Merzifon is one of our towns that has raised valuable figures for Islamic scientific and cultural life since the reign of Celebi Sultan Mehmed (between 816-824 Hegira years / 1413- 1421 Gregorian years). Among these figures are pundits, scholars, jurists, sufis, qadis and muftis. Merzifon Madrasah, built between the years of 1414 and 1417 (817-824 Hegira years) upon the order of Sultan Celebi Mehmet, who established his reign in the region of Tokat and Amasya after the Battle of Ankara, is one of the oldest monuments of Turkish-Islamic architecture. This famous madrasah, which has value in terms of the history of art, is also valuable in terms of the history of science in which we put emphasis. Merzifon Madrasah continued education and training activities from its beginning to the end of the ruling period of Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent (926-974 / 1520-1566), namely, in the classical Ottoman period. However, apart from this education and training institution, which we can call official, there were scientific and cultural activities in the town. As a matter of fact, the sources show us that a literary, moral, and mystical education was also provided in the mosques, lodges, houses, and mansions of the members and tutelars of science and literature. 

Abdurrahîm Merzifonî

We should mention Abdurrahîm Merzifonî at the top of the list among the scientists and scholars in Merzifon. Besides his serious mystical experience, it is also observed that he scrutinized many valuable works in this field. Among these works were Vesayâ-yi Kudsiyye by Zeyneddin al-Hafi and the books named Ilam al-Huda and Avarif al-Me'arif by Sufi Shahbeddin as-Suhreverdi, the founder of the Suhreverdiye sect (d. 632/1234). 

Muhammed Kocevî

Muhammed Kocevi, the father of Muhyiddin Seyyidi Çelebi (d.931 / 1524), who was mentioned by Taşköprülü-zade among the scholars in the reign of Sultan Bayezid II, also became a professor at Merzifon Madrasah. However, we need to remember that we do not know anything about him apart from the fact that he worked as a mudarris in this madrasah for a long time and we think he might have accomplished this task before his son. 

Crimean Sayyid Ahmed

Crimean Seyyid Ahmed b. Abdullah took over the education and training after İlyas er-Rûmi, none of whose works were recorded in the sources. Among the information that we learned from Taşköprülü-zâde, is that Sultan Murad II gave Crimean Seyyid Ahmed his madrasah in Merzifon. 

Abdullah al-Amasi

Another person who worked as a manager in Merzifon during the reign of Sultan Murad II was Abdullah al-Amasi. The title of Amasi suggests that he might have been born in Amasya, or that he served in this city. Unfortunately, the information given in the sources does not allow us to know him closely. 

Molla Atufi

Molla Atûfi, who was included in the scholars of Yavuz Sultan Selim period (918-926 / 1512-1520) by Taşköprülü-zade, dedicated some of his works to Sultan Bayezid II. He mentioned him as the true scholar and caliph of the century at the beginning of his book named K. Ravz el-insan fi t-tıbb en-nebevi, which is about tıbb-ı nebevî among those works.  

Molla Hafiz Acem

Merzifon Madrasa continued to be an education and training institution where many valuable scholars lectured and wrote works during the period of Suleyman the Magnificent (926- 974 / 1520-1566). Molla Hafiz Acem (d. 957/155), who should be mentioned at the head of these, escaped from the pressure of Shah Ismail and came to Anatolia and wrote works during his service in this madrasah. 

We can listother scholars of Merzifon in the period of Sultan Süleyman the Magnicifient as follows: Kutbeddin el-Merzifoni. Kutbeddin el-Merzifoni, who in his last years was also in the neighborhood of Zenbilli Ali Efendi (d.932 / 1526), the famous scholar and Sheikhülislam of the period of Sultan Bayezid II, probably owes his title to having been born in this town. This figure, who died in 1528 (h.935), worked as a mudarris in Iznik, Davud Pasha (Istanbul) and Trabzon Madrasahs. It is also recorded that he had extensive knowledge in the Arabic sciences, especially in fiqh, and that he contributed with taliks to some parts of Sadru ş-Şerî'a's commentary about the book al-Vikaya and Sayyid Sharif's commentary about al-Miftah Seyrek Muhyiddin, whose full name was Muhyiddin Muhammed al-Huseyni, was from the vicinity of Ankara. Yusuf Germiyani was taught by Sayyidi Muhammed Kocevi and Birgivi-zade Muslihuddin Efendi and later became the assistant (muidi) of Bali Efendi of Aydın. It is recorded that he served as a mudarris in Ankara, Merzifon, and Tokat Madrasahs. He was also the teacher of Sehzade Mehmed, the son of Süleyman the Magnificent, and he passed away during this duty. 

Mecdi Efendi of Edirne reminded that the works of talik (footscripts), which he had written for some parts of Al-Hidaya and Sadr al-Shari'a, remained as a draft. Molla Zeyrek Muhyiddin also had a mosque and a training house built in his town. Molla İbnu-s Seikh: The father of this person, whose real name was Abdullah but known as Ibnu-s Sheikh, was the caliph of Taceddin, one of the sheikhs of the Zeyniyye sect. Ibnu s-Sheikh, who came from a family in Boyabat, became a student of Muhammed b. Hasan Samsuni and Seyyidi Mahmud Kocevi. 

He started teaching as a mudarris in Merzifon Madrasah and continued in other madrasahs which were not recorded by sources, but soon retired by opting for seclusion. It is noted that Ibnu s-Sheikh was a versatile scholar and he had extensive and reliable knowledge, especially in Beyzavi interpretation. 

Sheikh-zade: The father of Sheikh-zade, as mentioned above, Cemaleddin Efendi was one of the great scholars of the Bayezid period (886-918 / 1481-1512). Sheikh-zade, whose real name was Abdurrahman, took lessons from Hafiz Acem during his teaching at Merzifon Madrasah and later became the assistant of Molla Karabagî in Iznik Madrasah. After Karabagî's death in 942/1535, he was at Jazeri Kasımpaşa madrasah.

The scientific activities that took place in Merzifon over a century and a half are discussed in this article. They were carried out by the madrasah members and their assistants, namely the mudarrises, their muids and advisors, within the Merzifon Madrasah and the madrasah later founded in the period of Sultan Murad II (824-855 / 1421-1451) and by scholars, poets and sufis outside the madrasah. We were unable to give an exact figure about the number of the madrasah members, their assistants, the scholars and the sufis. Only those who succeeded according to the order in the community books, that is, those who carried out the teaching and education activities in the desired way and also produced works besides these activities, were taken into account in this paper.