Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-7cvxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T09:21:25.970Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Exaggerating and exploiting the Sheikh Said Rebellion of 1925 for political gains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2015

Hakan Özoğlu*
Affiliation:
Department of History, University of Central Florida, Orlando, USA, aozoglu@mail.ucf.edu.

Abstract

The religious and nationalist nature of the Sheikh Said Rebellion in 1925 has been debated by the scholars for decades. For the Kurdish nationalists the rebellion symbolized the Kurdish struggle for an independent state. For the Turkish state, it was another deception by Great Britain to stir up the region for its colonialist interests. Newly available sources in the US diplomatic archives raise the question of the Turkish government's fomentation and/or manipulation of the Sheikh Said Rebellion. In addition, some of the Turkish oppositional leaders (such as Kazim Karabekir) of the time suggested that this rebellion was allowed to happen to suppress the political opposition in Turkey. This study examines the validity of these claims and how this rebellion was manipulated to silence political opposition in Turkey. More specifically, this study will seek answers to the following questions: Was the Sheikh Said Rebellion fomented by the Turkish government to eliminate the political opposition? How was this rebellion manipulated to accomplish this aim?

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © New Perspectives on Turkey 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References

Primary sources

Public Record Office, London: FO 371/10867, E 1360/1091/44Google Scholar
Turkish Great National Assembly Archives: Zabıt Cerideleri, vol. XV, 131149; T3 D22, T12 D3 (Tasnif # 28).Google Scholar
The United States Department of State, “Records of the Department of State Relating to Internal Affairs of Turkey, 1910-29.”Google Scholar
Adivar, Halide Edib. The Turkish Ordeal. New York, London: The Century Co., 1928.Google Scholar
Asan, Aziz.Şeyh Sait Ayaklanması. İstanbul: n.p., 1991.Google Scholar
Atay, Falih Rıfkı. Atatürkçülük Nedir? İstanbul: Ak, 1966.Google Scholar
Aybars, Ergün. İstiklal Mahkemeleri 1920-1927. İzmir: 9 Eylül üniversitesi, 1988.Google Scholar
Bozarslan, Hamit. “Türkiye'de Kürt Milliyetçiliği: Zımni Sözleşmeden Ayaklanmaya (1919-1925).” In İmparatorluktan Cumhuriyete Türkiye'de Etnik Çatışma, edited by Zürcher, Erik Jan. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2005.Google Scholar
Bozarslan, Hamit. “Les Revoltes Kurdes En Turquie Kemaliste (Quelques Aspects).Guerres Mondiales at Conflits Contemporains no. 151 (1988).Google Scholar
Bruinessen, Martin van. Agha, Shaikh and State: The Social and Political Structures of Kurdistan. London and New Jersey: Zed, 1992.Google Scholar
Cebesoy, Ali Fuat. Siyasi Hatıralar. Vol. 2. İstanbul: Doğan Kardeş, 1960.Google Scholar
Cemal, Behçet. Şeyh Said isyanı, İstanbul: Sel, 1955.Google Scholar
Doğan, Avni. Kurtuluş, Kuruluş ve Sonrası, İstanbul: Dünya, 1964.Google Scholar
Ebbuziyazade, . “Hadisenin Ehemmiyet ve Fecaati.” Tevhid-i Efkar, 25 February 1925.Google Scholar
Göldas, İsmail. Takrir-i Sükun Göröşmeleri, İstanbul: Belge, 1997.Google Scholar
Jwaideh, Wadie. The Kurdish National Movement: Its Origins and Developments. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Kalafat, Yaşar. Şark Meselesi İşığında Şeyh Sait Olayı, Karakteri, Dönemindeki İç ve Dış Olaylar. Ankara: Boğaziçi, 1992.Google Scholar
Kandemir, Feridun. Siyasi Dargınlıklar. Vol. 3. İstanbul: Ekicigil, 1955.Google Scholar
Karaosmanoğlu, Yakup Kadri. Politikada 45 Yıl. İstanbul: Bilgi, 1968.Google Scholar
Nur, Rıza. Hayat ve Hatıralarım. Vol. 4. İstanbul: Altındağ, 1968.Google Scholar
Olson, Robert. The Emergence of Kurdish Nationalism. Austin: University of Texas, 1991.Google Scholar
Örgeevren, Ahmet Süreyya. Şeyh Sait İsyanı ve Şark İstiklal Mahkemesi, İstanbul: Temel, 2002.Google Scholar
Özalp, Kazım, Atatürk'ten Anılar. Ankara: Türkiye İş Bankası, 1992.Google Scholar
Toker, Metin. Şeyh Said ve İsyanı. Ankara: Akis, 1968.Google Scholar
Tunaya, Tarık Zafer. Türkiye'de Siyasi Partiler, 1859-1952. İstanbul: n.p., 1952.Google Scholar
Tuncay, Mete. Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde Tek Parti Yönetiminin Kurulması, İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı, 1999.Google Scholar
Uğurlu, Nurer. Kürt Milliyetçiliği: Kürtler ve Şeyh Said İsyanı. İstanbul: Örgün, 2006.Google Scholar
Yalman, Ahmet Emin. “isyanın Saikleri.” Vatan, 15 May 1925.Google Scholar
Yeşil, Ahmet. Türkiye Cumhuriyetinde İlk Teşkilatlı Muhalefet Hareketi: Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası. Ankara: Cedid, 2002.Google Scholar
Zürcher, Erik Jan. The Political Opposition in the Early Turkish Republic. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1991.CrossRefGoogle Scholar