Bursalı Mehmed Tahir

     Writer (b. 1861, Bursa - d. 1924, İstanbul). After attending primary school in Bursa, he graduated from War School (1881) and worked as a teacher of history and geography at military high schools in Manastir, Skopje (1897) and Thessalonica (1904). When he was in Thessalonica, he was removed from his office because of his relations to the Progress and Union Party. Later on, he served in various military posts in Alaşehir and İzmir. After the declaration of the Constitutional Monarchy, he was elected as the parliamentary deputy for Bursa for the first time (1908). In his second term of office, he left politics and embarked on his literary studies.

In his later years, he was given the job of the Supervisor of Libraries in İstanbul. His final official duty was as the Inspector of İstanbul Libraries.

He is famous for his studies in bibliography and biography. His articles were published in newspapers and reviews such as Türk Yurdu, Türk Derneği, Sırat-ı Mustakim, Sebilürreşad, İslâm. Besides his poetry, he is well known for his biographies of Ottoman poets, theologians and Sufists, which represent valuable resources on the subjects. His most important work is the 3-volume Osmanlı Müellifleri (Ottoman Writers). His grave is in the Aziz Mahmud Hüdai Camii graveyard in Üsküdar.

WORKS:

Türklerin Ulûm ve Fünûna Hizmetleri (Turkish Contributions to Science and Wealth, 1896), Ulema-i Osmaniyyeden Altı Zatın Terâcim-i Ahvali (Life Stories of Three People from Ottoman Society, 1900), Meşâyih-i Osmaniye'den Sekiz Zatın Terâcim-i Ahvâli (Life Stories of Eight People from Ottoman Leaders; Şemseddin Sivasî, Bosnavî Ali Dede, Ali Çelebi, İsmail Ankaravî, Abdullah Bosnavî, Sevrî, Müstakimzade Sadeddin, Gazzizade Abdüllatif, 1900), Kibar ve Meşâyih-i Aliyyeden On İki Zatın Terâcim-i Ahvâli (Biographies of Twelve Celebrities, Şeyh Ekber, Sadreddin Konevî, Abdurrahman Bistamî, Cemal-i Halvetî, Şeyh Bali-i Sofyaî, Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi, Niyazi-i Mısrî, İsmail Hakkı, Karabaş Veli, Abdullah Salahî-i Uşşakî, Seyyid Murtaza, Seyyid Kemaleddin Harirî, 1900), Nazar-ı İslâm'da Fakır (A Glance at the Poor in İstanbul 1901), Ulemâyı Osmaniyyeden Altı Zatın Terceme-i Hâli (Life Stories of Six People from Ottoman Scholars; Kâfiyeci Mehmed Muhiddin, Dede Cöngilah Hilmi, Mehmed Ebu Saidil Hadimî, 1903), Müverrihîn-i Osmaniyyeden Âli ve Kâtib Çelebilerin Terceme-i Halleri (Biographies of Ali and Katip Çelebi, the Ottoman Historians, 1904, Thessalonica, 1906), Aydın Müellifleri (Intellectual Writers, 1905), Delilü't-Tefâsir (Evidence of Interpretation 1908, introduction to commenting on the Koran, 1906), Aydın Vilayetine Mensub Meşayih, Ulema, Şuârâ, Müverrihîn ve Etibbanın Teracim-i Ahvalî (İzmir, 1908), Muhyiddin Arabî (Muhyiddin Arabi, 1908), Müntehabât-ı Meşarî ve Ebyat (Anthology, 1910), Terceme-i Hal ve Fezail-i Şeyh-i Ekber (Büyük) Muhyiddin-i Arabi (The Biography of Virtuous Muhyiddin-i Arabi, 1910), Eski ve Yeni Ahlâk Kitaplarımız (Our New and Old Books on Morality, 1910), Kâtip Çelebi (Kâtip Çelebi 1912), Hacı Bayram-ı Veli (Hacı Bayram-ı Veli 1912), Mevlânâ eş-Şeyh İsmail Hakkıyü'l-Celvetî Hazretlerinin Muhtasaran Terceme-i Halleriyle Matbu ve Gayr-ı Matbu Âsârını Hâvi Risaledir (booklet Including the Summarized Biography of Mevlânâ eş-Şeyh İsmail Hakkıyü'l-Celvetî and His Published and Unpublished Works, 1913), Siyasete Müteallik Asâr-ı İslâmiyye (Islamic Works on Politics, 1913), İdare-i Osmaniyye Zamanında Yetişen Kırım Müellifleri (Crimean Writers during the Ottoman Reign, 1916), Menâkib-i Harb (War Story, 1917), Osmanlı Müellifleri (Ottoman Writers, 3 volumes, 1915-24; published by A. Fikri Yavuz - İ. Özen, with Latin characters, 3 volumes, 1972-75; guide to books and writers was published with the title Miftahü'l-Kütüp ve Esami-i Müellifin Fihristi (Index of Key to Books and Names of the Writers, 1928), Ahlâk Kitaplarımız (Our Books on Morality, 1919).

REFERENCE: Muallim Vahyî / Müslümanlık ve Türklüğü Yükseltmeye Çalışanlardan: Bursalı Tahir Bey (1335), Yurt Ansiklopedisi (c. 1, 1982), Ömer Faruk Akün / TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c. 6, 1992), İ. Hatipoğlu / “(Bursalı) Mehmed Tahir” (Yaşamları ve Yapıtlarıyla Osmanlılar Ansiklopedisi, c. 2, s. 193-194,1999), TBE Ansiklopedisi (2001), Fatma Korkmaz / Uludağ Üniversitesi Tarih Bölümü mezuniyet tezi (2004’te kitap olarak yayımlandı), Murat Bardakçı / Tarihin Arka Odası (Hürriyet, 20.3.2005), İhsan Işık / Yazarlar Sözlüğü (1990, 1998) - Türkiye Yazarlar Ansiklopedisi (2001, 2004) – Encyclopedia of Turkish Authors (2005) - 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).