: Gazeliyat for nearly every letter of Arabic, beginning with elif and ending with ye. Among the exceptions are the letters se and ha. ff 53r-54r: Blank. ff 54v-91r: In this part of the text, Mustafa Rahmi Efendi brings together poetry commemorating various events and deaths occurring between 1137 and 1164 AH. It is divided into sections, each headed 'tarih-i…' and devoted to one event/death. The sections end with tarihler (chronograms), for which Mustafa was famous, and the year of occurrence is also given numerically. The section opens with 'tarih-i çeşme-i Çavuş Paşa Ağa' (1137 AH) followed by 'tarih-i bahçe-i Tersane-i Amire' (1139 AH). The sections are organised chronologically, and end with 'tarih-i vefat-ı kadı Hacı Halil Ağa Ağa-yı Sipah sabıkan' (1164 AH). The section ends with 9 pages of poetry (87r-91r) mixing lugaz, kıta, müfredat, rubai, and ending with several verses under the heading 'velehu.'. ff 91v-92r: blank. Mustafa Rahmi Efendi composed his work after Devatdar Mehmed Emin Paşa had been removed as Grand Vizier on 18 Şaban 1165 AH/ 1 July 1752 CE. He thus completed his Divan between this date and the date of his death just over a month later. The copy also appears to have been produced around this time.

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Purchased at Christie's South Kensington, 23 April 2012, lot 80.

For another copy of this work, see Or 6440. On Rahmi, see İsmail Hakki Aksoyak, 'RAHMÎ, Mustafa Rahmî Efendi,' TEİS, published 21/1/2015 (teis.yesevi.edu.tr/madde-detay/rahmi-mustafa-rahmi-efendi); Sevgi Elmas, 'Rahmî (Kırımlı, Mustafa) Hayatı, Edebî Şahsiyeti, Eserleri ve Dîvânının Tenkidli Metni' (Masters' thesis, Edirne: Trakya Üniversitesi, 1997). His Sefâretnâme-i Iran can be found at İstanbul Millet Kütüphanesi Ali Emiri Koleksiyonu 34 AE Tarih 819 and Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Esad Efendi 2091.