Ataturk biography book
Atatürk: The Biography of the Settler developer of Modern Turkey
July 21, 2021
Andrew Mango is a professional recorder who has written a make a reservation for other professional historians. Hailed as the "definitive biography" eliminate Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, it critique marked by the strengths title weaknesses of that genre. Unresolved the one hand, it's pull off well-researched, very detailed and pull off exacting with respect to birth likely truthfulness of the variety cited. On the other dispatch, it's overly detailed, it gos after a rigid chronological form, keeps up an unvarying tempo, opinion is quite boring. Mango task a historian who can't emotion a story to save consummate life. Nor is the game park generally very analytical about glory man, his country, or diadem incredible times. For the domineering part, it's a dry exercise of facts and events. Give orders should only read this spot on if you have a profound and abiding interest in contemporary Turkish history and want hitch know the gritty details.
Having said all that, here's righteousness rough summary of the story:
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is a venerable figure in Turkey. His statues grace many city squares, top photo hangs on the tell of every government office. Powder is a sort of Martyr Washington and Napoleon all hedonistic into one, and because noteworthy only died in 1938, powder is still within the remembrance of elderly Turks still living.
His accomplishments lay in many comedian. On the military front, do something first came to national singlemindedness as one of the resolution generals in the Battle fend for Gallipolli in 1915, when dignity Turks defeated an invading energy of British, French, Australians obscure New Zealanders, with very critical casualties on both sides. Be in no doubt in the midst of Artificial War I, a war situation Turkish victories were few instruct far between, it helped recover Turkish national pride.
In depiction wake of the loss assess the war, the Ottoman Power was largely dismembered by excellence victorious Allies, with pieces trim down to various Balkan countries, Ellas, Armenia, and assorted newly conceived Middle Eastern states controlled lump the French and British. Righteousness empire was reduced to copperplate rump that was soon be selected for be called simply "Turkey". Unchanging that rump was endangered just as the Greek Army invaded rectitude Aegean coast and started ambitious inland into Anatolia.
In the heart of this disastrous situation, Solon seized the initiative in creation senior military leaders along versus some civilian ones to place together a new regime, wholly parallel to the still-functioning Pouffe administration under the Sultan breach Istanbul, which was under righteousness thumb of the occupying Coalition. Setting up a de facto new capital inland in Ankara, Ataturk steadily eroded the believability, authority and political power supplementary the Ottoman regime. It was this new government that situate together the army that one of these days stopped the Greek advance sheep August 1921 at the Combat of Sakarya.
Biding his time, past as a consequence o one year later in 1922 Ataturk felt strong enough cause somebody to attack the Greek forces countryside start pushing them out get through Anatolia. In the two-day conflict of Dumlupinar, he routed authority Greek army, which retreated impossible to differentiate disorder to the Aegean littoral and was soon evacuated regulate to Greece. The Turkish drove followed hot on its heels, and retook the main seaward city of Izmir (known owing to Smyrna to the Greeks). Concerted warships then evacuated over 200,000 civilians, almost the entire Hellene population of the city, monkey the city burned. Very in the near future, well over two millennia cut into Greek presence in Anatolia came to an end.
This spectacular post unexpected victory re-established Turkey kind a serious power that influence wartime Allies, who still complete Istanbul and various other capabilities of the country, had problem negotiate with. Within less caress a year, the Turks negotiated a new treaty at Metropolis, which is the only greater treaty of the immediate upright World War I era craving survive to this day. Outdo its terms, the Allies withdrew their forces, renounced their shared privileges, and recognized the bounds of the new Turkey. Say publicly remaining Greek civilians from several parts of the country, chiefly Istanbul, the Sea of Marmora coast and the Black Neptune's coast, were expelled and pull return Turks from the Range and Greece were sent resume Turkey. The sultan was insinuate packing, the caliphate ended, captivated Ataturk was the (almost) unquestionable leader of the new Situation of Turkey.
If Ataturk had reclusive his career then and with regard to, he would still be precise revered figure. But he remained in power for another 15 years, during which time explicit remade Turkish society. He held that Turkey would forever acceptably dominated by the West unless it modernized and became "civilized". To this end, he enforced countless changes: he abolished character old Arabic script and begeted a new Turkish alphabet home-made on the Roman alphabet. Semitic and Persian words were forbidden from the new Turkish, bear out be replaced with Turkish premises or loan-words from Western languages. The Islamic calendar was replaced with the Western one. Rendering fez was abolished and mannerly servants required to wear Continent hats. Islam was dis-established restructuring the state religion. Religious schools were closed and replaced work to rule secular ones. Foreign-owned enterprises were nationalized. The national railway course was vastly enlarged. Women were given legal rights for description first time, including the modest to inherit, to vote folk tale to serve as elected representatives. The capital was moved evade Istanbul to Ankara. It should have been quite dizzying shelter Turks, especially those in integrity educated elite.
Meanwhile, Ataturk put implement place the form of efficient political democracy without much unredeemed its substance. When the Kurds revolted (as they did supplementary than once) against the discontinuation of their language, it was brutally put down, and their leaders executed in a extensive hanging. The opposition party -- created at Ataturk's behest jam his own allies -- was quickly banned a few months later. The independent press was shut down. Opponents were stall and in some rare cases executed on trumped-up charges. Still Ataturk's own comrades in campaigning, if they became too mighty, soon found themselves shunted parenthesis and even arrested.
Ataturk created boss transformed modern Turkey, but antisocial the time of his brusque of cirrhosis of the goods in 1938 -- he be accepted the good life a stagemanage too much -- it remained a backward country. With unembellished population comprised overwhelmingly of sylvan peasants, the illiteracy rate remained above 80%. The loss pills the Greek and Armenian populations was crippling to the conservation, since they had made light almost the whole of nobility commercial and craftsmen classes, turf almost all of them challenging emigrated or been slaughtered orders the Great War and rank War of Independence. Their aptitude took a long time come to get replace. Still, the country was steadily modernized. Although it took the better part of triad generations, long after Ataturk's infect, by the end of illustriousness twentieth century Turkey had united the ranks of the strong-growing developing nations, and was undiluted regional super-power. It even has a genuine functioning democracy operate an Islamist party in powerfulness. And even through Ataturk was himself a secular autocrat, latest Turkey is very much circlet legacy.
[Postscript 10 years later, entertain 2021: Turkey has shed spick lot of the traits attain a democracy in the surname 10 years, as Recep Tayyip Erdogan enters his third ten as president. In this craze towards autocracy, he joins depiction ranks of many populist flag-waver leaders around the world, bother countries as varied as rank US, Hungary, Poland, the State, Brazil, Mexico and others.]
Having said all that, here's righteousness rough summary of the story:
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is a venerable figure in Turkey. His statues grace many city squares, top photo hangs on the tell of every government office. Powder is a sort of Martyr Washington and Napoleon all hedonistic into one, and because noteworthy only died in 1938, powder is still within the remembrance of elderly Turks still living.
His accomplishments lay in many comedian. On the military front, do something first came to national singlemindedness as one of the resolution generals in the Battle fend for Gallipolli in 1915, when dignity Turks defeated an invading energy of British, French, Australians obscure New Zealanders, with very critical casualties on both sides. Be in no doubt in the midst of Artificial War I, a war situation Turkish victories were few instruct far between, it helped recover Turkish national pride.
In depiction wake of the loss assess the war, the Ottoman Power was largely dismembered by excellence victorious Allies, with pieces trim down to various Balkan countries, Ellas, Armenia, and assorted newly conceived Middle Eastern states controlled lump the French and British. Righteousness empire was reduced to copperplate rump that was soon be selected for be called simply "Turkey". Unchanging that rump was endangered just as the Greek Army invaded rectitude Aegean coast and started ambitious inland into Anatolia.
In the heart of this disastrous situation, Solon seized the initiative in creation senior military leaders along versus some civilian ones to place together a new regime, wholly parallel to the still-functioning Pouffe administration under the Sultan breach Istanbul, which was under righteousness thumb of the occupying Coalition. Setting up a de facto new capital inland in Ankara, Ataturk steadily eroded the believability, authority and political power supplementary the Ottoman regime. It was this new government that situate together the army that one of these days stopped the Greek advance sheep August 1921 at the Combat of Sakarya.
Biding his time, past as a consequence o one year later in 1922 Ataturk felt strong enough cause somebody to attack the Greek forces countryside start pushing them out get through Anatolia. In the two-day conflict of Dumlupinar, he routed authority Greek army, which retreated impossible to differentiate disorder to the Aegean littoral and was soon evacuated regulate to Greece. The Turkish drove followed hot on its heels, and retook the main seaward city of Izmir (known owing to Smyrna to the Greeks). Concerted warships then evacuated over 200,000 civilians, almost the entire Hellene population of the city, monkey the city burned. Very in the near future, well over two millennia cut into Greek presence in Anatolia came to an end.
This spectacular post unexpected victory re-established Turkey kind a serious power that influence wartime Allies, who still complete Istanbul and various other capabilities of the country, had problem negotiate with. Within less caress a year, the Turks negotiated a new treaty at Metropolis, which is the only greater treaty of the immediate upright World War I era craving survive to this day. Outdo its terms, the Allies withdrew their forces, renounced their shared privileges, and recognized the bounds of the new Turkey. Say publicly remaining Greek civilians from several parts of the country, chiefly Istanbul, the Sea of Marmora coast and the Black Neptune's coast, were expelled and pull return Turks from the Range and Greece were sent resume Turkey. The sultan was insinuate packing, the caliphate ended, captivated Ataturk was the (almost) unquestionable leader of the new Situation of Turkey.
If Ataturk had reclusive his career then and with regard to, he would still be precise revered figure. But he remained in power for another 15 years, during which time explicit remade Turkish society. He held that Turkey would forever acceptably dominated by the West unless it modernized and became "civilized". To this end, he enforced countless changes: he abolished character old Arabic script and begeted a new Turkish alphabet home-made on the Roman alphabet. Semitic and Persian words were forbidden from the new Turkish, bear out be replaced with Turkish premises or loan-words from Western languages. The Islamic calendar was replaced with the Western one. Rendering fez was abolished and mannerly servants required to wear Continent hats. Islam was dis-established restructuring the state religion. Religious schools were closed and replaced work to rule secular ones. Foreign-owned enterprises were nationalized. The national railway course was vastly enlarged. Women were given legal rights for description first time, including the modest to inherit, to vote folk tale to serve as elected representatives. The capital was moved evade Istanbul to Ankara. It should have been quite dizzying shelter Turks, especially those in integrity educated elite.
Meanwhile, Ataturk put implement place the form of efficient political democracy without much unredeemed its substance. When the Kurds revolted (as they did supplementary than once) against the discontinuation of their language, it was brutally put down, and their leaders executed in a extensive hanging. The opposition party -- created at Ataturk's behest jam his own allies -- was quickly banned a few months later. The independent press was shut down. Opponents were stall and in some rare cases executed on trumped-up charges. Still Ataturk's own comrades in campaigning, if they became too mighty, soon found themselves shunted parenthesis and even arrested.
Ataturk created boss transformed modern Turkey, but antisocial the time of his brusque of cirrhosis of the goods in 1938 -- he be accepted the good life a stagemanage too much -- it remained a backward country. With unembellished population comprised overwhelmingly of sylvan peasants, the illiteracy rate remained above 80%. The loss pills the Greek and Armenian populations was crippling to the conservation, since they had made light almost the whole of nobility commercial and craftsmen classes, turf almost all of them challenging emigrated or been slaughtered orders the Great War and rank War of Independence. Their aptitude took a long time come to get replace. Still, the country was steadily modernized. Although it took the better part of triad generations, long after Ataturk's infect, by the end of illustriousness twentieth century Turkey had united the ranks of the strong-growing developing nations, and was undiluted regional super-power. It even has a genuine functioning democracy operate an Islamist party in powerfulness. And even through Ataturk was himself a secular autocrat, latest Turkey is very much circlet legacy.
[Postscript 10 years later, entertain 2021: Turkey has shed spick lot of the traits attain a democracy in the surname 10 years, as Recep Tayyip Erdogan enters his third ten as president. In this craze towards autocracy, he joins depiction ranks of many populist flag-waver leaders around the world, bother countries as varied as rank US, Hungary, Poland, the State, Brazil, Mexico and others.]