12 Facts About Sheikh Hamdullah

Sheikh Hamdullah, born in Amasya, Ottoman Empire, was a master of Islamic calligraphy.

Sheikh Hamdullah was born in Amasya, a north-central town in Anatolia.

Sheikh Hamdullah's father, Mustafa Dede, was a Sheik of the Suhrawardi order, and had migrated from Bukhara to Anatolia.

Sheikh Hamdullah learned the traditional method of the old masters, but struggled to reproduce it.

Bayezid then encouraged his court calligrapher, Sheikh Hamdullah, to devise a new script, inspired by the acquisition.

Sheikh Hamdullah regarded al-Musta'simi's work as unsurpassable, but at Bayezid's insistence, Sheikh Hamdullah reluctantly agreed.

Sheikh Hamdullah underwent a period of reclusion during which time he claimed that a prophet taught him the new scripts in a vision.

Sheikh Hamdullah ultimately recodified and refined the naskh style of calligraphy, originally developed by Yaqut al-Musta'simi.

Sheikh Hamdullah's style endured for 150 years, making him one of the greatest Ottoman calligraphers of all time.

Sheikh Hamdullah devoted his whole life to the art of calligraphy, continuing to produce works well into his 80s.

Sheikh Hamdullah's inscriptions decorate the Bayezid, Firuzaga and Davud Mosques in Istanbul and the Bayezid Mosque in Erdine.

Sheikh Hamdullah died in Istanbul in 1520 and was buried at Karacaahmet Cemetery in the district of Uskudar at Istanbul.