Zeki Velidi Togan ( ba, Әхмәтзәки Әхмәтшаһ улы Вәлиди, Äxmätzäki Äxmätşah ulı Wälidi; russian: Ахмет-Заки Ахметшахович Валидов, tr, Ahmet Zeki Velidi Togan; 1890 – 1970 in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

), was a Bashkir historian,

Turkologist Turkology (or Turcology or Turkic studies) is a complex of humanities sciences studying languages, history, literature, folklore, culture, and ethnology of people speaking Turkic languages and Turkic peoples in chronological and comparative conte ...

, and leader of the Bashkir revolutionary and liberation movement.

Biography

He was born in Kuzyanovo ( Bashkir: Көҙән) village of

Sterlitamaksky Uyezd Sterlitamaksky Uyezd (''Стерлитамакский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Ufa Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the southern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Sterlitamak. Demogra ...

Ufa Governorate Ufa Governorate (russian: Уфи́мская губе́рния, ba, Өфө губернаһы, ''Öfö gubernahı'') was a governorate of the Russian Empire with its capital in the city Ufa. It was created in 1865 by separation from Orenburg Go ...

(in present-day

Ishimbaysky District Ishimbaysky District (russian: Ишимба́йский райо́н; ba, Ишембай районы, İşembay rayonı) is an administrativeConstitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Article 64 and municipalLaw #126-z district (raion), ...

Bashkortostan The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan ( ba, Башҡортостан Республикаһы, Bashqortostan Respublikahy; russian: Республика Башкортостан, Respublika Bashkortostan),; russian: Респу́блик� ...

). From 1912 to 1915 Velidi taught in the

madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

(Qasímiä), and from 1915 to 1917, he was a member of bureau, supporting

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

deputies at the

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

. In 1917, he was elected to the

Millät Mäclese Millät Mäclese (National Assembly, tt-Cyrl, Милләт Мәҗлесе, , , ) was a national assembly of Muslim Turko-Tatars of Inner Russia and Siberia that was created by the decision of Second All-Russian Muslim Congress and worked in ...

, and with Şerif Manatov, he organized the Bashkir Shuro (Council). During the Bashkir Congress in

Orenburg Orenburg (russian: Оренбу́рг, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Ural River, southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is also very close to the Kazakhstan-Russia bor ...

from December 1917, he declared autonomous Bashkiria. However, he was arrested 3 February 1918 by the Soviet forces. In April 1918 he managed to escape and joined the forces confronting the Bolsheviks. In 1918 and 1919 Velidi's Bashkir troops first fought under Ataman

Alexander Dutov Alexander Ilyich Dutov () (, Kazalinsk, Russian Empire – 7 February 1921, Shuiding, China) was one of the leaders of the Cossack counterrevolution in the Urals, lieutenant general (1919). Dutov was born in Kazalinsk in Syr-Darya Oblast (now Ka ...

, then under Admiral

Kolchak Kolchak, Kolçak or Kolčák is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Iliash Kolchak ("Kolchak-Pasha") ( fl. before 1710–1743), Moldavian mercenary and military commander * Alexander Kolchak (1873–1920), Russian naval commande ...

against

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

forces. After the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

promised autonomy to Bashkirs, Velidi switched allegiance, fighting with the Bolsheviks. From February 1919 to June 1920, he was chairman of the ''Bashrevkom'' (Bashkir Revolutionary Committee). He attended the

Congress of the Peoples of the East The Congress of the Peoples of the East () was a multinational conference held in September 1920 by the Communist International in Baku, Azerbaijan (then the capital of Soviet Azerbaijan). The congress was attended by nearly 1,900 delegates from a ...

held in

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

in September 1920, where he became involved in drawing up the statutes of ERK, a Muslim Socialist organisation. However, feeling the Bolsheviks had broken their promises, he became more critical of them when he moved to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. In

Turkistan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

, Velidi became a leader of the

Basmachi Movement The Basmachi movement (russian: Басмачество, ''Basmachestvo'', derived from Uzbek: "Basmachi" meaning "bandits") was an uprising against Russian Imperial and Soviet rule by the Muslim peoples of Central Asia. The movement's roots l ...

. From 1920 to 1923, he was chairman of the "National Union of Turkistan". In 1923 Validi emigrated, after discovering original manuscripts of

Ahmad ibn Fadlan Aḥmad ibn Faḍlān ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Rāšid ibn Ḥammād, ( ar, أحمد بن فضلان بن العباس بن راشد بن حماد; ) commonly known as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, was a 10th-century Muslim traveler, famous for his account of his ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. From 1925 Velidi lived in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and was appointed Chair of Turkish History at the

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

in 1927. However, his controversial views criticizing the

Turkish History Thesis The Turkish History Thesis (''Türk Tarih Tezi'') is a Turkish ultranationalist, pseudohistoric thesis which posited the belief that the Turks moved from their ancestral homeland in Central Asia and migrated to China, India, the Balkans, the ...

at the First Turkish Language Congress in 1932, forced him to seek refuge in Vienna, where he gained a

doctor of philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...

in 1935. Following he became a professor at

Bonn University The Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (german: Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn) is a public research university located in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the ( en, Rhine ...

(1935–1937) and

Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The orig ...

(1938–1939). On the 3 May 1944 protests in support of Nihal Atsız occurred, who was on trial and on the 9 May he was detained together with other Pan-Turkists like

Alparslan Türkeş Alparslan Türkeş (; 25 November 1917 – 4 April 1997) was a Turkish politician, who was the founder and president of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Grey Wolves ''(Ülkü Ocakları)''. He represented the far-right of the Turkish ...

Nihal Atsız Hüseyin Nihâl Atsız ( ota, حسين نيهال آتسز; January 12, 1905 – December 11, 1975) was a prominent Turkish ultranationalist writer, novelist, and poet. Nihâl Atsız self-identified as a racist, Pan-Turkist and Turanist. He w ...

and

Reha Oğuz Türkkan Reha Oğuz Türkkan (born 12 October 1920, Constantinople (modern city), Constantinople - died 18 January 2010) was Turkish people, Turkish academic, journalist and a leading ideologue of Racism in Turkey, Turkish racism. During his lifetime he ...

. In March 1945 he was sentenced to 10 years of hard labor. During trial he was accused of having been the chair of Gürem, an organization aimed at forming a military alliance with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

in order to liberate the Turkic people living in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In 1947 a retrial ended with the release of all defendants. In 1953 he became organizer of the ''İslam Tetkikleri Enstitüsü'' (Institute for Islamic Studies) at

. In 1967, he was given an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

from the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

. At the same time he contributed to the ''Encyclopedia of Turkic Peoples''. His articles about culture, language and history of Turkic peoples have been translated into many languages.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velidi Togan, Zeki 1890 births 1970 deaths People from Ishimbaysky District People from Sterlitamaksky Uyezd Russian Constituent Assembly members 20th-century Turkish historians Turkologists Historians of Central Asia Khazar studies Pan-Turkists Muslims from the Russian Empire Turkish people of Bashkir descent People of the Russian Civil War Soviet emigrants to Turkey University of Bonn faculty

Biography

References

Further reading

External links