Yedikuleli Seyyid Abdullah Efendi (Haşimizade Abdullah Efendi)
1670–1731 · Istanbul
Seyyid Abdullah Efendi, also called Haşimizade, was born in Istanbul about 1670 and grew up in the Yedikule quarter, which gave him his usual name. Through both parents he traced his descent to the Prophet. His father, Seyyid Hasan Haşimi, was imam of the İmrahor Mosque, and Abdullah later served there as imam until the end of his life; he also joined the Halveti order. He learned calligraphy from his father and then from Hafız Osman, receiving his licence in the six scripts after only forty months, in 1098/1686-87. He was known for writing fast. Sultan Ahmed III favoured him and made him calligraphy teacher at the palace. The sources credit him with twenty-four Qur'ans, most illuminated by Ruganî Ali Üsküdari, and about a thousand en'ams, prayer books, kıtas and hilyes, many of them endowed to the Nuruosmaniye Library. His best-known pupil was Eğrikapılı Mehmed Rasim. He died in 1144/1731 and was buried in Eyüp.
Achievements
- Received his licence in the six scripts from Hafız Osman after only forty months of study (1098/1686-87).
- Appointed calligraphy teacher at the palace (Saray-ı Cedid) under Ahmed III.
- Wrote twenty-four Qur'ans, most illuminated by Ruganî Ali Üsküdari, and about a thousand en'ams, prayer books, kıtas and hilyes.
- Many of his works were endowed to the Nuruosmaniye Library.
- Trained Eğrikapılı Mehmed Rasim.
Taught by: Seyyid Hasan Haşimi, Hâfiz Osman
Taught: Eğrikapılı Mehmed Rasim
His work
before 1731 · Sakıp Sabancı Museum, Istanbul
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
18th century, before 1731 · McGill University Library, Montreal
Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain
These are the works in open collections that can be attributed with certainty.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Write in this tradition now →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi) — or every Thuluth piece the store makes: Thuluth collection.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, 'ABDULLAH EFENDİ, Hâşimîzâde' (1988): life, licence, palace post, works, student, death 1144/1731 islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- TDV cross-reference: Yedikuleli Seyyid Abdullah = Abdullah Efendi, Hâşimîzâde islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- English Wikipedia: 1670-1731, palace teacher 1708, inkwell story en.wikipedia.org
- Turkish Wikipedia: same facts tr.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia (translation of en-wiki): Arabic name ar.wikipedia.org
- TDV Hafız Osman article: Yedikuleli among his leading pupils islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Wikidata item (labelled 'Haşimizade Abdullah Efendi') wikidata.org
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).