Derviş Ali

Derviş Ali ( Modern Turkish: Derviş Ali) (d. 1673)  was a 17th-century Ottoman calligrapher.

Life and work
His is known as Derviş Ali, the elder or by the nicknames Büyük, Birinci or ayırt Mâruf (to distinguish him  from the two different calligraphers of the same name, who lived at a later time). 

Very little is known about his early life. His date of birth is unknown. He was raised as a slave in the household of a Janissary officer by the name of Kara Hasan-oglu Huseyn Aga. As a young man, he served as a subaltern with the Janissaries. He later trained as a calligrapher with Halid Erzurumi (d. 1651). 

He worked in the Köprülü Library, where he trained many calligraphers, of whom the most famous were the Grand Vizier, Köprülüzade Fazıl Ahmed Pasha, Hâfiz Osman and Suyolcuzade Mustafa Eyyubi  Another of his students was Ismail Efendi, who executed the tomb of Hâfiz Osman and also produced 44 copies of the Q'ran.

He died at an advanced age in 1673, and was buried outside Top-Qapou (ancient gate of Saint-Romain).

See also
Culture of the Ottoman Empire 
Hafiz Osman
Islamic calligraphy
List of Ottoman calligraphers
Ottoman art

References

Category:Ottoman culture
Category:Calligraphers of the Ottoman Empire
Category:1673 deaths
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:Place of birth missing
Category:17th-century calligraphers
Category:17th-century writers of the Ottoman Empire
Category:17th-century artists of the Ottoman Empire