Fakhri Pasha
Fakhri Pasha
1304 (1888)- | |
---|---|
Years of service | 1888–1919, 1921–1936 |
Rank | Lieutenant general |
Commands held | 31st Division, XII Corps, Fourth Army (deputy), Hejaz Expeditionary Force |
Battles/wars | Italo-Turkish War Balkan Wars World War I Turkish War of Independence |
Other work | Turkish ambassador to Kabul |
Ömer Fahrettin Türkkan, commonly known as Fakhri Pasha and nicknamed the Defender of Medina, was a Turkish career officer, who was the commander of the Ottoman Army and governor of Medina from 1916 to 1919. He was nicknamed "The Lion of the Desert" and "The Tiger of the Desert"[3] by the British and Arabs for his patriotism in Medina[4][2] and is known for defending Medina in the Siege of Medina during World War I.[5]
Early life
He was born in Rusçuk (present day
Family
He married Ayşe Sıdıka Hanımefendi (1884–1959) in 1900, who was the daughter of Ferik Ahmet Paşa. They had five children:
- Suphiye Türkkan 1904–1978 (daughter)
- Mehmed Selim Türkkan 1908–1991 (son)
- Mehmed Orhan Türkkan 1910–1994 (son)
- Ayşe Nermin Türkkan 1919–1997 (daughter)
- Ayhan Türkkan 1927~1928–1959 (son)
World War I
In 1914, before the Ottoman Army was mobilized, Staff Colonel Fahreddin Bey was appointed the commander of the XII Corps stationed in Mosul. He was promoted to the rank of Mirliva on 12 November 1914 and appointed to the Deputy Commander of the Fourth Army stationed in Aleppo.[8]
Defender of Medina
During World War I, after
Medina
With the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the war with the Armistice of Mudros between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I on 30 October 1918, it was expected that Fahreddin would also surrender. But he refused to do so and rejected the armistice.
During the siege of Medina, Fahreddin sent the sacred artefacts and manuscripts of Medina to Istanbul in order to protect them from seizure. Most of the manuscripts were returned to Medina by the Ottoman Empire and are now in libraries in the city,[5] while the rest remain in the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul.[10]
According to eye-witness memoirs of
"Soldiers! I appeal to you in the name of the Prophet, my witness. I command you to defend him and his city to the last cartridge and the last breath, irrespective of the strength of the enemy. May Allah help us, and may the prayers of Muhammad be with us.
"Officers of the heroic Turkish army! O little Muhammads, come forward and promise me, before our Lord and the Prophet, to honor your faith with the supreme sacrifice of your lives."
Fahreddin Pasha had said that he had a vision in a dream that the prophet Muhammad had ordered him not to submit. In August 1918, he received a call to surrender from Sharif Husain of Mecca. Fahreddin Pasha replied him in these words:[11]
"Fakhr-ud-Din, General, Defender of the Most Sacred City of Medina. Servant of the Prophet.
In the name of Allah, the Omnipotent. To him who broke the power of Islam, caused bloodshed among Muslims, jeopardized the caliphate of the Commander of the Faithful, and exposed it to the domination of the British.
On Thursday night the fourteenth of
Dhu'l-Hijja, I was walking, tired and worn out, thinking of the protection and defense of Medina, when I found myself among unknown men working in a small square. Then I saw standing before me a man with a sublime countenance. He was the Prophet, may Allah's blessing be upon him! His left arm rested on his hip under his robe, and he said to me in a protective manner, 'Follow me.' I followed him two or three paces and woke up. I immediately proceeded to his sacred mosque and prostrated myself in prayer and thanks [near his tomb].
I am now under the protection of the Prophet, my Supreme Commander. I am busying myself with strengthening the defenses, building roads and squares in Medina. Trouble me not with useless offers."
He refused to hand over his sword even upon the receipt of a direct order from the Ottoman minister of war. The Ottoman government was upset at his behavior and the Sultan Mehmed VI dismissed him from his post. He refused to do so and kept the flag of the Ottoman Sultan flying in Medina until 72 days after the end of the war. After the Armistice of Mudros the closest Ottoman unit was 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) from Medina.[12]
He replied to an ultimatum from British General Reginald Wingate on 15 December 1918 with the words:"I am a Muhammadan. I am an Ottoman. I am the son of Bayer Bay. I am a soldier."[13]
Fahreddin was arrested by his own men and brought to
Life after war
After Fahreddin Pasha's arrest, he was brought to the military barracks at
Legacy
In December 2017 Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, sparked a diplomatic rift with Turkey by sharing a post on his personal social media account aimed at exposing Fahreddin and his forces for stealing manuscripts from Medina among other crimes against the local population during the siege.[18] In response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the Foreign Minister ignorant and said, "Some impertinent man sinks low and goes as far as accusing our ancestors of theft... What spoiled this man? He was spoiled by oil, by the money he has. When my ancestors were defending Medina, you impudent (man), where were yours? First, you have to give account for this."[19] A few days later, the Turkish government changed the name of the Ankara street where the UAE Embassy is located to Fahreddin Pasha.[20]
Gallery
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Ömer Fahreddin Türkkan (1935-1936)
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Fahreddin Pasha
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Fahreddin Pasha
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Fahreddin Pasha
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Young Fahreddin Pasha
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Fahreddin Pasha in Afghanistan
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Fahreddin Pasha with his children
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Fahreddin Pasha celebrates Eid with his soldiers in Medina, 1918.
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Fahreddin Pasha with Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Rashid of the Emirate of Jabal Shammar
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Fahreddin Pasha
See also
Sources
- ^ a b Harp Akademileri Komutanlığı, Harp Akademilerinin 120 Yılı, İstanbul, 1968, p. 19. (in Turkish)
- ^ ISBN 975-263-496-6, Timas Publishing Group.
- ^ a b S. Tanvir Wasti
- The defence of Medina, 1916–19, Middle Eastern Studies
- ^ "President, opposition continue reaction to UAE FM's retweet targeting Turks, Ottomans". DailySabah. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ a b c "Fahreddin Pasha: Ottoman officer who defended the holy lands with all he had". Daily Sabah. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ The Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol.7, Edited by Hugh Chisholm, (1911), 3; Constantinople, the capital of the Turkish Empire...
- ^ Britannica, Istanbul Archived 18 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine:When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.
- ^ a b "Fahreddin Paşa (Türkkan)" Archived 20 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Turkey in the First World War.
- ISBN 0275988767, page 253.
- ^ "Money spoiled you: Erdoğan slams UAE FM in Ottoman Pasha row". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ a b Medine Müdafaası, Feridun Kandemir, Nehir Yayınları, s. 530, İstanbul, 1991
- ^ Başbakan Erdoğan'ın sır konuşması, Sabah, 24.03.2012 (in Turkish)
- ISBN 9781400887361.
- ISBN 0-691-03267-X
- ^ ISBN 0-521-39987-4
- ^ a b c Fahreddin Paşa exhibition commemorates hidden jewel in Turkish photography Archived 22 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Today's Zaman, Ömer Faruk Șerifoğlu, 14.12.2008
- ^ Bilal N. Șimșir, "Cumhuriyetin İlk Çeyrek Yüzyılında Türk Diplomatik Temsilcilikleri ve Temsilcileri (1920–1950)", Atatürk Araștırma Merkezi Dergisi, Sayı 64-65-66, Cilt: XXII, Mart-Temmuz-Kasım 2006. (in Turkish)
- ^ "Turkey plans to change embassy street name in row with UAE: report". Reuters. 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "Turkish President calls UAE minister impertinent in Ottoman looting ro". Reuters. 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- ^ "UAE embassy street in Turkish capital to be named after Ottoman pasha amid row". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
- Public Record Office, London. F. O./371
- Emel Esin, Mecca The Blessed, Medinah The Radiant (London, 1963), p. 190
External links
- Picture of Fahreddin Pasha
- Campaign of Arabia, detailing the Arabian Peninsula front Archived 15 June 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Photo of Fahreddin Pasha inspecting troops in Medina Archived 9 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- Photo of Fahreddin Pasha (sitting right) with Ali Necip Bey Archived 9 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine