Historian (b. 1755, Ayntab /
Gaziantep - d. 27 November 1819, İstanbul). He grew up taking lessons from
well-known scholars in Anteb. Upon the execution of Battalzade Nuri Paşa for whom he had begun to
work as state secretary, he came to İstanbul from Kilis (1789). By presenting
Selim III a Persian dictionary called Burhan-ı
Katı (Hard Evidence), some
parts of which he translated, he received financial help and completed his
works. Upon his return from pilgrimage where he had gone in 1802, he visited
his hometown and brought his family back with him to İstanbul. A house was
given to him and a salary was assigned. At this time, he began to translate an
Arabic dictionary called Kamus (Dictionary,
1805). Although he continued working as an annalist, after Selim III was
dethroned he had great difficulty in making a living. After finishing the
translation of Kamus (Dictionary), he
presented it to Mahmud II, and he was then promoted to Doctor of Theology at
Süleymaniye (1810) and later as the Muslim Judge in Thessalonica (1814). When
he was dismissed from his office, he retired into seclusion at his home in
Üsküdar. His grave is in Karacaahmet.
The reason for his being called
Mütercim Asım (Translator Asım) is that he translated two famous dictionaries.
The language that he used in the dictionaries was regarded by Ziya Paşa and
Namık Kemal as a model for Tanzimat* Reform prose. His Tarih
(History) is also another important work in which he narrates the events from
the Treaty of Sistova to Mahmud II’s ascending the throne (1791-1808). Mütercim
Asım believed in benefiting from the Western world but was against the high
regard for the French.
WORKS:
Burhan-ı Katı (Hard Evidence, translation of the dictionary “From Persian to Persian” by Hüseyin b. Halef from Tebriz, first edition, 1799), Kamus (Dictionary, translation of the Arabic dictionary by Firuza-badi, first edition, 1814-17), Tuhfe-i Asım (The Gift from Asım, Arabic-Turkish dictionary in verse, Boulaq, Cairo, 1838), Tarih (History, from 1791 to 1808, 2 volumes, no date), Kamus-ül Muhit (Dictionary of the Environment, dictionary of scientific terms, 1814), Terceme-i Siyer-i Halebi (The Translation of the Biography of the Man from Aleppo, verse translation of the biography of İbrahim from Halep, Egypt, 1832), Merahü’l –Maali fi Şerh-i Kasideti’l-Enali (Translation and explanation of a eulogy related to religious doctrine), Mazharü’l-Takdis bi Buruçi Taifeti’l-Fransis (On the occupation of Egypt by the French, translation by Hasan el-Cebarti).
REFERENCE: Bursalı Mehmed Tahir / Osmanlı Müellifleri I (1972), İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal / Son Asır Türk Şairleri (c. I, 1999), Behçet Necatigil / Edebiyatımızda İsimler Sözlüğü (1999), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1999), Şakir Sabri / Gaziantep Büyükleri (1999), İhsan Işık / Resimli ve Metin Örnekli Türkiye Edebiyatçılar ve Kültür Adamları Ansiklopedisi (2006, gen. 2. bas. 2007) - Ünlü Bilim Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 2, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013).
