Hakan Cevher
I would like to share with you a document from the Ottoman Archives that confirms the birth date of Mehmed Cemil Bey, also known as Tanburi Cemil Bey.
While his son, Mesud Cemil Tel (1902-1963), states in his book1 about his father’s life that he was born in 1873, İbnülemin Mahmud Kemal İnal (1870-1957) in his work “Hoş Sada”2 gives the birth date as 18th Safar 1288 AH, which corresponds to May 8-9, 1872 CE.
However, upon reaching the original document from the “Sicill-i Umumî Defterleri (Registers)” in the Ottoman Archives, which was previously referenced in an anonymous article in the the “Mûsikî Mecmûası”3, we found that the birth date differs from what was previously stated.
Here is the original document. In the line marked with a red line, the birth date and place of birth are clearly stated. The document also includes some information such as the dates and places he worked and his salary. Interested friends can read the details from the document.
Based on the information obtained from this document, we can state definitively that Mehmed Cemil Bey was born on 14th Recep 1289 AH, 5th September 1288 Rumi, and 17th September 1872 CE, which was a Tuesday in Istanbul (Dersaadet).
Knowing that he passed away on July 28, 1916, if we calculate the time between his birth and death, we can say definitively that he lived for 43 years, 10 months, and 11 days, thus passing away at the age of 44.
From now on, until a new document is found, it is necessary to state Tanbûrî Cemîl Bey’s birth year as 1872.
May his soul rest in peace.
- Mesud Cemil (1947). Tanburî Cemil’in Hayatı, Ankara: Sakarya Basımevi, p. 17 ↩︎
- İnal, İ. M. K. (1958). Hoş Sada, Son Asır Türk Musikişinasları. İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, p. 116 ↩︎
- [?]. (1969, Ağustos). Arşiv Vesikaları. Musiki Mecmuası, 269: 9 ↩︎
Türkçe sesli sunum için: https://youtu.be/sPqxJU0dG8g?si=X3_3YomNvZg13Gk-
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