Mehmed Efendi

Mehmed Efendi, whose date of birth has not been identified, was the son of Muğlavî el-Hac Ömer Ağa, a customs çorbacı.

The most striking element on his gravestone is the title “customs çorbacı” used for his father Ömer Ağa. Çorbacı was a title used in the Ottoman military organization for commanders of orta or bölük units in the Acemi and Janissary corps. Alongside their duties within the corps, such officials also performed certain external services; among them were çorbacıs who served as customs officials at the Çardak guard station around Yemiş Pier in Istanbul.

Mehmed Efendi’s presence in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery at the early date of 1785 is also significant. The cemetery in its present sense began to take shape after 1780, and in the early burials the palace circle and elite groups linked to palace permission were decisive. In this context, Mehmed Efendi’s burial here indicates that the family came not from an ordinary civilian environment, but from the ocaklı and military-administrative service group.

No independent record concerning Mehmed Efendi’s own profession or life has been identified. He died in 1785 and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.