Divan* poet (b. ?,
Edirne - d. 1497, Bursa). He
worked as professor of theology at Bursa Muradiye Madrasah. He became famous in
a very short time, gained the affection of Fatih Sultan Mehmet and was
appointed as Head of Muslim Judiciary. Later, his relation with the Sultan
deteriorated and he was sent to prison to be executed. However, he escaped
execution by sending his famous eulogy Kerem (Benevolence) to Fatih and
he was sent to Bursa as a trustee. After Fatih, he gained the friendship of
Bayezid II and was appointed as the district governor of Bursa. He died when he
was in this office and he was buried in the tomb next to the theology school
that he had built when he was alive.
Different evaluations have been made
about the position and value of Ahmet Paşa among the Ottoman Divan* poets.
According to some people, Ahmet Paşa was the greatest of all Divan* poets
before Baki; according to others he was a poet who skillfully imitated the
Iranian poets. Generally, with his lyric poems and eulogies he was considered
the greatest among the poets of his time and wrote his poems with the
simplicity of everyday language. Ali Nihat Tarlan published his Divan (Divan*, 1966) and Harun Tolasa conducted the
first scientific research about him, Ahmet Paşa'nın Şiir Dünyası (Ahmet Paşa’s World of Poetry, 1973).
