Historian (b. 1822, Lofcha / Bulgaria -
d. 25 May 1895, İstanbul). He completed his primary and secondary education in
his country and came to İstanbul (1839). He received Arabic, Persian and reason
lessons at Murat Mullah’s dervish lodge, which he attended in İstanbul, and
mathematics lessons at the College of Mathematics. In addition, he learnt
French and obtained a diploma of Madrasah Muslim Theological School. He was
interested in politics due to the friendship of Raşit Paşa, to whom he was
introduced by the Head of Religious Affairs of that period. He was appointed as
a member of the Council of Education and as director of the Teachers Training
School (1950). He prepared the work of literature called Kavâid-i Osmaniye (Grammar
of the Ottoman Language), which is regarded as the first Ottoman grammar book
that explains the grammar of three languages (Turkish, Arabic and Persian).
He was appointed as a member of the
İstanbul Academy of Science, the establishment of which he played a significant
role in. With the decision of this board, he undertook the task of writing Tarih-i
Cevdet (History of Cevdet), which is his most famous work of literature
narrating Ottoman history between 1774 and 1826, and undertook the task of
translating İbn-i Haldun’s work Mukaddime (Prologue). When he completed the first three volumes of his
history, he was appointed as an historiographer (1855). Authorities admit that
his work was prepared with a keen understanding of modern history. He was
appointed as a member of the Supreme Tanzimat* Council in 1837 and a member of
the Supreme Council of Justice in 1864. He resigned from his office as a
historiographer and served as the Governor of Aleppo and as the Chairman of the
Supreme Council of State in 1866. Four volumes of Mecelle (civil code
promulgated in the nineteenth century and in force until 1926) were published
by the Civil Code Society, which was founded under his chairmanship.
Although he was dismissed from his
office by the Head of Religious Affairs, with whom he had a difference of
opinion, and was appointed to the post of Governor of Bursa, he was reappointed
to the chairmanship of the commission when the 5th and 6th volumes of Mecelle
(Civil Code) were exposed to severe criticisms. These volumes were rewritten.
He served as the Minister of Education and the Minister of Justice (1875).
After working as the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of
Foundations to which he was appointed for the second time (1876), he became
Governor of Syria (1878). After his service as Governor of Syria, he was
appointed to the office of the Ministry of Commerce and again to the post of
Ministry of Justice for the 4th and 5th times (1886). He took part in the
negotiations during the “Crete Problem”. He was appointed as a member of the
Supreme Assembly (1890) by Abdülhamit II. He spent his later years mainly on
scientific studies.
Although Ahmet Cevdet worked as an
assistant of M. Raşit Paşa for a long time, he supported Islamic thought and
traditions against the support for westernization. He was appreciated and
respected by Abdülhamit II. He was continuously in conflict with Mithat Paşa.
He argued against the supporters of westernization who wanted to fill the
deficiency in the civil code by adapting the civil code of France. He
coordinated preparations of 16 books of Mecelle
(Civil Code) by the Civil Code Society, of which he was chairman (1868-76). His
work Tarih-i Cevdet, (History of
Cevdet), where he dealt with Ottoman history between 1774 and 1826, was
considered one of the greatest successes of Ottoman history text. He evaluated
the events that took place between 1839 and
He narrated the lives of all the
prophets from Adam to Muhammed and the history of Islam until the period of
Murat II with a simple language and in a sincere style in his famous 6-volume
work called Kısas-ı Enbiya (Retaliation of the Prophets) and Tevarih-i Hulefa (Histories of the
Caliphs). Kavâid-i Türkiye (Turkish Grammar, 1873), which he prepared
together with Fuat Paşa and which is the simplified version of the work
describing the grammar of Arabic, Persian and Turkish, was used as a textbook
in schools for years. Upon the insistence of Abdülhamid II, he collected his
poems in a Divançe (Small Divan*) in his later years. In
addition, he compiled and published Sürûrî
Mecmuası (Review of Sürûrî, 1883).
WORKS:
Mukaddime-i İbn-i Haldun (Prologue of İbn-i Haldun, translation, 1860), Kavâid-i Osmaniye (Grammar of the Ottoman Language, together with Fuad Paşa. 1864; simplified version: Kavâid-i Türkiye - Turkish Grammar, 1873), Tezâkir (Memoir, 1853-87), Mecelle-i Ahkâm-ı Adliye (Civil Code, Judgment and Administration, 16 volumes, 1868-76), Adâb-ı Sâdat (Etiquette of Princes, 1877), Tarih-i Cevdet (History of Cevdet, written over thirty years, 1854-1885; selected works from the first six volumes were published under the title Seçmeler I, II-Selected Works I, II by the Ministry of Education’s Cultural Publications, 1973; it was reprinted with the title Tarih-i Cevdet-History of Cevdet in 6 volumes by Üç Dal Neşriyat, 1983), Belâgat-ı Osmaniye (Ottoman Rhetoric, rules of literature, 1881), Kısas-ı Enbiya ve Tevârih-i Hulefa (Retaliation of the Prophets and the History of the Caliphs, 1884-1889; was simplified by Mahir İz and was published by the Ministry of Education, 1973), Mâruzat (Reports, narrates the events that took place between 1839-1876, 1890), Kırım ve Kafkas Tarihçesi (Crimean and Caucasian History of 1890), Divançe (Booklet of Poems, unpublished), İki Cihan Güneşi Hz. Muhammed (Prophet Muhammed, the Sun of Two Worlds, simplified by Ali Eren, 2003).
REFERENCE: Veli Ertan / Cevdet Paşa, Hayatı ve Eserleri (1964), Nihat Sami Banarlı / Metinlerle Türk Edebiyatı (1965), Bursalı Mehmed Tahir / Osmanlı Müellifleri II (1972), Yusuf Halaçoğlu – M. Akif Aydın / TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (c. 7, 1993, s. 443-450), 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 Fikir ve Kültür Adamları (Türkiye Ünlüleri Ansiklopedisi, C. 3, 2013) - Encyclopedia of Turkey’s Famous People (2013), İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal / Son Asır Türk Şairleri (c. I, 1999), Şükran Kurdakul / Şairler ve Yazarlar Sözlüğü (gen. 6. bas. 1999), Ahmed Zeki İzgöer / Ahmed Cevdet Paşa (1999), Ercüment Kuran / Türk-İslâm Kültürüne Dair (2000), Son Dönem Tarih Araştırmalarına Bir Bakış (Cumhuriyet Kitap, 11.01.2001).