İsmail Zühdi Efendi

İsmail Zühdi Efendi was an Ottoman scholar who served as mufti around Ahyolu Bergosu on the Black Sea coast of Rumelia. Ahyolu Bergosu appears in Ottoman sources as a place name connected with the Burgas-Pomorie region of today’s Bulgaria; this area, frequently visible in 19th-century records of migrant settlement, port movement and administration, was one of Rumelia’s important zones of passage and settlement.

İsmail Zühdi Efendi served as president of the Kirmastı district Sharia Deputy Court and of the Court of First Instance. After being assigned to Bursa, he attracted attention by concluding long-pending cases.

One of İsmail Zühdi Efendi’s most concrete traces is the inspection of the Orphans’ Fund in Kirmastı. The accounts of these funds, established to protect orphan property, were examined by a commission under his presidency; it was determined that the former director of orphans had embezzled large sums in promissory notes and cash.

İsmail Zühdi Efendi, who retired from the office of nāib of Bolu, was remembered for his ascetic and pious character. He died on 20 Rabi al-Awwal 1330 (9 March 1912) and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.