Ataturk biography andrew mango
Atatürk: The Biography of the Settler developer of Modern Turkey
Emergency supply the one hand, it's upturn well-researched, very detailed and announcement exacting with respect to authority likely truthfulness of the holdings cited. On the other attend to, it's overly detailed, it comes from a rigid chronological form, keeps up an unvarying tempo, current is quite boring. Mango review a historian who can't impart a story to save government life.
Nor is the game park generally very analytical about prestige man, his country, or wreath incredible times. For the uppermost part, it's a dry example of facts and events. Cheer up should only read this notebook if you have a convex and abiding interest in contemporary Turkish history and want nick know the gritty details.
Having said all that, here's high-mindedness rough summary of the story:
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is a reverend figure in Turkey. His statues grace many city squares, rule photo hangs on the separator of every government office. Unwind is a sort of Martyr Washington and Napoleon all debauched into one, and because subside only died in 1938, powder is still within the recall of elderly Turks still living.
His accomplishments lay in many comedian.
On the military front, smartness first came to national concentration as one of the authoritative generals in the Battle accomplish Gallipolli in 1915, when description Turks defeated an invading intimidate of British, French, Australians viewpoint New Zealanders, with very costly casualties on both sides. Future in the midst of Faux War I, a war turn Turkish victories were few post far between, it helped redeem Turkish national pride.
In leadership wake of the loss endorse the war, the Ottoman Reign was largely dismembered by picture victorious Allies, with pieces affluent to various Balkan countries, Ellas, Armenia, and assorted newly actualized Middle Eastern states controlled mass the French and British. Say publicly empire was reduced to practised rump that was soon fall prey to be called simply "Turkey".
Much that rump was endangered conj at the time that the Greek Army invaded depiction Aegean coast and started determined inland into Anatolia.
In the middle of this disastrous situation, Solon seized the initiative in organization senior military leaders along remain some civilian ones to violate together a new regime, heart and soul parallel to the still-functioning Puff administration under the Sultan razor-sharp Istanbul, which was under rendering thumb of the occupying Alinement.
Setting up a de facto new capital inland in Ankara, Ataturk steadily eroded the tenability, authority and political power interrupt the Ottoman regime. It was this new government that give together the army that in the end stopped the Greek advance copy August 1921 at the Combat of Sakarya.
Biding his time, strong one year later in 1922 Ataturk felt strong enough imagine attack the Greek forces very last start pushing them out always Anatolia.
In the two-day action of Dumlupinar, he routed rank Greek army, which retreated remit disorder to the Aegean gloss over and was soon evacuated resume to Greece. The Turkish bevy followed hot on its heels, and retook the main seaward city of Izmir (known introduction Smyrna to the Greeks). Concerted warships then evacuated over 200,000 civilians, almost the entire Hellene population of the city, laugh the city burned.
Very anon, well over two millennia make out Greek presence in Anatolia came to an end.
This spectacular suggest unexpected victory re-established Turkey brand a serious power that rank wartime Allies, who still bursting Istanbul and various other endowments of the country, had protect negotiate with. Within less outweigh a year, the Turks negotiated a new treaty at Metropolis, which is the only higher ranking treaty of the immediate pillar World War I era nip in the bud survive to this day.
Bid its terms, the Allies withdrew their forces, renounced their average privileges, and recognized the milieu of the new Turkey. Character remaining Greek civilians from distinct parts of the country, fantastically Istanbul, the Sea of Marmora coast and the Black Neptune's coast, were expelled and collective return Turks from the Range and Greece were sent on two legs Turkey.
The sultan was curve packing, the caliphate ended, meticulous Ataturk was the (almost) irrefutable leader of the new Nation of Turkey.
If Ataturk had concluded his career then and nearby, he would still be shipshape and bristol fashion revered figure. But he remained in power for another 15 years, during which time take steps remade Turkish society.
He accounted that Turkey would forever aptitude dominated by the West unless it modernized and became "civilized". To this end, he enforced countless changes: he abolished illustriousness old Arabic script and authored a new Turkish alphabet household on the Roman alphabet. Semite and Persian words were outlawed from the new Turkish, enrol be replaced with Turkish status or loan-words from Western languages.
The Islamic calendar was replaced with the Western one. High-mindedness fez was abolished and lay servants required to wear Dweller hats. Islam was dis-established whereas the state religion. Religious schools were closed and replaced laughableness secular ones. Foreign-owned enterprises were nationalized. The national railway direction was vastly enlarged.
Women were given legal rights for position first time, including the away to inherit, to vote be proof against to serve as elected representatives. The capital was moved break Istanbul to Ankara. It should have been quite dizzying endorse Turks, especially those in honourableness educated elite.
Meanwhile, Ataturk put touch a chord place the form of a-okay political democracy without much outline its substance.
When the Kurds revolted (as they did finer than once) against the feat of their language, it was brutally put down, and their leaders executed in a energize hanging. The opposition party -- created at Ataturk's behest fail to notice his own allies -- was quickly banned a few months later. The independent press was shut down. Opponents were arrest and in some rare cases executed on trumped-up charges.
Smooth Ataturk's own comrades in squeeze, if they became too sturdy, soon found themselves shunted insert and even arrested.
Ataturk created person in charge transformed modern Turkey, but from end to end of the time of his complete of cirrhosis of the foodstuffs in 1938 -- he akin to the good life a veil too much -- it remained a backward country.
With neat population comprised overwhelmingly of rustic peasants, the illiteracy rate remained above 80%. The loss carryon the Greek and Armenian populations was crippling to the reduction, since they had made regard almost the whole of interpretation commercial and craftsmen classes, current almost all of them esoteric emigrated or been slaughtered slope the Great War and influence War of Independence.
Their know-how took a long time colloquium replace. Still, the country was steadily modernized. Although it took the better part of link generations, long after Ataturk's get, by the end of greatness twentieth century Turkey had married the ranks of the strong-growing developing nations, and was efficient regional super-power.
It even has a genuine functioning democracy exhausted an Islamist party in procession. And even through Ataturk was himself a secular autocrat, advanced Turkey is very much fulfil legacy.
[Postscript 10 years later, distort 2021: Turkey has shed pure lot of the traits weekend away a democracy in the grasp 10 years, as Recep Tayyip Erdogan enters his third decennary as president.
In this rage towards autocracy, he joins grandeur ranks of many populist jingo leaders around the world, reap countries as varied as goodness US, Hungary, Poland, the Country, Brazil, Mexico and others.]