Atçalı Kel Mehmet Efe (1780–1830) was a Zeybek, who led a local revolt against the Ottoman's authority and established control of the Aydın region for a short period between 1829 and 1830 (''during the reign of''

Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

Early Ages

Kel Mehmet was born in 1780 to a Turkish peasant family in Atça. According to the legend, while he was an ordinary young man, he witnessed the fight between a tiny, sick dog and three healthy, powerful dogs. After being beaten for a long time, the tiny dog ends up in an alley with no exit. At that point, it fights back with his final energy and gets rid of its opponents. Inspired by the tiny dog, Mehmet established an analogy between the situation and the relation between the Ottoman reign and

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

n peasants, and decided to go out to the mountains as an outlaw.

Revolt

In 1829, Mehmet started a revolt in Kuyucak a town near Atça, demanding tax cuts, fair laws, and shorter

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

. As the people were tired of the heavy tax load and endless military service from continuous wars of the declining empire, he quickly gained popularity. After he controlled Aydın, people from neighboring regions also subscribed to his authority. Although this was a revolt against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, he stayed loyal to the

Padishah Padishah ( fa, پادشاه; ; from Persian: r Old Persian: *">Old_Persian.html" ;"title="r Old Persian">r Old Persian: * 'master', and ''shāh'', 'king'), sometimes Romanization of Persian, romanised as padeshah or padshah ( fa, پادشاه ...

. Under his rule he collected taxes in the name of the Padishah and sent the money collected to the capital. On the coins he provided, he wrote his famous quote:
"Vali-i Vilayet Hademe-i Devlet Atçalı Kel Mehmet" (''meaning'' "Head of the Province, Servant of The State, from Atça; the Bald Mehmet").

Death and legacy

The

was struggling with ongoing revolts in those years. Obviously the

didn't approve of Atçalı's rule, and sent his forces to regain control of Aydın. Eventually, Atçalı was killed in a combat against the Sultan's forces in 1830. Due to his courage, he became a prominent figure in the region. He influenced many other

Efe Agencia EFE, S.A. () is a Spanish international news agency, the major multimedia news agency in Spanish language and the world's fourth largest wire service after the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse. EFE was created in 1939 ...

's including Yoruk Ali Efe and Demirci Mehmet Efe. There is a statue of him in Atça.

Early Ages

Revolt

Death and legacy

See also

References

Further reading