The Circassians in Turkey (1918-1938)
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Yelbaşi, Caner (2017) Civil War, violence And nationality from empire to nation state : the Circassians in Turkey (1918-1938). PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London. http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/24388 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this PhD Thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This PhD Thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this PhD Thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the PhD Thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full PhD Thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD PhD Thesis, pagination. CIVIL WAR, VIOLENCE AND NATIONALITY FROM EMPIRE TO NATION STATE: THE CIRCASSIANS IN TURKEY (1918-1938) CANER YELBAŞI Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD 2017 Department of History SOAS, University of London 1 Declaration for SOAS PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ___ ____________________ Date: 16/02/2017 i Abstract This thesis argues that the transformation of Turkey from an empire to a nation state and the chaos in post-WWI Anatolia, drastically affected, first the relationship between the Circassians and the Ottoman State and subsequently that with the Turkish Republic. Although the Circassians relied on the patronage of the Ottoman State, after the Great War political authority was represented by two governments: the Ottoman Porte in Istanbul as a de jure government, and the Ankara government as the de facto one, and the loyalty of the Circassian people was contrary to traditional accounts divided between the two. In general, the ordinary Circassian people supported the loyalists in Istanbul, while the majority of the military elite and the CUP members among the Circassians backed the nationalists in Ankara. This thesis magnifies the presence of the Circassians in this crucial period (1918-1938), illustrating how the post-WWI era and the transformative period from empire to a nation- state became a painful rather than a peaceful experience for those in the country from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Furthermore, it examines the role of the Circassians during this period, focusing on the important western and central Anatolian conflicts they participated in between 1918 and 1938. In geographical terms, the thesis most prominently examines Yozgat, Ankara, Düzce, Adapazarı, İzmit, Gönen, and Manyas as these areas are where incidents broke out. The Anzavur, the Düzce-Adapazarı, the Yozgat, the Çerkes Ethem incidents, the attempt to prepare for Circassian autonomy under Greek occupation, the Gönen-Manyas deportations, and the Circassian opposition to the Kemalist regime, are the central topics that the thesis illuminates in detail. ii Acknowledgments Undertaking this PhD has been a hugely rewarding experience which would not have been possible without the support and sustained advice of many people. First are my parents: my father Recep Yelbaşı and mother Gülümser Yelbaşı; and to my brother Jankat Yelbaşı for their enduring and unwavering support. Thanks are also due to my grandmother Şaziye Yelbaşı, and to my aunt Meryem Erdem, who ensured my comfort and hosted me while I was conducting field work in Ankara. I am profoundly grateful to my supervisor Professor Benjamin C. Fortna for his encouragement and guidance in addition to his sustained support and confidence in me. I would also like to thank Professor Konrad Hirschler, Dr Angus Lockyer, Dr Teresa Bernheimer, Dr Zeynel Abidin Besleney for their valuable feedback on several parts of this thesis. I gratefully acknowledge my examiners, Professor Erik Jan Zürcher and Professor Eugene Rogan for their comments on this thesis. I have benefitted from the help of Sefer Berzeg, Muhittin Ünal, Polat Safi, Ketse Yasin Durmaz, Baki Çule, Sedat Reşad, Ahmet Vedat Güneş, Mustafa İmam, Murat Papşu, Bekir Yilmaz (Hapat), Dr Yorgos Dedes, Gamon McLellan, Prof George Hewitt, Rengin Yurdakul, Elbruz Aksoy, Halil İbrahim Erbay, Hasan Genç, Müzeyyen Şirin, Ümit Şirin, İsmail Şirin, Meltem Şirin, Semih Şirin, Arzu Çınaz, Cihan Çelik, İlteriş Çelik. I am also grateful to the staff of the Prime Ministry’s Ottoman Archives; the Prime Ministry’s Republican Archives; the Turkish Military History and Strategic Studies archives (ATASE); the staff at the archives of the Institute for the History of the Turkish Revolution (TİTE); the SOAS Library where Dominique Akhoun-Schwarb and Kobir Ahmed were extremely generous with their time and help; the Western Thrace Minority Culture and Educational Company (BAKEŞ); the Centre for Islamic Studies (İSAM); iii the Atatürk Library; the Şamil Educational and Cultural Foundation; the Turkish Grand National Assembly; the Caucasus Research Culture and Solidarity Foundation (KAFDAV); the British Library; the National Archives and the Parliamentary Archives. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Turkish National Education which provided financial support. I would also like to thank some of the many friends for their support during these long four years in the UK and Turkey: Ayşe Zeynep Nayır, Miyase Yavuz, Ayşe Kara, Aydın Erken, Kuban Kural, Yakoob Ahmed, Ozan Ahmet Çetin, Elis Gjevori, Sebahattin Abdurrahman, Talha Çiçek and Ömer Faruk Büyükkurt. iv Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments…………………………………………………………...………... iii Note on Place-names, Names, Abbreviations ............................................................. ix Maps ................................................................................................................................. x Chapter One: Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1 – Paramilitarism and Circassians ....................................................................... 5 2 – The Aims and the Central Questions of the Thesis ....................................... 12 3 – Literature Review ......................................................................................... 18 4 – Chapters of the Thesis ................................................................................... 26 5 – Archives ........................................................................................................ 30 Chapter Two: ‘Rebellion’ or ‘Civil War’ Circassian Paramilitary Activism During the Turkish-Greek War of 1919-1920 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 32 1– Turkish War of Independence; its Historiography and Problems in the Sources ............................................................................................................... 34 2 – Organising the Paramilitary Resistance against the Greek Occupation ..... 38 3 – The Rise of the anti-nationalist Movement in South Marmara ................... 44 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 57 v Chapter Three: Civil War in the Empire: Adapazarı- Düzce and Yozgat Incidents (1920) Introduction ....................................................................................................... 59 1 – Adapazarı-Düzce Incidents .......................................................................... 61 2 – Çerkes Ethem in Adapazarı-Düzce Region .................................................. 74 3 – The Yozgat Incident ...................................................................................... 84 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 91 Chapter Four: Replacement of the Bandits and Irregular Forces with the Regular Army in the Western Front, Çerkes Ethem, Mustafa Kemal and İsmet (İnönü) Introduction ........................................................................................................ 93 1 – Çerkes Ethem, Enver - Mustafa Kemal struggle and Bolsheviks ................ 97 2 – North Caucasian Republic; a Reason of the Division between Mustafa Kemal and Enver Paşa ....................................................................... 105 3 – Green Army Society ‘Yeşil Ordu Cemiyeti’ .............................................. 109 4 – The Struggle between Kuvayi Seyyare and Ankara Government .............. 114 5 – The Beginning of End; Simav and Gediz Battles ....................................... 117 6 – Bilecik Meetings ........................................................................................ 125 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 137 vi Chapter Five: The Circassian Congress, Bandits