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

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

writer, poet and politician. Being an ideologue of

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism () or Turkism () is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus Viceroyalty (1801–1917), South Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and th ...

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

Early life and education

He was born in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

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 ...

during the late

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

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 Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī (Pashto/), also known as Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī () and commonly known as Al-Afghani (1838/1839 – 9 March 1897), was an Iranian political activist and Islamic ideologist who travelled throughout the Mus ...

, 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 Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

in 1907 which instigated a coup against Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

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

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

. 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. During

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 ...

, his literary work became popular amongst the adherents of the CUP as his nationalist views did not exclude

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

. In 1913 he became a member of the

Ottoman Parliament The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

representing

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

. After the foundation 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 ...

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

Turkish alphabet The Turkish alphabet () 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 requirements o ...

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

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

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