Akshamsaddin

Akshamsaddin, born Muhammad Shams al-Din bin Hamzah in Damascus in 1389, was a prominent Ottoman Sunni Muslim scholar, poet, and mystic saint who died on February 16, 1459, in Göynük, Bolu. He was a descendant of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and grandson of Shahab al-Din al-Suhrawardi. Akshamsaddin served as an influential tutor and advisor to Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. After studying under Sheikh Hacı Bayram-ı Veli, he established the Shamsiyya-Bayramiyya Sufi order. Notably, he located the tomb of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari in Constantinople prior to its siege. Beyond his expertise in religious sciences and Sufism (Tasawwuf), Akshamsaddin was also recognized for his knowledge in medicine and pharmacology, with some accounts suggesting he learned from Haji Bayram Wali. He possessed an understanding of treating psychological and spiritual disorders. Intriguingly, in his work *Maddat ul-Hayat*, he described the concept of microbes as tiny, living entities responsible for disease transmission, predating Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's discoveries by over two centuries. Akshamsaddin fathered seven sons and five or three daughters, including the poet Ḥamd Allāh Ḥamdī.