Mehmed Said (1877,

Antep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

, Aleppo Vilayet – 28 March 1920), better known as Şahin Bey or Şahan Bey in the local Turkish dialect, was the commander of the

Turkish revolutionaries The Turkish National Movement (), also known as the Anatolian Movement (), the Nationalist Movement (), and the Kemalists (, ''Kemalciler'' or ''Kemalistler''), included political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resu ...

that were stationed in the city of

Gaziantep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

during the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

Early life and family

Mehmed Said is commonly thought to be born in the Bostancı neighborhood of

to a family of Turkish origin. It is also claimed that he was actually born in the village Zilif (in modern-day

al-Bab District al-Bab District () is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of al-Bab Al-Bab ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a Syrian city, administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate. Al-Bab is loca ...

, northwestern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

) and belonged to the Turkmen

Elbegli Elbegli ( or ) is a Turkoman tribe mainly residing in Kilis, Gaziantep, and Sivas provinces in Turkey. History The tribe was mainly found around Sivas and Kemah before the Ottoman authorities resettled them near Sajur River during the 17th and ...

tribe. His parents were Abdullah and Ayyuş. Because his father passed away when he was very young, his maternal uncle brought him up. In 1902, he married with his wife, Zeynep, and later had two children: Mehmet Hayri and Mehmet Sait.

Ottoman Army Years

Beginning in 1899, he started to take active roles at numerous battles for the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He was sent to

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

to fight against the local imams that were trying to take the control of the region from the Ottomans. His efforts would help the Ottoman Empire to control Yemen until its dissolution after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Later, he voluntarily went to

Ottoman Tripolitania Ottoman Tripolitania, also known as the Regency of Tripoli, was officially ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912. It corresponded roughly to the northern parts of modern-day Libya in historic Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. It was initially ...

in 1911 to defend the Ottoman territories against the invading Italian forces. After a successful beginning for the Ottoman side, the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish (, "Tripolitanian War", , "War of Libya"), also known as the Turco-Italian War, was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911 to 18 October 1912. As a result of this conflict, Italy captur ...

turned out to be an Italian victory in the end. An outcome that ended the Ottoman presence in the

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

totally. Disappointed after the defeat, Şahin Bey returned to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and was sent to the Balkan front immediately. Another defeat was waiting for him there. Turks lost nearly all of their territories in Europe. Şahin Bey's return to the Western front would come after the Ottoman Empire entered the World War I on the side of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. He was sent to Galicia to help the allies of the empire. He was later transferred to the Middle Eastern front of the war, specifically to Sinai in 1917. There he took part in the

Sinai and Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revol ...

which resulted with another defeat for the Ottoman-German alliance. Şahin Bey became a prisoner of war in the hands of the British forces. He was not released until 1919. When he returned in 1919 to his homeland, south-central Turkey, he became the representative of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

, with a duty to control the important road between

Kilis Kilis is a city in southernmost Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province and Kilis District. Its population is 112,187 (2022). On 6 February 2023 Kilis was badly affected by the tw ...

and Gaziantep. There he saw the disadvantageous results of World War I.

Local leader of the revolution

1919 was an important year for the Turkish revolution against the invading

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa () is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Moustafa * Moustafa A ...

was starting a revolt in Anatolia, and the French were invading Şahin Bey's homeland. Şahin Bey decided to join the spirit of the revolution and became the leader of the local revolutionaries. He was hoping to defeat the French Army, as his comrades had done at the

Battle of Marash The Battle of Marash (), also called the Marash Affair, took place in the early winter of 1920 between the French forces occupying the city of Maraş in the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish National Forces linked to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. It ...

. For this purpose, he attacked Charles Joseph Edouard Andréa's forces, a spearhead group of the actual army, that left

Aintab Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medit ...

in the morning of 26 March 1920. The combat started with the advance of the Turkish side, but turned into a defeat when the main French force arrived onto the battlefield. Şahin Bey nevertheless fought against the advancing Andréa's troops and managed to stop them on Elmalı bridge. On 28 March, he and his men were killed, allowing

Henri Gouraud Henri Gouraud (17 November 1867 - 16 September 1946) was a French army general. He played a central role in the colonization of French Africa and the Levant. During World War I, he fought in major battles such as those of the Argonne, the Dard ...

and Andrea's forces could enter to the city of

Selâhattin Âdil Selâhattin Âdil (January 19, 1882; Constantinople (Istanbul) – February 27, 1961; Istanbul) was an officer of the Ottoman Army (1861–1922), Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. He fought in the Gallipoli Campaign during the Fir ...

, ''Hayat Mücadeleleri: Selahattin Âdil Paşanın hatıraları'', Zafer Matbaası, 1982, p. 339.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahin Bey 1920 deaths 1877 births People from Gaziantep People from Aleppo vilayet Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish military personnel of the Franco-Turkish War Turkish militia officers Members of Kuva-yi Milliye Deaths by bayonet Turkish military personnel killed in action Turkish revolutionaries Syrian people of Turkish descent Turks from the Ottoman Empire