The Young Turks and the Ottoman Empire: The Aftermath of the 1908 Revolution

337 Pages·2016·11.663 MB·English

by  Noemi Levy-Aksu

Noe´mi Le´vy-Aksu is an assistant professor at Bog˘azic¸i University
(Istanbul),DepartmentofHistory.She holdsa PhDfrom the E´cole des
HautesE´tudesenSciencesSociales(2010)andherdissertationonpublic
orderinIstanbulinthelatenineteenthandearlytwentiethcenturieswas
published as a book in 2013 (Ordre et d´esordres dans la capitale ottomane,
1879–1909). Her current research focuses on law, justice and
constitution in the late Ottoman Empire. She has published several
articles and book chapters on police, public order and justice in the
Ottoman Empire.
Franc¸ois Georgeon is a historian of the Ottoman Empire and Turkey
in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and Emeritus Director of
Research at the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) in
Paris. He is the author of numerous articles and works, in particular
Abdu¨lhamidII(Paris,2003)andSouslesignedesr´eformes.Etatetsocie´te´de
l’Empire ottoman a` la Turquie ke´maliste (1789–1939) (Istanbul, 2012).
He is also co-editor with Nicolas Vatin and Gilles Veinstein of the
Dictionnaire de l’Empire ottoman (Paris, 2015).
‘TheYoungTurkRevolutionisbeingcelebratedasasagawhichpaved
the way for the nation-state crowned with the establishment of the
TurkishRepublic. Thereforesince2008academiahasbeenfocusingits
interest on the events which occurred mainly in the wake of the
tormented year of 1908. The Young Turk Revolution and the Ottoman
Empire: The Aftermath of 1908, edited by Noe´mi Le´vy-Aksu and
Franc(cid:1)ois Georgeon, builds up a vivid and interesting picture of the
daysintheaftermathoftherevolution,sheddingfurtherfreshlighton
the political and social dynamics shaping the post-revolutionary
configuration. The emphasis being on the transition from revolu-
tionary euphoria to increasing tensions at the local and central levels,
this valuable compendium is a welcome addition to the publications
occasioned by the centenary of the revolution.’
Zafer Toprak, Professor at Ko(cid:1)c University, former Director
of the Atatu¨rk Institute for Modern Turkey at Bog˘azi(cid:1)ci University
THE YOUNG
TURK
REVOLUTION
AND THE
OTTOMAN
EMPIRE
The Aftermath of 1908
Edited by
NOE´MI LE´VY-AKSU AND FRANC(cid:1)OIS GEORGEON
To the memory of Vangelis Kechriotis
Publishedin2017by
I.B.Tauris&Co.Ltd
London•NewYork
www.ibtauris.com
CopyrightEditorialSelectionandIntroductionq2017Noe´miLe´vy-Aksu
andFranc¸oisGeorgeon.
CopyrightIndividualChaptersq2017NathalieClayer,Fatmagu¨lDemirel,
Fran(cid:1)coisGeorgeon,ErdalKaynar,VangelisKechriotis,AylinKo(cid:1)cunyan,Noe´miLe´vy-Aksu,
IleanaMoroni,SaadetO¨zen,MeltemTokso¨z,O¨zgu¨rTu¨resayandErik-JanZu¨rcher.
TherightofNoe´miLe´vy-AksuandFranc¸oisGeorgeontobeidentifiedastheeditors
ofthisworkhasbeenassertedbytheminaccordancewiththeCopyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct1988.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforbriefquotationsinareview,thisbook,oranypartthereof,
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LibraryofOttomanStudies59
ISBN:9781784536008
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgements viii
List of Contributors ix
Introduction 1
No´emi L´evy-Aksu and Fran(cid:1)cois Georgeon
Part I New Fates: Revolutionary Heroes and Frustrated Hopes
1. The Heroes of Hu¨rriyet: The Images in Struggle 15
Saadet O¨zen
2. The Logic of Enlightenment and the Realities of
Revolution: Young Turks after the Young Turk Revolution 40
Erdal Kaynar
3. Political Victims of the Old Regime under the
Young Turk Regime (1908–11) 67
O¨zgu¨r Tu¨resay
4. The Implementation of the General Pardon after the
Restoration of the Constitution and the Reactions
in the Prisons 96
Fatmagu¨l Demirel
vi YOUNGTURK REVOLUTIONAND THEOTTOMANEMPIRE
Part II Still the Revolution? Freedom and Power after 1908
5. The Time of Freedom, the Time of Struggle for Power:
The Young Turk Revolution in the Albanian Provinces 113
Nathalie Clayer
6. Social Unrest on the Aftermath of the 1908 Revolution:
The Strike of the Aydin Railway in Izmir and
its Repercussions 153
Vangelis Kechriotis
7. Religion, Politics and Society in the Wake of the
Young Turk Revolution: The ‘Ramadan of Freedom’
in Istanbul 175
Fran(cid:1)cois Georgeon
8. 31 Mart: A Fundamentalist Uprising in Istanbul
in April 1909? 196
Erik-Jan Zu¨rcher
9. Freedom versus Security: Regulating and Managing Public
Gatherings after the Young Turk Revolution 212
Noe´mi L´evy-Aksu
Part III Constitutional Expectations and Political Horizons
10. Historicizing the 1908 Revolution: The Case of Jamanak 237
Aylin Ko(cid:1)cunyan
11. Continuity and Change in the 1909 Constitutional
Revision: An Ottoman Imperial Nation Claims
its Sovereignty 265
Ileana Moroni
12. ‘Are They Not Our Workers?’ Socialist Hilmi and his
Publication I˙s¸tirak: An Appraisal of Ottoman Socialism 286
Meltem Tokso¨z
Index 318
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1.1 Long live my sultan! Liberty, equality, fraternity. 21
Figure 1.2 The investiture ceremony in Canea, Crete, 1897. 22
Figure 1.3 Liberty, justice, equality. Enver Bey (right) and
Niyazi Bey (left). Heroes of the Ottoman army, liberators of
the homeland. 24
Figure 1.4 Photo with Selahaddin Bey (third from the right),
a less-known hero of Hu¨rriyet. 25
Figure 1.5 Postcard with Niyazi Bey and his famous deer. 27
Figure 1.6 Images of Hu¨rriyet and of its heroes reaching
Istanbul appeared in newspapers. 28
Figure 1.7 School boys in a studio with Niyazi Bey’s
portrait behind them. 29
Figure 1.8 Postcard with Chercis Topoli (third from the left),
Atıf Bey (fourth from the left) and Adem Bey
(fifth from the left). 31
Figure 12.1 I˙s¸tirak, Journal Socialiste Ichtirak, first issue of
the weekly newspaper, 26 February 1910. 301
Figure 12.2 I˙s¸tirak, first issue of the bi-weekly newspaper,
27 July 1912. 302
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thepublicationofthisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthe
financial support of the editors’ respective institutions: the CETOBAC
(Centre d’e´tudes turques, ottomanes, balkananiques et centrasiatiques,
UMR8032)andtheFacultyofArtsandSciencesatBog˘azi(cid:1)ciUniversity.
We are most grateful to Nathalie Clayer, director of the CETOBAC;
TaylanAkdog˘an,deanoftheFacultyofArtsandSciences;andC¸ig˘dem
Kafes(cid:1)ciog˘lu,chairoftheDepartmentofHistoryatBog˘azi(cid:1)ciUniversity
for supporting the project and making possible this funding.
ThisvolumeisdedicatedtothememoryofVangelisKechriotis,our
dear friend and colleague, whom we lost in August 2015. He was an
assistantprofessorintheDepartmentofHistoryatBog˘azi(cid:1)ciUniversity.
AsaspecialistoftheYoungTurkperiod,hehadbeencommittedtothis
project since its beginning and he was looking forward to the
publication of the present volume. He is deeply missed.
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
NathalieClayerisProfessorattheE´coledesHautesE´tudesenSciences
Sociales and a senior research fellow at the CNRS (National Centre for
Scientific Research) in Paris. Her main research interests are religion,
nationalism and state-building processes in the Ottoman and post-
Ottoman space. Her publications include Aux origines du nationalisme
albanais. La naissance d’une nation majoritairement musulmane en Europe
(2007); Conflicting Loyalties in the Balkans (I.B.Tauris, 2011), co-edited
with Hannes Grandits and Robert Pichler; and Penser, agir et vivre dans
l’Empire ottoman et en Turquie (2013), co-edited with Erdal Kaynar.
Fatmagu¨lDemirelobtainedadoctoratefromIstanbulUniversityand
is Professor atYıldız Technical University,Istanbul where she teaches
late Ottoman history. She is the author of II. Abdu¨lhamid Do¨neminde
Sansu¨r(2007),Dolmabah(cid:1)ceveYıldızSarayındaSonZiyaretlerSonZiyafetler
(2008)andAdliye Nezareti:Kurulus¸uveFaaliyetleri (2008).
Franc(cid:1)oisGeorgeonisahistorianoftheOttomanEmpireandTurkey
in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and Emeritus Director of
Research at the CNRS (National Centre for Scientific Research) in
Paris. He is the author of numerous articles and works, in particular
Abdu¨lhamidII(Paris,2003)andSouslesignedesre´formes.Etatetsoci´ete´de
l’Empire ottoman a` la Turquie k´emaliste (1789–1939) (Istanbul, 2012).
He is also co-editor with Nicolas Vatin and Gilles Veinstein of the
Dictionnaire de l’Empire ottoman (Paris, 2015).