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A Mevlevî sheikh and divan poet who played a decisive part in the spread of the Mevlevî order.
He was born in the second half of the fifteenth century at Karahisar (Afyon). On his mother's side he belonged to the family of Mevlânâ: his descent reaches Mutahhara Hatun, the daughter of Sultan Veled.
After his father Bâlî Çelebi he became sheikh of the Karahisar Mevlevîhâne and perceptibly widened the reach of the Mevlevî order.
He made long journeys: he saw such Shi'ite places of pilgrimage as Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad; he met eminent Sufi leaders such as Ahmed es-Sâfî in Egypt and Ebû Bekir el-Vefâî in Aleppo. The source assesses these journeys as a reflection of his make-up, which combined Mevlevî, Kalenderî, Bektashi and Hurûfî influences.
He died after 951 (1544).
His Circle of Influence — He founded or supported lodges at Aleppo, Burdur, Eğridir, Sandıklı, Egypt, Algiers and Mytilene; Latakia is added to these. Because of this spread the source counts him, in the propagation of the Mevlevî order, as second only to Ulu Ârif Çelebi. Among his disciples are Şâhidî İbrâhim Dede and a great number of regional deputies who carried on the chain.
His Poetry and Sufi Line — In his poems he used the pen names Divâne and Semâî. Abdülbaki Gölpınarlı counted one of his couplets among the finest verses of Turkish literature. To him belongs the first didactic poem explaining the symbolism of the Mevlevî ceremony; this poem, of fifty-two couplets, was written in the metre fâilâtün fâilâtün fâilât. His unconventional way of living — including the drinking of wine — and his adherence to Mevlevî discipline are found together in him; the epithet Divâne likewise comes from this unconventional bearing rather than from administrative achievements.
His Works — No independent divan of his was compiled; his poems have remained scattered within anthologies. The best known of these poems is his didactic composition of fifty-two couplets on the symbolism of the Mevlevî ceremony.
Differing Scholarly Views
The explanation of the epithet "Sultân-ı Dîvânî" is without foundation. A widespread account connects this epithet with his having brought Mevlânâ's Dîvân-ı Kebîr back from Iran after Timur's invasion. The source holds this to be unfounded and assesses it as an explanation probably invented later in order to legitimise the epithet Divâne.
The date of his death is a lower bound. The source says "after 951 (1544)"; it gives no definite year. The atlas preserves this mood.
The tension between his way of life and his affiliation. It is recorded that he maintained Mevlevî discipline rigorously despite unconventional conduct such as drinking wine; the source gives these two not as contradicting one another but as sides found together in his personality.
🔴 The year of death in the atlas record diverges from the source. The record shows the year 1529; the source, however, says "after 951 (1544)". The year in the record has no basis in this article and needs to be verified; the reader should see this difference (principle 6).
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (DİA) — Nihat Azamat · vol. 9, pp. 435-437, entry “DİVÂNE MEHMED ÇELEBİ”
The sources for this record are listed below (Mandatory Sources).
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Permanent ID: EA-Z-000091 · this address reaches the same record even if its name changes; use it when citing.
External records: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam article