The Last Years of the Ottoman Empire

While reading the memoirs of Emmanuilidis Efendi, who was an Aydın deputy in the Ottoman Parliament during the World War, Horotius' statement, "The story told here" came to my mind again. Yes, this is our story told here. And here's the part of the story we haven't been told. What is described here is not only the development of events, but also human scenes from the Parliament...

A quote: "Talat was an atheist. Pan-Islamism was his political tool. Because he had no fear of God, he eventually became unscrupulous."

In this book, which was written in the heat of the moment, while the memory of everything that happened in 1919 was still alive, you can also see the instantly changing emotions and reactions. During the Balkan Wars, those who looked at Greece with hope could suddenly become enemies of Greece. In the book, you can also see the first reflections of the Armenian Genocide and Greek Exile on the Parliament. And their different attitudes... Talat's openly insulting Senate President Ahmet Rıza in the Parliament... The murder of Istanbul Deputy Zohrab Efendi and Van Deputy Vartkes Efendi by the Circassian Ahmet gang. the reactions of the news when it first reached the Parliament... the affairs of Istanbul Police Chief Bedri Bey... the changing roles and maneuvers of the Great State; newly formed? the turmoil of the nation states that are…

The stances of those with Arab identity, those with Armenian, Jewish, Donme, Greek and Vlach identities in the Parliament, their relations with each other, and their reactions. By the way, Kurdish or Assyrian etc. that identities are still far behind.

Here you will read the story of a magnificent collapse.

-Ragıp Zarakolu-
(From the Promotional Bulletin)



Number of Pages: 512

Year of Printing: 2014


Language: Turkish
Publisher: Belge Publications

Prepared for Publication by: Sait Çetinoğlu

First Print Year: 2014

Number of Pages: 512

Language Turkish