Mahmud Kamil Efendi

Mahmud Kâmil Efendi was born in Of in 1835 according to the Hijri year 1251, as the son of Muhammed Emin Efendi, one of the scholars of Of. After completing his first education in his hometown, he went to Kayseri, where he received ijazah from Hacı Torun Efendi.

In Istanbul he passed the mudarris examination and advanced in the learned profession, later entering the Mekteb-i Nüvvâb. This was the higher law school that trained judges and deputy judges. After graduating, he entered service in the Fetvahâne and rose to become reisü’l-müsevvidîn. The Fetvahâne was the central office attached to the Şeyhülislam where fatwa texts were prepared; the reisü’l-müsevvidîn was the head of the office that prepared these texts.

Mahmud Kâmil Efendi also took part in the Huzur Dersleri. In these Qur’anic commentary lessons held before the sultan during Ramadan, he first served as a muhatap and then as a mukarrir. The mukarrir was the scholar who explained the selected Qur’anic verse, while the muhatap was the scholar who discussed the lesson. This office was an important rank showing his scholarly level and his standing in the palace-learned circles.

In his learned career he reached high ranks such as the Jerusalem mevleviyet pâye, membership in the Meclis-i Tedkîkât-ı Şer‘iyye, the judgeship of Medina, the Haremeyn mevleviyet, the Istanbul pâye and the pâye of Anatolian Kazasker. Mevleviyet referred to high-ranking judgeships in the Ottoman learned hierarchy. The Haremeyn mevleviyet was one of the high learned ranks associated with religious centres such as Mecca and Medina.

In 1900 Mahmud Kâmil Efendi became Rumelian Kazasker in actual office. The Rumelian Kazaskerlik was one of the highest posts in the Ottoman learned hierarchy and held great importance in relation to judicial appointments, the order of justice and the learned hierarchy. He continued in this office until 1908 and stood among the high-ranking representatives of the late Ottoman learned establishment leading up to the Second Constitutional Period.

El-Hac Mahmud Kâmil Efendi of Of died on 13 Ramadan 1328, corresponding to 18 September 1910, and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.