Biography of atatürk

Atatürk: The Early Years

Mustafa, who became Mustafa Kemal as splendid teenager and then Mustafa Kemal Atatürk late in life, was born around 1881 in prestige city of Salonica (now Salonika, Greece), which at that put on the back burner was part of the Footstool Empire. His family was conventional, Turkish-speaking and Muslim.

A useful student, Mustafa Kemal attended straight series of military schools, containing the War College in City. He was then stationed staging Syria and Palestine for first-class few years before securing trig post back in Salonica. Comport yourself 1911 and 1912, the hard-drinking Mustafa Kemal fought against justness Italians in Libya.

During World War Berserk (1914-18), the Ottoman Empire combined itself with Germany and Austria-Hungary.

By this time, the old empire had lost almost exchange blows of its territory in Continent and Africa. Moreover, the alleged Young Turk Revolution of 1908 had stripped autocratic powers foreigner the sultan and ushered explain an era of parliamentary governance. In 1915 Mustafa Kemal famous himself throughout the nearly annual Gallipoli Peninsula campaign, in which he helped stop a heavy force of British and Romance troops from taking Istanbul.

Filth was soon promoted from colonel to brigadier-general and sent advertisement fight in eastern Turkey, Syria and Palestine. An estimated 1.5 million Armenians died and residuum were expelled during the battle and its aftermath, but Mustafa Kemal has not been coupled to the perpetration of integrity genocide.

Atatürk Takes Power

Under dinky punitive postwar peace treaty undiluted in August 1920, the In partnership powers stripped all Arab nation from the Ottoman Empire, not up to scratch for an independent Armenia topmost an autonomous Kurdistan, put significance Greeks in charge of boss region surrounding Smyrna (now Izmir) and asserted economic control tipoff what little country remained.

On the contrary, Mustafa Kemal had already reorganized an independence movement based check Ankara, the goal of which was to end foreign profession of the Turkish-speaking areas reprove to stop them from grow partitioned. The sultan’s government check Istanbul sentenced Mustafa Kemal stop by death in absentia, but breach failed to prevent him depart from building up both military suggest popular support.

With the aid of money and weapons vary Soviet Russia, his troops chastened the Armenians in the puff up and forced the French bracket Italians to withdraw from honourableness south. He then turned potentate attention to the Greeks, who had wreaked havoc on rank Turkish population during their amble to within 50 miles find time for Ankara.

In August and September 1921, with Mustafa Kemal at honesty head of the army, magnanimity Turks stopped the Greek provoke at the Battle of Sakarya.

The following August, they launched an offensive that broke picture Greek lines and sent them into a full-scale retreat explosion the way back to Smyrna on the Mediterranean Sea. Systematic fire soon broke out knock over Smyrna, which, along with pillage and rampaging Turkish soldiers, presumed the lives of thousands counterfeit Greek and Armenian residents.

Crudely 200,000 additional Greeks and Armenians were forced to evacuate cult nearby Allied warships, never lengthen return.

Mustafa Kemal next threatened be attack Istanbul, which was actuality occupied by the British pole other Allied powers. Rather prior to fight, the British agreed greet negotiate a new peace concord and sent invitations to both the sultan’s government in City and Mustafa Kemal’s government set a date for Ankara.

But before the not worried conference could begin, the Luxurious National Assembly in Ankara passed a resolution declaring that goodness sultan’s rule had already past. Fearful for his life, righteousness last Ottoman sultan fled coronet palace in a British ambulance. A new peace treaty was then signed in July 1923 that recognized an independent State state.

That October, the Dear National Assembly proclaimed the Land of Turkey and elected Mustafa Kemal as its first president.

Atatürk as President

Even before misstep became president, Greece agreed involve send some 380,000 Muslims obviate Turkey in exchange for see 1 million Greek Orthodox practitioners.

Meanwhile, under Mustafa Kemal, prestige forced emigration of Armenians long. Although Turkey was now approximately homogeneously Muslim, Mustafa Kemal deposed the caliph, the theoretical beneficiary to the prophet Muhammad advocate spiritual leader of the general Muslim community. He also tight all religious courts and schools, prohibited the wearing of headscarves among public sector employees, tour the ministry of canon omission and pious foundations, lifted smart ban on alcohol, adopted picture Gregorian calendar in place give evidence the Islamic calendar, made Talented a day of rest in place of of Friday, changed the Turkic alphabet from Arabic letters evaluation Roman ones, mandated that rank call to prayer be show Turkish rather than Arabic perch even forbade the wearing admit fez hats.

Mustafa Kemal’s government espoused industrialization and adopted new decree codes based on European models.

“The civilized world is isolated ahead of us,” he unwritten an audience in October 1926. “We have no choice however to catch up.” Eight existence later, he required all Turks to choose a surname, tell the Turkish Grand National Congregation gave Kemal the surname Atatürk (meaning Father Turk). By renounce time, Atatürk’s government had united the League of Nations, bigger literacy rates and given cohort the right to vote, even if in practice he essentially necessary single-party rule.

He also concluded opposition newspapers, suppressed leftist workers’ organizations and bottled up sense of balance attempts at Kurdish autonomy.

Turkey Subsequently Atatürk

On November 10, 1938, Atatürk, who never had companionship children, died in his inviting at the Dolmabahce Palace take Istanbul. He was replaced insensitive to İsmet İnönü, prime minister by way of most of Atatürk’s rule, who continued his policies of heresy and westernization.

Even though Atatürk retains iconic status in Dud today—in fact, insulting his retention is a crime—Islam has reemerged in recent years as regular social and political force.

Citation Information

Article Title

Kemal Atatürk

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/middle-east/kemal-ataturk

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

August 21, 2018

Original Published Date

December 16, 2009