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As rules as always – due next Sunday (March 15th) at midnight..
All the bairns o' Adam 
The top two pictures can be discussed together. Both of them show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk, who basically created modern Turkey, is one of the most influential political leaders in recent-ish history. The top picture shows him with a group of people, who I assume are Turkish citizens. He was a man of the people, and the people truly loved him. Ataturk was related very well to his citizens. He would go out and teach to the Turkish people after he came into power, once he started his reforms. Below that picture, we can see a grammar type of book. This is important because it ties in with his reforms. Ataturk created the Turkish language. It was a little bit of a combination of a few things, Arabic, Latin script, etc. He would go into villages around the country and teach the people Turkish, and stuff like that. A big part of his reforms had to do with education. The quote we see in the top right picture is symbolic of Ataturk’s reforms. He pushed reform and having a secular society to try to more or less westernize Turkey. Turkey didn’t really want to be westernized, but it sort of tied to being industrialized at this point in time. Part of that would be providing secular education for all people. Not just the youth, although they were provided for obviously, but everyone. People could take classes and things of that sort to learn the language but just learn in general as well. The bottom picture shows the map of Turkey as we know it today. The huge land mass of the Ottoman Empire was cut down to just this “small” area straddling two civilizations. The treaty of Lausanne put really harsh restrictions on Turkey because of them fighting on the wrong side in WW1 but also after the two horrible genocides, I’m sure, that Turkey committed on the Armenians and the Greeks. The map also shows some of what the allied powers gained in the treaty. We can see that the British took Cyprus, but what is more important is what is south of these pictures. There were a bunch of French and British mandates, which sets the future for how the Middle East will operate. The last picture looks like it shows how an allied coalition invaded the Ottoman Empire and where they set up for the battle of Sari Bair. That battle was fairly drawn out, and looks as if it was fought on two fronts. Western military strategy is evident here but it isn’t so simple. The allied powers had the peninsula surrounded for the most part, but I’m sure that it was difficult to make it inward to land unless it is on the southeast-ish side. I would assume though that the Dardanelles were pretty heavily protected on the southeast-ish side, and that would be why there weren’t any encampments within there. It is difficult to decipher this map since I can’t see a key for anyone other than ANZAC.
Good commentary – but please use paragraphs. And the main significance of the Gallipoli map is the role that the campaign and Ataturk played in creating modern Turkish nationalism.
Brittney Stump
Overall, these photos portray important people and moments in Turkey’s history. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, pictured in the top left and right photos, came into power in 1923 and founded modern Turkey. His government shifted from autocratic to democratic and created policies that benefitted the general public. His reforms included political, social, legal, economic, and cultural. The first think Ataturk did was replace Sharia Law with a mixture of Swiss, French, and Italian codes. Therefore, the caliphate was abolished. Turkey’s social structure needed to be changed first to make the country more westernized in attempts to promote modern industries. Ataturk took on the most difficult challenge in a society that most nations never attempt, language reform. In 1928, Ataturk decided that the Arabic script should be replaced with the Latin alphabet. Adopting the Latin alphabet enabled children and adults to read and write within a few months and study Western languages with greater effectiveness. In his education reforms, Ataturk created programs expanding all the way from primary education to graduate education. Education was free, secular, and co-educational. Literacy rose from 9 percent in 1923 to 33 percent in 1938. Ataturk’s education reforms allowed education for women. Ataturk firmly believed education changed the world. Through economic reforms, Turkey became a free market with a rapid privatization process. Turkey’s main export trade partners are: Germany, Iraq, Iran, United Kingdom, UAE, Russia, Italy, and France. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk passed away in 1938, but has since been recognized as a genius international peacemaker by the League of Nations and other various organizations and countries. His untiring efforts live on today in Turkey.
The bottom left photo discusses the Treaty of Lausanne; which recognized the boundaries of modern Turkey and British possession of Cyprus. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923, ending World War I, at Lausanne, Switzerland. The Allies dropped their demands of autonomy for Turkish Kurdistan and Turkish cession of territory to Armenia, abandoned spheres of influence in Turkey, and imposed no controls over Turkey’s finances or armed forces. The Turkish straits between the Aegean Sea and Black sea were declared open to all shipping. Turkey recovered Eastern Thrace, several Aegean islands, and a strip along the Syrian border.
The bottom right photo discusses the Allies’ strategy of invading Sari Bair. The Battle of Sari Bair is also known as the Battle of the Nek and was launched in August 1915. The battle formed part of the Allies’ three-plank Suvla Offensive. The goal was to gain complete control of the central heights of the peninsula because from there the southern peninsula could be cut off and ensure control of the Dardanelles Straits. The plan required movement of two Anzac brigades northward along the Aegean coast from Anzac Cove, which would then swing east towards the west flank and rear of Sari Bair. The Battle of Sari Bair ended with a Turkish victory, though the Turkish suffered more casualties.
Words:500
Good discussion, especially on modernization. The Gallipoli campaign is important for it’s role in solidifying modern turkish nationalism.
The images work together to show the formation and early history of modern Turkey.
The top two pictures show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who helped establish the modern Turkish state and served as the country’s first president. As president, Ataturk implemented a series of reforms that modernized the country. For Ataturk, modernization meant Westernization. He studied Western governments and social structures and implemented those ideas in Turkey. The ideological foundation of Ataturk’s reforms became known as Kemalism, which included the Six Arrows of populism, secularism, nationalism, statism, reformism, and republicanism.
Ataturk’s reforms weren’t just political. Social reforms were a crucial part of his modernization strategy. As illustrated by the top left picture, Ataturk encouraged Western dress. Women stopped wearing veils, and men started wearing Western-style hats instead of the traditional fez. The fez was banned by law in 1925.
As illustrated by the top right and middle left pictures, Ataturk also reformed education. Secular education was mandatory for Turkish citizens. It was compulsory not only for children, but for adults from all social classes. There was an emphasis on science and modern technology, and the classes were taught in Turkish instead of Arabic. The new language was based on Latin and helped increase literacy rates among the people because Arabic was such a difficult and complex language to learn. Ataturk personally traveled around Turkey teaching citizens the new language.
The language reform also helped secularize Turkey. Many young children in Turkey never learned to read Arabic. This helped ensure that they would not be able to read early Islamic writings written in Arabic, as well as the original language of the Qur’an. The new language helped divorce Turkey from its Ottoman past, and it became a symbol of Turkish nationalism.
The bottom left picture shows the borders of the modern Turkish state created by the Treaty of Lausanne, which guaranteed Turkish sovereignty and recognition of Turkish statehood. Under the treaty, Turkey made no other claims to Ottoman territory in the Middle East, and it recognized British claims to Cyprus. The treaty also called for the demilitarization of Turkish borders and open shipping between the straits.
While the treaty left Turkey with just a small portion of the Ottoman Empire, it was much more agreeable to the Turkish people than the Treaty of Sevres, which would have carved up Turkey into zones of influence among the victors of World War I and given Turkish territory to the Kurds and Armenians for sovereign states. Ataturk refused to sign the treaty. The government in Istanbul signed the treaty, but it could not be ratified because the population supported Ataturk’s new government based in Ankara.
Ataturk first became a national hero at the Battle of Gallipoli, which is illustrated by the bottom right picture. The British and French hatched a poorly planned assault on Turkey’s Gallipoli Peninsula. If successful, the victory would have given the Triple Entente access to the Dardanelles and the Sea of Marmara. From there, they could have launched an attack on the Ottoman capital of Istanbul and opened communications between the Eastern and Western fronts. Ataturk, who was in charge of the defense of Gallipoli, kept the British and French from advancing, and they eventually retreated. Gallipoli is a special victory for Turkey because Turkish forces defeated a powerful, multinational force. The battle became a symbol of Turkish nationalism, and it led to the emergence of Ataturk as a national leader. The victory is still celebrated in Turkey today.
– Jaime Dunaway
Excellent !
The top left and top right photos are pictures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is known as a revolutionary leader of modern day Turkey as well as the founder of democratic government. Mustafa strove to westernize Turkey and he was an anti-monarchist (which actually got him in trouble as a youth). Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is known for his revolutionary reforms. One of the steps he took was removing Sharia law and replacing it with a westernized government. Ataturk also dissembled the Caliphate. He did things such as remove the Fez hat from use of government employees, and insisted that they wear westernized hats. Ataturk created a democratic government. He was loved by the people. The photo on the left is a photo of Mustafa Ataturk with Turkish citizens. Even though Turkey was undergoing change, Ataturk was also sure to keep his people comfortable with the change. Turkey went from a part of the vast Ottoman Empire that was predominately Muslim, to a much smaller democratic system of government with better civil and political rights for women. Another reason he might have been so loved was that he was a Military Officer in the Italo-Turkish War, the Balkan War and WWI, and leaders who serve in the military usually have higher approval ratings. He was also a leader in the Turkish War of Independence from 1919-1922 following the end of WWI and the defeat of the Ottoman Empire.
The photo in the left middle of the page appears to be the new Turkish alphabet in a textbook. Another attempt to change the identity of Turkish citizens from Ottomans to Western was Mustafa Ataturk’s change of the Turkish alphabet. The alphabet was historically composed of Arabic letters, but Ataturk changed the letters to a new Latin based alphabet. Arabic was very complex and difficult to learn, but Latin words were simpler. This change of Alphabets led to an increased literacy rate among the whole population. Mustafa did not only encourage children to become literate, but he also has schools for adults of all ages to go learn. Mustafa’s education reforms did not stop at literacy. He also taught men trades needed for them to work, and women were taught things such as sewing which helped gender equality.
The photo on the bottom left hand corner is a map of modern day Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Lausanne (1923) established the modern day boundaries, therefore recognizing Turkey as a sovereign state. At the time Istanbul was an international zone, but now it is a part of the state of Turkey.
The photo on the bottom right is a map of the Battle of Gallipoli which occurred from April 25th 1915 through January 9th 1916. Ataturk was a general in this battle, which was a disaster for the British and the French. British and French soldiers died mainly from the summer heat, disease, winter rain and cold, and the poorly planned trench warfare. This was huge victory for Ataturk, and the Turkish people. The battle made him famous, and some Turks celebrate the anniversary of the victory.
-Taylor Naumann
Very nice discussion, especially on modernization.
Blog #3
The six photographs pertain the falling Ottoman Empire and the modernization of Turkey in the early 1900s. The top left photo shows Mustafa Kemal Ataturk walking with a group of men. Mustafa Ataturk was extremely popular with the Turkish public, even though he had resigned his post on July 8th 1919 when he was assigned to co-ordinate the new post-war Turkish Army. At the time had he been captured he would have been executed, but his popularity made his capture unlikely. He was born to an anti-monarchist family which led him to creating an independent democratic Turkish state in April 1920 after the British dissolved the Istanbul Parliament. Mustafa Ataturk had a plan to bring about the modernization of Turkey and it was called “The Six Arrows” these included Pragmatism, Realism, secularism, nationalism, populism, and statism. One of the largest political changes in this time was that Turkey abolished the Caliphate. In the top right photo we see one of Mustafa’s most outstanding beliefs, he believed heavily that the only way that Turkey could modernize is through the education of the Turkish public. He required that people attend secular education and moved the primary education system out of the Madrassas, in the schools they emphasized science and literacy. The education requirement was not specifically on youth but also on adults which helped immediately change the path of Turkey from 1928 to 1930 literacy increased from 10% to 70%. However this does not rest completely on the reform of education it was also a result of the adoption of a new Turkish written system. In the middle left photo we see the modern Turkish script which was an adoption of Latin letters that made the sounds of the Arabic and the addition of new letters that sounded like the remaining Arabic sounds. Arabic Sanskrit can take 6 years to learn to read whereas the simplified Turkish Latin alphabet made literacy much more achievable for both old and young.
The bottom left photo is a photo of Modern Turkey after the Treaty of Lausanne and the new capital in Ankara. The Treaty of Lausanne recognized Turkey as a sovereign state in July 1923. Along with the recognition of statehood the treaty organized the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations, Muslims were to leave Greece and Christians were to leave Turkey – this is still an issue with Europe and is one of the leading unspoken reason why Turkey has not been able to join the European Union, after all it is a predominantly Christian institution. Initially the Treaty gave Turkey no control over allied warships passage through the Straits this was rewritten in 1938 and now only requires free passage of civilian ships during peacetime. The territorial loses of the Treaty included the loss of Cyprus, Dodecanese, Thrace, Egypt and Sudan as well as territorial concession of Sevres. However despite these territorial loses, the allies attempts to create independent states for the Kurds and the Armenians did not culminate.
The bottom left photo depicts the Battle of Gallipoli which occurred from April 25th 1915 through January 9th 1916. Ataturk was the victorious general in this battle which consisted of trench warfare. The majority of the allied soldiers died from summer heat, winter rain and cold, or disease. Later the Turks market the site of the battle and said that they would care for the fallen of the battle regardless of side and honor them as sons.
Good discussion, especially on the political shifts that were required for the modernization of Turkey. The importance of Gallipoli also relates to the solidification of Turkish nationalism.
Someone without much awareness of the world might consider Turkey to be a less developed country. To borrow a Cold War term, a third world country. They could not be any farther from the truth. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, seen in the top right picture, modernized Turkey in such a way that it has created a national identity. This is by no means an easy feat. Britain would attempt to create a national identity in its Iraq mandate, but Ataturk was arguably more successful. This may be due to the nature of the pre-existing society in what would become Turkey, but I think one can be persuaded to see that he was very aggressive in his reforms and that is what made him so successful.
Secularism was certainly an important part of Kemalism. Ataturk pursued secularism in such a manner that was unheard of in modern Islamic history. The abolishment of the caliphate was unfathomable in a region that has such strong religious ties. Even today Turkey is vastly a Sunni Muslim state. Ataturk’s secularist ideology effected not only government institutions but also the religious practices of the Turks themselves.
Not only were religious practices attacked, but so was traditional dress. In fact, it is quite clear that these two types of reforms were intertwined. As you can see in the top-left picture, Ataturk and others are wearing westernized dress. The traditional fez hats are nowhere to be seen in government. But what was wrong with fez hats that they needed to be explicitly banned? It’s possible the answer is its lack of a brim. Religious practitioners were able to touch the ground with the brimless fez hat, however the western style brimmed hats prevented this kind of religious practice. The fez also represented a part of the pre-Turkey past: the Ottoman Empire. Ataturk was a master at breaking these traditional ties which would allow Turkey to effectively modernize.
Yet another reform was the language reform. The middle-left picture appears to touch on this concept. Having a unique language is very important in creating a since of identity because it is what separates one from others. The core concept of Ataturk’s language reform was to remove the original Arabic-based alphabet and replace it with a Latin-based alphabet with distinct Turkish letters in place for unique Turkish sounds. This was quite an interesting attempt at further breaking ties to the Ottoman past while also fostering the development of a Turkish national identity. A critical point which must be considered is that this reform would cut off the next generation from the any Arabic-based alphabet texts. The generation that would grow up with this new alphabet would not have easy access to the Ottoman past. This was certainly part of Ataturk’s plan.
Of course, Ataturk would not have been able to make all of these reforms if it were not for the national movement backing him. Istanbul’s government was desperate when faced with the Treaty of Sèvres, but Ataturk’s government in Ankara would not be swayed. He was able to negotiate a much more beneficial deal, the Treaty of Lausanne. He was truly the father of the Turks.
Good discussion of modernisation. Bear in mind that the Galipolli campaign was the event that solidified modern Turkish nationalism and Ataturk’s place in it.
Brett Blockhus
Blog Assignment #3
With this blog assignment the topic seems to be over improving education in Middle Eastern territories and straying away from segregation, as well as releasing tension on certain countries by improving relations with others and fixing their own borders. In the first picture we see a group of well-dressed men, who seem to most likely be professors or teachers based on the context clues, all prepared to brighten the minds of younger generations. The picture on the top right with the quote, “Teachers are the one and only people who save nations,” Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, which seems to be a daring statement in such a region. Many people are more focused on other issues, such as religion and war, but Ataturk goes out on a limb to specify that education is of upmost importance. Education really plays a key role in today’s societies, many are quick to judge based on one’s education and it can define who you are to some people. I believe Ataturk is correct in his statement though, and coming from someone with power is very important, it would help to change the mindset of those against educations role. The 2nd picture on the left appears to be an excerpt from a book, showing that they have the resources for educational purposes and that all that is left is to attain the minds to teach. The time period for these pictures and the topic at hand is one that was moving slowly and not gaining any real purpose, which is why the movement for education came, the perfect opportunity. The bottom left picture shows us Anatolia after the Treaty of Lausanne, marking out the boundaries of the country and specifying the demilitarized zones, as well the agreement zones. This shows us that not only were the people dealing with trying to improve education, but also having to be pushed around by boundaries and treaties. This would only intensify the difficulty of the push for education and other vital roles a society needs to thrive, this was a tough time for man. The last picture seems to be a little confusing, but it appears to be illustrating land that is attempting to be controlled by other territories, and the homeland defending what is theirs. With forces being deployed in two different strategic areas the defending country is forced to split their troops into different regions. The forces do not appear to be as strong for the homeland, a big issue as the invaders look to be moving quickly, and taking more land. This shows us the hardships that were having to be dealt with, as people are forced from their homes and made to move further inland as not be crushed by opposing forces. This only adds more strain to the development of education for these people, something that puts the situation into perspective. We are the lucky ones, being able to attain an education so easily, but we have many men to thank who have fought for that freedom. This last picture is showing us the men in these countries who are fighting for their own people to be granted those same freedoms, a tough task indeed.
Nice discussion on education, but this set of images are also about Turkish nationalism and the importance of Kemal Ataturk.
Brit Jacobson
15 March 2015
When looking at these five photos together, one can appreciate some of the monumental times and people in the fall of the Ottoman Empire as well as the creation of the Republic of Turkey. One thing that all five of these photos have in common is their relationship to the important individual Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The top two photos present images of this Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who, after fighting for Turkey in the First World War and organizing the Turkish resistance became the first president of the Republic of Turkey. Ataturk was reelected president multiple times and ruled over Turkey for approximately 14 years until his death in 1938. During these years, Ataturk succeeded in initiating many reforms which helped turn Turkey into a more modern ‘western styled’ state. The center left image reflects one of the many transformations that was initiated by Ataturk. In this image, we see a picture of a book that contains both Latin and Arabic symbols. In 1928, the Arabic script, which was original alphabet that Turkey utilized was replaced by the Latin alphabet. Arabic was a difficult script to write in Turkish, and by switching to the Latin alphabet Ataturk was making it easier for the public to become literate. It was believed that if the population were more educated, it would be easier to modernization the nation. Other areas in which Ataturk initiated reforms were in law, politics, and dress.
The bottom two images both contain maps from monumental times for Turkey in the early 1900s. The bottom right image depicts one of the poorest plans instigated in World War 1. The plan was that the French and the British would take out one of Germany’s allies, the Ottoman Empire. If they could take control of the Dardanelles, then they would have direct access into the capital Ottoman Empire’s capital Constantinople. To do this, they decided to flank the Anzac bay. The British and the French believed that the Turks would run at the first sign of the Allies attacking due to their superior artillery, and thus somehow overlooked the geography of the area. This being said, the Anzac bay was not flat and easy for the allies to conquer as they had expected. Instead, it contained steep cliffs that overlooked the beaches. This terrain made it practically suicidal for the allies to attack, and resulted in massive casualties on all sides.
In the bottom left image, we see a map depicting the Treaty of Lausanne and what it meant for present day Turkey. The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923 and guaranteed Turkey it’s sovereignty and recognition of Statehood. This treaty also created the modern boundaries of Turkey, as is depicted in the image. The Treaty of Lausanne ended the Turkish War of Independence, which was, as previously stated, led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The Turkish War of Independence was accelerated by the fact that there were two governments over Turkey; the British controlled Istanbul, the capital, while Ataturk controlled everything else, albeit unofficially. When this treaty came into effect, Ataturk’s government was finally the only government of Turkey are on it’s way to becoming the state that it is today.
Good discussion of Ataturk’s reforms. The importance of the Dardanelles campaign was how it affected Turkish nationalism and Ataturk.
This pictures show the transition of Turkey from the Ottoman Empire to a Republic which was formally proclaimed in October of 1923. The treaty of Sévres was signed in 1920 which officially killed the Ottoman Empire. Istanbul was made into an international zone, and the European powers set up a monarchy for Turkey and set boundary lines which were not agreed with by most Turks. So, even before the Treaty of Sévres, a Turkish National government was set up in Ataturk. They defied the monarchy that was put in place by the European Powers. So, in effect, there were two governments attempting to govern the same country. Obviously this was problematic and need to be solved.
This is where the left, bottom picture enters the scene. After several years of quarreling, a conference was opened at Lausanne in 1923 in order to figure things out. This is how the current boundaries of Turkey came to be. The government that had been set up in Ankara became the only government. Turkey was in full control of their entire territory. Ankara became the official capital. This was huge, because now, Istanbul was no longer a capital as it had been one for over one-thousand years. A separate agreement was made at Lausanne in order to fix border problems. They did this by transferring the Greeks on the Turkish side over to Greece and by moving the Turks from the Greek side and resettling them in their home country. It was just one giant swap, but fixed potential border issues.
The bottom right picture depicts one exception to the full sovereignty that Turkey was given over their land in the Treaty of Lausanne. The one area they were ordered to demilitarize in was the zone of the straits. This was one of the stipulations that the European powers were big on, because if Turkey had control of the straits, they had control of the Black Sea. Which was definitely not an ideal situation. However, at the Straits convention, Turkey did gain the power to control which warships could go in and which could go out of the straits. This made them feel better about the situation.
The top three pictures deal with Kemal Atatürk. He really did a lot to move Turkey forward. The top left picture is of Kemal Atatürk. He was the leader of the republic, but Turkey wasn’t really a republic, as he was more of a dictator than anything else. His laws were strict on religion, and really changed Turkish society as a whole. His quote on the top right, “ Teachers are the one and only people who save nations” is definitely in step with his beliefs about education. During his time as leader, he completely reformed education in Turkey. The left middle picture is an example of how he changed their alphabet from Arabic script to Latin script, and how he basically created a whole new alphabet for Turkey. The literacy rates went up a lot after that. Thanks to his reforms in education, the Turkish people were given the chance to become better educated so that they could have a bright future.
-Brooke Shimer
Very nice discussion of Ataturk’s reforms and post WWI Turkey.
Reblogged this on Neverending Wanderlust and commented:
The top three images all deal with reforms introduced by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as part of his plan to modernize Turkey after the establishment of the Republic. Ataturk reformed nearly every aspect of the Turkish government and society in order to bring it up to the standards of a 20th century western nation. Perhaps his most important reforms were educational. The quote in the top right image shows how Ataturk believed that teachers held a crucial role in implementing his reforms. Without teachers, future generations would not be educated, and Turkey would fall further and further behind other countries. Ataturk’s educational reforms included the introduction of compulsory secular education with an emphasis on science. Ataturk also reformed madrassas, which became significantly less important in Turkey. Perhaps the most important educational reform implemented by Ataturk was the Turkish language’s switch from Arabic to Latin script. The textbook pages in the middle left show how this change was executed. The Turkish state desperately wanted to increase its literacy rates, so it paid for books and classes for all citizens (not just schoolchildren) to learn the new writing system. In just a few years, Turkey’s literacy rate rose from 10% to 70%.
Ataturk reformed other parts of Turkish society, not just the education system. He adamantly believed in the importance of secularism in society, much like the French tenet of laicite. Part of implementing secularism in Turkey included changing the style of dress. Traditionally, Turkish dress included standard Muslim garb, like the turban and hijab, along with the very Ottoman fez. Ataturk banned all of these and encouraged Turks to wear modern western clothes. In the top left image, you can see Ataturk and other Turks wearing three-piece suits and western-style hats. In order to become a modern country, Turkey had to look the part.
The bottom right image shows the invasion plan for Gallipoli. The Allies invaded the Gallipoli peninsula in an attempt to take control of the Dardanelles during World War I. However, poor planning and disease made the campaign drag on from April 1915 all the way until January 1916. Both the Allies and the Turks suffered massive casualties totaling around 250,000 for the British and French and 220,000 for the Turks. Gallipoli ended up being very important in Turkish history because the successful Turkish defense was organized by none other than Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This helped bring him national prominence and admiration, which later helped him become the leader of the new Turkish Republic.
The bottom left image shows a map of Turkish territory established by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923). The Treaty ended the conflict between Turkey and the Allied powers of WWI. It guaranteed Turkish sovereignty and recognition. The Treaty caused Turkey to lose some Ottoman territories, including Cyprus, Egypt, Sudan, Thrace, the Dodecanese Islands, and Sudan. Essentially, the Treaty of Lausanne created the borders of modern Turkey. There was also an exchange of Greek and Turkish populations; 1.5 million Christians left Turkey for Greece and 500,000 Muslims left Greece for Turkey.
Excellent as always…
Two of these pictures are of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a man known for his actions while in the military and for being the first president of the newly created Turkey. Ataturk was raised with the main idea of military from the he was twelve years old and was shipped to military school. Ataturk was a member of the Young Turks, and participated in their revolution. Ataturk fought in the Balkan wars and in the second Balkan war he had made such a name for himself that he received a higher ranking.
However Ataturk had not really made a name for himself until it out powered and out thought the Allies in the battle of Dardanelles. During the invasion of Dardanelles Ataturk’s bravery and strategic mind allowed for him to gain promotions. Without his strategic mind the allies most likely would have been able to overtake Dardanelles and continue to push further into the Ottoman Empire.
In 1923, Turkey became a secular republic with Ataturk as its leader. Immediately following the formation of the Turkish state Ataturk pushed them into a revolutionary reform in both social and political points of view. Ataturk believed that Turkey needed to be westernized to ever have the possibility of existing, and therefore modernized the state by bringing in western ideas. Ataturk even went as far as to create barriers between church and state.
Although Ataturk was centered on military in his early years he also honestly cared about the people in Turkey. Ataturk even went as far as creating a new language based off of western lettering. One point that has really stood out to me about him was that he wanted to be close with the people in his country. He went as far as to go out into the villages to teach those around him the new lettering. While making his reforms education was one of the main reasons. He was able to improve education by almost seventy percent because the language was easier to learn and be used. He also did not only focus on the younger generation but created programs for those of all ages.
The bottom left picture show the geographic areas affected with the Treaty of Lausanne which was signed in 1923. In affect the Treaty was the conclude World War I. The treaty was signed by the newly formed Turkey on one side and the some of the Allies on the other. The treaty recognized the current boundaries of modern day Turkey. Turkey had made no claim to its former Providences which were now under the control of Britain and Italy. However in return the allies had to drop all demands of control in the sphere of Turkey. They also could not enforce control over the economy and military of Turkey.
The bottom right photo shows what I believe is the Battle of Sari Blari or Battle of the Nek. This was just one battle which was part of a major landing of allied troops. These battles lead to many different issues and setbacks for the Allies. Without successful landings on all fronts the Allies were unable to meet their goals. The end of the battle was forced by exhaustion on both the part of the Allies and the Kurds. Ataturk and the Kurds were able to receive victory in this battle even though they were exhausted.
-Erica Kaylor
Good discussion of the reforms. The map of the Dardanelles is important because this is where the Turks (not Kurds) and Ataturk began to solidify the concept of modern Turkish nationalism.
The two bottom pictures can be related in that they both depict the rise of the Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal also known as Ataturk. The image on the right shows where he earned his credibility as a leader, in the defense of the Ottoman Empire from the Allied invaders attempting to secure the naval routes of the Black sea, and to have a naval route to their Russian allies. With the successful defense of Gallipoli “Ataturk” was seen as a competent leader and general and gave legitimacy to his claim and his reformation of a new Turkey in Ankara separate from the residual Ottoman Empire sitting in Istanbul. The bottom left picture illustrates the boundaries of Turkey following the rejection of the Treaty of Serves and the reformation on the Turkish state by Mustafa Kemal. This image of the Turkish state was also ratified by the other states at the signing of the Treaty of Lausanne, giving the new Turkish state actual boundaries and recognition as a state and the most important giving control of the Bosphorus and eastern Thrace back to Turkey, no longer being an internationalized zone. Along with the new Turkish state Mustafa Kemal pushed for changes in education and modernization throughout Turkey. The picture on the top right illustrates this idea of education being one of his sole motivators for the new outlook of Turkey. With this in mind he went on to change the nature of the Turkish language by transitioning it from its original Arabic script to a Latin script. This was instituted by having schooling for those of all ages to learn the new language, some instances he taught classes on this with himself as the teacher, eventually the literacy of the nation grew greatly almost to 75 percent of the population being literate in the new Turkish. This was a remarkable achievement due to the literacy rate prior to the change being at and abysmally low level around 10 percent of the population. This transition of language is depicted in the middle image with having the old Arabic script being transformed into the new modern Turkey. Along with his educational crusade Mustafa Kemal also yearned for the modernization on Turkey as well, similar to Peter the Great of Russia and his quest to westernize the look of his people. Kemal urged people to westernize and adopt the western look, shown in the top left image is Kemal and others sporting a very western look, hats primarily became a huge staple in the new look for men in the state; at the same time Kemal also outlawed the veil and hijab worn by Muslim women in society, seeing it as a hindrance to modern and westernization, at times this one done by force with the military removing the headdress from women whom had not yet abided by the new laws. He also pushed for women to be involved in politics with more women serving the Turkish parliament than the United States government.
Excellent, particularly the way in which you transition from Turkish national identity to Ataturk’s reforms.
The top left image shows Mustafa Kemal Ataruk surrounded by fellow Turkish citizens. You can tell from the picture that he was a man of the people. They are all smiling and he fits in with the crowd like he was one of them. He was the first President of Turkey and brought about much needed growth and innovation to the people of Turkey. He established a modern parliamental democracy, which was all male until 1934. There were women in the parliament before many western civilizations actually put in women. He wanted Turkey to be more like the west so he instituted laws encouraging western dress and banned turbans and hijab in government jobs. He abolished polygamy and introduced law systems based on Italy’s penal system. He did face opposition however coming from Kurdish citizens. They were mad that he abolished the caliphate. However, like the picture he was mainly popular.
The second picture shows that Ataruk was very pro-education. He had an idea called six arrows. Essentially the philosophy of the six arrows was to try to make Turkey multi-cultured and multi-religious. This was to avoid extremism and make Turkey a secular nation. The six arrows were achieved through education. Ataruk put a secular emphasis on education. Previous education was mainly religious but Ataruk now put a big emphasis on science education. Ataruk increased literacy from 10% to 70%. He truly was passionate about teaching and education. He went to villages himself to teach.
The picture below the top left shows what I assume is an educational book. Ataruk completely transformed Turkey and brought it into the modern era. He did this through education. What was interesting with Ataruk is that he educated every age demographic that wanted to learn. Not just the children. His face can be seen in textbooks and classrooms all across Turkey. Even though he was a fantastic leader. It is now illegal to speak against him or Turkey. This goes against what Ataruk would want since he pushed for education so much.
The Treaty of Lausanne concluded World War I and Turkeys involvement in it. The previous Treaty of Serves abolished Turkey as modern state but the Treaty of Lausanne slightly rectified that. This treaty recognized Turkey as a state and gave it new boundaries. Britain did gain new territory in Cyprus.
The last picture shows the Battle of Sari Bair which started in August 1915. The British made an attempt to take the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottomans. The British didn’t plan very well because they didn’t know the lay of the land very well due to poor maps. The British wanted to control this are because it would have been a good launching station to attack more of Turkey. The British did not succeed and Turkey was victorious. Turkey used this victory to further their nationalist beliefs.
– Tyler Arkes
Very good discussion.
All of these pictures relate to Turkish history. The first two pictures show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. In 1919, he began a national revolution and in 1921, Atatürk created a provisional government in Ankara. A year later the Ottoman Sultanate was formally abolished and, in 1923, Turkey became its own state with Atatürk as its president. Turkey went form a dictatorship under the Ottoman Empire to a democracy under Ataturk. Ataturk was a reformist and made a lot of attempts to modernize the new state. He was greatly influenced by the west. He first got rid of all Turkish codes and abolished Sharia law, along with that came the abolishment of the Caliphate. He wanted to make the state more secular. Creating a democracy, he also expanded the rights of men and women. He implemented universal male suffrage and by 1934 women were also included in this. To continue to make the state more secular, Ataturk abolished the turban and Hijab and greatly encouraged western dress. He implemented the 6 arrows: pragmatism realism, nationalism, secularism, populism and estatism, all to modernize the state. He also made a lot of improvements to the educational system. He abolished the Arabic language and modified the Latin alphabet which created a drastic increase in literacy. A picture of this alphabet is seen in the middle left picture. He also placed a great deal of emphasis on science. A lot of these polices helped to shape modern day Turkey and helped give Ataturk be called the father of modern turkey.
The bottom left picture involves the Treaty of Lausanne. This treaty was created in 1922, signed in 1923 and ended the war or independence in Turkey. It established the boundaries and possessions of Turkey and Britain. The treaty also guaranteed the Turkish sovereignty and recognition of its statehood. The treaty outlined a number of territorial agreements like the loss of Cyprus, Dodecanese, Thrace, Egypt and Sudan, the delimitation of modern Turkish borders and no territory for Kurds or Armenians. Lastly, this treaty also allowed all ship to freely pass through the straights between the Aegean and Black sea.
The bottom right photo shows the Allies very poor strategy of invading Sari Bair during the Battle of Gallipoli. The Battle of Gallipoli took place on 1915-1916. In this invasion the Allies were thinking that if they could take control of the Dardanelles they would have direct access into the capital Ottoman Empire’s capital Constantinople. This would give them a way to take control of the capital and give them an advantage in the war. Ataturk was a general in this battle before his presidency. This battle was a failure for France and Britain. The majority of Allie soldiers were killed from the summer heat and winter rain and cold. Horrible trench warfare also contributed to many deaths on the Allies side. Overall, the war was a great success for Turkey, as well as for Ataturk, making him name well now and making him well liked by the Turkish people.
Very good discussion of reform in Turkey and associated nationalism.
Lance Cummings
This blog post shows the different aspects of World War I and the impact it had on the formation of Turkey and its surrounding area. World War I solidified Western powers position in the Middle East area and began the shift of Turkey into a more European mindset. The first picture shows the mix of different ethnicities that had to reach diplomatic terms during this period. World War I brought a wide array of different people into contact, violently and politically, for the first time. This war involved everybody from South Americans, Africans, Arabs, Persians, Turks, Kurds, Armenians, Slavs, Orientals, to Caucasians. Hence the name World War. The picture also models the modernization of the Turkey region and how the people were forced to dress like Europeans. The second picture depicts a quote from Mustafa Ataturk. Ataturk is credited as being “the father of the Turks”. He successfully led the Turks to independence, and led Turkey to many different economic, social, and political reforms. The quote directly reflects his ideas towards Turkish nationalism and the direction Turkey needed to go as a society. The third picture also represents the modernization of the Turkey area. By modernization, they mean the change in culture to better align with European ideologies and customs. Education was a major focus of this shift between 1928 and 1930 when they changed the alphabet to a form of modified Latin. This incredibly changed the literacy rate in the nation. Though modernization changed a lot of the culture of the Turkish people, it greatly improved living standards and quality of life for the population. The modernization of Turkey focused on “six arrows” which included: pragmatism, realism, secularism, nationalism, populism and etatism. The fourth picture depicts the Treaty of Lausanne and the territory that was previously Anatolia and would become known as Turkey. The treaty was hashed out between November 1922 and July 1923. It would recognize Turkish statehood and sovereignty. The treaty also called for the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations which would be highly disputed and fought against. The treaty also did not provide Armenians or Kurds territory which was another disputed clause of the treaty. There was also territorial loss of Cyprus, Dodecanese, Thrace, Egypt, and Sudan. The final picture depicts the Sheikh Rebellion of 1924 which directly opposed the modernization of Turkey and Kemalism. Turkey would face many oppositions to their social reforms that were imposed in the 1920s. The Sheikh Rebellion was ran by the Kurds in an attempt to reestablish a Caliphate. The new political reforms abolished the idea of a Caliphate and introduced a modern parliamentary democracy which better fit European ideologies. Turkey would try to have a multi-party system within their government over the 1920s, but most attempts failed. Almost every time they had multiple parties, at least one was always anti-Kemalism which halted the progressive nature of their reforms. In return, Turkey turned into a single party state and remained that way until 1945. These pictures directly reflect the amount of change that took place in the Turkey area following World War I.
Very nice discussion of the reforms that created modern Turkey – paragraphs!
Cameron Clark
Blog #3
The five images demonstrate the modernization of Turkey in the early 1900s. The pictures show the beginning of the Turkish state and the end of the Ottoman Empire as a whole.
The two images at the top reveal the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his love of the Turkish people. The top left image exemplifies how Ataturk was a man of the people. The people loved him and all he did for the state of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is credited with founding the Republic of Turkey and was the first president of the Turkish state. After leading the Turkish independence he focused on reform and turning Turkey into a secular state, moving away from the Islamic Sharia Law. He pushed to separate the government and religion after the removal of the caliphate.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk also was well known from the people due to all of his social reforms. He completed altered the system of education in Turkey. The middle image on the left side demonstrates this change. The picture shows a book teaching someone how to read. Ataturk created the modern Turkish written language. He moved away from the Arabic script to a Latin alphabet so that the Turks would be able to learn European languages easier. This reform worked well with the people. The literacy rate in Turkey skyrocketed in a short period of time from the smaller percentage that it was before. Ataturk was concerned with the education for the nation as a whole. He saw that the best way to create true reform would be to educate the Turks.
To continue, the image on the bottom right represents the current borders of the Turkish state, as it is known today. The picture demonstrates the loss of territory from the Ottoman Empire as a result of World War I with the Treaty of Lausanne. The loss of territory was punishment for the empire for choosing the wrong side during the war. The map also shows the areas of Turkey that were demilitarized after the war. Those sections were primarily that which connects Turkey to the rest of Europe.
The final image, on the bottom right, is a map of Sari Bair. The map shows the Allies invasion in to the Ottoman Empire. The Battle of Sari Bair was the final offensive move led by the British to take control of the Gallipoli peninsula. The map reveals where the Allies’ navy came into attack at Cape Helles and Ari Burnu. After the battle, no major attempts were made to advance into the Ottoman Empire by the Allied forces.
Overall, the pictures display the movement of the Ottoman Empire to the Turkish state. World War I was a primary factor in this transition. The borders of Turkey became smaller and the system of government shifted to more democratic and secular.
Good discussion of Turkish reforms but it would have been useful to discuss the way in which the Galipolli campaign impacted Turkish nationalism.
The five pictures shown this week all show the early history of modern Turkey. The top two pictures show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who was considered one of the most influential political leaders who came into power in 1923 and contributed to creating what is known as modern Turkey. His style of government created policies and laws that helped the general public. He implemented the Western style government into his modern day Turkey. The left picture shows Ataturk with a group of people walking. This allows us to see the kind of many he really was, someone who wanted to be involved with his people, someone who was really loved. We were able to see in the first picture the shift to a more Western style of dressing by the men. Women also stopped wearing veils that covered up their faces during Ataturk’s time as well.
The picture on the right captures a quote Ataturk said, “Teachers are the one and only people who save nations”. Education was extremely important for Ataturk. He wanted education to be free and available to all his citizens. Language was huge for him as well. In 1928, Ataturk adopted the Latin alphabet and educated the general public on how to read and write within a generally short amount of time. (Arabic, the language used before was very difficult to learn). The middle picture ties into education showing a type of education book that looks like a grammar/reading book. This education reform by Ataturk and the shift from Arabic to a Latin Alphabet increased the literacy rates in Turkey significantly.
The bottom two pictures each show a map of Turkey. The left picture shows a map of modern day Turkey after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Lausanne signed in 1923 established the borders in modern Turkey. The Treaty of Lausanne recognized Turkey as an individual, sovereign state. The bottom right picture portrays the Battle of Gallipoli that occurred from April 25, 1915 to January 9, 1916. Ataturk led this battle in a trench warfare type battle. Since the battle occurred during the summer and winter seasons, the majority of death occurred by the heat of summer and the cold and rain of winter that resulted in illnesses among the soldiers. A quote that stood out to me in a lecture notes by Ataturk said, “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours… you, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. Aeer having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well”. This showed his dedication for caring for the ill and honoring those who had lost their battle. It once again showed the generous man he really was.
Good discussion of the importance of Ataturk to modern Turkey.
Cody Rader
March 15th
The pictures tell the story of World War I in Anatolia, the fall of the Ottoman Empire with the Treaty of Lausanne and the new state of Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. These pictures also demonstrate what we have talked about in class with the rise of Turkey and the preface of it wanting to join the EU.
The Ottoman Empire entered World War I later and fought on multiple fronts, in the South against the Arab separatists, French and British, East against Russia and in the West against the British and French. The final picture shows the western front in Gallipoli, in which the French and British tried to take the peninsula so that they could bypass the mines in the Dardanelles and then attack at Istanbul. The fighting would prove too disastrous for the allied powers as they were drug into bloody fighting that resulted in their retreat. Kemal Ataturk was also an officer during the battles in Gallipoli and it would help make him a popular hero and gain him tremendous respect within Turkey. Unfortunately the Ottomans could not hold off the allies and when they heard the Germans considering a truce, quickly moved for a peace deal of their own.
Unfortunately when the Ottomans sued for peace they did not know it would mean dismantling. The Treaty of Lausanne not only dismantle the Ottoman Empire but also it put the much smaller country under zones of influence and set up a new government. Much of this can be seen in the second to last picture, including the demilitarized zone in Thrace. It would be the Treaty of Lausanne and its impact that would help Kemal Ataturk gain prominence and eventually take control of Turkey. It is in a way ironic that the treaty was meant to divide up Turkey but instead became a rallying cry for the opposition and helped unify the nation.
The first three pictures show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey and really give good examples of the reforms that he undertook. Kemal believed himself to be a teacher and bringer of modernity to Turkey and his quote in the second picture shows this. Ataturk enacted many reforms in order to emulate European modernity, which he saw as a shining example. One of his first reforms that we talked about in class was a change in clothing, he wanted people to dress like Europeans, exactly like he and the men around him are in the first picture. I do find it interesting that in the history of Turkey and the Ottoman Empire that every time the country begins a stage of modernization that it immediately, like Russia, begins to enforce European style dress. (Dr. Antov here at the University gives a good lecture of Turkey during this period and during each phase of the regions modernization and regularly shows and brings this up) The third picture appears to show pages of the book that shows the teaching of the new Latinized version of the Turkic Arabic, which Ataturk also instated as part of his reforms. His reforms were largely successful especially when you see how the nation is doing now and is very much due to the strict, thorough and enforced education he enacted to “save and modernize the nation”. The pictures do not show the genocides that take place but those will become a factor later when Turkey tries to join the EU.
Very good discussion of the importance of Ataturk to modernization, and the way in which the WWI settlement rallied Turkish nationalism.
These pictures tell a story of one of the earliest civilized regions in the world, the country of Turkey, and of its admirable founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk was known as the father of Turkey, and you can see from the picture on the top left how much the people truly loved him and connected with him on a personal level. He was the ideal leader for his people, and from this picture, it can be noted that he was a very proud man, as he looks on the crowd with a simple and promising stare, all the while maintaining a prominent stature that is the look of a strong leader. This picture shows us a man who wasn’t afraid of anything, someone who knew he was capable of just about anything. And the next picture of a page out of what seems to be a textbook shows us just that. Ataturk was unlike any conventional politician or reformer in that he took on the mighty task of language reform. Doing so was crucial in his country’s understanding of Western civilizations which would be a key component in his strive to modernize Turkey. He believed that to modernize his newly formed Republic, he had no choice but to involve Western principles. And so one of his first reforms was to replace the Arabic alphabet with the alphabet of Latin. He knew he had to start drastically to start modernizing Turkey, and this was about as drastic as any politician could get. I think the picture on the top right is of utmost importance to who Mustafa Ataturk was as a leader, because good leaders are often great teachers. And he was a great teacher. He was basically tasked with teaching the whole country how to modernize itself in terms of religion and secularism, politics by establishing a healthy republic, and economically by establishing state owned factories and infrastructure to industrialize the nation. And I think that is kind of where he was going when he said this quote. Because he was not only Turkey’s “father”, but he was also their first “teacher” in this sense. He saved its people by making it a country after WWI and making it a better place to live as the economy was slowly but surely modernized. Not only did his reforms change Turkey, but it was him ultimately teaching his people how these reforms would make Turkey a better place to live. He had to convince people that secularism was the right option, he had to show people why equal rights for all was a must, how voting for both men and women was humane, etc. And as he continued to teach his new ways, Turkey began to witness vast improvements in all sectors. Literacy rates were rising, its economy began to increase its output and GDP as a result of the privatization of many sectors, all in all, thing were looking up in Turkey. The picture on the bottom left shows us the result of the territory dispute agreements that came as a result of the Treaty of Laussanne in 1923. This treaty was the treaty that ultimately created the Republic of Turkey. Although the Treaty of Versailles is commonly thought to be the Treaty that ended WWI, Lausanne was the nail in the coffin. It is believed that the Turkish people were not very pleased with the terms granted to them for the “modern state of Turkey”. But nonetheless, this treaty gave Turkey complete sovereign control over the entire region. Basically, they were no longer held accountable by any foreign forced within the country in terms of finance, trade, its military, etc. It came after the Treaty of Sevres, which served to discredit Turkey as a nation state. Laussanne restored this notion. In effect, Turkey would gain Eastern Thrace, some Aegean islands, a strip near Syrian border, and the Zone of the Straits (which was to remain demilitarized). In addition the straits between the Aegean Sea and Black Sea were to be opened to all shipping and trade. It is interesting to see the geopolitical nature of Turkey after WWI because it holds such a unique position in the world, serving as the bridge between East and West. And this is important to understand, because as Mustafa Araturk worked to teach his people the ways of the West, there would be much opposition from those who held more traditional or Eastern values. The last picture on the bottom right displays the mapping of strategies from the Allies point of view for the Battle of Gallipoli. This Battle would be a Turkish victory in the end, being led by none other then Mustafa Ataturk. It was a battle that lasted nearly half a year, and consisted of horrid conditions of trench warfare and unbearable weather. The Allies would suffer heavily as a result of this weather. The victory was a testament to the resilience and strength of courage from the Turkish soldiers, and most of all, a testament to Ataturk. And it would serve as a platform for him to be chosen as a leader for his country in the future.
-Cameron Baker
Excellent discussion, but PLEASE use paragraphs.
London Lundstrum
EUST Blog Assignment #3
The images displayed represent the formation of what we know as modern Turkey. The Ottoman Empire ceased to exist after the end of WWI and these images embody important events and people who aided in shaping the Turkish state after the Ottoman Empire was no more. The man picture in the top two photos is Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He engendered the modern Turkish state. He was an anti-monarchist who also implemented a secular government (i.e. he ended Sharia Law). Although his government was quite different from the preceding one he was adored by the Turkish people. The picture with text represents the new Turkish writing system as well as education system that Ataturk created. With his new writing system the literacy rate rose from 10% to 70% between 1928 and 1930. There were classes available for both young and old. Ataturk wanted to Westernize Turkey because he knew that relations with the west were not only important, but vital. He also wanted Turkey to be a thriving modern state which he felt could be achieved by implementing reforms as the ones aforementioned. The capitol of Turkey was moved from Istanbul to Ankara and the geographic size of Turkey was whittled down by the Treaty of Lausanne, which is shown in the bottom left image. The Treaty of Lausanne (1922-1928) was important because it ended the Turkish war for independence which was led by Ataturk and it set the boundaries for what now known (mostly) as modern Turkey. This treaty was also key because it guaranteed Turkish sovereignty as well as recognition of statehood. Ataturk had fought long and hard for the creation of the modern Turkish state. The image on the bottom right shows the Battle of Gallipoli during WWI which lasted from April 25th 1915 to January of 1916. This was one of the worst planned events of WWI. The British planned to attack along the peninsula of Gallipoli however they underestimated the terrain (which was entirely mountainous) because they did not even have any topographic maps… This event is important for our story because the person in charge of the Gallipoli defense was none other than Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This battle was a point of pride among those who were able to defend Turkey from the British attack, however in modern memory it is recognized as a devastating (if even senseless) loss of life. More soldiers died from disease than from enemy fire. Today at the site there are plaques honoring the soldiers from both sides and assuring the world that they are resting in a place which welcomes them. This reflects an important shift as Turkey modernized it wanted to remind other nations that the past was in the past. Nevertheless this effort has not always worked in Turkey’s attempt to enter into the EU because of their refusal to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Overall these images paint a much brighter vision of Turkey as it was united under a new government and became the modern Turkey we know today.
very good understanding of the way in which Ataturk was instrumental in creating modern Turkey.
The common thread of all these images is their connection to the transformation of the Ottoman Empire into the modern state of Turkey following the First World War. Each of the images deals with important factor from this change from empire to nation ranging from political leadership to physical borders. Furthermore within some of these images the various challenges to the ideas of Turkish nationalism can also be seen.
To begin both of the upper images deal show Mustafa Kemal who lead the new Turkish Republic during the early years following the First World War. Despite the similar focus in both the image they are both emblematic of different changes from this period change, the left image portraying the new brand of leadership that Kemal was bringing to Turkey. He can be seen in Western style dress surround by people in western style dress a clear departure from the more traditional styles of the Ottoman Empire, signaling the departure from the old Ottoman cultural ties. Furthermore he is clearly standing with and in front of symbols of the westernization of the Turkish society such as the western style building or what appear to be power lines in the background of the image.
The second image of Kemal thought speaks less through the image itself but rather the quotation, and is closely tied to the middle left image of the Turkish grammar book from the time. When Mustafa Kemal talks about the teachers saving the nation he is talking about how it it the job of the school system to instill the ideas of Turkish nationalist culture over that of the old Ottoman culture. Similarly the grammar book is an example of the replacement of Ottoman culture with Turkish culture, showing the transfer from Arabic letters to the Latin letters. This is an example of what Kemal was referencing when he spoke of the teachers, there ability to instill Turkish Identity in the next generation, supplementing the Ottoman identity with the Turkish instead. These grammar books would be one of the key ways for the children of the Turkish nation to learn to be Turkish over Ottoman.
The last two inmates in the group both have connections to the physical boundaries of the Turkish state because of the war, and these also ties to the current issues plaguing the national identity of Turkey. The right hand image shows the battle plans for the battle of Gallipoli where the Ottomans defeated the Entente attempt to land troops during the First World War, a source for the pride in the nationalist movement. The left image shows the final borders of the nation of Turkey as well as the various treaties and agreements which would shape the border. These also though brought about many of the current problems within Turkey involving the Kurdish minorities living in eastern portion of the country. We can see that with the France-Turkish Agreement the borders of the Turkish state came to encompass the area in which half the Kurds lived and so when Kurdish nationalism rose up the idea of Turkish nationalism was threatened.
-Luke Mooberry
Good discussion, although it’s also important to mention the way in which Galipolli fed into the creation of Turkish nationalism.
Aaron Anderson
03/15/2015
Blog Post #3
Following the failure of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the Treaty of Lausanne formalizing its transition to the modern state of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was elected Turkey’s first president (with multiple subsequent reelections). Although Kemal ruled as a dictator while serving as president (for long times his Republican People’s party was the sole legal Turkish political party) he enacted multiple policies in order to shift the entire state of Turkey towards a western model. This fundamental political desire is apparent in the first image; Ataturk is surrounded by a group of men holding Western hats with suits and ties. No fezzes are present among the group of political elite. A fundamentalist Islamic group of men would certainly not dress in this manner, and Kemal needed to differentiate himself from the Middle East in order to enter normalized relations with European nations. This distinction would be made principally with policies against religion such as polygamy, and even the aforementioned fez. Over the course of 15 years Kemal would lead multiple revolutionary efforts to reshape Turkey’s destiny.
Kemal’s support of education (as evidenced by the statement in the second photo) furthered his hopes for a Westernized, modern Turkey. By enacting mandatory secular education he increased literacy rates and made Turkish science a priority. While in many cases of education reform the educated youths are expected to replace the aging traditionalists Kemal’s schooling policies allocated resources for the old as well. Promotion of science would further shift Turkey towards secularism as well (by 1928, a year after Kemal’s first reelection, Islam would no longer be the state religion). Along with multiple reforms made in education Kemal again distanced Turkey from the Middle East by shifting Turkish writing from the Arabic script towards a Latin script with additional characters for unique Turkish sounds. This change increased literacy rates as well for the Latin characters were much simpler to recognize and reproduce for a student rather than complex Arabic characters. Turkey’s transition to a Western state culminated with its membership under Kemal into the League of Nations.
The penultimate image shows the boundaries established by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. Following the decline of the Ottoman Empire and the immense territorial losses of the Treaty of Sèvres the Treaty of Lausanne was the settlement of the conflict between the government at Ankara under Kemal and Sultan Muhammad VI. Turkey’s modern boundaries remain effectively what was established under the Treaty of Lausanne, although Alexandretta was disputed. Multiple repatriations between the Greeks and the Turks also occurred alongside the Treaty of Lausanne.
The Battle of Gallipoli is the subject of the final photo. Kemal, a prominent Ottoman general at the time of the battle in 1915, would become a war-hero following the Ottoman repulsion of the Triple Entente navy. The French and British forces hoped to capture Istanbul, but due to weather and a poor choice of landing they were forced to retreat after a campaign of several months. The Battle of Gallipoli was a key moment in the development of a Turkish national identity due to the successful defeat of a powerful European force.
Excellent…
Jacob Wise
Blog Assignment 3
The bottom two picture are of the map of Turkey today. The Ottoman Empire took up all of the land on the map at one point. Over time the Empire was cut down into two main civilization that were hurt by the very strict restriction put on by the treaty of Lausanne. The restriction were put on the Ottoman Empire mainly for backing the wrong side of WWI. The other thing that hurt the population of the Empire was the fact they had major genocides. Anytime you have mass killings of your population it will be hard for you to maintain your size or even power. People were looking to just survive and nothing else. The last picture shows how the Ottoman Empire lost to the allied powers. These was a longer battle to take over the Empire but it was done by using the peninsula to the allied powers. The top pictures are more about how the empire gain power and became stronger with a good leader. The bottom pictures are about the Empire falling and losing the power. The top pictures are of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He is known for turning turkey from perceiving itself as a Muslim part of the Vast Empire into a modern and democratic state. He led wide reform in trying to build the country up. He redid everything from social, cultural and economic reforms. One of his main missions was to educate his population. He thought a nation is only as strong as it education system. He wanted to rebuild the country but for his reforms to stay in place he had to educate the people to keep them moving forward. To make sure the population took pride in the country they have to speak the same language so he made sure they were all on the same page. The top picture is Mustafa with what are most likely the Turkish people. The people really liked him, they felt they could become a world power with him as there leader. He was known for visiting with his people and trying to get them to learn and become a better nation. He was big on teaching people new thing and that is the main thing he brought in his leadership. Reform was his big tool to fix his nation. He believed that teachers were the most influencer in a nation. If you had teacher that would really care for their students and the stuff they are teaching then you can change the mindset of a nation. This was the main goal of Mustafa leadership was to change the mindset of a nation into believing in themselves and taking pride in their country.
This images displayed in this blog assignment pertain to the modernization or typically viewed synonymously with westernization (some might debate erroneously) of the state of Turkey. With the turn of the 20th century, many states including that of Turkey were looking to compete with other nations on a global level, and that meant moving forward.
Many view that the man that began to bring Turkey forward was their president Mustafa Kemal Attaturk who is pictured in the top two photos. While he had many ideas for reforming Turkey, there were three large changes implemented. The first was that of education, which can be seen in the quote on the top right image stating, “Teachers are the one and only people who save nations.” He believed that if the Turkish population could be well educated, they could compete globally. This is an ideal that is maintained by many individuals and nations today.
The second reform implemented by President Attaturk was a move towards a secularization of the Turkish state. He saw that many modernized countries, although respecting their religions, maintained an outward appearance that would appeal to all religions, not just the majority religion. With this in mind, he looked away from hijab and turbans typical of Muslims, as well as Fezzes reminiscent of the declining Ottoman Empire. The image on the top left shows him in what he thought was not only appropriate of a politician of any state, but indicated a move towards modernization, and therefore right direction.
President Attaturk’s last notion for Turkey dealt with the Turkish language. He knew that creating a language that used the Latin alphabet as opposed to the Arabic alphabet would not only make Turkish more accessible to foreigners, but also make foreign languages more accessible to the Turkish population. With this accessibility, the people of Turkey, again, can have easier interactions with the rest of the world, and therefore Turkey would be a more successful country on the world stage. The middle image shows the Latinization of the Turkish language that would allow this success.
In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne brought peace between what was then still the majority of the Ottoman Empire and the Allied Powers. While the treaty brought Turkey recognition as a nation, it also caused the state to lose a great deal of territory including that in the Sudan, Thrace, Egypt, the Dodecanese Islands, and Cyprus. The bottom left image shows what land went to whom, and establishes Turkey’s modern borders. Unfortunately, as is the case for many treaties, the borders drawn did not respect the populations living there, and therefore there was a great conflict and migration between Muslims and Christians.
The last image (bottom right) depicts the plans for the invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by the British in 1915. The British looked to Gallipoli to not only secure the ports that were then used by the Russians in need of warm water ports, but to also eventually make their way to the capital of Constantinople and hold power over the Ottomans. Unfortunately, the British, lacking much knowledge of the region failed miserably in this attack, and as an effect, there were many Ottomans and Allied casualties. The battle of Gallipoli is, on the other hand, viewed as one of the Ottoman Empire’s successes in its ability of hold its ground (or, well, sea…)
Good discussion of Turkish reforms.
These images illustrate the transition from the Ottoman Empire to modern-day Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk was the founder of modern-Turkey and strove to democratize and westernize the country while in power. Ataturk quickly removed the bloodline monarchy (Caliphate) and actually influenced others to oppose him hoping to create a truly democratic government. His western-style approach to government led to a series of many reforms, most notably (in these pictures) his education reforms. He strove to setup a good basis for education across Turkey; however he did this not only for the young, but also for the old. As seen in the middle picture, he chose to remove Arabic and instead integrated a Latin based language in the hopes it would be easier for the Turkish population to learn. Ataturk, himself, went out to poorer nations and helped to teach the new Latin language instead of the complex Arabic from the past. His quote, “teachers are the one and only people who save nations” helps to clarify how important education was to him and his views on the future of Turkey.
Besides westernizing education, Ataturk encouraged social changes as well. In the first image, it is clear that he and the crowd behind him are embracing a western style of dress. The fez is no longer present, and instead the people are wearing suits and hats. Also noticeable in this picture is the happiness present in the surrounding people. Although we can assume the picture was chosen for this reason, it still symbolizes the immense respect Ataturk gained from the people around him. Normally, changing a culture so rapidly in the way he attempted would lead to some backlash. However, with Ataturk, it seems that the Turks really got behind the movement and understood that his plans to westernize Turkey were actually for the best. This affection probably occurred because of his movement to help educate the older class. By doing this, he showed the whole of Turkey that he did care about the past as much as the future. It is possible that if he attempted to only educate children that the elders in society would have rebelled against the new ways. By helping the older class, though, he was able to show that he wanted to truly help everyone in the country, not just protect its future.
The last two images are slightly different than the first few in that they do not focus on education or westernization. Instead, the first shows the prospective (and current) boundaries of Turkey as established in the Treaty of Lausanne. This treaty famously moved the capital from Istanbul to Ankara. These boundaries helped to create a sense of Turkish identity which would help Ataturk in his many reforms. The last image shows a map of the Battle of Gallipoli. Gallipoli was one of the worst planned attacks in military history in which the British foolishly tried to invade Turkey without the idea of the mountain ranges providing natural protection. Naturally, many Brits died during the attack while Gallipoli was defended by none other than Ataturk. The defense of the country would become a topic of pride and would immensely help Ataturk in his ascent to power. The picture reminds the viewer the reason Ataturk rose to power. Without Ataturk’s reforms the landscape of Turkey and its modernization would have been vastly different. His westernization, for better or worse, greatly changed the future of Turkey and brought them out of the Ottoman Empire and into the modern day.
Very good discussion…especially on modernization…but paragraphs PLEASE!
Andrew Dunivan
Blog Post 3
This series of images is about the formation of modern Turkey. Formerly a part of the Ottoman Empire, the modern nation of Turkey occupies the Anatolian Peninsula and a small portion of Europe across the Straits of Bosporus and Dardanelles. It was formed after World War I when the Ottoman Empire had been all but destroyed, by the Turkish Nationalist Movement led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Ataturk, whose name means “Father of the Turks,” was an incredibly successful military officer in the Ottoman Empire, who would become a great leader, peacemaker, and reformist for his new country.
Ataturk himself was in command of the Ottoman forces defending their land at the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I, which is pictured here in the map on the bottom right. The Ottomans had mined the Dardanelles Strait, preventing the Allied navy from reaching Istanbul. To solve this problem, the Allies attempted to land troops alongside the strait and clear the way while advancing over land towards the Ottoman capital. These Allied forces consisted of British troops and a large number of ANZAC forces, from Australia and New Zealand, as well as some French troops. They were met by incredibly fierce resistance from the Ottomans under the command of Ataturk. The Ottomans kept the Allies confined to their beachheads, held them at bay from defensive positions atop steep, rocky hills, and inflicted severe casualties. The long and drawn out battle is considered one of the greatest Allied failures and the greatest Ottoman victory of the war, and solidified Ataturk’s reputation as an effective leader.
After the end of the war and the success of the Turkish Nationalist Movement, Ataturk’s new government signed the Treaty of Lausanne. This agreement drew the borders of modern Turkey and allowed for its recognition by the Allied Powers, and forced Turkey to drop all claims to former Ottoman territory. The borders are shown in the map in the bottom left of the collage, with Ankara as the new capital. The Regime of the Straits, which was put in place a few years after the Treaty of Lausanne and lasts to this day, established regulations regarding sea traffic through the Bosporus and Dardanelles Straits. Turkey must allow all civilian vessels to pass through during times of peace, but can restrict the passage of warships.
Now Ataturk had peaceful control over his new country, and could begin to put reforms into place. He adamantly advocated education, and had new schools built throughout Turkey. One of his many wise and thoughtful quotes is pictured here, which displays his respect for knowledge and education, and the effect that it can have on the modernization of a country. One of his greatest undertakings was the creation of the Turkish alphabet, which replaced the Arabic script and implemented Latin letters. Many books, including the Quran, were translated into the new alphabet, and educational books were distributed throughout the country in an attempt to eradicate illiteracy. This mass campaign was very successful, and literacy rose to over 90% of the population. Ataturk himself can be seen holding his western-style Panama hat in the photograph in the top left. He rose through Ottoman ranks to create a new, modern, secular, educated nation that has come so far as to be considered for accession to the European Union – an incredibly successful career.
Good discussion of the impact of the war on Turkish nationalism.
This set of images shows the critical steps of the creation of the Turkish state. The top pictures show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. A military officer and leading political figure in Turkey during the early 20th century, he essentially founded the Republic of Turkey and was its’ first president. During his time in office he initiated several reforms in attempt to modernize the state and reconstruct domestic and economic policies. Using his fame among the military crowd and political notoriety he was able to advocate for these reforms efficiently and with success. Among these reforms was the pursuit of secularism. Mustafa enacted laws that removed the caliphate and detached Islamic law from the state. This was the only time in Turkish history where Islamic law was reduced only to issues of religion. Clothing and religious wear under Islam were discouraged as European attire was promoted. Veils and other clothing that had previously gone hand in hand with sexual segregation were dismissed. These were the first steps in securing freedoms for women in Turkey. In order to advance this integration mass education was put into action. The picture on the left shows a new Turkish alphabet that was put into place following the removal of Arabic as the primary writing tool. This push for statewide education increased the literacy rate by more than 50%. Modern teaching methods were used not only for children but adults as well to create a proficient work force. These advances were meant to provide a basis for a modern Turkey. Mustafa’s economic reforms sought to expel foreign control over the Turkish economy. Previous trade routes were dismantled and soon centered around smaller districts within Turkey in pursuance of a more unified Turkey. New transportation methods were introduced along with new railways and banks to oversee the debts and financial state. The last picture is a map of Turkey after the new borders were drawn up as part of the Treaty of Lausanne. This was a resolution to the conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and European states since World War 1. Previously there had been a treaty called Sevres that was signed by all the parties agreeing upon the territorial gains; movements in Turkey would cause this treaty to fail as the territorial restructuring was seen as unjust in Turkey. This treaty set the new borders for what is now the Republic of Turkey. The main outcome of the treaty was the independence of the Turkish state along with the security of its diverse population. This independent Turkey would then be internationally recognized as the successor to the Ottoman Empire.
Good discussion of modernization and nationalism in Turkey.
These images serve to represent many of the important events and changes that led to the formation of modern-day Turkey from the Ottoman Empire. At the forefront of the events or changes these images symbolize was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a military officer in the Ottoman armed forces during World War I who would later become the first president of Turkey.
The top two pictures show Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and serve to show the great impact he had on modernization of the then-new Turkish state through his so-called “Kemalism” and sweeping social reforms. The top left picture shows Ataturk among his citizens. He was deeply involved in the implementation of his reforms and was known to go out among the people and directly interact with them. The men in this picture are all clearly wearing Western style suits. As part of Ataturk’s extensive social reforms, he banned the wearing of turbans and the hijab and encouraged the people to adopt Western dress and saw this as key to modernizing his nation. He believed that Westernizing Turkey as much as possible would help bring the country into renewed international prominence by making the society more closely resemble the societies of the powerful Western nations.
The top right picture with the quote from Ataturk illustrates his dedication and heavy emphasis on educational reform as a major way to modernize Turkey. Ataturk made secular education compulsory for children and adults in order to help bring the country up to speed on the world stage. This dedication to education reform is also represented in the middle left picture of an educational book for the teaching of the Latin alphabet. As part of his education reforms, Ataturk completely changed the written Turkish language. Ataturk made the country switch from using the harder to learn Arabic alphabet to a modified Latin alphabet very similar to that used by the languages of the West. Together, these educational reforms produced real results. From 1928 to 1930, the literacy rate in Turkey increased from just 10% to 70%, a truly staggering figure.
The bottom right picture is a map of the military actions and movements of the Battle of Gallipoli. This was a significant conflict in World War I between the allied forces of Britain and France and the Ottoman Empire. The Turkish forces, led by none other than Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, were eventually victorious when Britain and France pulled out after months of fighting from April 1915 to January 1916. The battle resulted in heavy casualties into the hundreds of thousands on both sides and helped Ataturk rise to national recognition for his part as the victorious commander.
Finally, the bottom left image is a map of the territorial changes that resulted from the Treaty of Lausanne. This peace treaty successfully ended the conflicts of World War I for Turkey after the failed Treaty of Sèvres, guaranteed Turkish sovereignty, and officially recognized its statehood. In addition to this, the treaty set the borders for modern Turkey and included agreements for certain territorial changes and losses. It also resulted in the exchange of Greek and Turkish populations between the countries and outlined the rules for the passage of ships through Turkey’s straits.
Excellent
Mallory Smith – word count 505
The top two pictures are of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk who is credited with creating modern Republic of Turkey. He was a military officer in the Italian-Turkish War, the Balkan Wars and World War I. He became the first President of Turkey and reformed much of the ways of the past in Turkey. Ataturk actually means “Father of the Turks”. As learned in class, he was born in Salonika (Greek side) and was an anti-monarchist in that he preferred the governing rule of a constitutional democracy. The modernization of Turkey came in “6 arrows” – pragmatism, realism, secularism, nationalism, populism and etatism. The picture in the top left shows Ataturk with the people of Turkey. He definitely worked with his people and worked reforms through them in order to create a genuinely better country. The picture on the top right symbolizes one of his better known reforms he accomplished – education. The quote exemplified the type of reforms he was really pushing for. He created a compulsory, secular education with an emphasis on science. He also made a major change in the language. He modified it into a Latin alphabet base which made it easier to learn. This then increased literacy from 10% to 70%, between 1928-1930. The education reform, specifically in science and the language, is seen better in the middle left picture. Ataturk theorized that this education reform would allow modernization and industrialization to occur in Turkey quicker. He did meet some opposition to his reforms (as well as in law, politics, dress code and names) especially with being westernized.
The maps on the collage bring up with Treaty of Lausanne – which guaranteed Turkish sovereignty and recognition of statehood. You can see from the picture on the left, that the Turkish land was slimmed down a bit. With the treaty, there were some territorial agreements that included the loss of Cyprus, Doclerarese, Thrace, Egypt and Sudan as well as territorial concession of Sevres (France and UK care a lot about this territory). There was no territory for the Kurds or Armenians and Hatay and Mosul were no longer a division of Turkey. All of these were a big deal in the modernization of Turkey. You can see where the allied powers gained territory in the picture. The treaty put some very severe restrictions on Turkey with being on the losing side of World War I and leading two publicized genocides as well.
The bottom right is hard to distinguish a bit for me but what I’m gathering from the information was that it shows the Allies’ strategy of invading Sari Bair – in August 1915. The goal was to gain control of the central heights of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during World War I where they could cut off access and ensure control of the Dardanelles Straits. They had to conquer two fronts – Anzac and Helles over the course of three months. Sari Bair ridge is actually the name of the high ground that led the middle of the peninsula above the Anzac landing.
Good discussion of modernization, the point of the last picture is that it was during this campaign that Ataturk began to rise to importance in the nationalism movement.
The 5 pictures are related to important events in the Turkish history and the creation of modern turkey. The first two pictures show Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. He was the founder of modern republic turkey and the first president after WWI from 1923 till his death 1938. In 1934 he got the name Atatürk which means father of the Turks. He is still an important symbolic figure for Turkish national identity.
Atatürk got his first attention during the battle of Gallipoli. He was a commander during the Battle. This battle took place during WWI and was a total disaster and many people died because of the bad planning.
Istanbul was occupied by Britain. Atatürk created a second government and an independent Turkish state in Ankara in 1920. Also the capital was shifted from Istanbul to Ankara. So the situation was quite complicated, because there were two governments at the same time in one territory. This led to the situation that the treaty of Sevres was signed by the government in Istanbul but not by the government in Ankara, so it wasn’t ratified. The treaty would have meant great territorial losses for turkey.
After the Turkish war of independence the Treaty of Lausanne was signed and ratified. It took a long time, from November 1922 to 1923 because of the diversity of the population and to find a solution for everybody. The treaty guaranteed the sovereignty of turkey and the recognition of statehood. Further there was a territorial agreement. Turkey’s borders were set nearly as they are now. But they lost Cyprus, which belongs now partly to Turkey and partly to Greece. The Kurds and the Armenians got no own territory, like how it was agreed in the Treaty of Sevres.
Atatürks main goal was to modernise Turkey. For him modernisation meant pragmatism, realism, secularism, nationalism, populism and etatism also called the six arrows. One of his main focus was on education. He modified the language and modified the alphabet. Also he sent everybody to school to learn how to write and to read. He also translated the Koran from Arabic to Turkish that everybody could read it. I think it is very impressive that the literacy rate went up from 10% to 70% in only two years. But I think the modification of the language worked so well because the literacy rate was so low before and the people had to learn something new and not learn something different from something they already know and use. Further he changed the law. He established a secular law. Before that the law was based on the sharia. The new law was influenced by Western Europe. Also he established a modern parliamentary democracy and since 1934 women are included in politics. To his politic is also referred to Kemalism.
The first picture shows Atatürk and other men in western cloths. He encouraged to wear western cloths, to adopt the whole western lifestyle.
But Atatürk had not only supporter. He thought the best way to push his ideas further he has to ban other parties. He tried to pluralism two times, but the opposition was too dangerous to get in his way to modernize turkey. However Atatürk really pushed the country forward and brought it closer to Western Europe he had to ban opposition parties. It kind of worked out for turkey, but this can be also very dangerous, when the party in power does not pursue the right goal…
Very good discussion.
Turkey has long been an intersection of culture, trade and politics. The photos pictured represent the modernization of the Turkish state and the turbulent process of such in the early 1900’s. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, pictured on the top left, is generally considered to be the founder of Turkey and was well liked among his people, his name literally meaning “father of the Turks”. After serving as a military officer in world war 1, he led the Turkish National Movement in the Turkish War for Independence. Seeking reform for a Nation disbanded from the former Ottoman Empire, Thousands of new schools were built, primary education was made free and compulsory and women were given equal civil and political rights. Modern secular Turkey’s principles were formed all under Mustafa’s leadership. One of the leading principles of Mustafa, shown in the top left picture, was his belief and confidence in education as a driving force for the future of not only Turkey but for a more peaceful and secular world. He emphasized literacy and science competency which very quickly rose the literacy rate from 10% to 90%%. Although his secular attitude towards education was taboo in the largely Muslim population, he is widely remembered for having a significant impact in modernizing Turkey with his motto: “peace at home, peace in the world”. Another major accomplishment and factor of change pictured here coming from Mustafa’s leadership, was the adoption of the modern Turkish alphabet. Because of his creation of a one party state in Turkey, he was able to establish an updated system of writing. The new language used Latin script for its base while focusing on Turkish sounds for pronunciation. He toured the country promoting the new system against a wider historical Muslim view and encouraged rapid adoption. This was a huge factor in the literacy rate increasing so fast.
The bottom two images represent major military moments in Turkey in the early 1900’s. The bottom left is the battle of Gallipoli, a military campaign in World War I that took place on the Gallipoli peninsula. On the north end of the peninsula, the straight of Dardanelles, which provided access to the then Russian empire. Britain and France launched an attack hoping to secure it and was repelled forcing them back into Egypt. The attack was a major Ottoman victory along with a allied failure. In the bottom left picture, the Treaty of Lausanne recognized Turkey as a sovereign state in 1923. It included the exchange of Christians in Turkey for Muslims in Greece and territorial losses included Cyprus, Thrace, Dodecanes, Egypt, Sudan and Sevres. The treaty ended the conflict between the allies and the Ottoman Empire, and was ratified by Turkey on August 23, 1923 and put into force August 6, 1924. The original conflict was a result of the destruction of the Greek forces in Asia Minor and the expulsion of the Ottoman sultan by the Turkish army under the command of Ataturk. The Ankara based government of the Turkish National Movement rejected the treaty of Sevres previously signed by the Ottoman Empire.
Very good, the importance of the Galipolli campaign was the way in which Ataturk used its successes to solidify Turkish nationalism
Tori Scott
All of these pictures together show the change of Turkey from an Ottoman Empire to a Republic. Also they show the reforms put in place by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The bottom right photo shows the invasion plan for Gallipoli. The Allies invaded Gallipoli in World War One in attempt to take control of Dardanellies. However this was a horribly planned attack, they did not take into consideration the weather. Both the Turks and the Allies suffered a massive amount of deaths, from war and disease. The Turks were able to fight them off with the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. This showed his leadership and caused the country to love him before he came to power.
The bottom left picture is Anatolia after the Treaty of Lavsanne, marking out the countries. The Treaty of Lavsanne took place in 1923 and it guaranteed Turkish sovereignty and recognition of statehood. This was a time were the boundaries and treaties were changing, making it difficult to learn and live. This is how the current boundaries of Turkey came about, but the land of Turkey was slimmed down a little from its original borders. However the borders drawn did not take into account the populations living there. This caused there to be a conflict ending in a lot of migration between the Muslims and Christians. Another change that the treaty caused was the relocation of the capital. It moved from Istanbul to Ankara.
The top left and right photos are of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. He was the revolutionary leader of modern day Turkey. He was known for his revolutionary reforms. He was responsible for removing Sharia Law and putting western government in place instead. He created a democratic government and everyone seemed to love him. The democratic government he put in place had better civil and political rights for women. Since they were trying to change the Turkish citizens from ottomans to western, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk also changed the alphabet. This is shown in the middle left photo. He changed them to a Latin based alphabet instead of Arabic because the Latin was much easier to learn. In return this made the literacy rate go up for the whole country. The new language made it easier for them to have interactions with the rest of the world. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk knew that changing the language could really help Turkey move forward globally. Not only did Mustafa Kemal Ataturk focus on teaching children how to read he also cared about the adults. He created schools for all ages so they could also learn how to read. He also had the men taught trades so they could get a job and work. The women were taught about gender equalization. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk wanted Turkey to be modern and he knew they would have to look like it to really become modern so he banned turbans and some other Muslim dress. He encouraged the people to wear the western style of clothing, hoping to make the country as a whole look like a western country.
Good discussion.
The first image seems to me to be a group of middle class men at some sort of political meeting or function. This image to me relates to the contact between Turkey and major European nations. More specifically in how Turkey interacted with those nations positively or negatively through politics and during the early to mid-20th century. It could possibly relate to Turkish independence or to Turkish contact with World War powers. The second image below the first seems to be instructions on written language. Most likely related to the Turkish leader who converted the old Turkish Cyrillic alphabet to a modified Latin alphabet. The leader was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk if I am not mistaken. He was attempting to increase literacy, education, and eventually modernize Turkey. I believe this was also part of an act called The Six Arrows that overall attempted to completely reform the Turkish nation. The threat of European nations around World War 1 in terms of direct threat and potential threat galvanized the Turkish leader to try and bring the Turkish nation on par with western cultures. The third image on the bottom left is obviously a map of Turkey after World War 1 in respect to the Treat of Lausanne between the period of November 1922 and July 1923. At this time Turkey was carved into different territories in accordance with the Treaty of Sevres. The map shows the effect of the Treaty of Lausanne on Turkey or as it was renamed Anatolia. The Treaty consisted of a guarantee of Turkish sovereignty and recognition of statehood. It also forced an exchange of Greek and Turkish populations numbering in the 1 and a half million for Christians and half a million for Muslims. The Treaty introduced the Straits convention and several territorial agreements such as the loss of Cyprus, Dodecanese, Thrace, Egypt and Sudan as well as territorial concessions. Not to mention the demilitarization of modern Turkish borders and the absence of turkey for the Kurds or Armenians. The fourth image in the top right is a picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk seemingly giving a quote about education. This undoubtedly references his Six Arrows program and how he tried to modernize Turkey in a variety of ways. In fact his attempt was called Kemalism and he tried to reform the Turkish nation through education, law, politics, religion, names, and dress. He tried to make education compulsory and secular, to reform the madrassas and emphasize science. He attempted to abolish sharia and ban polygamy as well as adopting a penal and civil code. He abolished the Caliphate and briefly established a modern parliamentary democracy. He banned turbans and hijab and tried to emphasize western dress. He even adopted western surnames. Finally the last image on the bottom right seems to reference the battle of Gallipoli which happened from 1915 to 1916. This battle was very successful for the Turks despite the lack of serious combat. Most soldiers died from the environment and the weather.
– by Camden Lynch
Good discussion – paragraphs are always useful!
All five of these photos are important to the history of Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who is in two of these pictures, is one of the most important people in Turkish history. He was a revolutionary who helped establish Turkey. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was Turkey’s first president and his first order of business was to modernize and secularize the country. His western-style approach to government created many reforms. The images show the change of Turkey from an Ottoman Empire to a Republic. He was well liked among his people. Mustafa believed in education and in the top left picture shows the driving force for a more secular world. It’s educators coming together to get things done.
The maps on the image show the Treaty of Lausanne in Anatolia. The Treaty took place in 1923. This guaranteed territorial changes, and it guaranteed Turkish sovereignty. The Treaty also sets borders for modern Turkey and included agreements on territorial gains and losses. There was a lot of conflict due to migration between the Christians and Muslims.
The top right picture shows Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s dedication to helping his nations and the education in Turkey. The dedication also presents itself in the left middle photo on the second row. This is a book for educators to teach and students and adults to learn. It looks like it’s an alphabet book in Latin. From 1928 to 1930, the literacy rate in Turkey went up by 60%. In two years, that insane! That’s crazy process and shows how dedicated Mustafa was to his country. He was a remarkable first president.
The last image is another map and it is of the Battle of Gallipoli. It was a very unsuccessful attempt by the Allied Powers to control the sea route from Europe to Russia during World War I. The Allies wanted to take control of Dardanelles. They did not take into consideration the weather that day, so the attack was planned poorly. Many Brits died during the attack. Mustafa defended Gallipoli. This image is very powerful for Mustafa and his people. It shows how they rose to power and how powerful Mustafa really is.
Good discussion, a little thin on the importance of reform and Ataturk.
After the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk set in motion a series of reforms to modernize Turkey. These Kemalist reforms represented the innovative ideas of Ataturk to create a more modern and secular state. The five photographs are symbolic of the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the new Republic of Turkey as well as of the efforts that would be undertaken to achieve that change.
The first three photographs are a representation of the reformative ideals of Ataturk. Ataturk wanted Turkey to be as modern as the European states so he implemented certain Western practices so that the people of Turkey could inherit them. In the first picture, several men surround him and they are all wearing similar outfits. Thus, one of the practices that he wanted the men of Turkey to inherit was to wear similar attire to that being worn in Europe. The hat was one of the biggest staples in European outfits, and so, all the men in the photograph are seen holding a hat along with suits. Ataturk promoted the wear of the hat by outlawing the fez, the traditional headpiece in the Ottoman Empire. The picture next to it on the right quotes Ataturk as expressing his belief that the teachers are the ones who will ensure that the reformative process takes place. His strong belief in the idea that teachers could ensure that the change would happen is expressed through his choice of the word ‘save’ in regards to their role in changing phases of the state. One of the teaching initiatives that Ataturk implemented to ensure that the population would become educated and move towards a more modern state was a change to the official language of the people in Turkey. The picture in the middle shows the translation of words and text because Ataturk wanted the replace Arabic as the written language to one modified after the Latin alphabet so that the people of Turkey could be aligned with those from Europe. In order to integrate Turkey into the practices of Europe and for them to understand modern texts, Ataturk proceeded to establish programs to help people become literate. In two years, the literacy rate increased from 10% to later incorporate 70% of the population. The literacy programs established throughout the country incorporated people of all ages and of different backgrounds, too, without prejudice of their social standing. By doing so, Ataturk ensured that the nation as a whole received some form of education so that the country could progress as a whole.
The following two maps on the bottom are both related to territorial changes and the development of the borders of modern-day Turkey. The one on the left shows some of the boundary changes that were enforced on Turkey by the Treaty of Luasanne in 1923. The culmination of the First World War led to the restructuring of borders and ultimate disappearance of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Luasanne finalized the changes to the remaining territory and established the present day boundaries of Turkey. The map on the right corresponds to the Battle of Gallipoli in which Ataturk participated as a commander of the Ottoman Empire’s army. The battle resulted in an Ottoman victory and is today regarded as a pivotal moment in Turkish history because it was one of the last defining victories of the Ottoman Empire and because it also led to later creation of the Republic of Turkey.
Very good discussion especially of Ataturk and reform.
Derek Kiyoshi Randolph Fukumoto
EUST 4003
Dr. Davidson
Blog Assignment #3
These pictures are principally bound to the new era of Turkey in their emergence into a western state system at the beginning of the 20th century. After 20 years of chaos and disorder, Mustafa Kemal (later Ataturk) was able to negotiate the Treaty of Lausanne. Albeit with devastating territorial losses for the fragile Turkish identity, the treaty guaranteed their right for self-determination. Unfortunately these successes (or rather stipulations) dammed the Armenian population.
Towards the beginning of the 20th century, a coup d’etat was organized to oust Abdul Hamid II, aka the Red Sultan. This process was arduous in nature and its seeds had been planted decades ago. Hamid oversaw the final chapter to a once great empire. Under his leadership, he brought no notable economic growth, did not take an appropriate stand on religion to appease his constituents (citizens, I guess), and lined his pockets with foreign lending at the cost of a massive federal deficit. In retrospect, the position Hamid was in as he came to power would still challenge his legitimacy even if he had worked to appease the people.
The growing identity of nationalism throughout the 19th century was both intentionally and naturally fostered for the ethnic groups within the Ottoman Empire. Prior to, the various ethnic identities were granted statuses as millets, meaning they are allowed to live as de facto second class citizens, and had to pay taxes, but their legitimate right to live was not challenged. This notion was vastly ahead of its time, and is under the guidance of Islamic law. Among the millets in the Ottoman Empire, one sees a vast diversity between those with similar histories such as Jews and Orthodox Christians, as well as the Kurds and Armenians who had largely distinct cultures living in ‘harmony’ (for 19th century purposes the author will define harmony as not killing each other every day). Although nationalism is essential for nation building, a heterogeneous population continues to be the exception, rather than the norm. In the case of the Ottoman Empire, one sees two different reactions.
On the minority side, one sees the roots and desires of national self-determination. The need to possess secure boundaries and disconnect oneself from a great supranational identity. As the yearnings began to manifest in more concrete absolutions, the beginning of the end arrived. For every non-turkish identity struggling for recognition, the Ottoman Empire (specifically in the locus of Turkey) also needed to build a countervailing balance of power for their own needs. In order to build a nation, qualitatively you must have a common identity. Without this, the nation will fail or otherwise be at odds with itself. For the Turks, the option to adapt or adopt was not as viable as forcible deportation (or genocide, whatever).
In the wake of these atrocious actions, one man would be remembered for the good he has done, instead of the terrible things that lead to his success. The man now known as Ataturk was highly successful in building his vision of a western style nation in a majority muslim country. Following the disposal of the Caliph, Ataturk would implement Italian style penal code instead of Sharia, install secular education, change the written language, and a million other things, but my brother just got here, and I need to conclude this so I can get a free dinner. The pictures show the origins of Turkey and influential politicians and territorial appropriations relevant to the future of Turkey. There were clear and unclear winners of this arrangement. Its sad that its easier to remember Ataturk’s policies as opposed to the three separate genocides leading up to this.