Mehmet Emin Yurdakul

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Mehmet Emin Yurdakul
Photograph of Mehmet Emin Yurdakul
Born(1869-05-13)May 13, 1869
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
DiedJanuary 14, 1944(1944-01-14) (aged 74)
Istanbul, Turkey
NationalityOttoman, Turkish
OccupationPolitician, author

Mehmet Emin Yurdakul (13 May 1869 – 14 January 1944) was a Turkish nationalist writer, poet and politician. Being an ideologue of Pan-Turkism, his writings and poems had a major impact on defining the term vatan (Fatherland).[1]

Early life and education[]

Painting of Mehmet Emin Yurdakul by Hoca Ali Rıza

He was born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire during the late Tanzimat period on 13 May 1869. His father was Salih Reis, a fisherman, and his mother was Emine Hatun. His received his early education in Istanbul, but didn't formally graduate due to the dire financial situation within the family. He then began a internship in the ottoman administration.[2] He published the book Fazilet ve Asalet in 1891, which caused the prime minister to appoint him to work in his office as the director of documentation.[2]

His early literary work was influenced by the political activist and Islamic ideologist, Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī, who Yurdakul was to get to know in Constantinople in 1892.[3] al-Afghānī died in 1897 and Yurdakul published a compilation of his poetry in the book Türkçe Şiirler, which were accompanied by paintings from Fausto Zonaro.[2]

Political career[]

He joined the Committee of Union and Progress in 1907 which instigated a coup against Sultan Abdul Hamid II in 1908.[2] Following he was employed in the ottoman administration and sent to Trabzon.[2] From 1909 onwards he was appointed Governor of several provinces of the Ottoman Empire.[4] From 1911 onwards, he was involved in the Pan-Turkist associations such as the Association of Turks ( [tr]) and the Turkish Hearths.[5] During World War I, his literary work became popular amongst the adherents of the CUP as his nationalist views did not exclude religion.[3] In 1913 he became a member of the Ottoman Parliament representing Mosul.[4] After the foundation of Turkey in 1923, he was a member of the Grand National Assembly, where he supported the adoption of the Turkish alphabet.[6]

He died on 14 January 1944 and is buried at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery in Istanbul, Turkey.

Notable works[]

Türk Sazı; 1979
  • Fazilet ve Adalet (Virtue and Justice, 1891)
  • Türkçe Şiirler (Poems in Turkish, 1898)
  • Türk Sazı (Turkish Instrument, 1914)
  • Ey Türk Uyan (O Turk Wake Up, 1914)
  • Tan Sesleri (Voices of the Dawn, 1915)
  • Ordunun Destanı (The Legend of the Army, 1915)
  • Dicle Önünde (In Front of Tigris, 1916)
  • İsyan ve Dua (The Uprising and the Prayers, 1918)
  • Zafer Yolunda (On the Way of Victory, 1918)
  • Turan'a Doğru (Towards Turan, 1918)
  • Aydın Kızları (Girls of Aydın, 1919)
  • Türk'ün Hukuku (The Law of Turk, 1919)
  • Dante'ye (To Dante, 1928)
  • Kıral Corc'a (To King George, 1928)
  • Mustafa Kemal (Mustafa Kemal, 1928)
  • Ankara (Ankara, 1939)

References[]

  1. ^ Landau, Jacob M. (1995). Pan-Turkism: From Irredentism to Cooperation. C.Hurst & Co. ISBN 1-85065-223-6.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Arslanbenzer, Hakan (2016-09-10). "Mehmet Emin Yurdakul: 'My name is Turk'". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Köroğlu, Erol (2007-07-21). Ottoman Propaganda and Turkish Identity: Literature in Turkey During World War I. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-84511-490-9.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Dadrian, Vahakn N.; Akçam, Taner (2011-12-01). Judgment At Istanbul: The Armenian Genocide Trials. Berghahn Books. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-85745-286-3.
  5. ^ Landau, Jacob M. (1981). Pan-Turkism in Turkey: A Study of Irredentism. C. Hurst. pp. 38–40. ISBN 0905838572.
  6. ^ Bayar, Yesim (2016-10-19). Formation of the Turkish Nation-State, 1920–1938. Springer. p. 57. ISBN 978-1-137-38453-9.

External links[]

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