Saints and Tombs of Yozgat

Shaykh Hajji Ahmad Efendi (Zahid al-Yozgadi)

A Halvetî-Şâbânî shaykh born in Yozgat, descended from a Turkmen family of Çalatlı village. After becoming a disciple of Çerkeşî Mustafa Efendi and receiving khalifa rank, he returned to Yozgat and spread the Şâbâniyye order. In 1859 he built the mosque-lodge bearing his name in the Taşköprü quarter and wrote poetry under the pen name 'Terkî'. He died in 1896 and was buried in the mosque courtyard; a year later his son Muhyiddin Efendi built his tomb. (Sources: TDV 'Yozgatlı Hacı Ahmed Efendi'; Yozgat Provincial Directorate)

Shaykhzade Ahmad Şevki Ergin (al-Yozgadi)

Born in Yozgat in 1906, grandson of the Halvetî-Şâbânî shaykh Zahid al-Yozgadi. Besides his inherited lineage, he received Nakşî-Hâlidî succession from Mustafa Hulûsi Efendi; he taught hundreds of students in village schools and was known for his service to the Qur'an. He died on 7 January 2002 and was buried beside his grandfather in the tomb of the Şeyhzade (Ahmet Efendi) Mosque. (Sources: Biyografya; Somuncubaba Magazine)

Gedikhasanlı Şakir Efendi (Mehmet Şakir Suntay)

A scholar born in 1853 whose family migrated from Kayseri and settled in Gedikhasanlı village of Sorgun. He studied under his father Ali Efendi and at the Osman Paşa Medrese in Yozgat, and obtained his license in Kayseri. He taught at the Demirli and Osman Paşa medreses, mastering Arabic, hadith and exegesis, and was a Naqshbandi guiding master. He died in 1937 in Gedikhasanlı and was buried at the village cemetery. (Sources: Yozgat Provincial Directorate; Kültür Portalı)

Emirci Sultan (Sharaf al-Din Ismail b. Muhammad)

Shaykh (Yeseviyye)

A Yesevî sheikh active in the Seljuk period in the province of Dânişmendiye (the region of present-day Yozgat). His real name was Şerefüddin İsmâil b. Muhammed . The epithet Emirci is likely to be connected with his sayyid descent, as is understood from the fact that members of his family bore the title Emîr . He belonged to an important Sufi family whose genealogy is documented. He was active during the reigns of Izz al-Dîn Kaykâ'ûs I, Alâ al-Dîn Kayqubâd I and Ghiyâth al-Dîn Kaykhusraw II. He established a dervish lodge upon which thirty-three villages were endowed. He died in Dhu al-Hijja 637 (July 1240). The source draws attention to the fact that this date coincides with the dates of the Babai uprising , and states that the historical records suggest he may have been killed in the fighting between Babai forces and Seljuk troops near the locality of Ziyaret where his lodge stood. His Tomb and Complex — The lodge he founded came to be known as the Osman Paşa Tekkesi after his cousin Osman Paşa served as its administrator; this office is recorded in a document dated 1392. The lodge in time became an important Bektashi centre and remained so until its suppression in 1826.