The Efe were the leaders of Turkish irregular soldiers, called the

Zeybeks Zeybeks, sometimes spelled as Zeibeks ( ''Zeibekoi''; ), were irregular military, irregular militia and guerrilla fighters living in West Anatolia from late 17th to early 20th centuries. History Origins The origins of Zeybeks are debated with ...

and Kızan. There are several theories about the origins of the word ''Efe''. For Turks, Efe is a special culture. For this reason, Efe people are still respected and Zeybek dances are performed at special celebrations. The organization of the Efe and

were first seen in the 16th century during the

Jelali revolts The Celali rebellions () were a series of rebellions in Anatolia of irregular troops led by bandit chiefs and provincial officials known as ''celalî'', ''celâli'', or ''jelālī'', against the authority of the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th and ...

which dismantled power throughout 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 ...

. After that time, men who rebelled against local pressures and injustices and settled in the mountains were called ''Efe'' or ''Zeybek''. The Efe were distinctive in their attire, weapons and general appearance, which were created for survival and to best suit the life of an Efe. For example, they wore shorter trousers than were common at the time, and a

yataghan The yatagan, yataghan, or ataghan (from Turkish ''yatağan''), also called varsak, is a type of Ottoman knife or short sabre used from the mid-16th to late 19th century. The yatagan was extensively used in Ottoman Turkey and in areas under imme ...

with only one side with a sharpened point which was useful in

mêlée A melee ( or ) is a confused hand-to-hand fight among several people. The English term ''melee'' originated circa 1648 from the French word ' (), derived from the Old French ''mesler'', from which '' medley'' and ''meddle'' were also derived. T ...

combat. After the

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 ...

Efes were known for leading their bands of Zeybeks in guerrilla strikes against the Greek forces during the

Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922) There have been several Greco-Turkish Wars: * Orlov revolt (1770) Greeks' first major, organized Revolt against the Ottoman Empire with the support of Russia *Greek War of Independence (1821–1830), against the Ottoman Empire * First Greco-Turkish ...

, before voluntarily joining the newly formed national army in 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 ...

. After the declaration of the Republic, Efe groups were awarded with The Medallion of Independence for their participation in the war. Most Efe leaders received military ranks and pensions for their services. When they retired after the foundation of the new Turkish Republic in 1923, they resettled in the cities of western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The most widely known Efes are Yörük Ali Efe, Demirci Mehmet Efe, Kıllıoğlu Hüseyin Efe, Postlu Mestan Efe, Atçalı Kel Mehmet Efe, Molla Ahmet Efe, Saçlı Efe,

Gökçen Huseyin Efe Gökçen is a Turkish name, Turkish given name which means "beautiful woman", "blue-eyed woman", or "belonging to the sky", and may refer to: Given names * Gökçen Denkel (born 1985), Turkish female volleyball player * Gökçen Efe (1881–1919) ...

, Mesutlu Mestan Efe, and

Çakırcalı Mehmet Efe Çakırcalı Mehmet Efe (1872–1911) was a Zeybek, who was active as an outlaw in the region enclosing İzmir, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla and Antalya in modern western Turkey, from 1893 to 1910. Born in Ödemiş in 1871, he went out to the Aegean m ...

, and Efe Karanci.

References

{{commons category, Efe (zeybek leader)
Views of the "outlaw concept" in comparative perspective: "The American West" and the "Zeybeks" in the Turk lands
: Lectures on Central Asia, H.B. Paksoy Culture of Turkey Titles Zeybeks Turkish words and phrases de:Efe (Titel)

See also

References