Profile | İbrahim Hakkı KONYALI (1896-1984)

Among the bad practices that he wrote down were the ones done during the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a museum. In a report he prepared in 1936, he told the authorities about the construction date of Hagia Sophia, the damage the building suffered from earthquakes, the renovations carried out during the Byzantine and Ottoman periods, and the importance of the minarets and many other details. By doing so, he was able to prevent the destruction of the minarets.

The Ottoman military band, Mehter, which birthed the Alla Turca music style in Europe, was abolished during the Republican era on the grounds that it was a reminder of the Ottomans. Then-President Celal Bayar liked the Scottish historical marching band very much during a visit to Europe in 1952 and told the chief of general staff that a similar marching band could be established in Turkey now. The chief of general staff, Nuri Yamut, went to İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı for help, who was in charge of the founding of the military museum. He said that a Mehter could be established, relating his efforts in this regard and receiving the necessary permissions. Mehter bands, which are still active today, are a result of İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı’s efforts. 

Konyalı’s efforts to protect historical artifacts are not limited to this alone. He performed great services in Turkish recordkeeping. He was the first to find Ottoman geographer, navigator and cartographer Piri Reis’ maps and had them published. In 1931, he noticed that the Ottoman archive documents were sold to Bulgaria in bales. He reported this and informed the public about the situation. He then had some of them taken back with the necessary applications.

Mavi Boncuk |

During the conquest period, the Ottoman armies, as they flowed from horizon to horizon like lightning, would take countless slaves as war booty from the places they invaded, and sell them in domestic markets. There were enormous slave houses and slave markets in Bursa and Edirne. The Ottoman armies that reached as far as Vienna would bring the most beautiful girls and women in the world on each campaign and sell them there. While writing about Murad II's Hungarian campaign in 831 AH, Âşık Paşa Zade says that the most beautiful Hungarian girl was worth no more than 300 silver coins in slave markets. 

When Murad II conquered Belgrade in 842 AH, the Ottoman army took so many prisoners that in the big cities, a beautiful concubine was exchanged for a boot. This Sultan gave 9 slaves to Âşık Paşa Zade. The historian says that he could hardly sell them for two or three hundred silver coins each. At that time, Edirne was filled with beautiful women. Hungarian, Polish, Czech and Yugoslavian girls became a commodity of exchange . Since one fifth of the captives taken in the wars went to the share of the ruler, the Ottoman Palace was filled with the most beautiful concubines in the world. When the Turks occupied the Polje coast of Italy and infiltrated the interior, many daughters of Italian noblemen and princes were sent to the palace of Fatih. 

We learn about this from the letters we found in the Topkapi Palace, which were not yet published, written by Sultan Cem to Bayezid II. Captives such as princesses, princes, commanders, heads of state and rulers were considered "heavy-priced" slaves and were kept well. Crimea had long been a port exporting slaves to the world. Girl slaves brought a lot of money. According to the documents we found in the Prime Ministry Archives, virgin concubines were brought to Istanbul by ships from Crimea. The captives were sold in the Bedesten in Istanbul. There were so many slaves that they were blocking the fronts of the shops and the roads. The slaves were hanging out with the young men. The shopkeepers of the bazaar complained to Sultan Mehmed IV and requested that the slave market be removed from the bazaar. We learn from a decree written to the judge of Istanbul on 26 Cemaziyelevvel 1018, recorded in the number 49 of the register number 78 in the Prime Ministry Archives, that the Sultan allowed the construction of a slave inn on the left of the bazaar, in the area we now call Tavukpazarı, which was bordered on both sides by Mahmud Pasha's foundation. 

This was a magnificent inn with 300 rooms on top and bottom. It had halls for the display of beautiful slaves. The slave house had an emin, a chamberlain, a sheikh, bailiffs and more than 400 officials. Its enormous iron gate would be locked at night. The Emin, who lived in the room next to the door, would collect the tithe from the slaves that were bought and sold. 

During the reign of Murad IV, there were two thousand slave traders in Istanbul.  A slave girl named Gülnûş made the following vow while being sold here: - God, if you free me, let me build a mosque in the slave market! Gülnûş was eventually apprenticed to Topkapı Palace, and after gaining her freedom, she became the nanny of the prince and then the chamberlain woman. Then she fulfilled her vow: She built the Slave Market Mosque.  This woman died during the reign of Ahmed III. The General Directorate of Foundations had sold this mosque, which was not a staff, 15 years ago. A factory was built in its place. 

İbrahim Hakkı KONYALI [1] Tarih Dünyası/World of History

[1] İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı (1896, Konya - 1984, Akşehir), Turkish history researcher and epigraphist.

Life

He was born in Konya in 1896. His father was Nalbantzade Mustafa Efendi. His lineage goes back to Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi. He completed his primary education at Füyuzat-ı Hamidiye Rüştiye in the city where he was born. Then he continued his education at Islah-ı Medaris-i İslâmiye. He graduated from Şimendifer School during the World War and became the first railway officer in Türkiye. After his first duty in Batumi, Georgia, he worked as a teacher and various civil servants in Konya and Istanbul, and then as an expert in the Prime Ministry Archives, Military Museum and General Directorate of Foundations. He contributed to the establishment of the Turkish Foundation Calligraphy Museum.

He started his literary career in the newspaper Meşrik-i İrfan in Konya and then continued in the Babalık newspaper. He published the 6-issue Halk Yolu magazine. He served as the chief writer in İntibah. He wrote articles on historical subjects in the newspaper Tercüman-ı Hakikat. After the newspaper closed in the 1921s, he moved to the newspaper Tan. He published articles in newspapers such as Vatan, Yeni Sabah, Hergün, Bugün, Yeni İstanbul, İstiklal and Yeni Asya, as well as in Gün, foto Magazin, Örnek, Tarih Dünyası, Tarih Konuşuyor, Türk Yurdu and Vakıflar magazines.

He died in Akşehir, Konya on August 20, 1984. His body was brought to Istanbul and buried in the Karacaahmet Cemetery.

His Works

History of Üsküdar with Monuments and Inscriptions

History of Erzurum with Monuments and Inscriptions

Akşehir, the City of Nasreddin Hodja

History of Konya Ereğlisi with Monuments and Inscriptions

History of Niğde-Aksaray with Monuments and Inscriptions

History of Beyşehir with Monuments and Inscriptions

History of Konya with Monuments and Inscriptions

Akşehir, the City of Nasreddin Hodja

History of Kilis with Monuments and Inscriptions

History of Şereflikoçhisar with Monuments and Inscriptions

Alanya: Alaiye

From Islamic Encyclopedia

" He was born in Konya. His father was Nalbantzâde Mustafa Efendi. According to his own statement, his family goes back to the Anatolian Seljuks on his father’s side, to the period of Alaeddin Keykubad I, and to Mevlana Celâleddîn-i Rûmî. He received his primary education at Rüşdiyye-i Füyûzât-ı Hamîdiyye in Konya. He later attended Islâh-ı Medâris-i İslâmiyye, which was built on the site of Bekir Sami Pasha Madrasah. He learned Arabic there. During his madrasah education, he was influenced by Erzurumlu İbrahim Hakkı’s Marifetname and adopted the name Hakkı. He graduated from the Şimendifer School, which opened during World War I, and became Turkey’s first railroad driver. His first state post was as a station manager in Batumi. He then worked as a Turkish teacher at the Konya School of Industry, as a lecturer and as a caliph at the Istanbul Meşihat Office, and as an expert at the Prime Ministry Archives, the Military Museum and the General Directorate of Foundations. He played a major role in the establishment of the Turkish Foundation Calligraphy Museum at the General Directorate of Foundations.

İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı began his writing career in Konya in the Meşrik-ı İrfân newspaper and continued his writings in the Babalık newspaper. In the meantime, he was only able to publish six issues of the magazine Hak Yolu. He served as editor-in-chief at İntibah and wrote articles on mostly historical subjects in Tercümân-ı Hakîkat during the Armistice years. During the years he came to Istanbul, he worked at Son Posta, published by Zekeriya Sertel, Halil Lütfi Dördüncü, Selim Ragıp Emeç and Ali Ekrem Uşaklıgil. After the newspaper was closed, he started writing for the Tan newspaper. In the following years, he wrote various articles in the Vatan, Yeni Sabah, Hergün, Bugün, Yeni İstanbul, İstiklâl and Yeni Asya newspapers, Foto Magazin, 7 Gün, Örnek, Tarih Dünyası, Tarih Konuşuyor, Vakıflar Dergisi, Vakıflar Bülteni and Türk Yurdu magazines. He published Tarih Dünyası magazine together with Niyazi Ahmet Banoğlu, and after falling out with him, he published a magazine called Tarih Hazinesi. He also used his real surname Atis in some of his articles. He died in Akşehir, Konya on August 20, 1984, and his body was brought to Istanbul and buried in Karacaahmet Cemetery on August 21.

One of Konyalı's most important services was to inform the public about the Ottoman archive documents sold to Bulgaria by writing the first news about it in the Son Posta newspaper (May 13, 1931) and then ensuring that some of these documents were taken back. He wrote a series of articles on this subject in the Açık Söz newspaper in 1936. He donated the documents, photographs and written press documents he collected throughout his life to the İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı Foundation Library and Archive, established by the General Directorate of Foundations in Üsküdar in 1979. This library is currently in service in the Üsküdar Selimiye Mosque Hünkâr Pavilion. İbrahim Hakkı Konyalı received the Ministry of Culture High Service Award (1979) and an honorary doctorate from Konya Selçuk University (1981)."  ERDEM YÜCEL