Süleyman Nazif | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 January 1870 |
| Died | 4 January 1927 (aged 56) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Nationality | Turkish |
Süleyman Nazif (Ottoman Turkish:سلیمان نظیف; 29 January 1870 – 4 January 1927)[1] was aTurkishpoet and a prominent member of theCUP. He masteredArabic,Persian, andFrench languages and worked as a civil servant during the reign of SultanAbdul Hamid II. He contributed to the literary magazineServet-i Fünun ("Wealth of Knowledge") until it was censored by the Ottoman government in 1901.[2]
Süleyman Nazif was born in 1870 inDiyarbakır to halfKurdish and half Turcoman family, his father was Said Pasha, a poet and historian.[3][page needed] He was the brother of renowned Turkish poet and politicianFaik Ali Ozansoy. He started his education in his very early years inMaraş. Later, he was schooled in Diyarbakır. In 1879, he joined his father again in Maraş, took private lessons from his father and in French language from anArmenian priest.[4]
Following the death of his father in 1892, Süleyman Nazif worked at several posts in the Governorate ofDiyarbakır. In 1896, he was promoted and worked a while inMosul. After moving to Constantinople, he started to write articles against Sultan Abdul Hamid II sympathizing with the ideas and aims of theYoung Ottomans. He left Istanbul and settled in Paris in 1897.[5] There he contributed toMeşveret which had been started byAhmet Rıza and joined theCommittee of Union and Progress.[5] He stayed eight months in Paris.[4]
When he returned home, he was forced to work at a secretary post in the Governorate ofBursa. In 1908, Süleyman Nazif moved to Istanbul again and joined the Committee of Union and Progress. He also published a newspaper,Tasvîr-i Efkâr, together with the renowned journalistEbüzziya Tevfik. Although this newspaper had to close soon, his articles made him a well-known writer.[2][4]
After Sultan Abdülhamid II restored theconstitutional monarchy following the 1908Young Turk Revolution, Süleyman Nazif served as governor ofOttoman provincesBasra (1909),Kastamonu (1910),Trabzon (1911), Mosul (1913) andBaghdad (1914).[6] However, since he was not very successful in administrative posts, he decided in 1915 to leave public service and return to his initial profession as a writer.[4]
During theArmenian genocide, Nazif was instrumental in preventing massacres from occurring in the province of Baghdad. In one instance, Nazif had intercepted a convoy of deportees numbering 260 Armenian women and children who were being sent to their deaths.[7] Nazif demanded that the convoy be transferred to a safer zone in Mosul but his proposal was ultimately refused. The convoy was eventually massacred.[7] During his time as governor of Baghdad, Nazif visited Diyarbakir where he encountered a "pungent smell of decaying corpses" which "pervaded the atmosphere and that the bitter stench clogged his nose, making him gag."[8] Nazif was critical of Dr.Mehmed Reshid, the governor ofDiyarbakir, who was known as the "Butcher of Diyarbakir".[9] Nazif, who stated that Reshid "destroyed through massacre thousands of humans" also wrote about a committee established by Reshid with the objective of providing a 'solution of the Armenian question'.[8][10] The committee had its own military unit and was called the 'Committee of Inquiry'.[8] Nazif also encouraged other governors not to proceed with the deportation order. In a letter written to his brother Faik Ali Bey, the governor ofKutahya, Nazif wrote, "Don't participate in this event, watch out for our family's honor."[11]
On November 23, 1918, Nazif's article titledKara Bir Gün (literally:A Black Day) was published in the newspaperHadisat to condemn theFrench occupying forces in Istanbul. The article led to the commander of the French forces sentencing Nazif toexecution by firing squad. The order was rescinded, however. As a result of a speech he gave on January 23, 1920, at a meeting to commemorate the French writerPierre Loti, who had lived a while in Constantinople, Süleyman Nazif was forced intoexile on Malta by the occupyingBritish military. During his stay of around twenty months in Malta, he wrote the novelÇal Çoban Çal. After theTurkish War of Independence, he returned to Constantinople and continued to write.[2][4]
Nazif, ever critical of the European imperialist powers, attracted once more their hostility when he wrote his satirical article "Hazret-i İsa'ya Açık Mektup" (Open Letter to Jesus) in which he described to Jesus all the crimes that were perpetrated by his followers in his name. Two weeks later he published "The Reply of Jesus" in which he, as if Jesus was talking, refuted the charges and replied that he is not responsible for the Christians' crimes. These two letters caused a furore among Christians in Turkey and Europe, putting Nazif on the verge of being put on trial. In the end this did not materialize, Nazif apologizing but being not less critical of the "Crusader mentality" of the imperialist Europeans, targeting Turkey in order to extend their power on its soil.[12])
He died ofpneumonia on January 4, 1927, and was interred at theEdirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery.[4]
Resit Bey, the butcher of Diyarbakir
Pasif de olsa bu olaya katılma, ailemizin şerefine dikkat et.
