Mehmet Emin Yurdakul (13 May 1869 – 14 January 1944) was a Turkish

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

writer, poet and politician. Being an ideologue of

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), with its aim bei ...

, his writings and poems had a major impact on defining the term ''vatan'' (Fatherland).

Early life and education

He was born in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

during the late

Tanzimat The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 187 ...

period on 13 May 1869. His father was Salih Reis, a fisherman, and his mother was Emine Hatun. His received his early education in Istanbul, but didn't formally graduate due to the dire financial situation within the family. He then began an internship in the Ottoman administration. He published the book ''Fazilet ve Asalet'' in 1891, which caused the prime minister to appoint him to work in his office as the director of documentation. His early literary work was influenced by the political activist and Islamic ideologist, Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī, who Yurdakul was to get to know in Constantinople in 1892. al-Afghānī died in 1897 and Yurdakul published a compilation of his poetry in the book ''Türkçe Şiirler,'' which were accompanied by paintings from Fausto Zonaro.

Political career

He joined the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

in 1907 which instigated a coup against Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

in 1908. Following he was employed in the Ottoman administration and sent to

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

. From 1909 onwards he was appointed Governor of several provinces of the

. From 1911 onwards, he was involved in the Pan-Turkist associations such as the Association of Turks () and the

Turkish Hearths Turkish Hearths ( tr, Türk Ocakları) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) in Turkey. It was founded in 1912, during the last years of the Ottoman Empire, in a period when almost all non-Turkish elements had their own national committees, an ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, his literary work became popular amongst the adherents of the CUP as his nationalist views did not exclude religion. In 1913 he became a member of the

Ottoman Parliament The General Assembly ( tr, Meclis-i Umumî (French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" ) or ''Genel Parlamento''; french: Assemblée Générale) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Al ...

representing

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second larg ...

. After the foundation of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

in 1923, he was a member of the Grand National Assembly, where he supported the adoption of the

Turkish alphabet The Turkish alphabet ( tr, ) is a Latin-script alphabet used for writing the Turkish language, consisting of 29 letters, seven of which ( Ç, Ğ, I, İ, Ö, Ş and Ü) have been modified from their Latin originals for the phonetic requir ...

. He died on 14 January 1944 and is buried at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

in Istanbul, Turkey.

Notable works

*''Fazilet ve Adalet'' (''Virtue and Justice'', 1891) *''Türkçe Şiirler'' (''Poems in Turkish'', 1898) *''Türk Sazı'' (''Turkish Instrument'', 1914) *''Ey Türk Uyan'' (''O Turk Wake Up'', 1914) *''Tan Sesleri'' (''Voices of the Dawn'', 1915) *''Ordunun Destanı'' (''The Legend of the Army'', 1915) *''Dicle Önünde'' (''In Front of Tigris'', 1916) *''İsyan ve Dua'' (''The Uprising and the Prayers'', 1918) *''Zafer Yolunda'' (''On the Way of Victory'', 1918) *''Turan'a Doğru'' (''Towards Turan'', 1918) *''Aydın Kızları'' (''Girls of Aydın'', 1919) *''Türk'ün Hukuku'' (''The Law of Turk'', 1919) *''Dante'ye'' (''To Dante'', 1928) *''Kıral Corc'a'' (''To King George'', 1928) *''Mustafa Kemal'' (''Mustafa Kemal'', 1928) *''Ankara'' (''Ankara'', 1939)

References

External links

Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism: YURDAKUL, Mehmet Emin
* Biyografi.net
''Biography of Mehmet Emin Yurdakul''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yurdakul, Mehmet Emin Turkish writers Turkish poets 1869 births 1944 deaths Pan-Turkists Members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Liberal Republican Party (Turkey) politicians 20th-century Turkish politicians 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Deputies of Istanbul Deputies of Şanlıurfa Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire