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With the rise of “Turkism” the Ottoman Empire met their demise. Turkism is also a multifactorial historical event, with the impact of Western studies playing a significant role. The introduction of Western intellectual currents into the Ottoman milieu, particularly in fields like history, language, and social sciences, laid the groundwork for the subsequent emergence of nationalism and secularism.
The infusion of Western ideas into the Ottoman intellectual landscape during the late 19th and early 20th centuries significantly contributed to the decline of the Ottoman Caliphate. By challenging traditional Islamic concepts with Western notions of nationalism and secularism, these intellectual currents fostered a new Turkish identity that ultimately undermined the foundations of the Caliphate.
Western Turkological Studies and the Ottoman Encounter
Turkology, the study of Turkic people, their identity, culture, language, ethnicity, etc has been around for centuries. Native scholars initiated the recording of Turkic dialects as early as the eleventh century. It was not until the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries that works on Turkey emerged in the West, with the first work on the Turkish language appearing in the seventeenth century. Formal studies of Turkish and other Turkic languages emerged in Europe during the eighteenth century and by the end of the nineteenth century, prominent centers for Turkological research had been established at the universities of Paris, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, Budapest, and Vienna. (Encyclopedia.com, 2024)
Several studies were published by Western scholars on Turkish history and language throughout the nineteenth century, focusing on the pre-Ottoman achievements of Turks. These studies influenced many late Ottoman intelligentsia and brought about a major change in society.
Arthur Lumley Davids, A Grammar of the Turkish Language
One of the early studies of Turkology in the West is “A Grammar of the Turkish Language” authored by Arthur Lumley Davids, a 19th-century English scholar and notably an Orientalist, who made significant contributions to the Orientalist studies of Turks. "Grammar of the Turkish Language," published in 1832, is a major work in the discipline. Davids tries to encompassboth language and cultural elements in his book, establishing a foundation for subsequent Turkological research in the West and influencing the minds of late Ottoman intellectuals Young Ottoman movement.
In this work, he focuses on the grammar. But, he also discusses the origin of Turks. He considers Turks part of the Caucasian family, not affiliated with Mongolians, and implicitly part of the European family of nations. He states:
In reducing to its proper compass so extensive an appellation, Physiology and Language must be our guides; each of which will enable us to draw a strongly marked line between the race of the Mongols and that which has been termed Caucasian d. To the former, admitting the greatest extent we can allow the name, the appellation of Tatar must be confined: to that part of the latter which is the subject of this essay we apply the more comprehensive name of Turks.
The author not only asserts the European origins of Turks but also disparages Islamic scholarship by discrediting its methodologies as unreliable and inaccurate. He states:
The earliest of the Mohammedan writers from whom we can acquire any knowledge of the ancient history of the Turks is Rashideddin. This author was Secretary to Gazan Khan, a descendant of Tchingis, who reigned in Persia about the end of the thirteenth century. He was directed by this prince to compile a history of the Asiatic nations: and his accounts of the early history of the Turks are partly drawn from ancient annals then existing in the archives of the state, and partly from the traditions the most aged men had received from their ancestors. Unfortunately, in the execution of this work, the author has intermingled and confounded the traditions of the Turks with those of the Mongols; and has so mixed these up with the religious genealogies of the Moslems, that it is now almost impossible to separate them. It is from this work that Abulghazi and the other Mohammedan writers have drawn their materials; and they have, consequently, fallen into the same errors. We can, therefore, expect nothing unalloyed by this mixture of nations and fables, in the accounts of the Mohammedans; which, however, will give us the most ancient opinions of Persia and Arabia respecting the Turks: for though, in imitation of the Book of Genesis, the Believers of Mohammed have ascribed the origin of nations to individual princes, there is little doubt they consulted the general opinion of the East with regard to relative antiquity, and that it is the genealogy alone that is fabricated.
After he assumes that Turks are part of the Caucasian family, acknowledging that Rashideddin compiled his account of Turk people’s history from the archives of the state and the traditions the most aged men had received from their ancestors, he blames Rashideddin for mixing up Turks with Mongols, which in his case is deemed wrong, thus he accuses of Muslim history relating to Turks to be “fabricated”. However many recent Genetic studies have found that both Turkic and Mongolic populations display a high degree of Northeast Asian ancestry, likely originating from the Amur River basin region. This aligns with the conclusions reached by previous Muslim scholars.
Mustafa Celalettin Paşa, Les Turcs, anciens et mod- ernes (1869)
Early attempts to link Turkic languages to languages spoken by Indo-Europeans, the so-called Aryan people, were made in 1869, by Mustafa Celâleddin Pasha, a Polish-born Ottoman general, strategist, and writer who lived from 1826 to 1876. He was born and educated in Poland and was a multi-linguist too. Other than Polish he had profound knowledge of Latin, French, German, and Russian. After converting to Islam he changed his name from Konstanty Borzęcki to Mustafa Celaleddin. During his military career, Celâleddin Pasha rose to Major General and served in numerous wars for the Ottomans. He was also captain of the Ottoman General Staff and chief of the cartography department. Considered one of the "fathers of modern Turkish patriotism", Celâleddin Pasha made significant contributions to fields of Turkish history, language, and culture.
In 1869, Celâleddin Pasha published his influential work "Les Turcs anciens et modernes" (The Turks, Ancient and Modern) in French, later translated into English. In his treatise, The author employs an unconventional methodology to link Turks to the European racial category. First, he tries to refute the theories regarding Turkish racial inferiority. Then he claims that Turks and Europeans are of the same race. According to him, Ottoman Turks were descendants of the great Turanian family, which he claimed to be the same flesh as Europeans. He even introduced the new racial term ”TouroArienne” based on brotherhood and the racial affinity of Turks to Europeans to replace “Indo-European”, “indo-German” or “Aryan” terms. By attributing European origins to Turks, the author constructs a narrative justifying Ottoman Westernization as a 'return to roots,' thereby presenting it as an inevitable and logical development.
It is, therefore, evident that unfavorably located at the far end of Asia, in a land without an outlet and accessible to the tribes of the yellow race, the great Turkish nation could not easily assert its historical rights, having lost its national literature and the monuments of its past in the Arab civilization for many centuries.
To substantiate his hypothesis of a shared racial ancestry between Turks and Europeans, the author cultivated a scholarly interest in linguistics and philology, aligning himself with the intellectual trends of the nineteenth century. A major part of his book deals with comparative philological analysis of Turkish and ‘Aryan’ languages. Despite employing blatantly unscientific and amateurish methods compared to his contemporaries, the author exerted significant influence over the late Ottoman intelligentsia.
Other Studies on Turkic Identity
The Turkological studies were a major attraction of the nineteenth century among Western scholars and several studies were published in this field. Beyond the perspective offered by Arthur Lumley Davids and Mustafa Celâleddin, a diverse range of viewpoints emerged. Léon Cahun, a prominent French scholar, In his work Introduction à l'histoire de l'Asie : Turcs et Mongols, des origines à 1405 (Introduction to Asian History, Turks and Mongols), published in 1896, deemphasized the link between Turks and Europeans saying that the Turanian peoples (including Turks, Mongols, Finns, and Japanese) were world conquerors, as shown by the example of Genghis Khan. he then proceeds to elaborate on the positive qualities of Turanians. German linguist Friedrich Max Müller, another expert in the field, also assumed a distinct identity to the Turanian people by adding the Turanian language group in addition to the Semitic and Aryan languages in his book Three Families of Languages: Semitic, Arian, Turanian, published in London in 1855.
Another significant contribution to the field was made by Danish scholar Wilhelm Thomsen, who successfully deciphered the renowned Orkhon inscriptions in 1893.11 This breakthrough unveiled the crucial role of these texts in Turkish cultural history, sparking immediate and widespread interest among linguists and turkologists alike, leading to a surge in research on Old Turkic inscriptions on an international scale.12 While the contributions of the mentioned scholars are significant, it is essential to acknowledge the existence of a vast body of research on this. However, due to the scope of this overview, it is impossible to provide a comprehensive account of this vast body of research.
Impact of Western Turkological Studies on Turkish Nationalism
With the Tanzimat reforms initiated in 1839 aiming for state modernization, late Ottoman intellectuals found themselves between Islamic values and Western theories. Many Ottoman scholars started journeying to the West, studying there, and actively engaging in academic activities there. It was clear that Western ideas were growing in influence among many intellectuals.
No doubt the Western Turkological studies significantly influenced the rise of Turkish nationalism. By delving into the pre-Islamic history, language, and origins of Turkic peoples, these studies contributed to the formation of a distinct Turkish identity. European discourses on Turanian peoples and languages played a pivotal role, either intentionally or unintentionally, in fostering a sense of national identity among Turkish intellectuals. These scholarly endeavors, whether conscious or incidental, shaped the contours of Turkish nationalism.
Many of these studies were translated into Turkish and read locally in the territory. Necib Asım Balhasanoğlu, a Turkish scholar who published articles in Journal Asiatique, was one of the early Turkish scholars active in Western academic journals, translated Leon Cahen into Turkish. The fact that the sultan outlawed Balhasanoğlu's book on Turkish history and Sultan Abdülhamid banned “discussions on language” shows how much of an impact these Turkological studies had on the society.
The influence of turkology over the nationalist figures is, be it Western or native. Ziya Gökalp considered the father of Turkism, finds that his Turkism was influenced by two books that he read when he was fifteen years old, Ahmet Vefik Pasha's Lehce-i Osmaní, a textbook of the Ottoman language, and the Tarih-i Alem (History of the World) by Süleyman Pasha. When he arrived at Constantinople, the first book he managed to get his hands on was Léon Cahun's Introduction à l'histoire de l'Asie which, he remarks:
We observed that history, as presented in (Dekini), had a significant impact on the initial phase of Turkish nationalism. In the subsequent period, (Léon Cahun)'s work, entitled (Introduction to Asian History), exerted considerable influence. Necip Asım Bey expanded upon and translated into Turkish the sections of this book pertaining to the Turks. Necip Asım Bey's work ignited a widespread interest in Turkish nationalism. Ahmet Cevdet Bey transformed the newspaper (İkdam) into a platform for promoting Turkish nationalist ideals. Emrullah Efendi, Veled Çelebi, and Necip Asım Bey are considered pioneers of this nationalist movement.
his highlights the significant influence of Léon Cahun's work on late Ottoman intellectuals, including Gökalp.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the most influential figure of Turkism and the founding father of the Republic of Türkiye, was influenced by the work of Mustafa Celaleddin Pasha, Les Turcs Anciens et Modernes (Old and Modern Turks-Istanbul). Yusuf Sarınay, a renowned scholar, remarks: “It is known that Ataturk also read this work carefully and wanted it to be translated.” In addition, the introduction to Arthur Lumley David’s work, Grammar of the Turkish Language was the main source for Ali Süavi, yet another influential late-Ottoman Intellectual and leading figure of the Young Ottoman movement, for his article titled "Türk" published in the first issue of the newspaper Ulum published in Paris.
Many more works influenced the Ottoman intelligentsia, but these three stand out due to their impact on pivotal figures of modern Turkey. And it is evident from this how much Western Turkological studies have influenced the late Ottoman intellectual landscape. The Western scholarship on Turkological studies coupled with several factors including separatist political movements among non-Turkish Christian and Muslim ethnic groups and the arrival of Turkic émigrés from the Russian Empire accelerated the development of Turkish nationalism within the Ottoman Empire, Ultimately ending the caliphate.
Turkish Nationalism and Abolition of Caliphate
The history of Turkish nationalism is complex and extensive, warranting dedicated exploration beyond the scope of this paper. Nonetheless, it is crucial to acknowledge its pivotal role in the gradual erosion of the Caliphate. The ideals of Turkish nationalism primarily aimed at transforming the weakening state into a polity with restricted powers to the sultan, surfaced with the efforts of Ataturk and Ziya Gokalp. Turkish nationalism was a gradual phenomenon that arose in the late 19th century as intellectuals sought to unify Turkic peoples in response to the weakening Ottoman Empire and external pressures from colonial powers. Late Ottoman intellectuals sought to articulate a distinct Turkish identity emphasizing cultural and linguistic unity. Key figures such as Ziya Gökalp were instrumental in fostering this newfound nationalism, promoting the idea that Turks shared a common heritage deserving of recognition and unity.
Early nationalist ideals were founded on the unity of all the Ottoman regions under one identity, it was called “Ottomanism”, but when it faced failure the idea shifted from “Ottomanism” to “Turkism”, a distinct Turkish identity that emphasized cultural and linguistic unity. The Young Turks, a reformist group that gained prominence in the early 20th century, began to advocate for a more Turkish-centric identity. Even the Ottomans were influenced by this movement. The declaration of Turkish as the national language in 1876’s constitution could be seen as an ideological implication of this movement. Even Sultan Abdul Hamid II considered himself a Turk. With intellectuals establishing new presses, publishing journals and newspapers, and actively promoting the idea of "Turkism," this ideology rapidly gained traction among the masses.
With the end of the First World War, the Ottoman territories were threatened with partition and the Sultanate was under colonial pressure. this further fuelled the “Turkism” discourse. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk emerged as a leading figure, galvanizing support for independence among Turks and ultimately leading to the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1923) against occupying Allied forces. The national struggle culminated in the successful expulsion of occupying forces and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. Despite the National Assembly's initial aim to restore the Sultanate, the Assembly deemed the Sultanate's condition under British rule unacceptable. As tensions escalated between the Assembly and Sultan Vahdettin, the Assembly, led by Kemal Pasha, declared a republic, separating and abolishing the Sultanate and Caliphate. This process culminated in the Turkish National Assembly's March 3, 1924 resolution abolishing the Caliphate and exiling the Ottoman dynasty. The last sultan Abdülmecid Efendi was exiled to paris and died there on 23rd August 1944.
In conclusion, Western Turkological studies, by emphasizing a distinct Turkish identity and promoting secular ideals, significantly influenced late Ottoman intellectuals and played a major role in shaping the “Turkism” discourse. These studies provided the intellectual foundation for the rise of Turkish nationalism, which ultimately led to the abolition of the Caliphate and the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. This marked a pivotal turning point in Islamic history, with lasting consequences for the political and social landscape of the region.
Works Cited- Uzer, Umut. An Intellectual History of Turkish Nationalism: Between Turkish Ethnicity and Islamic Identity. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 2016
- Heyd, Uriel. Foundations of Turkish Nationalism: The Life and Teachings of Ziya Gökalp. Luzac & Company Ltd and The Harvill Press Ltd, 1950
- Sarınay, Yusuf. Türk Milliyetçiliğinin Tarihi Gelişimi ve Türk Ocakları 1912-1931. Kültür Serisi, no. 82, Ötüken Neşriyat A.Ş., 1994.
- Aytürk, İlker. Turkish Linguists against the West: The Origins of Linguistic Nationalism in Atatürk’s Turkey. Middle Eastern Studies, vol. 40, no. 6, Nov. 2004.
- Davids, Arthur Lumley. A Grammar of the Turkish Language. London: Parbury & Allen, 1832.
- Djelaleddin, Moustapha. Les Turcs Anciens et Modernes. Constantinople: Imprimerie du ‘Courrier d’Orient’, 1869.
- Cezmi Eraslan. "Abolishment of The Caliphate And Turkey’s Transformation to Modern State" Journal of Atatürk Research Center, vol. XVII, no. , 2001.
- Scharlipp, Wolfgang-E. The Decipherment of the Turkish Runic Inscriptions and Its Effects on Turkology in East and West. Accessed 28 July 2024. dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/articlefile/3798961.
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