Mehmed Memduh

Mehmed Memduh (* 1839 in Kandiye / Iraklio on Crete ; † April 8, 1925 in Istanbul ) was a chronicler and high official of the Ottoman Empire . His two sobriquets (nicknames) were Memduh as an official of the Sublime Porte and Fa'ik ("excellent", "excellent") as a poet.

Life

Mehmed Memduh was the son of Mustafa Mazlûm Fehmi Pascha († 1862) and Fulane Hanim (†?). His parents were both from Kandiye in Girid (Crete). His family's good relationships are likely to have played a crucial role in his life. His father was a respected civil servant, most recently at the Supreme Court ( meclis-i vala ). His father-in-law Mustafa Na'ili Pascha († 1871) was Governor of Crete (from 1841 to 1851), later President of the Supreme Court ( meclis-i vala-yı ahkam-ı 'adliyye ) and twice Grand Vizier (1853-54 and 1857) . Mehmed completed his studies at the universities ( Madāris ) Bayezid and Valide . At the age of seven he became h'ace (about "senior civil servant"), at nine years of age a fourth-rate civil servant, when his father was head of justice ( de'avi nazırı ). When this secretary became the grand vizier (1854/55), Mehmed got a job in the office of the chief secretary for foreign affairs ( mektubi-i hariciyye odasına çirag ), where he stayed for six years, without a salary, but promoted to third rank. Under Sultan Abdülaziz , Mehmed's father became treasury minister ( hazine-i hassa nezareti ) and steward of the sultan's mother ( valide sultan kethudası ). Mehmed himself became palace secretary with a rather high salary.

In 1861 he was appointed to the reception office ( amedi odası ) of the Sublime Porte, then he became the chief secretary of some ministers and finally even the grand vizier. He worked on important commissions from 1878 to 1887 and became Governor General of Konya (1887) and Sivas (1889). From there he was recalled when the Armenian residents of the province complained to the Sultan in 1892 about his strict administration. After rehabilitation he became Governor General of Ankara Province in 1893 and Minister of the Interior ( dahiliyye nazırı ) on his return in 1895 , an office he held for 13 years. Despite his good relations with Sultan Abdülhamid II , he never became Grand Vizier.

Although Mehmed Memduh's works clearly showed that he judged the constitution as favorable, in 1908 he voluntarily resigned from his office on the basis of the second constitution. Three days later he was arrested and sent into exile, first to the island of Büyükada (Prinkipo), then to Sakiz ( Chios ), where he stayed until the Italian conquest of the island in 1911. After another exile in Izmir , he was finally given an amnesty in 1912. He returned to Istanbul and spent the rest of his life in his waterfront residence, Kireçburnu . Paralyzed in the last two years of his life, he died at the age of 86 on April 9, 1925 and was buried in the monastery garden of Çarsamba-Fatih.

İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal (* 1870, † 1957), personal secretary of Mehmed Said Pasha , described him in his work Son Sadrazamlar (“The Last Grand Viziers”) as arrogant and convinced of his importance, but this judgment is probably from his father's controversy influenced by Mehmed, who had been forced to resign as governor of Denizli .

plant

As a high official and decision-maker at the time of the Abdulhamid II government, he had the knowledge and the opportunity to explain and comment on politics and social conditions in his works. He omitted descriptions that might have got him into trouble. In favor of puns, rhymes and metaphors, he also sometimes dispensed with clear statements, especially if the work was dedicated to the sultan. His spelling was meticulously polished and contained considerable portions of Arabic and Persian literary art.

• Feveran-i Ezman (roughly: "Upsets of Times")

A 13-page pamphlet, completed on October 28, 1908. It contains analyzes of the political and economic conditions during the reforms from 1856–76 ( Islahat ) and the first constitution (1876). The reign of Abdülhamid II and the second constitution are also dealt with, with Mehmed Memduh criticizing the attitude of the administration during this period.

• Yemen Kit'asi Hakkinda Ba'zi Mütala'at (for example: "Some remarks on the country of Yemen ")

A report on the strategies that should be used to prevent future unrest in Yemen. Also attached are memoranda of Mehmed Memduh to the Grand Vizier and the Sultan on this matter. The essay Yemen vilayetine 'aid lahiya-i islahiyye (for example “Memorandum of the reforms advocated in the province of Yemen”) closes the book.

• Sera'ir-i Siyasiyye ve Tahavvulat-i Esasiyye (for example: "Political reports and fundamental changes")

His defense, written and sent to Parliament on October 14, 1908, while he was in custody on the island of Buyukada. It contains not only a description of his family background and his own activity, but also (briefly but artfully formulated) the pre- Tanzimat period and the time after the second constitution.

• Esvat-i sudur (roughly: "Voices of the Grand Viziers")

This work, completed on August 7, 1912, is a biography of the tenure of 33 grand viziers under Abdülmecid I (1839–61) to Mehmed V (1909–18). Thanks to his acquaintance with important dignitaries, Mehmed Memduh was able to provide a lot of background information, emphasizing his personal role (for example at the Council of Ministers, which prepared the proclamation of the constitution in 1909). The conclusion is an answer to the memoirs of Mehmed Said Pascha († 1914), as well as some copies of official documents. However, he largely dispensed with citing the source.

• Mir'at-i Şu'ünat (roughly: "Mirror of the Events of Time")

The domestic and foreign policy from Mahmud II to Murad V , especially towards Egypt , with criticism of the attitude of the ministers Mustafa Reşid Pascha (1800–1858) and Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha (1815–1871). Six diplomatic letters between Russia , the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary on Hungarian nationalism are cited, as are letters from Fuad Pascha (1815–1869) and Midhat Pascha (1822–1884). The work was written immediately after Mehmed Memduh left the secretariat of the Grand Vizier, but the censorship prevented its publication for 33 years.

• Tasvir-i Ahval , Tenvir-i Istikbal (for example: "Description of the conditions, illumination of the future")

This work was created at the beginning of the Young Turkish Revolution , during which Mehmed Memduh was an eyewitness, and was completed on January 7, 1909. In the first part, the author assesses the government of Abdülhamid II, the preparation and proclamation of the second constitution and the development of the institution of the caliphate . In the second section there are future prospects, an analysis of the reforms of Selim III. (r. 1798–1807) to Abdülhamid II and finally a short discussion about Freemasonry . This second part lacks historical significance, and incorrect information about Grand Vizier Said Pasha is included.

• Hal'ler İclaslar (roughly: "Circumstances and enthronements")

The admonitions written here for later generations contain information about donations, abdications, deaths, as well as a list of the sultan's birthplaces from Murad I to Abdülhamid II. As an eyewitness, he reports on Midhat Pascha, the dethronements of Abdülaziz and Abdülhamid II. The author used but many sources whose title he once again does not name.

• Kuvvet-i Ikbal 'Alamet-i Zeval (for example: "Power of fate, sign of decay")

This book, completed on November 3, 1909, deals with the political conditions of the first constitutional period, the government of Abdülhamid II, the second constitutional period and especially the counter-coup of April 13, 1909 . The author analyzes the political circumstances as well as the character and plans of Abdülhamid. In six letters to the Sultan, Mehmed Memduh describes the administrative problems with internal communication. Here, too, he emphasizes his personal performance in important processes. At the end of the work, he lists the problems and his proposed solutions in ten points.

• Miftah-i Yemen (roughly: "The key to Yemen")

This chronicle of the war of conquest in Yemen of 1539 wrote Mehmed Memduh in exile on Chios, completed on August 28, 1909. It describes the campaign, the suppression of some revolts and closes with the history of the Yemeni capital and fortress Sana'a .

• Non-historical / political works

Translations from French, such as Adolphe Ganot's Neuro Physique ( Nöro Fizik , "Neurophysics") and Traité élémentaire de physique ( Fizik Elemanter , "Treatise on Elementary Physics "), or Alphonse de Lamartines Geneviève, histoire d'une servante ( Tercume-i Hikaye -i Jöneviev , “History of the Servant Geneviève”). He also wrote a collection of poems and elegance ( Divan-i Eş'ar ) and other small writings.

Bibliography (editions)

• Feveran-i Ezman

1. Istanbul 1909-10.

2. Istanbul 1995, Ahmed N. Galitekin: Tanzimattan Meşrutiyete , Vol. 2.

• Yemen Kit'asi Hakkinda Ba'zi Mütala'at

1. Istanbul 1908-09

2. Istanbul 1909-10 (title: Yemen Islahatı ve Ba'zı Mutala'at ).

• Sera'ir-i Siyasiyye ve Tahavvulat-i Esasiyye

Istanbul 1912-13.

• Esvat-i sudur

Izmir 1912-13.

• Mir'at-i Shu'unat

1. Izmir 1912-13

2. Istanbul 1990, Hayati Develi: Tanzimattan Meşrutiyete , Vol. 1.

• Tasvir-i Ahval , Tenvir-i Istikbal

1. Izmir 1912-13

2. Istanbul 1995, Ahmed N. Galitekin: Tanzimattan Meşrutiyete , Vol. 2.

• Hal'ler İclaslar

Istanbul 113-14.

• Kuvvet-i Ikbal 'Alamet-i Zeval

1. Itanbul 1913-14.

2. Istanbul 1995, Ahmed N. Galitekin: Tanzimattan Meşrutiyete , Vol. 2.

• Miftah-i Yemen

Istanbul 1914-15.

literature

• Selim Aslantaş / A.Teyfur Erdoğdu: Meḥmed Memdūḥ , June 2006. In: C.Kafadar / H.Karateke / C.Fleischer: Historians of the Ottoman Empire. Harvard University. Center for Middle Eastern Studies, ISBN 9780-9762-7270-0 , pp. 97-99. [1]