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Muallim Naci ( ota, معلّم ناجى), literally "Naci The Teacher" (b. 1850 – d. 12 April 1893), was an Ottoman writer, poet, educator and literary critic. He lived during the reform-oriented
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 1876. ...
period of the
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) ...
and advocated modernization without breaking ties with the old. He contributed in criticisms about both the prose and the poetry, and acquired a special place in
Turkish literature Turkish literature ( tr, Türk edebiyatı) comprises oral compositions and written texts in Turkic languages. The Ottoman and Azerbaijani forms of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, were highly influenced by Persian a ...
and society by studying problems and providing ideas that would affect the Turkish people. His work ''Lugat-i Nâcî'', an
Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed exten ...
dictionary, is of major importance.


Life

He was born at Saraçhanebaşı quarter of the
Fatih Fatih () is a district of and a municipality (''belediye'') in Istanbul, Turkey, and home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the governor's office, police headquarters, metropolitan municipality and tax office) but not the co ...
district,
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
in 1850. His real name was Ömer. His father Ali Bey was a master
saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not kno ...
r by profession, his mother Zehra Fatma Hanım was the daughter of an immigrant family from Varna (now in
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
). He started primary school in Istanbul. After his father's death, while seven years old, he went to Varna to live with his uncle. Since there was no opportunity to pursue a regular educational path, he tried to close the gap by taking various courses. He learned
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
and
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
. After working on calligraphy and memorizing of the
Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...
, he taught at Varna's ''Rüştiye'' (middle school). In those years, he chose " Naji" (Naci in Turkish) as
pen-name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...
, and made some attempts in poetry.Abdullah Uçman, Muallim Naci, ''İslam Ansiklopedisi''
/ref> After meeting with
mutasarrıf Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...
Mehmed Said Pasha Mehmed Said Pasha ( ota, محمد سعيد پاشا ‎; 1838–1914), also known as Küçük Said Pasha ("Said Pasha the Younger") or Şapur Çelebi or in his youth as Mabeyn Başkatibi Said Bey, was an Ottoman monarchist, senator, statesman ...
, he quit taking courses that had continued for nearly ten years, and became the Pasha's private
katib A katib ( ar, كَاتِب, ''kātib'') is a writer, scribe, or secretary in the Arabic-speaking world, Persian World, and other Islamic areas as far as India. In North Africa, the local pronunciation of the term also causes it to be written keti ...
. He traveled a lot in
Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hi ...
and
Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The r ...
. In 1881, he went to
Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is ...
with Mehmet Pasha. There he started writing poems and sent some to ''
Tercüman-ı Hakikat ''Tercüman-ı Hakikat'' ( en, Interpreter of Truth) was a daily newspaper published in Constantinople (today- Istanbul), Ottoman Empire between 1878 and 1921. The first issue was published on June 26, 1878. Among the news still quoted from t ...
'' ("Interpreter of Truth"); ''Kuzu'' ("Lamb") of 1881, ''
Nusaybin Nusaybin (; '; ar, نُصَيْبِيْن, translit=Nuṣaybīn; syr, ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, translit=Nṣībīn), historically known as Nisibis () or Nesbin, is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009 and is ...
Civarında Bir Vadi'' (a valley near Nusaybin) of 1882, ''
Dicle Dicle ( ku, Pîran, ota, پيران) is a town and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey. The population was 8,436 in 2010. The Mayor is Felat Aygören from the HDP. Dicle is the Turkish name of the Tigris river, which runs through the dist ...
'' ("Tigris") of 1883. After returning to Constantinople, he worked in the Foreign Ministry. When Mehmed Said Pasha was assigned to
Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
, Naci rejected the offer to go with him and he continued to serve in the Foreign Ministry. Shortly after he resigned from the civil service and began his career in journalism. Proposed by
Ahmet Mithat Efendi Ahmet Mithat (1844 – 28 December 1912) was an Ottoman journalist, author, translator and publisher during the Tanzimat period. In his works, he was known as Ahmet Mithat Efendi, to distinguish him from the contemporary politician Midhat Pasha ...
, Naci became editor-in-chief of ''Tercüman-ı Hakikat''. In 1884, he married Mediha Hanım, the daughter of Ahmet Mithat.İlknur Ay, Muallim Naci, Ahmet Rasim ve Halide Nusret Zorlutuna’nın Anı Türündeki Eserleriyle Çocuk Edebiyatımızdaki Yeri ve Başlıca Temaları, ''Selçuk Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Konya 2009''
/ref> After his promotion, he was engaged in learning French, which he succeeded in a short time. Some of his poems got fame because of the French translations. ''Ateşpare'' (1883) was the first book of poetry, which was published in Istanbul, followed by ''Şerrare'' in 1884. On November 23, 1885, ''İmâdü'l-in Midâd'' (Peasant Girls Songs) poem was published. This poem became the first in Turkish literature to talk about the rural village life. He continued with two other books of poetry ''Füruzan'' (1886) and ''Sünbüle'' (1890). ''Hamiyet-yahut- Masa Bin Eb'il-Gazan'' that followed presented the memories of the tragedy of his childhood. It was translated and published in
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
in 1898, and in
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
in 1914. Meanwhile, he taught language and literature in civil and law schools. Between the years 1887 and 1888, he published ''Mecmua-i-Muallim'', a weekly magazine, which continued for 58 issues. In 1891, he began to work on his best known work ''Lûgat-i Naci'', a dictionary of the Turkish language. With Naci's death in 1894,
Ismet Müstecabizâ Ismet ( tr, İsmet) is a Turkish form of the Arabic name Ismet. Along with Turkish, the name is also seen in Albanian, Bosnian, and Macedonian. The name means "honesty" or "purity" and in classical "infallibility", "immaculate", "impeccability" and ...
, a friend of his, finished the work. Muallim Naci was an innovator in Ottoman-Turkish poetry. It was in favor of breaking the bonds of the old styles, and had many followers, among others
Yahya Kemal Yahya may refer to: * Yahya (name), a common Arabic male given name * Yahya (Zaragoza), 11th-century ruler of Zaragoza * John the Baptist in Islam, also known as Yaḥyā ibn Zakarīyā See also * Tepe Yahya Tapeh Yahya () is an archaeological ...
.Yahya Kemal ve “Ünivarsite” Misyonu, ''Yağmur Dil-Kültür ve Edebiyat Dergisi,Sayı 13: yıl :2011'2
Naci criticized the lack of realistic literature of his time. He advocated the Turkish language. He endeavored to write simple; select and use old words which are placed colloquially to create harmony.


Trivia

Muallim Naci was the first Turkish poet to use the phrase "I am a Turk" in a poem.Mehmet Selim Ergül, Türk Şiirinde Taşra: 1859-1959 Bilkent Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Doktora Tezi, Mayıs 2009
/ref> He received the title "Tarih-Nüvîs-i Selatin-i Âl-i Osman" from the Sultan. Some schools in Turkey bear his name.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Naci, Muallim Turkish poets 19th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire Writers from Istanbul 1850 births 1893 deaths Turkish publishers (people) Turkish literary critics Civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Educators from the Ottoman Empire Male poets from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century male writers