Adile Ayda (7 March 1912 – 5 October 1992) was the first woman career diplomat of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, but is today better remembered as an
Etruscologist. She became interested in
Etruscan __NOTOC__
Etruscan may refer to:
Ancient civilization
*Etruscan civilization (1st millennium BC) and related things:
**Etruscan language
** Etruscan architecture
**Etruscan art
**Etruscan cities
**Etruscan coins
**Etruscan history
**Etruscan myt ...
studies while stationed in
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
as the
Minister-Counsellor
Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...
of the
Turkish Embassy, did research on the subject during her stay in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and wrote down her findings in a number of books, in
Turkish and in
French
French may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France
** French people, a nation and ethnic group
** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices
Arts and media
* The French (band), ...
. What is spectacular about her texts on
Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...
and renders them of interest is that she posits the Etruscans as
Turkic, a proposition that is as controversial today as it was during her lifetime.
Ayda was also known in Turkey as an outspoken parliamentarian during her stint as a member of the
Turkish Senate
Senate of the Republic () was the upper house of Turkish Parliament between 1961 and 1980. It was established with the Turkish constitution of 1961 and abolished with the 1982 constitution, although it did not exist after 12 September 1980 a ...
, which she had joined on appointment, as one of the small number of appointed senators, called "kontenjan senatörü" in
Turkish, after her retirement from the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ayda had an eventful professional life. She left the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
soon after she joined it, and taught French literature first at the
Ankara
Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
then
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 ...
universities, penned a number of studies as an academic, in Turkish and in French, before returning once again to the Ministry.
Biography
Ayda's personal life was not less eventful. She was born Gadile Sadreyevna Maksudova (, ) in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
while her father the Tatar
Sadri Maksudi was a member of the
Duma
A duma () is a Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions.
The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were formed across Russia ...
, serving as a representative of the
Ittifaq al-Muslimin
The Union of the Muslims of Russia (Ittifaq, short for , ''Ittifaq âl-Möslimin'' and , ''Ittifaq al-Muslimin'') was a political organisation and Political party, party of Muslims in the late Russian Empire. The organisation was founded during the ...
party, close
Kadets. In 1917, her father became the leader of
the first state formation in the
Idel-Ural
Idel-Ural (, ), literally Volga-Ural, is a historical region in Eastern Europe, in what is today Russia. The name literally means ''Volga-Urals'' in the Tatar language. The frequently used Russian variant is ''Volgo-Uralye'' (). The term Idel-Ura ...
since the territory of the
Kazan Khanate
The Khanate of Kazan was a Tatars, Tatar state that occupied the territory of the former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552. The khanate covered contemporary Tatarstan, Mari El, Chuvashia Republic, Chuvashia, Mordovia, and parts of Udmurti ...
was
occupied by the Russians in 1552. She left
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
during the
famine of the 1920s as a small child, when her mother Kamile, the daughter of the gold-mining
Ramiev family of
Orenburg
Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow.
Orenburg is close to the ...
, took her and her younger sister Naile across the Russo-Finnish border in a clandestine way. They reunited in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
with
Sadri Maksudov, who himself had left the country dressed as a
mujik, after the
Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
had put an end to his government in 1918. The family then spent a year in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, where Adile started school; then moved to France where they settled. An invitation by Turkey's founding president
Atatürk to her father to come and work in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and the latter's accepting the invitation, brought about a radical change in Adile's life.
Once in Turkey, Adile became Adile Arsal as her father took on a new surname according to the law. She went on with her education in
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 ...
, at a French nuns' school,
Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul
Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul () is a French private high school located in the Harbiye, Şişli neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1856.
The high school was established in the Ottoman Empire as a missionary school for gir ...
, and so continued the French education she had been introduced to in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. Raised thus in the French intellectual tradition, Adile became, and remained to the last, a French intellectual at heart. She then attended the law school in Ankara where her father was teaching. She was also a staunch
Kemalist
Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. Ne ...
throughout her life. Known for her strong personality, she was in fact one of the many formidable women the modernizing efforts of the
Turkish Republic Turkish Republic may refer to:
* Turkey, archaically the "Turkish Republic"
* Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the ...
would bring to the fore.
Ayda was married twice. Her first marriage, to a physician, was very brief. Her second husband was
Reşid Mazhar Ayda Reşid or Reşit is a Turkish language, Turkish name, derived from the Arabic ''Rashid (name), Rashid'' (رشيد), and may refer to:
* Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha (1800–1858), Ottoman statesman and chief architect of the Tanzimat reforms
* Reşid ...
(1900–1986), a
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
-educated mechanical engineer whom she married in 1942. He was the descendant of an old
Ottoman family of Istanbul. The Aydas had two daughters and five grandchildren.
Works
*"L’Influence de Victor Hugo sur Mallarmé." ''Dialogues''. İstanbul, 1953.
*''Le Drame Intérieur de Mallarmé ou l'Origine des Symboles Mallarméens''. İstanbul: La Turquie Moderne, 1955.
*''Un Diplomate Turc Auprès du Roi-Soleil''. İstanbul, 1956.
*"Molière et l’Envoyé de la Sublime Porte."'' Les Divertissements de Cour au XVIIe Siècle''. Actes du VIIIe Congrès de l'Association Internationale des Études Françaises, Paris, 3-5 septembre 1956 in Cahiers de l’Association Internationale des Études Françaises, 9 (juin 1957). 103-116.
*''Yahya Kemal. Kendi Ağzından Fikirleri ve Sanat Görüşleri''. Ankara: Ajanstürk Yayınları, 1962.
*''Les Étrusques Étaient-ils des Turcs?'' Paris: 1971.
*''Etrüskler Türk mü idiler?'' Ankara: Türk Kültürünü Araştırma Enstitüsü Yayınları, 1974.
*''Yahya Kemal’in Fikir ve Şiir Dünyası''. Ankara: Hisar Yayınları, 1979.
*''Böyle İdiler Yaşarken''. Ankara: 1984.
*''Les Étrusques Étaient des Turcs. Preuves''. Ankara: 1985.
*''Atsız’dan Adile Ayda’ya Mektuplar'' (derleme). Ankara: 1988.
*''Türklerin İlk Ataları''. Ankara: 1987.
*''Sadri Maksudi Arsal''. Ankara: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları Türk Büyükleri Serisi, 1991.
*''Etrüskler (Tursakalar) Türk idiler''. İlmî Deliller. Ankara: 1992.
*''Садри Максуди Арсал''. Перевод (Çeviren) В.Б. Феоновой. Москва: 1996.
*''Bir Demet Edebiyat''. Makaleler. Halil İnalcık’ın önsözü ile. Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 1998.
See also
*
List of Turkish diplomats
List of notable diplomats of the Republic of Turkey, past and present. The names are listed in an alphabetical order according to their last names, with their positions and other relevant information.
In alphabetical order
A
* Akçapar, Bu ...
References
*İnalcık, Halil. "Âdile Abla." ''Bir Demet Edebiyat'', Adile Ayda. Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 1998. 1-19.
*Aygün, Ömer (haz. ve çev.) ''Stéphane Mallarmé. Profil''. İstanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları, 2002.
*Çaykara, Emine. ''Tarihçilerin Kutbu: Halil İnalcık Kitabı''. Söyleşi. İstanbul: Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 2005.
*Pultar, Gönül. "Batı Avrupa Kültürü ile Türk-Tatar Kültürünün Sentezi: Adile Ayda (1912-1992)" (A Synthesis of Western European Culture and Turco-*Tatar Culture: Adile Ayda, 1912–1992)." Paper delivered at the conference entitled "Cultural Relations Between Turkey and Tatarstan" organized in *September 2005 in Kazan, by the Institute of Turkish Studies (Türkiyat Enstitüsü) of
Istanbul University
Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...
and the Institute of Language and Literature of the Academy of Science of the Republic of Tatarstan. (The conference proceedings volume is in preparation, edited by Osman Sertkaya.)
External links
''Ayda, Adile.'' Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayda, Adile
1912 births
Tatar people from the Russian Empire
Soviet emigrants to Turkey
Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul alumni
Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni
Turkish expatriates in France
Turkish expatriates in Italy
Turkish women diplomats
1992 deaths
Soviet expatriates in France
Turkish people of Tatar descent
Etruscologists