Kaysan, Abu ‘Amra (Abu ‘Amra Kaysan) (d. 686). Prominent Shi‘a in Kufa during the revolt of al-Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi.
Abu 'Amra Kaysan see Kaysan, Abu ‘Amra
Kaysanites
The Kaysanites were a once dominant Shia Ghulat sect (among the Shia of the time) that formed from the followers of Al-Mukhtar. They believed in the Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah. They also held some extremist Shia views. Following the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah the sect split up into numerous sub-sects, each with their own Imam and unique beliefs. The Kaysanites would have a continual history of splitting up into smaller sub-sects following the death of their leaders. One Kaysanite sub-sect was lead by the Abbasids, who successfully revolted against the Umayyad Caliphate and then established the Abbasid Caliphate. However, following the establishment of the Abbasids as Caliphs and their disavowal of their Kaysanite origins, the majority of the Kaysanites responded by abandoning the Kaysanite Shia sect and instead switched their allegiances to other Shia sects. Thereafter, the Kaysanite Shia sect became extinct despite its once dominant position among the Shia.
The followers of Al-Mukhtar who emerged from his movement (including all subsequent sub-sects which evolved from his movement) who upheld the Imamate of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and his descendents or any other alleged designated successors were initially named the Mukhtariyya (after Al-Mukhtar), but were soon more commonly referred to as the Kaysaniyya (i.e. Kaysanites). The name Kaysaniyya seems to have been based on the kunya (surname) Kaysan, allegedly given to Al-Mukhtar by Ali, or the name of a freed Mawali of Ali who was killed at the Battle of Siffin called Kaysan, from whom it is claimed Al-Mukhtar acquired his ideas. However, it is much more probably named after Abu ‘Amra Kaysan, a prominent Mawali and chief of Al-Mukhtar’s personal bodyguard.
The Kaysanites were also known as Hanafis (after Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah), Fourer Shia (i.e. they recognized only 4 Imams after Muhammad) and Khashabiyya (i.e. men armed with clubs, because they were armed with wooden clubs or staffs).
The Kaysanites as a collective sect held the following common beliefs:
* They condemned the first 3 Caliphs before Ali as illegitimate usurpers and also held that the community had gone astray by accepting their rule.
* They believed Ali and his 3 sons Hasan ibn Ali, Husayn ibn Ali and Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah were the successive Imams and successors to Muhammad by divine appointment and that they were endowed with supernatural attributes.
* They believed that Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was the Mahdi (as initially declared by Al-Mukhtar).
* They believed in Bada’.
* The seepage of Iranian beliefs into the Kaysanite beliefs.
Furthermore, some Kaysanite sub-sects established their own unique beliefs, such as:
* Some believed Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was concealed (ghayba) at Mount Radwa near Medina, guarded by lions and tigers and fed by mountain goats and will return (Raj`a i.e. the return to life of the Mahdi with his supporters for retribution before the Qiyama) as the Mahdi.
* Some referred to dar al-taqiyya (i.e. the domain of Taqiyya) as those territories that were not their own. Their own territories were referred to as dar al-‘alaniya (i.e. the domain of publicity).
* Some began to use ideas of a generally Gnostic nature which were current in Iraq during the 8th century.
* Some interpreted Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah’s temporary banishment to Mount Radwa and concealment as chastisement for his mistake of travelling from Mecca to Damascus to pledge allegiance and pay a visit to the false Caliph Abd al-Malik.
The Kaysanites pursued an activist anti-establishment policy against the Ummayads, aiming to transfer leadership of the Muslims to Alids and accounted for the bulk allegiance of the Shia populace (even overshadowing the Imamis) until shortly after the Abbasid revolution. Initially they broke away from the religiously moderate attitudes of the early Kufan Shia. Most of the Kaysanites support came from superficially Islamicized Mawalis in southern Iraq, Persia and elsewhere, as well as other supporters in Iraq, particularly in Kufa and Al-Mada'in (Ctesiphon).
Following the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, the bulk of the Kaysanites acknowledged the Imamate of Abd-Allah ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah (a.k.a. Abu Hashim, the eldest son of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, d. 716). This sub-sect (a.k.a. Hashimiyya, named after Abu Hashim), which comprised the majority of the Kaysanites was the earliest Shiite group whose teachings and revolutionary stance were disseminated in Persia, especially in Khuurasaan, where it found adherents among the Mawalis and Arab settlers.
By the end of the Ummayad period the majority of the Hashimiyya, transferred their allegiance to the Abbasid family and they played an important role in the propaganda campaign that eventually lead to the successful Abbasid revolution.
However, the Kaysanites did not survive as a sect, even though they occupied a majority position among the Shia until shortly after the Abbasid revolution. The remaining Kaysanites who had not joined the Abbasid party sought to align themselves with alternative Shia communities. Therefore, in Khurasan and other eastern lands many joined the Khurramites. In Iraq they joined Ja'far al-Sadiq or Muhammad ibn Abdallah An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya, who were then the main Alid claimants to the Imamate. However, with the demise of the activist movement of An-Nafs Az-Zakiyya, Ja'far al-Sadiq emerged as their main rallying point. Hence, By the end of the 8th century the majority of the Kaysanites had turned to other Imams.
The Kaysanite Shia sect split into numerous sub-sects throughout its history. These splits would occur after a Kaysanite leader died and his followers would divide by pledging their allegiance to different leaders, with each sub-sect claiming the authenticity of its own leader.
When Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah died in 700 the Kaysanites split into at least 3 distinct sub-sects:
* Karibiyya or Kuraybiyya, named after their leader Abu Karib (or Kurayb) al-Darir. They refused to acknowledge Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah’s death and believed he was concealed (gha’ib) in the Radwa Mountains near Medina, from whence he would eventually emerge as the Mahdi to fill the earth with justice and equity, as it had formerly been filled with injustice and oppression.
* Another sub-sect was under the leadership of a man named Hayyan al-Sarraj. They affirmed the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah, but maintained that he and his partisans would return to life in the future when he will establish justice on earth.
* Another sub-sect founded by Hamza ibn ‘Umara al-Barbari asserted divinity for Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah and prophethood for Hamza ibn ‘Umara al-Barbari and acquired some supporters in Kufa and Medina.
* Another sub-sect was the Hashimiyya. The Hashimiyya comprised the majority of the Kaysanites after the death of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah. They accepted Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah’s death and recognized his eldest son Abu Hashim as his successor. The Hashimiyya believed that Abu Hashim was personally designated by Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah as his successor. Therefore, Abu Hashim became the Imam of the majority of the Shia of that time even though he was slightly younger than his cousin Zayn al-Abidin. From their Kufa base, the Hashimiyya managed to recruit adherents in other provinces, especially among the Mawali in Khurasan.
After the death of Abu Hashim, no less than 4 to 5 sub-sects claimed succession to Abu Hashim from the original Hashimiyya:
* The Harbiyya, which would later be known as the Janahiyya, were the followers of Abdallah ibn Muawiya ibn Abdullah ibn Ja'far. Abdullah ibn Muawiya was Abu Hashim’s cousin and the grandson of Ja`far ibn Abī Tālib. According to the Harbiyya/Janahiyya, he was the legitimate successor of Abu Hashim. He revolted after the death of his cousin Zayd ibn Ali and his nephew Yahya ibn Zayd ibn Ali. His revolt spread through Iraq into Isfahan and Fārs from 744 to 748. He was also joined by the Zaidiyyah, Abbasids, and Kharijites in revolt. For a while, Abdallah ibn Muawiya established himself at Estakhr from where he ruled for a few years over Fārs and other parts of Persia,[46] including Ahvaz, Jibal, Isfahan and Kerman from 744 to 748 until fleeing to Khurasan from the advancing Umayyad forces. When fleeing to Khurasan, he was killed (on behalf of the Abbasids) by Abu Muslim Khorasani in 748 while imprisoned. The Harbiyya/Janahiyya sub-sect expounded many extremist and Gnostic ideas such as the pre-existence of souls as shadows (azilla), the transmigration of souls (tanaukh al-arwah i.e. the return in a different body while having the same spirit) and a cyclical history of eras (adwar) and eons (akwar). Some of these ideas were adopted by other early Shia Ghulat groups.
o After the death of Abdullah ibn Muawiya, a sub-sect of the Harbiyya/Janahiyya claimed that he was alive and hiding in the mountains of Isfahan.
* Another sub-sect of the Hashimiyya recognized the Abbasid Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib as the legitimate successor of Abu Hashim. This Abbasid sub-sect comprised the majority of the original Hashimiyya. The Abbasids alleged that Abu Hashim (who died childless in 716) had named his successor to be Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah (d. 744). Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Abdullah became the founder of the Abbasid Caliphate. He had three sons; Ibrahim (who was killed by the Ummayads), As-Saffah (who became the first Abbasid Caliph) and Al-Mansur (who became the second Abbasid Caliph). Therefore, the ideological engine of the Abbasid revolt was that of the Kaysanites.
o Another sub-sect was the Abu Muslimiyya sub-sect (named after Abu Muslim Khorasani). This sub-sect maintained that the Imamate had passed from As-Saffah to Abu Muslim. They also believed that Al-Mansur did not kill Abu Muslim, but instead someone who resembled Abu Muslim and that Abu Muslim was still alive.
o Another sub-sect was the Rizamiyya. They refused to repudiate Abu Muslim, but also affirmed that the Imamate would remain in the Abbasid family until the Qiyama, when a descendent of ‘Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib would be the Mahdi.
Kaysaniyya
Kaysaniyya (Mukhtariyya). Name applied to those supporters of al-Mukhtar ibn Abi ‘Ubayd al-Thaqafi who recognized ‘Ali’s son Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya as their Imam and as the Mahdi.
Mukhtariyya see Kaysaniyya
Mukhtariyya see Kaysaniyya
Kazakhs
Kazakhs. See Cossack.
Cossacks see Kazakhs.
Kazakhs. See Cossack.
Cossacks see Kazakhs.
Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq
Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq (Shaykh Abu Ishaq Kazaruni) (963-1033). Founder of a Sufi order variously known as the Murshidiyya, Ishaqiyya or Kazaruniyya. He is known for his charitable concern for the poor which was followed by all the branches of the order.
Shaykh Abu Ishaq Kazaruni see Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq
Abu Ishaq Kazaruni see Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq
Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq (Shaykh Abu Ishaq Kazaruni) (963-1033). Founder of a Sufi order variously known as the Murshidiyya, Ishaqiyya or Kazaruniyya. He is known for his charitable concern for the poor which was followed by all the branches of the order.
Shaykh Abu Ishaq Kazaruni see Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq
Abu Ishaq Kazaruni see Kazaruni, Shaykh Abu Ishaq
Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-
Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al- (‘Abd al-Muhsin al-Kazimi) (1865-1935). Shi‘a poet of Iraq. He is known as “the poet of the Arabs,” for he derives his images and metaphors from Bedouin life.
'Abd al-Muhsin al-Kazimi see Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-
Poet of the Arabs see Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-
Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al- (‘Abd al-Muhsin al-Kazimi) (1865-1935). Shi‘a poet of Iraq. He is known as “the poet of the Arabs,” for he derives his images and metaphors from Bedouin life.
'Abd al-Muhsin al-Kazimi see Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-
Poet of the Arabs see Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-
Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Nabi al-
Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Nabi al- (‘Abd al-Nabi al-Kazimi) (1784-1840). Imami jurist and traditionist of Kazimayn. The most important of his numerous works is a biographical dictionary of transmitters of Shi‘a hadith.
'Abd al-Nabi al-Kazimi see Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Nabi al-
Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Nabi al- (‘Abd al-Nabi al-Kazimi) (1784-1840). Imami jurist and traditionist of Kazimayn. The most important of his numerous works is a biographical dictionary of transmitters of Shi‘a hadith.
'Abd al-Nabi al-Kazimi see Kazimi, ‘Abd al-Nabi al-
Kazimi, Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-
Kazimi, Haydar ibn Ibrahim al- (Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-Kazimi) (1790-1849). Imami scholar of Kazimayn. He was the ancestor of the al-Haydar, a celebrated learned family of Kazimayn.
Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-Kazimi see Kazimi, Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-
Kazimi, Haydar ibn Ibrahim al- (Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-Kazimi) (1790-1849). Imami scholar of Kazimayn. He was the ancestor of the al-Haydar, a celebrated learned family of Kazimayn.
Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-Kazimi see Kazimi, Haydar ibn Ibrahim al-
Kazim Karabekir
Kazim Karabekir (Musa Kâzım Karabekir) (1882, Istanbul – January 26, 1948, Ankara). Turkish general and statesman. In 1919, he was instrumental in organizing Turkish national forces to fight the War of Independence. In 1924, he became a chief founder of the republican Progressive Party, and was considered one of the major potential rivals of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.
Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General, Mehmet Emin Pasha, in the Koca Mustafa paşa quarter of Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. Karabekir family is a Seljukid Turkic military family.
He toured several places in the Ottoman Empire due to his father’s duty in the military. He returned to Istanbul in 1893 with his mother after his father’s death in Mecca. They settled in the Zeyrek quarter of Istanbul. Karabekir was put into Fatih military secondary school the next year. After finishing his school, he attended Kuleli military high school, from which he graduated in 1899. He continued his education at the military college in Istanbul, which he finished on December 6, 1902 at the top of his class.
After two months, the junior officer was commissioned in January 1906 to the Third Army in the region around Bitola in Macedonia. There, he was involved in fights with Greek and Bulgarian guerrillas. For his successful service, he was promoted to the rank of a Senior Captain in 1907. In the following years, he served in Istanbul and again in the Second Army in Edirne.
On April 15, 1911, Kâzım applied to change his family name from Zeyrek to Karabekir. Until that time, he was called Kâzım Zeyrek, after the place where he lived with his mother, a custom in the Ottoman Empire as family names were not used. From then on he adopted Karabekir, the name of his ancestors.
During his service in Edirne, Karabekir was promoted to the rank of a major on April 27, 1912. He took part in the First Balkan War against Bulgarian forces, but was captured during the Battle of Edirne-Kale on April 22, 1913. He remained a POW until the armistice signed on October 21, 1913.
Before the outbreak of World War I, Karabekir served a while in Istanbul and then was sent to some European countries like Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland. In July 1914, he returned home, as the signs for the upcoming of a war became apparent.
Back in Istanbul, Karabekir was assigned the chief of intelligence at the General Staff. Soon, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. After a short time at the southeastern front, he was sent to the Dardanelles. As commander of the 14th Division, Karabekir fought in the Battle of Gallipoli in the summer months of 1915. In October 1915, he was appointed chief staff officer at the First Army in Istanbul.
He was commissioned to the Iraqi front to join the Sixth Army. For his success in military activities in Gallipoli, he was decorated in December 1915 both by the Ottoman and German Command, and was contemporaneously promoted to the rank of Colonel. In April 1916, he took over the command of the 18th Corps, which gained a great victory over the British forces led by General Charles Townshend during the Siege of Kut-al Amara in Iraq.
Karabekir was appointed commander of the 2nd Corps at the Caucasian front and fought bitterly against the Russian and Armenian forces almost ten months. In September 1917, he was promoted to Brigadier General by a decree of the Sultan.
According to the Treaty of Sèvres, which ended World War I, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet Vahdettin gave Karabekir the order to surrender to Entente powers, which he refused. He stayed in the region and, on the eve of the Erzurum Congress when Mustafa Kemal had just arrived in Erzurum, Karabekir secured the city with a Cavalry Brigade in his command to protect him and the congressmen. He pledged with Mustafa Kemal to join the Turkish national movement and subsequently took the command of the Eastern front of the Turkish Independence War.
On November 15, 1920, the Turkish army under the command of Karabekir invaded the territory of the Armenian republic, which had expanded its territory and annexed parts of the territory of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The Turkish decisively defeated the Armenian forces, taking the towns of Kars and Sarıkamış, and capturing Alexandropol, a major center of the new Armenian republic. He then set his signature on a peace treaty, the Treaty of Alexandropol with the Democratic Republic of Armenia on December 2, 1920. He was designated by the newly formed parliament in Ankara to sign also the friendship agreement, the Treaty of Kars with the Soviet Union on October 23, 1921.
After the defeat of Greek forces in Western Anatolia, the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey) was proclaimed. Kâzım Karabekir Pasha moved to Ankara in October 1922, and continued to serve in the parliament as Deputy of Edirne. He was still the acting commander of the Eastern Army as he was elected Deputy of Istanbul on June 29, 1923. Six months later, he was appointed Inspector of First Army. The parliament awarded him the highest Turkish "Order of Independence" for his meritorious and distinguished service in military and politics during the War of Independence. He retired from his final military service on October 26, 1924.
Karabekir had differences of opinion with Mustafa Kemal about the realization of Atatürk's Reforms, one of the most important being the abolition of caliphate. Even though he agreed on the subject, he was of another opinion as Mustafa Kemal insisted on the immediate action. For Karabekir, the timing was improper, because British forces stood at the border of southeastern Turkey, claiming Kerkük in modern day Iraq. Karabekir did not believe that the caliphate should be abolished before solving this problem. Kurds, more radical in their shafi-sunni Islamic beliefs, began to rise up against the government, because they thought the government would lift the religion after the abolition. Struggling with this rebellion, Turkey agreed to leave Kerkük to Iraq, which was under the British mandate. Such conflicts prompted tensions between Karabekir and Mustafa Kemal.
On November 17, 1924, Karabekir co-founded the political movement "Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası" (Progressive Republican Party), and became its leader. Afterwards, Mustafa Kemal blamed Karabekir for the Kurdish rebellion and the assassination attempt made against him in İzmir, and the party was banned on June 5, 1925 by the government. Karabekir was imprisoned with many of his party members. Following these developments, all relations were broken between Karabekir and Mustafa Kemal.
Threatened with execution, Karabekir was forced to retire from politics. He devoted himself to writing his memories of the Turkish War of Independence and the reforms. However, all of his works were collected and burned on the orders of the Turkish government. Karabekir lived in fear of the police and the government until the death of Mustafa Kemal in 1938. İsmet İnönü Pasha, who was his close friend, rehabilitated him.
In 1939, Kâzım Karabekir returned to the parliament as Deputy of İstanbul. He was even elected as speaker of the parliament on August 5, 1946. Still in office, he died on January 26, 1948 in Ankara following a heart attack. His remains were later relocated to the Turkish State Cemetery in Ankara.
Kâzım Karabekir was succeeded by his wife İclal and three daughters Hayat, Emel and Timsal. The four-story mansion in the Erenköy quarter of Kadıköy district in İstanbul, where he lived for almost 15 years under house arrest, was converted in 2005 to a museum.
The works of Kazim Karabekir include:
* Ankarada Savaş Rüzgarları (Winds of War in Ankara)
* Bir Duello ve Bir Suikast (A Duel and An Assassination)
* Birinci Cihan Harbi 1-4 (World War I 1-4)
o Birinci Cihan Harbine Neden Girdik? (Why Did We Enter the World War I?)
o Birinci Cihan Harbine Nasıl Girdik? (How Did We Enter the World War I?)
o Birinci Cihan Harbini Nasıl İdare Ettik? (How Did We Manage the World War I?)
o Birinci Cihan Harbini Nasıl İdare Ettik? (How Did We Manage the World War I?)
* Cumhuriyet Tarihi Set 1 (History of the Republic Set 1)
* Cumhuriyet Tarihi Set 2 (History of the Republic Set 2)
* İstiklal Harbimiz 1-5 (Our War of Independence 1-5)
* Paşaların Kavgası (Struggle of the Pashas)
* Paşaların Hesaplaşması (Revenge of the Pashas)
* Cehennem Değirmeni 1-2 (Windmill of Hell 1-2)
* İzmir Suikasti (Assassination in İzmir)
* Çocuklara Öğütler (Advice to Children)
* Hayatım (My Life)
* İttihat ve Terraki Cemiyeti 1896-1909 (Committee of Union and Progress 1896-1909)
* Ermeni Dosyası (Armenian Dossier)
* İngiltere, İtalya ve Habeş Harbi (British, Italian and Ethiopian War)
* Kürt Meselesi (Kurdish Problem)
* Çocuk, Davamız 1-2 (The Child, Our Problem 1-2)
* İstiklal Harbimizin Esasları (Principals of Our War of Independence)
* Yunan Süngüsü (Greek Bayonet)
* Sanayi Projelerimiz (Our Industrial Projects)
* İktisat Esaslarımız (Our Principals of Economy)
* Tarihte Almanlar ve Alman Ordusu (Germans in the History and German Army)
* Türkiye’de ve Türk Ordusunda Almanlar (Germans in Türkiye and in the Türk Army)
* Tarih Boyunca Türk-Alman İlişkileri (Türk German Relations Throughout the History)
* İstiklal Harbimizde İttihad Terraki ve Enver Paşa 1-2 (Union Progress and Enver Pasha in Our War of Independence)
* İstiklal Harbimizin Esasları Neden Yazıldı? (Why Was the Principals of Our War of Independence Written?)
* Milli Mücadelede Bursa (Bursa During the War of Independence)
* İtalya ve Habeş (Italy and Ethiopia)
* Ermeni Mezalimi (Armenian Outrage)
* Sırp-Bulgar Seferi (Serbian-Bulgarian Campaign)
* Osmanlı Ordusunun Taaruz Fikri (Attack Concept of the Ottoman Army)
* Erkan-i Harbiye Vezaifinden İstihbarat (Intelligence from the Service at General Staff)
* Sarıkamış-Kars ve Ötesi (Sarıkamış, Kars and Beyond)
* Erzincan ve Erzurum'un Kurtuluşu (Liberation of Erzincan and Erzurum)
* Bulgaristan Esareti -Hatıralar, Notlar (Captivity in Bulgaria -Memories, Notes)
* Nutuk ve Karabekir'den Cevaplar (The Address and Replies From Karabekir)
Karabekir, Kazim see Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir see Kazim Karabekir
Kazim Karabekir (Musa Kâzım Karabekir) (1882, Istanbul – January 26, 1948, Ankara). Turkish general and statesman. In 1919, he was instrumental in organizing Turkish national forces to fight the War of Independence. In 1924, he became a chief founder of the republican Progressive Party, and was considered one of the major potential rivals of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.
Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General, Mehmet Emin Pasha, in the Koca Mustafa paşa quarter of Istanbul, Ottoman Empire. Karabekir family is a Seljukid Turkic military family.
He toured several places in the Ottoman Empire due to his father’s duty in the military. He returned to Istanbul in 1893 with his mother after his father’s death in Mecca. They settled in the Zeyrek quarter of Istanbul. Karabekir was put into Fatih military secondary school the next year. After finishing his school, he attended Kuleli military high school, from which he graduated in 1899. He continued his education at the military college in Istanbul, which he finished on December 6, 1902 at the top of his class.
After two months, the junior officer was commissioned in January 1906 to the Third Army in the region around Bitola in Macedonia. There, he was involved in fights with Greek and Bulgarian guerrillas. For his successful service, he was promoted to the rank of a Senior Captain in 1907. In the following years, he served in Istanbul and again in the Second Army in Edirne.
On April 15, 1911, Kâzım applied to change his family name from Zeyrek to Karabekir. Until that time, he was called Kâzım Zeyrek, after the place where he lived with his mother, a custom in the Ottoman Empire as family names were not used. From then on he adopted Karabekir, the name of his ancestors.
During his service in Edirne, Karabekir was promoted to the rank of a major on April 27, 1912. He took part in the First Balkan War against Bulgarian forces, but was captured during the Battle of Edirne-Kale on April 22, 1913. He remained a POW until the armistice signed on October 21, 1913.
Before the outbreak of World War I, Karabekir served a while in Istanbul and then was sent to some European countries like Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland. In July 1914, he returned home, as the signs for the upcoming of a war became apparent.
Back in Istanbul, Karabekir was assigned the chief of intelligence at the General Staff. Soon, he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. After a short time at the southeastern front, he was sent to the Dardanelles. As commander of the 14th Division, Karabekir fought in the Battle of Gallipoli in the summer months of 1915. In October 1915, he was appointed chief staff officer at the First Army in Istanbul.
He was commissioned to the Iraqi front to join the Sixth Army. For his success in military activities in Gallipoli, he was decorated in December 1915 both by the Ottoman and German Command, and was contemporaneously promoted to the rank of Colonel. In April 1916, he took over the command of the 18th Corps, which gained a great victory over the British forces led by General Charles Townshend during the Siege of Kut-al Amara in Iraq.
Karabekir was appointed commander of the 2nd Corps at the Caucasian front and fought bitterly against the Russian and Armenian forces almost ten months. In September 1917, he was promoted to Brigadier General by a decree of the Sultan.
According to the Treaty of Sèvres, which ended World War I, Ottoman Sultan Mehmet Vahdettin gave Karabekir the order to surrender to Entente powers, which he refused. He stayed in the region and, on the eve of the Erzurum Congress when Mustafa Kemal had just arrived in Erzurum, Karabekir secured the city with a Cavalry Brigade in his command to protect him and the congressmen. He pledged with Mustafa Kemal to join the Turkish national movement and subsequently took the command of the Eastern front of the Turkish Independence War.
On November 15, 1920, the Turkish army under the command of Karabekir invaded the territory of the Armenian republic, which had expanded its territory and annexed parts of the territory of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The Turkish decisively defeated the Armenian forces, taking the towns of Kars and Sarıkamış, and capturing Alexandropol, a major center of the new Armenian republic. He then set his signature on a peace treaty, the Treaty of Alexandropol with the Democratic Republic of Armenia on December 2, 1920. He was designated by the newly formed parliament in Ankara to sign also the friendship agreement, the Treaty of Kars with the Soviet Union on October 23, 1921.
After the defeat of Greek forces in Western Anatolia, the Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (Republic of Turkey) was proclaimed. Kâzım Karabekir Pasha moved to Ankara in October 1922, and continued to serve in the parliament as Deputy of Edirne. He was still the acting commander of the Eastern Army as he was elected Deputy of Istanbul on June 29, 1923. Six months later, he was appointed Inspector of First Army. The parliament awarded him the highest Turkish "Order of Independence" for his meritorious and distinguished service in military and politics during the War of Independence. He retired from his final military service on October 26, 1924.
Karabekir had differences of opinion with Mustafa Kemal about the realization of Atatürk's Reforms, one of the most important being the abolition of caliphate. Even though he agreed on the subject, he was of another opinion as Mustafa Kemal insisted on the immediate action. For Karabekir, the timing was improper, because British forces stood at the border of southeastern Turkey, claiming Kerkük in modern day Iraq. Karabekir did not believe that the caliphate should be abolished before solving this problem. Kurds, more radical in their shafi-sunni Islamic beliefs, began to rise up against the government, because they thought the government would lift the religion after the abolition. Struggling with this rebellion, Turkey agreed to leave Kerkük to Iraq, which was under the British mandate. Such conflicts prompted tensions between Karabekir and Mustafa Kemal.
On November 17, 1924, Karabekir co-founded the political movement "Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası" (Progressive Republican Party), and became its leader. Afterwards, Mustafa Kemal blamed Karabekir for the Kurdish rebellion and the assassination attempt made against him in İzmir, and the party was banned on June 5, 1925 by the government. Karabekir was imprisoned with many of his party members. Following these developments, all relations were broken between Karabekir and Mustafa Kemal.
Threatened with execution, Karabekir was forced to retire from politics. He devoted himself to writing his memories of the Turkish War of Independence and the reforms. However, all of his works were collected and burned on the orders of the Turkish government. Karabekir lived in fear of the police and the government until the death of Mustafa Kemal in 1938. İsmet İnönü Pasha, who was his close friend, rehabilitated him.
In 1939, Kâzım Karabekir returned to the parliament as Deputy of İstanbul. He was even elected as speaker of the parliament on August 5, 1946. Still in office, he died on January 26, 1948 in Ankara following a heart attack. His remains were later relocated to the Turkish State Cemetery in Ankara.
Kâzım Karabekir was succeeded by his wife İclal and three daughters Hayat, Emel and Timsal. The four-story mansion in the Erenköy quarter of Kadıköy district in İstanbul, where he lived for almost 15 years under house arrest, was converted in 2005 to a museum.
The works of Kazim Karabekir include:
* Ankarada Savaş Rüzgarları (Winds of War in Ankara)
* Bir Duello ve Bir Suikast (A Duel and An Assassination)
* Birinci Cihan Harbi 1-4 (World War I 1-4)
o Birinci Cihan Harbine Neden Girdik? (Why Did We Enter the World War I?)
o Birinci Cihan Harbine Nasıl Girdik? (How Did We Enter the World War I?)
o Birinci Cihan Harbini Nasıl İdare Ettik? (How Did We Manage the World War I?)
o Birinci Cihan Harbini Nasıl İdare Ettik? (How Did We Manage the World War I?)
* Cumhuriyet Tarihi Set 1 (History of the Republic Set 1)
* Cumhuriyet Tarihi Set 2 (History of the Republic Set 2)
* İstiklal Harbimiz 1-5 (Our War of Independence 1-5)
* Paşaların Kavgası (Struggle of the Pashas)
* Paşaların Hesaplaşması (Revenge of the Pashas)
* Cehennem Değirmeni 1-2 (Windmill of Hell 1-2)
* İzmir Suikasti (Assassination in İzmir)
* Çocuklara Öğütler (Advice to Children)
* Hayatım (My Life)
* İttihat ve Terraki Cemiyeti 1896-1909 (Committee of Union and Progress 1896-1909)
* Ermeni Dosyası (Armenian Dossier)
* İngiltere, İtalya ve Habeş Harbi (British, Italian and Ethiopian War)
* Kürt Meselesi (Kurdish Problem)
* Çocuk, Davamız 1-2 (The Child, Our Problem 1-2)
* İstiklal Harbimizin Esasları (Principals of Our War of Independence)
* Yunan Süngüsü (Greek Bayonet)
* Sanayi Projelerimiz (Our Industrial Projects)
* İktisat Esaslarımız (Our Principals of Economy)
* Tarihte Almanlar ve Alman Ordusu (Germans in the History and German Army)
* Türkiye’de ve Türk Ordusunda Almanlar (Germans in Türkiye and in the Türk Army)
* Tarih Boyunca Türk-Alman İlişkileri (Türk German Relations Throughout the History)
* İstiklal Harbimizde İttihad Terraki ve Enver Paşa 1-2 (Union Progress and Enver Pasha in Our War of Independence)
* İstiklal Harbimizin Esasları Neden Yazıldı? (Why Was the Principals of Our War of Independence Written?)
* Milli Mücadelede Bursa (Bursa During the War of Independence)
* İtalya ve Habeş (Italy and Ethiopia)
* Ermeni Mezalimi (Armenian Outrage)
* Sırp-Bulgar Seferi (Serbian-Bulgarian Campaign)
* Osmanlı Ordusunun Taaruz Fikri (Attack Concept of the Ottoman Army)
* Erkan-i Harbiye Vezaifinden İstihbarat (Intelligence from the Service at General Staff)
* Sarıkamış-Kars ve Ötesi (Sarıkamış, Kars and Beyond)
* Erzincan ve Erzurum'un Kurtuluşu (Liberation of Erzincan and Erzurum)
* Bulgaristan Esareti -Hatıralar, Notlar (Captivity in Bulgaria -Memories, Notes)
* Nutuk ve Karabekir'den Cevaplar (The Address and Replies From Karabekir)
Karabekir, Kazim see Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir see Kazim Karabekir
Kazim Qadri, Husayn
Kazim Qadri, Husayn (Husayn Kazim Qadri) (1870-1934). Turkish writer and lexicographer. His major work is a comprehensive Turkish dictionary in four volumes.
Qadri, Husayn Kazim see Kazim Qadri, Husayn
Husayn Kazim Qadri see Kazim Qadri, Husayn
Kazim Qadri, Husayn (Husayn Kazim Qadri) (1870-1934). Turkish writer and lexicographer. His major work is a comprehensive Turkish dictionary in four volumes.
Qadri, Husayn Kazim see Kazim Qadri, Husayn
Husayn Kazim Qadri see Kazim Qadri, Husayn
Kazim Rashti
Kazim Rashti (Sayyid Kazim Rashti) (Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī) (Siyyid Kázim Rashtí) (1793/1798-1843). Leader of the Shaykhi sect in Persia after the death of its founder, Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa’i.
Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death.
He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, after study of the Islamic writings, told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.
Upon his death he was laid to rest near the tomb of Imam Husayn in Karbala.
On the death of Sayyid Kazim on December 31, 1843, some Shaykhis went on to become Bahais and the rest split into three factions. It is reported that before dying, instead of appointing a successor, he sent his disciples out to find the Promised One.
Sayyid Kazim Rashti see Kazim Rashti
Kazim Rashti, Sayyid see Kazim Rashti
Rashti, Sayyid Kazim see Kazim Rashti
Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī see Kazim Rashti
Siyyid Kázim Rashtí see Kazim Rashti
Kazim Rashti (Sayyid Kazim Rashti) (Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī) (Siyyid Kázim Rashtí) (1793/1798-1843). Leader of the Shaykhi sect in Persia after the death of its founder, Shaykh Ahmad Ahsa’i.
Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death.
He came from a family of well known merchants. He was a Mullah who, after study of the Islamic writings, told his students about the coming of the Mahdi and the "Masih" (the return of Christ) and taught them how to recognize them. After his death in 1843, many of his students spread out around Asia, Europe and Africa for the search.
Upon his death he was laid to rest near the tomb of Imam Husayn in Karbala.
On the death of Sayyid Kazim on December 31, 1843, some Shaykhis went on to become Bahais and the rest split into three factions. It is reported that before dying, instead of appointing a successor, he sent his disciples out to find the Promised One.
Sayyid Kazim Rashti see Kazim Rashti
Kazim Rashti, Sayyid see Kazim Rashti
Rashti, Sayyid Kazim see Kazim Rashti
Sayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī see Kazim Rashti
Siyyid Kázim Rashtí see Kazim Rashti
Kecil, Raja
Kecil, Raja. Leader of the Minangkabau rebels who captured the regalia of Johor in 1718. He claimed to be the posthumous son of the murdered Sultan Mahmud, but in all probability he was a Minangkabau adventurer who used to his advantage the relative instability of the newly established Bendahara dynasty and the resentment that its efforts to strengthen its control over Johor had aroused. Claiming connections with both the old Melaka dynasty and the Minangkabau court at Pagar Ruyong, Kecil won over the Orang Laut who manned the Johor fleet and deposed Abdul Jalil. Although he was driven from Johor by Tun Mahmud’s nephew and the Bugis, he kept Siak and became the staunchest enemy of the growing Buginese power in the Melaka Straits, opposing them in Kedah and elsewhere.
Raja Kecil see Kecil, Raja.
Kecil, Raja. Leader of the Minangkabau rebels who captured the regalia of Johor in 1718. He claimed to be the posthumous son of the murdered Sultan Mahmud, but in all probability he was a Minangkabau adventurer who used to his advantage the relative instability of the newly established Bendahara dynasty and the resentment that its efforts to strengthen its control over Johor had aroused. Claiming connections with both the old Melaka dynasty and the Minangkabau court at Pagar Ruyong, Kecil won over the Orang Laut who manned the Johor fleet and deposed Abdul Jalil. Although he was driven from Johor by Tun Mahmud’s nephew and the Bugis, he kept Siak and became the staunchest enemy of the growing Buginese power in the Melaka Straits, opposing them in Kedah and elsewhere.
Raja Kecil see Kecil, Raja.
Kedang
Kedang (locally pronounced “edang”). Small ethnic group at the extreme east of the island of Lembata (Lomblen) in the Solor Archipelago of eastern Indonesia. Together with the much more numerous Lamaholot, they make up the East Flores Regency in the Province of east Southeast Islands. About half of the Kedang are Muslims.
Unlike the Lamaholot, the Kedang enter only rarely and fleetingly into historical records prior to the twentieth century. The log of Magellan’s ship Victoria, which passed the island in January 1522, records the name of Kalikur, a politically important village on the north coast which offered some harbor facilities. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Dutch threatened Kalikur with two gunboats, forcing the leading family to acknowledge itself as a vassal of the Raja of Adonara. The Dutch then recognized the head of this family as the leader of all the Kedang and employed their military strength to insure that the Kedang accepted him as such.
Islam appears to have had little impact on Kedang until early in the nineteenth century, when Muslim Lamaholot settlers from Lamahala, Adonara, established a colony of Dololong. The religion was largely confined to Dololong and principal families of Kalikur until around 1931, when Muslims from Kalikur began proselytizing in the interior.
Catholic missionaries first started working Kedang in the early part of the 1920s. Islamic proselytizing efforts were a direct response to their advances. Whereas initislly Catholicism was spread by Europeans of various nationalities in the Divine Word Society, Islam (Sunni) came to Kedang through the agency of the Lamholot and perhaps other Indonesians.
Edang see Kedang
Kedang (locally pronounced “edang”). Small ethnic group at the extreme east of the island of Lembata (Lomblen) in the Solor Archipelago of eastern Indonesia. Together with the much more numerous Lamaholot, they make up the East Flores Regency in the Province of east Southeast Islands. About half of the Kedang are Muslims.
Unlike the Lamaholot, the Kedang enter only rarely and fleetingly into historical records prior to the twentieth century. The log of Magellan’s ship Victoria, which passed the island in January 1522, records the name of Kalikur, a politically important village on the north coast which offered some harbor facilities. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Dutch threatened Kalikur with two gunboats, forcing the leading family to acknowledge itself as a vassal of the Raja of Adonara. The Dutch then recognized the head of this family as the leader of all the Kedang and employed their military strength to insure that the Kedang accepted him as such.
Islam appears to have had little impact on Kedang until early in the nineteenth century, when Muslim Lamaholot settlers from Lamahala, Adonara, established a colony of Dololong. The religion was largely confined to Dololong and principal families of Kalikur until around 1931, when Muslims from Kalikur began proselytizing in the interior.
Catholic missionaries first started working Kedang in the early part of the 1920s. Islamic proselytizing efforts were a direct response to their advances. Whereas initislly Catholicism was spread by Europeans of various nationalities in the Divine Word Society, Islam (Sunni) came to Kedang through the agency of the Lamholot and perhaps other Indonesians.
Edang see Kedang
Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Kemal, Mehmed Namiq (Mehmed Namiq Kemal) (Namık Kemal) (Mehmed Kemal) (Mehmet Namik Kemal) (Mehmed Namiq Kemal) (December 2, 1840 - December 2, 1888). Ottoman poet, journalist, historian and critic. Among his many works are monographs about the great men of Ottoman and Islamic history.
Namik Kemal was born in 1840 in the small town of Tekirdag, but his life was shaped by more exalted influences, including his family’s tradition of state service, immersing him in Ottoman culture at an early age. His own career in the Ottoman bureaucracy brought him into contact with Western culture, especially through the medium of works in French. He was born in the year after the proclamation of the Tanzimat rescript of 1839, which inaugurated an era of Western inspired political, social, and economic reform in the Ottoman Empire. The Tanzimat also promoted a new diplomatic policy built on concerns for the stability of the Ottoman state felt by officials who were architects of the reform movement, among them the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Grand Vizier Mustafa Resid Pasha and his successors Ali and Fuad Pasha. Through their control of reform, this new westernizing political elite established control over the formation of all state policy. Namik Kemal was primarily involved in formal criticism that these policies had relegated the sultan to the background, but the substance of his criticism was an attempt to show that government by an elite was illegitimate according to both Islamic and Western principles.
Namik Kemal received his education from private tutors and assumed a position in the bureaucracy in 1859. Between 1861 and 1867, he was employed in the Translation Bureau of the Ottoman Porte. Kemal also took over the editing of Tasvir-i efkar, a newspaper that had initiated socio-political commentary about the empire. Its former editor Sinasi Efendi fled Turkey in 1865, and Kemal’s stance became more clearly political. Kemal was also among the founders of a conspiratorial anti-government group organized in Istanbul with the aim of bringing modern constitutional and parliamentary institutions into the empire.
In 1867, the government became uneasy with Kemal’s criticism in Tasvir of its conduct of foreign affairs that urged a more forceful defense of Ottoman interests against the European powers. Kemal was appointed assistant governor for the province of Erzurum. Instead of accepting the appointment he left Turkey for Paris and London with his friend Ziya Bey (later Pasha) and began the publication of a newspaper, the Hurriyet. Hurriyet continued the tradition set by Tasvir, outspokenly criticizing the Ottoman government for its lack of direction and its autorcratic policies. The ideas he proclaimed were known in the West as those of the Jeune Turquie. The group, however, referred to itself as the New (or Young) Ottoman Society. Its members had been helped to flee Turkey and to establish the newspaper by an Ottoman Egyptian, Prince Mustafa Fazil Pasha, who had independently warned the sultan of the necessity for democratic reforms.
Dissension soon arose among the editors and Kemal returned to Istanbul in 1870. His writings thereafter appeared in Ibret, another newspaper with a political slant, but one much more focused on questions of culture and Ottoman identity. Shortly after his return he was appointed to an administrative post in Gelibolu (1872) in order to deflect the criticism that his natural journalistic ability made so effective. He returned to Istanbul shortly thereafter to resume his publishing activities. When he returned, his most famous work, "Vatan Yahut Silistre", was staged at the Gedikpaşa Theatre in Istanbul on April 1, 1873. The play promoted nationalism and liberalism, and was considered dangerous by the Ottoman government. Immediately afterward, on April 9, 1873, he was sent into exile by the Ottoman Sultan and imprisoned in Cyprus. He was pardoned by Murat V on June 3, 1876, and returned to Istanbul on June 29, 1876. He later became the governor of Sakız (now Chios, Greece), where he died in 1888.
Kemal’s political ideas are a mixture of traditional Islamic concepts and the libertarian theories common in the Europe of his time. The association of pro-democratic Ottoman Turkish intellectuals, the Young Ottoman Society, however, was a heterogeneous group. Another of its leaders was Ziya Pasha, a somewhat older bureaucrat and poet who generally shared Kemal’s political opinions and also his theories concerning language. The latter stated that the Turkish used by the cultural and political elite had to be shorn of its flowery embellishments derived from Arabic and Persian roots, which were little used by most people. The new approach of Kemal and Ziya was aimed primarily at communicating with the “man in the street,” but it also implies pursuit of a cultural identity more clearly Turkish than Arabic. Ziya Pasha’s poetry and political ideas were much more conservative than Kemal’s, although he was a constitutionalist. His verse also showed the influence of more traditional models. Other members of the Young Ottomans such as the autodidact Ali Suavi also constructed divergent theories for their own times.
It is through his impassioned patriotic poetry that Mehmet Namik Kemal is best remembered by the current generation of Turks. Part of this was due to an image created in modern times. The Turkish Republic (established in 1923) made a somewhat biased use of Namik Kemal, highlighting those aspects of his thought that focused on the defense of the fatherland. In fact, this use of patriotism was more in tune with the Turkish nation-state that emerged after World War I than with the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Republic completely ignored in its praise Kemal’s concern that ideas of constitutionalism should be harmonized with Islam.
Some of Namik Kemal's most famous works are "Rüya", "Zavallı Çocuk", "Kerbela", "Akif Bey", "Gülnihal", "İntibah" and "Emir Nevruz". Some were published with pseudonyms, and others were published anonymously.
In 1867, he published an article in which he ascribed the Muslim world's inferiority to the West to its norms for relations between the sexes: "The reason for backwardness is the way we treat our women, treating them only as suitable for producing children and nothing else."
Kemal's patriotic writings became a source of inspiration for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish nationalist movement and the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
Mehmed Namiq Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Namık Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Mehmed Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Mehmet Namik Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Mehmed Namiq Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Kemal, Mehmed Namiq (Mehmed Namiq Kemal) (Namık Kemal) (Mehmed Kemal) (Mehmet Namik Kemal) (Mehmed Namiq Kemal) (December 2, 1840 - December 2, 1888). Ottoman poet, journalist, historian and critic. Among his many works are monographs about the great men of Ottoman and Islamic history.
Namik Kemal was born in 1840 in the small town of Tekirdag, but his life was shaped by more exalted influences, including his family’s tradition of state service, immersing him in Ottoman culture at an early age. His own career in the Ottoman bureaucracy brought him into contact with Western culture, especially through the medium of works in French. He was born in the year after the proclamation of the Tanzimat rescript of 1839, which inaugurated an era of Western inspired political, social, and economic reform in the Ottoman Empire. The Tanzimat also promoted a new diplomatic policy built on concerns for the stability of the Ottoman state felt by officials who were architects of the reform movement, among them the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Grand Vizier Mustafa Resid Pasha and his successors Ali and Fuad Pasha. Through their control of reform, this new westernizing political elite established control over the formation of all state policy. Namik Kemal was primarily involved in formal criticism that these policies had relegated the sultan to the background, but the substance of his criticism was an attempt to show that government by an elite was illegitimate according to both Islamic and Western principles.
Namik Kemal received his education from private tutors and assumed a position in the bureaucracy in 1859. Between 1861 and 1867, he was employed in the Translation Bureau of the Ottoman Porte. Kemal also took over the editing of Tasvir-i efkar, a newspaper that had initiated socio-political commentary about the empire. Its former editor Sinasi Efendi fled Turkey in 1865, and Kemal’s stance became more clearly political. Kemal was also among the founders of a conspiratorial anti-government group organized in Istanbul with the aim of bringing modern constitutional and parliamentary institutions into the empire.
In 1867, the government became uneasy with Kemal’s criticism in Tasvir of its conduct of foreign affairs that urged a more forceful defense of Ottoman interests against the European powers. Kemal was appointed assistant governor for the province of Erzurum. Instead of accepting the appointment he left Turkey for Paris and London with his friend Ziya Bey (later Pasha) and began the publication of a newspaper, the Hurriyet. Hurriyet continued the tradition set by Tasvir, outspokenly criticizing the Ottoman government for its lack of direction and its autorcratic policies. The ideas he proclaimed were known in the West as those of the Jeune Turquie. The group, however, referred to itself as the New (or Young) Ottoman Society. Its members had been helped to flee Turkey and to establish the newspaper by an Ottoman Egyptian, Prince Mustafa Fazil Pasha, who had independently warned the sultan of the necessity for democratic reforms.
Dissension soon arose among the editors and Kemal returned to Istanbul in 1870. His writings thereafter appeared in Ibret, another newspaper with a political slant, but one much more focused on questions of culture and Ottoman identity. Shortly after his return he was appointed to an administrative post in Gelibolu (1872) in order to deflect the criticism that his natural journalistic ability made so effective. He returned to Istanbul shortly thereafter to resume his publishing activities. When he returned, his most famous work, "Vatan Yahut Silistre", was staged at the Gedikpaşa Theatre in Istanbul on April 1, 1873. The play promoted nationalism and liberalism, and was considered dangerous by the Ottoman government. Immediately afterward, on April 9, 1873, he was sent into exile by the Ottoman Sultan and imprisoned in Cyprus. He was pardoned by Murat V on June 3, 1876, and returned to Istanbul on June 29, 1876. He later became the governor of Sakız (now Chios, Greece), where he died in 1888.
Kemal’s political ideas are a mixture of traditional Islamic concepts and the libertarian theories common in the Europe of his time. The association of pro-democratic Ottoman Turkish intellectuals, the Young Ottoman Society, however, was a heterogeneous group. Another of its leaders was Ziya Pasha, a somewhat older bureaucrat and poet who generally shared Kemal’s political opinions and also his theories concerning language. The latter stated that the Turkish used by the cultural and political elite had to be shorn of its flowery embellishments derived from Arabic and Persian roots, which were little used by most people. The new approach of Kemal and Ziya was aimed primarily at communicating with the “man in the street,” but it also implies pursuit of a cultural identity more clearly Turkish than Arabic. Ziya Pasha’s poetry and political ideas were much more conservative than Kemal’s, although he was a constitutionalist. His verse also showed the influence of more traditional models. Other members of the Young Ottomans such as the autodidact Ali Suavi also constructed divergent theories for their own times.
It is through his impassioned patriotic poetry that Mehmet Namik Kemal is best remembered by the current generation of Turks. Part of this was due to an image created in modern times. The Turkish Republic (established in 1923) made a somewhat biased use of Namik Kemal, highlighting those aspects of his thought that focused on the defense of the fatherland. In fact, this use of patriotism was more in tune with the Turkish nation-state that emerged after World War I than with the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Republic completely ignored in its praise Kemal’s concern that ideas of constitutionalism should be harmonized with Islam.
Some of Namik Kemal's most famous works are "Rüya", "Zavallı Çocuk", "Kerbela", "Akif Bey", "Gülnihal", "İntibah" and "Emir Nevruz". Some were published with pseudonyms, and others were published anonymously.
In 1867, he published an article in which he ascribed the Muslim world's inferiority to the West to its norms for relations between the sexes: "The reason for backwardness is the way we treat our women, treating them only as suitable for producing children and nothing else."
Kemal's patriotic writings became a source of inspiration for Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish nationalist movement and the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
Mehmed Namiq Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Namık Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Mehmed Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Mehmet Namik Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Mehmed Namiq Kemal see Kemal, Mehmed Namiq
Kemal, Mehmet Namik
Kemal, Mehmet Namik. See Kemal, Mehmed Namiq.
Kemal, Mehmet Namik. See Kemal, Mehmed Namiq.
Kemal, Mustafa
Kemal, Mustafa. See Ataturk.
Kemal, Mustafa. See Ataturk.
Kemal, Pasha-zade
Kemal, Pasha-zade (Ibn Kemal) (Kemal Pasha-zade) (1468- April 16, 1534). Ottoman scholar and Shaykh al-Islam. He wrote in Turkish, Persian and Arabic in the fields of history, belles-lettres, grammar, theology, and law.
Pasha-zade Kemal see Kemal, Pasha-zade
Ibn Kemal see Kemal, Pasha-zade
Kemal Pasha-zade see Kemal, Pasha-zade
Kemal, Pasha-zade (Ibn Kemal) (Kemal Pasha-zade) (1468- April 16, 1534). Ottoman scholar and Shaykh al-Islam. He wrote in Turkish, Persian and Arabic in the fields of history, belles-lettres, grammar, theology, and law.
Pasha-zade Kemal see Kemal, Pasha-zade
Ibn Kemal see Kemal, Pasha-zade
Kemal Pasha-zade see Kemal, Pasha-zade
Kemal Re’is
Kemal Re’is (Ahmed Kemaleddin) (c. 1451-1511). Turkish corsair and admiral. He gained great fame through his corsair activities in the western Mediterranean. In 1495, the Ottoman sultan Bayazid II took him and his nephew Piri Re’is into Ottoman serv
Kemal Reis was a Turkish privateer and Ottoman admiral. He was also the paternal uncle of the famous Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis who accompanied him on most of his important naval expeditions.
Kemal Reis was born in Gallipoli on the Aegean coast of Turkey around 1451. His full name was Ahmed Kemaleddin and his father was a Turk named Ali from the city of Karaman in central Anatolia. He became known in Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain, with names like Camali and Camalicchio.
Kemal Reis started his career as the commander of the naval fleet belonging to the Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of Euboea (Turkish: Eğriboz) which was under Ottoman control. In 1487 the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II appointed Kemal Reis with the task of defending the lands of Emir Abu Abdullah, the ruler of Granada, which was then one of the final Muslim strongholds in Spain. Kemal Reis sailed to Spain and landed an expeditionary force of Turkish troops at Malaga, capturing the city and the surrounding villages and taking many prisoners. From there he sailed to the Balearic Islands and Corsica, where he raided the coastal settlements, before landing his troops near Pisa in Italy. From Pisa he once again went to Andalucia and on several occasions between 1490 and 1492 transported the Muslims and Jews who wished to escape Spain to the provinces of the Ottoman Empire which welcomed them. The Muslims and Jews of Spain contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. Kemal Reis continued to land his troops in Andalucia and tried to stop the Spanish advance by bombarding the ports of Elche, Almeria and Malaga.
In 1495, Kemal Reis was made an admiral of the Ottoman Navy by Sultan Bayezid II who ordered the construction of his large flagship, Göke, which could carry 700 soldiers and was armed with the strongest cannons of that period. Two large galleys of this type were built, one for Kemal Reis and the other for Burak Reis. In October 1496, with a force of 5 galleys, 5 fustas, a barque and a smaller ship, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul and raided the Gulf of Taranto. In January 1497, he landed at Modon and later captured several Venetian ships at the Ionian Sea and transported them, along with their cargo, to Euboea. In March 1497, Sultan Bayezid II appointed him with the task of protecting the ships which carried valuable goods belonging to the religious foundations of Mecca and Medina from the frequent raids of the Knights of St. John who were based in the island of Rhodes at that time (in 1522 the Ottomans captured Rhodes and allowed the Knights of St. John to peacefully leave the island, who first relocated their base to Sicily and later to Malta in 1530.) Kemal Reis set sail towards Rhodes with a force of 2 barques and 3 fustas, and captured a barque of the knights near Montestrato. He later landed at Stalimene (Lemnos) and from there sailed towards Tenedos (Bozcaada) and returned to Istanbul. In June 1497 he was given two more large galleys and in July 1497 he made the island of Chios his base for operations in the Aegean Sea against the Venetians and the Knights of St. John. In April 1498, commanding a fleet of 6 galleys, 12 fustas with large cannons, 4 barques and 4 smaller types of ships, he set sail from the Dardanelles and headed south towards the Aegean islands that were controlled by the Republic of Venice. In June 1498 he appeared in the island of Paros and later sailed towards Crete where he landed his troops at Sitia and captured the town along with the nearby villages before sending his scout forces to examine the characteristics of the nearby Venetian castle. In July 1498 he sailed to Rosetta (Rashid) in Egypt with a force of 5 galleys, 6 fustas and 2 barques for transporting 300 Muslim pilgrims heading for Mecca, who also had with them 400,000 gold ducats which were sent to the Mameluke sultan by Bayezid II. Near the port of Abu Kabir he captured 2 Portuguese ships (one galleon and one barque) after fierce fighting which lasted 2 days. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards Santorini and captured a Venetian barque, before capturing another Portuguese ship in the Aegean Sea.
In January 1499, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a force of 10 galleys and 4 other types of ships, and in July 1499 met with the huge Ottoman fleet which was sent to him by Davud Pasha and took over its command in order to wage a large scale war against the Republic of Venice. The Ottoman fleet consisted of 67 galleys, 20 galliots and about 200 smaller vessels. In August 1499 Kemal Reis defeated the Venetian fleet under the command of Antonio Grimani at the Battle of Zonchio which is also known as the Battle of Sapienza of 1499 or the First Battle of Lepanto and was a part of the Ottoman-Venetian Wars of 1499-1503. It was the first naval battle in history with cannons used on ships, and took place on four separate days: on August 12, 20, 22 and 25, 1499. After reaching the Ionian Sea with the large Ottoman fleet, Kemal Reis encountered the Venetian fleet of 47 galleys, 17 galliots and about 100 smaller vessels under the command of Antonio Grimani near Cape Zonchio and won an important victory. During the battle Kemal Reis sank the galley of Andrea Loredan, a member of the influential Loredan family of Venice. Antonio Grimani was arrested on September 29 but was eventually released. Grimani later became the Doge of Venice in 1521. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II gifted 10 of the captured Venetian galleys to Kemal Reis, who stationed his fleet at the island of Cefalonia between October and December, 1499.
In December 1499 the Venetians attacked Lepanto with the hope of regaining their lost territories in the Ionian Sea. Kemal Reis set sail from Cefalonia and retook Lepanto from the Venetians. He stayed in Lepanto between April and May 1500, where his ships were repaired by an army of 15,000 Ottoman craftsmen brought from the area. From there Kemal Reis set sail and bombarded the Venetian ports on the island of Corfu, and in August 1500 he once again defeated the Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon which is also known as the Second Battle of Lepanto. Kemal Reis bombarded the fortress of Modon from the sea and captured the town. He later engaged with the Venetian fleet off the coast of Coron and captured the town along with a Venetian brigantine. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards the Island of Sapientza (Sapienza) and sank the Venetian galley "Lezza". In September 1500 Kemal Reis assaulted Voiussa and in October he appeared at Cape Santa Maria on the Island of Lefkada before ending the campaign and returning back to Istanbul in November. With the Battle of Modon, the Turkish fleet and army quickly overwhelmed most of the Venetian possessions in Greece. Modon and Coron, the "two eyes of the Republic", were lost. Turkish cavalry raids reached Venetian territory in northern Italy, and, in 1503, Venice again had to seek peace, recognizing the Turkish gains.
In January 1501, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a fleet of 36 galleys and fustas. In February 1501 he landed at the Island of Euboea and at Nafplion before heading towards Corfu in March and from there to the Tyrrhenian Sea where he captured the Island of Pianosa along with many prisoners. In April 1501, with a fleet of 60 ships he landed at Nafplion and Monemvasia, causing the Venetian regional commander based at Corfu to call back the Venetian ships heading towards Lebanon and the Levant in order to strengthen the defenses of the Repubblica Serenissima's remaining strongholds on Morea. In May 1501, with a force of 8 galliots and 13 fustas, he escorted the cargo ships carrying construction material for strengthening the Ottoman fortresses on the islands of Chios and Tinos, where he captured the galley of Girolamo Pisani, the local Venetian commander, including the official standard of San Marco (St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice) along with another Venetian galley named "Basadonna". From there he sailed to the port of Zonchio, near Navarino, with a force of 5 galliots and 14 fustas. The Turks landed there and captured the Venetian castle and the nearby settlements after a siege which lasted less than 10 hours. Kemal Reis also captured 3 Venetian galleys, a Venetian caravelle and several other local ships which were docked at the port of Zonchio. He took these ships first to Modon and later to the Island of Aegina, before sailing towards Euboea. He later captured Navarino from the Venetians, adding another important port to the Ottoman Empire. In June 1501 Kemal Reis sailed to the Adriatic Sea and strengthened the Turkish defenses at Voiussa and Vlorë.
In July 1501, Kemal Reis, accompanied by his nephew Piri Reis, set sail from the port of Modon with a force of 3 galleys and 16 fustas and went to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where he took advantage of the war between Jacopo d'Appiano, ruler of Piombino, and the Papal forces under the command of Cesare Borgia. The Turks landed at the Island of Pianosa and quickly captured it, taking many prisoners. From there Kemal Reis sailed to the Channel of Piombino and the Turks raided the coastal settlements in that area. In August 1501, Kemal Reis and his troops landed at Sardinia and captured several coastal settlements while taking around 1,050 prisoners during fights against the local forces. He engaged several Genoese warships off the coast of Sardinia, which later escaped northwards after being damaged by cannon fire. Still in August 1501 Kemal Reis sailed to the Balearic Islands and the Turks landed at Majorca, where bitter fighting against the local Spanish forces took place. From there Kemal Reis sailed to Spain and captured 7 Spanish ships off the coast of Valencia. Aboard these ships he found a strange feather headdress and an unfamiliar black stone. He was told by one of his prisoners that both came from newly discovered lands to the west, beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The prisoner claimed to have visited these lands three times, under the command of a man named Colombo, and that he had in his possession a chart, drawn by this Colombo himself, which showed the newly discovered lands beyond the Sea of Darkness. This map was to become one of the main source charts of the famous Piri Reis map of 1513 which was drawn by the Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis who was the nephew of Kemal Reis.
After leaving Valencia, still in August 1501, Kemal Reis headed south and bombarded the coastal defenses of Andalucia before landing his troops, where the Turks raided several ports and towns. Kemal Reis later sailed westwards and passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean, where he and his men raided the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian peninsula. From there Kemal Reis sailed southwest and landed on several of the Canary Islands, where the Turks faced moderate opposition from the Spanish forces. Piri Reis used the occasion, as in other voyages with his uncle, to draw his famous portolan charts which were later to become a part of the renowned Kitab-ı Bahriye (Book of Navigation). Kemal Reis later turned eastwards, where he followed the Atlantic coastline of Morocco and re-entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, landing on several ports of Morocco and Algeria on the way. From there Kemal Reis headed further east and captured several Genoese ships off the coast of Tripoli in Libya. He also intercepted several Venetian galleys in the area before sailing back to Istanbul.
In May 1502, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a fleet of 50 ships and headed towards Euboea. In June 1502, he captured the Island of Kos along with the Castle of San Pietro which belonged to the Knights of St. John. From there he sailed to Nafplion and bombarded its port until being called for assisting the defense of Mytilene which was sieged by a joint Venetian-French fleet. In July 1502 he landed his forces on Lesbos and fought against the French soldiers in Mytilene which the Ottomans had earlier taken from the Genoese in 1462. In August 1502, Kemal Reis made the Island of Lefkada his new base for operations in the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, where he raided the coastal settlements belonging to the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa, capturing several of them on behalf of the Ottoman Empire. However, the strategic importance of the Island of Santa Maura (as the Venetians called Lefkada) prompted the Repubblica Serenissima to organize a huge fleet under the command of Benedetto Pesaro, which consisted of 50 galleys and numerous other smaller ships. The Venetians were joined by 13 Papal galleys under the command of Giacomo Pesaro, the brother of Benedetto who was the Bishop of Paphos, as well as 3 galleys belonging to the Knights of St. John in Rhodes and 4 French galleys under the command of the Prégent de Bidoux. Overwhelmed by the size of the enemy fleet, Kemal Reis was forced to abandon Lefkada and sailed back first to Gallipoli and later to Istanbul, where, in October 1502, he ordered the construction of new ships at the Imperial Naval Arsenal of the Golden Horn.
In March 1503 Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with his new ships and reached Gallipoli where he took over the command of the Turkish fleet that was based there. However, he was caught by a severe illness and had to return to Istanbul for treatment, which lasted a long time and caused him to remain inactive between November 1503 and March 1505.
In March 1505, Kemal Reis was appointed with the task of intercepting the Knights of St. John in Rhodes who caused serious damage on Ottoman shipping routes off the coasts of Anatolia, and he set sail from Gallipoli with a force of 3 galleys and 17 fustas, heading first towards the Island of Kos, which he had earlier captured from the Knights, with the aim of organizing an assault on their base in nearby Rhodes. In May 1505, Kemal Reis assaulted the coasts of Rhodes and landed a large number of Turkish troops on the island, where they bombarded the castle of the Knights from land and took control of several settlements. From there Kemal Reis sailed to the islands of Tilos and Nisyros where he bombarded the fortresses of the Knights from the sea. Still in May 1505 Kemal Reis captured the Island of Lemnos and assaulted the Island of Chios, before returning back to Modon in July 1505.
In September 1505, Kemal Reis assaulted Sicily and captured 3 ships (one from the Republic of Ragusa, the other two from Sicily) off the Sicilian coast.
In January 1506, he made the Island of Djerba his new base and sailed to Spain, where he once again landed at the coasts of Andalucia and bombarded the ports of Almeria and Malaga. He also transported the final remnants of the surviving Muslims and Jews who had to suffer inhuman treatments since the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 and brought them to Istanbul.
In May 1506 Kemal Reis, commanding a force of 8 galliots and fustas, returned to the Aegean Sea, and in June 1506 landed at the Island of Leros with a force of 500 janissaries. There he assaulted the Venetian castle under the command of Paolo Simeoni. Throughout June 1506, he raided the Dodecanese Islands before sailing back to the West Mediterranean with a fleet of 22 ships (including 3 large galleys and 11 fustas) where he landed on Sicily and assaulted the coastal settlements. There he was confronted by the forces of the Viceroy of Sicily who was an ally of Spain. In September 1506 Kemal Reis confronted a Spanish fleet defending Djerba and captured a Spanish galley during combat. In October 1506, he landed at Trapani in Sicily and burned the Genoese ships at the port, whose crewmen were, however, released because they had no experience of naval warfare and were not deemed useful. He later bombarded the Venetian galley under the command of Benedetto Priuli. He responded to the cannon fire from the fortress of Trapani with the cannons on his ships. He later sailed to the Island of Cerigo in the Ionian Sea with a force of 3 galleys and 2 fustas, and exchanged fire with the Venetian fleet under the command of Girolamo Contarini. He later sailed back to Istanbul.
In January 1507, Kemal Reis was appointed by Bayezid II with the task of hunting the Knights of St. John and set sail from Gallipoli with a large fleet of 15 galleys and 25 fustas that were heavily armed with cannons. He engaged with the Knights in several occasions until August 1507, when he returned to Istanbul. In August 1507, he sailed to Alexandria with a cargo of 8,000 sets of oars and 50 cannons that were donated to the Mameluke sultan by Bayezid II for helping him in his fight against the Portuguese fleet which often ventured into the Red Sea and damaged Mameluke interests. Kemal Reis stayed in Egypt until February 1508, and was back in Istanbul in May 1508, where he personally coordinated the reparation and modification of his ships at the Imperial Naval Arsenal of the Golden Horn before setting sail once again towards the Aegean Sea for confronting the Venetians and the Knights of St. John. In August 1508, he arrived at Euboea with 2 galleys, 3 barques and numerous fustas. From there he sailed to Tenedos where he repulsed an attack of the Knights and sank a ship near the port of Sizia. In November 1508, he captured a Genoese galleass from Savona off the island of Tenedos. In January 1509, commanding a force of 13 ships, he assaulted the Castle of Coo near Rhodes which belonged to the Knights of St. John. In February 1509, accompanied by the famous Turkish privateer Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (known as Curtogoli in the West) and commanding a larger fleet of 20 ships (4 galleys, 1 galleass, 2 galliots, 3 barques and 10 fustas) he assaulted the City of Rhodes and landed a large number of janissaries at the port. In only a few days, 4 large assaults are made on the Castle of Rhodes as well as the walls of the citadel that surrounds the city. Towards mid February, in command of 3 galleys and 3 fustas, he chased the ships belonging to Knights that were escaping Rhodes for the safety of nearby islands, and captured 3 galleons and 9 other types of ships.
Still in 1509 Kemal Reis sailed to the Tyrrhenian Sea and landed at the coasts of Liguria. He continued operating in the West Mediterranean for some time, until returning back to Gallipoli. In September 1510, he set sail from Gallipoli with 2 galleys, 1 galliot and several fustas, and joined the Ottoman fleet of cargo ships in Istanbul which were heading to Alexandria and carried wood for building ships, sets of oars and cannons that were sent to the Mamelukes for their fight against the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean. The cargo fleet that Kemal Reis was to escort amounted to a total of 40 ships, 8 of which were galleys.
In early 1511, after passing the lands of the Duchy of Naxos and being sighted for the last time in December 1510, 27 ships of the Ottoman cargo fleet were wrecked by a severe storm in the Mediterranean Sea, including the ship of Kemal Reis, who died with his men.
In honor of Kemal Reis, F-247 TCG Kemal Reis, a Salih Reis (MEKO 200TN II-B) class frigate, was commissioned in the Turkish Navy. Several other warships of the Turkish Navy have been named after Kemal Reis.
Re'is, Kemal see Kemal Re’is
Ahmed Kemaleddin see Kemal Re’is
Kemaleddin, Ahmed see Kemal Re’is
Kemal Re’is (Ahmed Kemaleddin) (c. 1451-1511). Turkish corsair and admiral. He gained great fame through his corsair activities in the western Mediterranean. In 1495, the Ottoman sultan Bayazid II took him and his nephew Piri Re’is into Ottoman serv
Kemal Reis was a Turkish privateer and Ottoman admiral. He was also the paternal uncle of the famous Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis who accompanied him on most of his important naval expeditions.
Kemal Reis was born in Gallipoli on the Aegean coast of Turkey around 1451. His full name was Ahmed Kemaleddin and his father was a Turk named Ali from the city of Karaman in central Anatolia. He became known in Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain, with names like Camali and Camalicchio.
Kemal Reis started his career as the commander of the naval fleet belonging to the Sanjak Bey (Provincial Governor) of Euboea (Turkish: Eğriboz) which was under Ottoman control. In 1487 the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II appointed Kemal Reis with the task of defending the lands of Emir Abu Abdullah, the ruler of Granada, which was then one of the final Muslim strongholds in Spain. Kemal Reis sailed to Spain and landed an expeditionary force of Turkish troops at Malaga, capturing the city and the surrounding villages and taking many prisoners. From there he sailed to the Balearic Islands and Corsica, where he raided the coastal settlements, before landing his troops near Pisa in Italy. From Pisa he once again went to Andalucia and on several occasions between 1490 and 1492 transported the Muslims and Jews who wished to escape Spain to the provinces of the Ottoman Empire which welcomed them. The Muslims and Jews of Spain contributed much to the rising power of the Ottoman Empire by introducing new ideas, methods and craftsmanship. Kemal Reis continued to land his troops in Andalucia and tried to stop the Spanish advance by bombarding the ports of Elche, Almeria and Malaga.
In 1495, Kemal Reis was made an admiral of the Ottoman Navy by Sultan Bayezid II who ordered the construction of his large flagship, Göke, which could carry 700 soldiers and was armed with the strongest cannons of that period. Two large galleys of this type were built, one for Kemal Reis and the other for Burak Reis. In October 1496, with a force of 5 galleys, 5 fustas, a barque and a smaller ship, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul and raided the Gulf of Taranto. In January 1497, he landed at Modon and later captured several Venetian ships at the Ionian Sea and transported them, along with their cargo, to Euboea. In March 1497, Sultan Bayezid II appointed him with the task of protecting the ships which carried valuable goods belonging to the religious foundations of Mecca and Medina from the frequent raids of the Knights of St. John who were based in the island of Rhodes at that time (in 1522 the Ottomans captured Rhodes and allowed the Knights of St. John to peacefully leave the island, who first relocated their base to Sicily and later to Malta in 1530.) Kemal Reis set sail towards Rhodes with a force of 2 barques and 3 fustas, and captured a barque of the knights near Montestrato. He later landed at Stalimene (Lemnos) and from there sailed towards Tenedos (Bozcaada) and returned to Istanbul. In June 1497 he was given two more large galleys and in July 1497 he made the island of Chios his base for operations in the Aegean Sea against the Venetians and the Knights of St. John. In April 1498, commanding a fleet of 6 galleys, 12 fustas with large cannons, 4 barques and 4 smaller types of ships, he set sail from the Dardanelles and headed south towards the Aegean islands that were controlled by the Republic of Venice. In June 1498 he appeared in the island of Paros and later sailed towards Crete where he landed his troops at Sitia and captured the town along with the nearby villages before sending his scout forces to examine the characteristics of the nearby Venetian castle. In July 1498 he sailed to Rosetta (Rashid) in Egypt with a force of 5 galleys, 6 fustas and 2 barques for transporting 300 Muslim pilgrims heading for Mecca, who also had with them 400,000 gold ducats which were sent to the Mameluke sultan by Bayezid II. Near the port of Abu Kabir he captured 2 Portuguese ships (one galleon and one barque) after fierce fighting which lasted 2 days. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards Santorini and captured a Venetian barque, before capturing another Portuguese ship in the Aegean Sea.
In January 1499, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a force of 10 galleys and 4 other types of ships, and in July 1499 met with the huge Ottoman fleet which was sent to him by Davud Pasha and took over its command in order to wage a large scale war against the Republic of Venice. The Ottoman fleet consisted of 67 galleys, 20 galliots and about 200 smaller vessels. In August 1499 Kemal Reis defeated the Venetian fleet under the command of Antonio Grimani at the Battle of Zonchio which is also known as the Battle of Sapienza of 1499 or the First Battle of Lepanto and was a part of the Ottoman-Venetian Wars of 1499-1503. It was the first naval battle in history with cannons used on ships, and took place on four separate days: on August 12, 20, 22 and 25, 1499. After reaching the Ionian Sea with the large Ottoman fleet, Kemal Reis encountered the Venetian fleet of 47 galleys, 17 galliots and about 100 smaller vessels under the command of Antonio Grimani near Cape Zonchio and won an important victory. During the battle Kemal Reis sank the galley of Andrea Loredan, a member of the influential Loredan family of Venice. Antonio Grimani was arrested on September 29 but was eventually released. Grimani later became the Doge of Venice in 1521. The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II gifted 10 of the captured Venetian galleys to Kemal Reis, who stationed his fleet at the island of Cefalonia between October and December, 1499.
In December 1499 the Venetians attacked Lepanto with the hope of regaining their lost territories in the Ionian Sea. Kemal Reis set sail from Cefalonia and retook Lepanto from the Venetians. He stayed in Lepanto between April and May 1500, where his ships were repaired by an army of 15,000 Ottoman craftsmen brought from the area. From there Kemal Reis set sail and bombarded the Venetian ports on the island of Corfu, and in August 1500 he once again defeated the Venetian fleet at the Battle of Modon which is also known as the Second Battle of Lepanto. Kemal Reis bombarded the fortress of Modon from the sea and captured the town. He later engaged with the Venetian fleet off the coast of Coron and captured the town along with a Venetian brigantine. From there Kemal Reis sailed towards the Island of Sapientza (Sapienza) and sank the Venetian galley "Lezza". In September 1500 Kemal Reis assaulted Voiussa and in October he appeared at Cape Santa Maria on the Island of Lefkada before ending the campaign and returning back to Istanbul in November. With the Battle of Modon, the Turkish fleet and army quickly overwhelmed most of the Venetian possessions in Greece. Modon and Coron, the "two eyes of the Republic", were lost. Turkish cavalry raids reached Venetian territory in northern Italy, and, in 1503, Venice again had to seek peace, recognizing the Turkish gains.
In January 1501, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a fleet of 36 galleys and fustas. In February 1501 he landed at the Island of Euboea and at Nafplion before heading towards Corfu in March and from there to the Tyrrhenian Sea where he captured the Island of Pianosa along with many prisoners. In April 1501, with a fleet of 60 ships he landed at Nafplion and Monemvasia, causing the Venetian regional commander based at Corfu to call back the Venetian ships heading towards Lebanon and the Levant in order to strengthen the defenses of the Repubblica Serenissima's remaining strongholds on Morea. In May 1501, with a force of 8 galliots and 13 fustas, he escorted the cargo ships carrying construction material for strengthening the Ottoman fortresses on the islands of Chios and Tinos, where he captured the galley of Girolamo Pisani, the local Venetian commander, including the official standard of San Marco (St. Mark, the patron saint of Venice) along with another Venetian galley named "Basadonna". From there he sailed to the port of Zonchio, near Navarino, with a force of 5 galliots and 14 fustas. The Turks landed there and captured the Venetian castle and the nearby settlements after a siege which lasted less than 10 hours. Kemal Reis also captured 3 Venetian galleys, a Venetian caravelle and several other local ships which were docked at the port of Zonchio. He took these ships first to Modon and later to the Island of Aegina, before sailing towards Euboea. He later captured Navarino from the Venetians, adding another important port to the Ottoman Empire. In June 1501 Kemal Reis sailed to the Adriatic Sea and strengthened the Turkish defenses at Voiussa and Vlorë.
In July 1501, Kemal Reis, accompanied by his nephew Piri Reis, set sail from the port of Modon with a force of 3 galleys and 16 fustas and went to the Tyrrhenian Sea, where he took advantage of the war between Jacopo d'Appiano, ruler of Piombino, and the Papal forces under the command of Cesare Borgia. The Turks landed at the Island of Pianosa and quickly captured it, taking many prisoners. From there Kemal Reis sailed to the Channel of Piombino and the Turks raided the coastal settlements in that area. In August 1501, Kemal Reis and his troops landed at Sardinia and captured several coastal settlements while taking around 1,050 prisoners during fights against the local forces. He engaged several Genoese warships off the coast of Sardinia, which later escaped northwards after being damaged by cannon fire. Still in August 1501 Kemal Reis sailed to the Balearic Islands and the Turks landed at Majorca, where bitter fighting against the local Spanish forces took place. From there Kemal Reis sailed to Spain and captured 7 Spanish ships off the coast of Valencia. Aboard these ships he found a strange feather headdress and an unfamiliar black stone. He was told by one of his prisoners that both came from newly discovered lands to the west, beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The prisoner claimed to have visited these lands three times, under the command of a man named Colombo, and that he had in his possession a chart, drawn by this Colombo himself, which showed the newly discovered lands beyond the Sea of Darkness. This map was to become one of the main source charts of the famous Piri Reis map of 1513 which was drawn by the Turkish admiral and cartographer Piri Reis who was the nephew of Kemal Reis.
After leaving Valencia, still in August 1501, Kemal Reis headed south and bombarded the coastal defenses of Andalucia before landing his troops, where the Turks raided several ports and towns. Kemal Reis later sailed westwards and passed the Strait of Gibraltar and entered the Atlantic Ocean, where he and his men raided the Atlantic coasts of the Iberian peninsula. From there Kemal Reis sailed southwest and landed on several of the Canary Islands, where the Turks faced moderate opposition from the Spanish forces. Piri Reis used the occasion, as in other voyages with his uncle, to draw his famous portolan charts which were later to become a part of the renowned Kitab-ı Bahriye (Book of Navigation). Kemal Reis later turned eastwards, where he followed the Atlantic coastline of Morocco and re-entered the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, landing on several ports of Morocco and Algeria on the way. From there Kemal Reis headed further east and captured several Genoese ships off the coast of Tripoli in Libya. He also intercepted several Venetian galleys in the area before sailing back to Istanbul.
In May 1502, Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with a fleet of 50 ships and headed towards Euboea. In June 1502, he captured the Island of Kos along with the Castle of San Pietro which belonged to the Knights of St. John. From there he sailed to Nafplion and bombarded its port until being called for assisting the defense of Mytilene which was sieged by a joint Venetian-French fleet. In July 1502 he landed his forces on Lesbos and fought against the French soldiers in Mytilene which the Ottomans had earlier taken from the Genoese in 1462. In August 1502, Kemal Reis made the Island of Lefkada his new base for operations in the Ionian and Adriatic Seas, where he raided the coastal settlements belonging to the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa, capturing several of them on behalf of the Ottoman Empire. However, the strategic importance of the Island of Santa Maura (as the Venetians called Lefkada) prompted the Repubblica Serenissima to organize a huge fleet under the command of Benedetto Pesaro, which consisted of 50 galleys and numerous other smaller ships. The Venetians were joined by 13 Papal galleys under the command of Giacomo Pesaro, the brother of Benedetto who was the Bishop of Paphos, as well as 3 galleys belonging to the Knights of St. John in Rhodes and 4 French galleys under the command of the Prégent de Bidoux. Overwhelmed by the size of the enemy fleet, Kemal Reis was forced to abandon Lefkada and sailed back first to Gallipoli and later to Istanbul, where, in October 1502, he ordered the construction of new ships at the Imperial Naval Arsenal of the Golden Horn.
In March 1503 Kemal Reis set sail from Istanbul with his new ships and reached Gallipoli where he took over the command of the Turkish fleet that was based there. However, he was caught by a severe illness and had to return to Istanbul for treatment, which lasted a long time and caused him to remain inactive between November 1503 and March 1505.
In March 1505, Kemal Reis was appointed with the task of intercepting the Knights of St. John in Rhodes who caused serious damage on Ottoman shipping routes off the coasts of Anatolia, and he set sail from Gallipoli with a force of 3 galleys and 17 fustas, heading first towards the Island of Kos, which he had earlier captured from the Knights, with the aim of organizing an assault on their base in nearby Rhodes. In May 1505, Kemal Reis assaulted the coasts of Rhodes and landed a large number of Turkish troops on the island, where they bombarded the castle of the Knights from land and took control of several settlements. From there Kemal Reis sailed to the islands of Tilos and Nisyros where he bombarded the fortresses of the Knights from the sea. Still in May 1505 Kemal Reis captured the Island of Lemnos and assaulted the Island of Chios, before returning back to Modon in July 1505.
In September 1505, Kemal Reis assaulted Sicily and captured 3 ships (one from the Republic of Ragusa, the other two from Sicily) off the Sicilian coast.
In January 1506, he made the Island of Djerba his new base and sailed to Spain, where he once again landed at the coasts of Andalucia and bombarded the ports of Almeria and Malaga. He also transported the final remnants of the surviving Muslims and Jews who had to suffer inhuman treatments since the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 and brought them to Istanbul.
In May 1506 Kemal Reis, commanding a force of 8 galliots and fustas, returned to the Aegean Sea, and in June 1506 landed at the Island of Leros with a force of 500 janissaries. There he assaulted the Venetian castle under the command of Paolo Simeoni. Throughout June 1506, he raided the Dodecanese Islands before sailing back to the West Mediterranean with a fleet of 22 ships (including 3 large galleys and 11 fustas) where he landed on Sicily and assaulted the coastal settlements. There he was confronted by the forces of the Viceroy of Sicily who was an ally of Spain. In September 1506 Kemal Reis confronted a Spanish fleet defending Djerba and captured a Spanish galley during combat. In October 1506, he landed at Trapani in Sicily and burned the Genoese ships at the port, whose crewmen were, however, released because they had no experience of naval warfare and were not deemed useful. He later bombarded the Venetian galley under the command of Benedetto Priuli. He responded to the cannon fire from the fortress of Trapani with the cannons on his ships. He later sailed to the Island of Cerigo in the Ionian Sea with a force of 3 galleys and 2 fustas, and exchanged fire with the Venetian fleet under the command of Girolamo Contarini. He later sailed back to Istanbul.
In January 1507, Kemal Reis was appointed by Bayezid II with the task of hunting the Knights of St. John and set sail from Gallipoli with a large fleet of 15 galleys and 25 fustas that were heavily armed with cannons. He engaged with the Knights in several occasions until August 1507, when he returned to Istanbul. In August 1507, he sailed to Alexandria with a cargo of 8,000 sets of oars and 50 cannons that were donated to the Mameluke sultan by Bayezid II for helping him in his fight against the Portuguese fleet which often ventured into the Red Sea and damaged Mameluke interests. Kemal Reis stayed in Egypt until February 1508, and was back in Istanbul in May 1508, where he personally coordinated the reparation and modification of his ships at the Imperial Naval Arsenal of the Golden Horn before setting sail once again towards the Aegean Sea for confronting the Venetians and the Knights of St. John. In August 1508, he arrived at Euboea with 2 galleys, 3 barques and numerous fustas. From there he sailed to Tenedos where he repulsed an attack of the Knights and sank a ship near the port of Sizia. In November 1508, he captured a Genoese galleass from Savona off the island of Tenedos. In January 1509, commanding a force of 13 ships, he assaulted the Castle of Coo near Rhodes which belonged to the Knights of St. John. In February 1509, accompanied by the famous Turkish privateer Kurtoğlu Muslihiddin Reis (known as Curtogoli in the West) and commanding a larger fleet of 20 ships (4 galleys, 1 galleass, 2 galliots, 3 barques and 10 fustas) he assaulted the City of Rhodes and landed a large number of janissaries at the port. In only a few days, 4 large assaults are made on the Castle of Rhodes as well as the walls of the citadel that surrounds the city. Towards mid February, in command of 3 galleys and 3 fustas, he chased the ships belonging to Knights that were escaping Rhodes for the safety of nearby islands, and captured 3 galleons and 9 other types of ships.
Still in 1509 Kemal Reis sailed to the Tyrrhenian Sea and landed at the coasts of Liguria. He continued operating in the West Mediterranean for some time, until returning back to Gallipoli. In September 1510, he set sail from Gallipoli with 2 galleys, 1 galliot and several fustas, and joined the Ottoman fleet of cargo ships in Istanbul which were heading to Alexandria and carried wood for building ships, sets of oars and cannons that were sent to the Mamelukes for their fight against the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean. The cargo fleet that Kemal Reis was to escort amounted to a total of 40 ships, 8 of which were galleys.
In early 1511, after passing the lands of the Duchy of Naxos and being sighted for the last time in December 1510, 27 ships of the Ottoman cargo fleet were wrecked by a severe storm in the Mediterranean Sea, including the ship of Kemal Reis, who died with his men.
In honor of Kemal Reis, F-247 TCG Kemal Reis, a Salih Reis (MEKO 200TN II-B) class frigate, was commissioned in the Turkish Navy. Several other warships of the Turkish Navy have been named after Kemal Reis.
Re'is, Kemal see Kemal Re’is
Ahmed Kemaleddin see Kemal Re’is
Kemaleddin, Ahmed see Kemal Re’is
Kemal, Yasar
Yasar Kemal, Yasar also spelled Yashar, original name Kemal Sadik Gogceli, (b. 1923, Hemite, Turkey - d. February 28, 2015, Istanbul) was a Turkish novelist of Kurdish descent best known for his stories of village life and for his outspoken advocacy on behalf of the dispossessed.
At age five, Kemal saw his father murdered in a mosque and was himself blinded in one eye. He left secondary school after two years and worked at a variety of odd jobs. In 1950, he was arrested for his political activism, but he was ultimately acquitted. The following year, Kemal moved to Istanbul and was hired as a reporter for the daily newspaper Cumhuriyet, where he worked in various capacities until 1963. During this time, he published a novella, Teneke (1955, "The Tin Pan"), and the novel Ince Memed (1955, Memed, My Hawk). The latter, a popular tale about a bandit and folk hero, was translated into more than twenty (20) languages and was made into a movie in 1984. Kemal wrote three more novels featuring Memed as the protagonist. In 1962, he joined the Turkish Labour Party, and in 1967, he founded Ant, a weekly political magazine informed by Marxist ideology. He was arrested again in 1971, and in 1996 a court sentenced him to a deferred jail term for alleged seditious statements about the Turkish government's oppression of the Kurdish people.
Kemal's other novels include the trilogy Ortadirek (1960, The Wind from the Plain); Yer demir, gok bakir (1963, Iron Earth, Copper Sky), Olmez otu (1968, The Undying Grass), and Tanyeri horozlan (2002, The Cocks of Dawn). He also published volumes of nonfiction -- including Peri bacalan (1957, The Fairy Chimneys), collection of reportage, and Baldaki tuz (1974, The Salt in the Honey), a book of political essays -- as well as the children's book Filler sultani ile kirmizi sakalli topal karinca (1977, The Sultan of the Elephants and the Red-Bearded Lame Ant). In 2007, an operatic adaptation of Kemal's Teneke premiered at La Scala in Milan.
Kerekou, Mathieu
It has been suggested that Kérékou's move to Marxism-Leninism was motivated mainly by pragmatic considerations, and that Kérékou himself was not actually a leftist radical; the new ideology offered a means of legitimization, a way of distinguishing the new regime from those that had preceded it, and was based on broader unifying principles than the politics of ethnicity. Kérékou's regime initially included officers from both the north and south of the country, but as the years passed the northerners (like Kérékou himself) became clearly dominant, undermining the idea that the regime was not based in ethnicity. By officially adopting Marxism-Leninism, Kérékou may also have wanted to win the support of the country's leftists.
Kérékou's regime was rigid and vigorous in pursuing its newly adopted ideological goals from the mid-1970s to the late 1970s. Beginning in the late 1970s, the regime jettisoned much of its radicalism and settled onto a more moderately socialist course as Kérékou consolidated his personal control.
Kérékou survived numerous attempts to oust him, including an invasion of the port city of Cotonou by mercenaries contracted by a group of exiled Beninese political rivals in January 1977, as well as two coup attempts in 1988.
It was hoped that the nationalizations of the 1970s would help develop the economy, but it remained in a very poor condition, with the state sector being plagued by inefficiency and corruption. Kérékou began reversing course in the early 1980s, closing down numerous state-run companies and attempting to attract foreign investment. He also accepted an International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural readjustment program in 1989, agreeing to austerity measures that severely cut state expenditures. The economic situation continued to worsen during the 1980s, provoking widespread unrest in 1989. A student strike began in January of that year. Subsequently, strikes among various elements of society increased in frequency and the nature of their demands grew broader: whereas initially they had focused on economic issues such as salary arrears, this progressed to include demands for political reform.
Kérékou reclaimed the presidency in the March 1996 election. Soglo's economic reforms and his alleged dictatorial tendencies had caused his popularity to suffer. Although Kérékou received fewer votes than Soglo in the first round, he then defeated Soglo in the second round, taking 52.5% of the vote. Kérékou was backed in the second round by third place candidate Adrien Houngbedji and fourth place candidate Bruno Amoussou, as in 1991, Kérékou received very strong support from northern voters, but he also improved his performance in the south. Soglo alleged fraud, but this was rejected by the Constitutional Court, which confirmed Kérékou's victory. When taking the oath of office, Kérékou left out a portion that referred to the "spirits of the ancestors" because he had become a born-again Christian after his defeat by Soglo. He was subsequently forced to retake the oath including the reference to spirits.
Kérékou was barred from running again in 2006 on two counts. The constitution not only limited the president to two terms, but also required that presidential candidates be younger than 70 (he turned 70 in 2003, through his second term). Kérékou said in July 2005 that he would not attempt to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. "If you don't leave power," he said, "power will leave you." There was, however, speculation that he had wanted it to be changed, but faced too much opposition.
On March 5, 2006, voters went to the polls to decide who would succeed Kérékou as President of Benin. Yayi Boni defeated Adrien Houngbédji in a run-off vote on March 19, and Kérékou left office at the end of his term, at midnight on April 6, 2006.
Nicknamed "the chameleon" from an early point in his career, Kérékou's motto was "the branch will not break in the arms of the chameleon". The nickname and motto he adopted were full of cultural symbolism, articulating and projecting his power and ability. Unlike some past rulers who had adopted animal symbolism intending to project a violent, warlike sense of power, Kérékou's symbolic animal suggested skill and cleverness; his motto suggested that he would keep the branch from breaking, but implicitly warned of what could happen to "the branch" if it was not "in the arms of the chameleon"—political chaos. To some, his nickname seemed particularly apt as he successfully adapted himself to a new political climate and neo-liberal economic policies in the 1990s.
Kerekou, Mathieu
Mathieu Kérékou (September 2, 1933 – October 14, 2015) was a Beninese politician who was President of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a military coup, he ruled the country for 17 years, for most of that time under an officially Marxist-Leninist ideology, before he was stripped of his powers by the National Conference of 1990. He was defeated in the 1991 presidential election, but was returned to the presidency in the 1996 election and controversially re-elected in 2001.
Kérékou was born in 1933 in Kouarfa. in north-west French Dahomey. After having studied at military schools in modern-day Mali and Senegal, Kérékou served in the military. Following independence, from 1961 to 1963 he was an aide-de-camp to Dahomeyan President Hubert Maga, following Maurice Kouandete's seizure of power in December 1967, Kérékou, who was his cousin, was made chairman of the Military Revolutionary Council. After Kérékou attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970, Maga made him a major, deputy chief of staff, and commander of the Ouidah paratroop unit.
Kerekou seized power in Dahomey in a military coup on October 26, 1972, ending a system of government in which three members of a presidential council were to rotate power (earlier in the year MagKérékou a had handed over power to Justin Ahomadegbe).
During his first two years in power, Kérékou expressed only nationalism and said that the country's revolution would not "burden itself by copying foreign ideology ... We do not want communism or capitalism or socialism. We have our own Dahomean social and cultural system." On November 30, 1974, however, he announced the adoption of Marxism-Leninism by the state. The country was renamed from the Republic of Dahomey to the People's Republic of Benin a year later; the banks and petroleum industry were nationalized. The People's Revolutionary Party of Benin (Parti de la révolution populaire du Bénin, PRPB) was established as the sole ruling party. In 1980, Kérékou was elected president by the Revolutionary National Assembly; he retired from the army in 1987.
It has been suggested that Kérékou's move to Marxism-Leninism was motivated mainly by pragmatic considerations, and that Kérékou himself was not actually a leftist radical; the new ideology offered a means of legitimization, a way of distinguishing the new regime from those that had preceded it, and was based on broader unifying principles than the politics of ethnicity. Kérékou's regime initially included officers from both the north and south of the country, but as the years passed the northerners (like Kérékou himself) became clearly dominant, undermining the idea that the regime was not based in ethnicity. By officially adopting Marxism-Leninism, Kérékou may also have wanted to win the support of the country's leftists.
Kérékou's regime was rigid and vigorous in pursuing its newly adopted ideological goals from the mid-1970s to the late 1970s. Beginning in the late 1970s, the regime jettisoned much of its radicalism and settled onto a more moderately socialist course as Kérékou consolidated his personal control.
Kérékou survived numerous attempts to oust him, including an invasion of the port city of Cotonou by mercenaries contracted by a group of exiled Beninese political rivals in January 1977, as well as two coup attempts in 1988.
It was hoped that the nationalizations of the 1970s would help develop the economy, but it remained in a very poor condition, with the state sector being plagued by inefficiency and corruption. Kérékou began reversing course in the early 1980s, closing down numerous state-run companies and attempting to attract foreign investment. He also accepted an International Monetary Fund (IMF) structural readjustment program in 1989, agreeing to austerity measures that severely cut state expenditures. The economic situation continued to worsen during the 1980s, provoking widespread unrest in 1989. A student strike began in January of that year. Subsequently, strikes among various elements of society increased in frequency and the nature of their demands grew broader: whereas initially they had focused on economic issues such as salary arrears, this progressed to include demands for political reform.
In the period of reforms towards multi-party democracy in Africa at the beginning of the 1990s, Benin moved onto this path early, with Kérékou being forced to make concessions to popular discontent. Benin's early and relatively smooth transition may be attributed to the particularly dismal economic situation in the country, which seemed to preclude any alternative. In the midst of increasing unrest, Kérékou was re-elected as president by the National Assembly in August 1989, but in December 1989 Marxism-Leninism was dropped as the state ideology, and a national conference was held in February 1990. The conference turned out to be hostile to Kérékou and declared its own sovereignty; despite the objections of some of his officers to this turn of events, Kérékou did not act against the conference, although he did label the conference's declaration of sovereignty a "civilian coup". During the transition that followed, Kérékou remained president but lost most of his power.
During the 1990 National Conference, which was nationally televised, Kérékou spoke to the Archbishop of Cotonou, Isidor de Souza, confessing guilt and begging forgiveness for the flaws of his regime. An observer described it as a "remarkable piece of political theater", full of cultural symbolism and significance. In effect, Kérékou was seeking forgiveness from his people. Such a gesture, so unusual for the African autocrats of the time, could have fatally weakened Kérékou's political standing, but he performed the gesture in such a way that, far from ending his political career, it instead served to symbolically redeem him and facilitate his political rehabilitation, while also "securing him immunity from prosecution". Kérékou shrewdly utilized the timing and setting. Culturally as well as theologically it would prove impossible to refuse forgiveness on these terms.
World Bank economist Nicephore Soglo, chosen as prime minister by the conference, took office in March, and a new constitution was approved in a December 1990 referendum. Multi-party elections were held in March 1991, which Kérékou lost, obtaining only about 32% of the vote in the second round against Prime Minister Soglo; while he won very large vote percentages in the north, in the rest of the country he found little support. Kérékou was thus the first mainland African president to lose power through a popular election. He apologized for "deplorable and regrettable incidents" that occurred during his rule.
After losing the election in March 1991, Kérékou left the political scene and "withdrew to total silence", another move that was interpreted as penitential.
Kérékou reclaimed the presidency in the March 1996 election. Soglo's economic reforms and his alleged dictatorial tendencies had caused his popularity to suffer. Although Kérékou received fewer votes than Soglo in the first round, he then defeated Soglo in the second round, taking 52.5% of the vote. Kérékou was backed in the second round by third place candidate Adrien Houngbedji and fourth place candidate Bruno Amoussou, as in 1991, Kérékou received very strong support from northern voters, but he also improved his performance in the south. Soglo alleged fraud, but this was rejected by the Constitutional Court, which confirmed Kérékou's victory. When taking the oath of office, Kérékou left out a portion that referred to the "spirits of the ancestors" because he had become a born-again Christian after his defeat by Soglo. He was subsequently forced to retake the oath including the reference to spirits.
Kérékou was re-elected for a second five-year term in the March 2001 presidential election under controversial circumstances. In the first round he took 45.4% of the vote; Soglo, who took second place, and parliament speaker Houngbédji, who took third, both refused to participate in the second round, alleging fraud and saying that they did not want to legitimize the vote by participating in it. This left the fourth place finisher, Amoussou, to face Kérékou in the run-off, and Kérékou easily won with 83.6% of the vote. It was subsequently discovered that the American corporation Titan gave more than two million dollars to Kérékou's re-election campaign as a bribe.
During Kérékou's second period in office his government followed a liberal economic path. The period also saw Benin take part in international peacekeeping missions in other African states.
Kérékou was barred from running again in 2006 on two counts. The constitution not only limited the president to two terms, but also required that presidential candidates be younger than 70 (he turned 70 in 2003, through his second term). Kérékou said in July 2005 that he would not attempt to amend the constitution to allow him to run for a third term. "If you don't leave power," he said, "power will leave you." There was, however, speculation that he had wanted it to be changed, but faced too much opposition.
On March 5, 2006, voters went to the polls to decide who would succeed Kérékou as President of Benin. Yayi Boni defeated Adrien Houngbédji in a run-off vote on March 19, and Kérékou left office at the end of his term, at midnight on April 6, 2006.
Kérékou allegedly converted to Islam in 1980 while on a visit to Libya, and changed his first name to Ahmed, but he later returned to the use of the name Mathieu. This alleged conversion may have been designed to please the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, in order to obtain financial and military support. Alternatively, the conversion story may have been a rumor planted by some of his opponents in order to destabilize his regime. In any event, Kerekou subsequently became a born-again Christian. Some Vodun believers in Benin regarded him as having magical powers, explaining his ability to survive repeated coup attempts during his military rule.
Nicknamed "the chameleon" from an early point in his career, Kérékou's motto was "the branch will not break in the arms of the chameleon". The nickname and motto he adopted were full of cultural symbolism, articulating and projecting his power and ability. Unlike some past rulers who had adopted animal symbolism intending to project a violent, warlike sense of power, Kérékou's symbolic animal suggested skill and cleverness; his motto suggested that he would keep the branch from breaking, but implicitly warned of what could happen to "the branch" if it was not "in the arms of the chameleon"—political chaos. To some, his nickname seemed particularly apt as he successfully adapted himself to a new political climate and neo-liberal economic policies in the 1990s.
Kerekou used the campaign slogan, "Experience in the service of youth."
After leaving office in 2006, Kérékou stayed out of politics and spent time at his homes in Cotonou and Natitingou in northwestern Benin, his native region. He suffered a health crisis in 2014 and was taken to Paris for treatment. Although he recovered, he continued to suffer health problems, and he died in Benin on October 14, 2015 at the age of 82.
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