The Circassian

A Life of Esref Bey, Late Ottoman Insurgent and Special Agent

Nonfiction, History, Revolutionary, Military, Other
Cover of the book The Circassian by Benjamin C. Fortna, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Benjamin C. Fortna ISBN: 9780190862688
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: December 15, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Benjamin C. Fortna
ISBN: 9780190862688
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: December 15, 2016
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Esref Kusçubasi remains controversial in Turkey over fifty years after his death. Elsewhere the man sometimes called the "Turkish Lawrence of Arabia" is far less known but his life offers fascinating insights into the traumatic, increasingly violent struggles that ended the Ottoman Empire and ushered in the modern Middle East. Drawing on Esref's private papers for the first time, these pages tell the story of the making of a headstrong "self-sacrificing" officer committed to defending the empire's shrinking borders. Esref took on a string of special assignments for Enver Pasha, the rapidly rising star of the Ottoman military, first in Libya against the Italians, then in the Balkan Wars and World War I, before being captured by the forces of the Arab Revolt and turned over to the British and imprisoned on Malta. Released in 1920, he joined the national resistance movement in Anatolia but fell out with Mustafa Kemal's leadership and switched sides, earning him banishment from the Turkish Republic at its founding and exile until the 1950s. Never far from the action or controversy, Esref's dynamic story provides an important counterpoint to the standard narrative of the transition from empire to nation state.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Esref Kusçubasi remains controversial in Turkey over fifty years after his death. Elsewhere the man sometimes called the "Turkish Lawrence of Arabia" is far less known but his life offers fascinating insights into the traumatic, increasingly violent struggles that ended the Ottoman Empire and ushered in the modern Middle East. Drawing on Esref's private papers for the first time, these pages tell the story of the making of a headstrong "self-sacrificing" officer committed to defending the empire's shrinking borders. Esref took on a string of special assignments for Enver Pasha, the rapidly rising star of the Ottoman military, first in Libya against the Italians, then in the Balkan Wars and World War I, before being captured by the forces of the Arab Revolt and turned over to the British and imprisoned on Malta. Released in 1920, he joined the national resistance movement in Anatolia but fell out with Mustafa Kemal's leadership and switched sides, earning him banishment from the Turkish Republic at its founding and exile until the 1950s. Never far from the action or controversy, Esref's dynamic story provides an important counterpoint to the standard narrative of the transition from empire to nation state.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Life Cycles of the Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Mendelssohn:A Life in Music by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991 by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Reinterpreting Exploration by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Motor Control by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Islam in Middle East and North Africa: Oxford Bibliographies Online Research Guide by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Integrative Women's Health by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Fiduciary Law by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book The Will to Reason by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Morality After Calvin by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Faith in Reading by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Making The American Self : Jonathan Edwards To Abraham Lincoln by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book Plato's Symposium by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book The Social Psychology of Disability by Benjamin C. Fortna
Cover of the book The Art of Tonal Analysis by Benjamin C. Fortna
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy