The Kuvâ-i İnzibâtiyye ( ota, قوای انضباطيّه, lit=Forces of Order; tr, Hilafet Ordusu, lit=Caliphate Army) was an army established on 18 April 1920 by the
imperial government
The name imperial government (german: Reichsregiment) denotes two organs, created in 1500 and 1521, in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to enable a unified political leadership, with input from the Princes. Both were composed of the em ...
of 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) ...
in order to fight against the
Turkish National Movement
The Turkish National Movement ( tr, Türk Ulusal Hareketi) encompasses the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resulted in the creation and shaping of the modern Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the defe ...
in the aftermath of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. It was commanded by
Süleyman Şefik Pasha
Süleyman Şefik Pasha ( ota, سلیمان شفیق پاشا) was the commander of the '' Kuvâ-i İnzibâtiyye'', an army established on 18 April 1920 by the Imperial Government of the Ottoman Empire in order to fight against the Turkish Nation ...
.
Establishment
Sensing the situation, Sultan
Mehmed VI
Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ota, محمد سادس ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; tr, VI. Mehmed or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as Şahbaba () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the 36th and last Sultan of the O ...
charged his minister of war,
Şevket Süleyman Paşa, with the establishment of an irregular force to exterminate the nationalists. Realizing he could no longer count on the title
"Sultan" alone to influence the Turkish people, he considered it necessary to use the timeless and spiritual title of "
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
" for the leader of the army - thus depicting
Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
not only as the enemies of the Sultanate but also as the enemies of God. The
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
supported the Kuvâ-i İnzibâtiyye with the aim of enforcing British policy in the region and of stabilizing the remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Supported by the British, the Sultan began a propaganda war throughout the country. Relayed by imams and priests, he urged the Turks to take up arms against the Nationalists of General
Kemal, presented as the enemies of God.
Dissolution
The defeat of the Army of the Caliph, a sign of the end of the influence of the sultan in Turkey, ended the civil war and heralded the beginning of the war of independence against the occupying nations.
See also
*
Kuva-yi Milliye
The Kuva-yi Milliye ( ota, قواى مليه; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of ...
References
{{Reflist
Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire
1920 in the Ottoman Empire
Militias in Asia
Militias in Europe
Rebellions in Turkey
Military units and formations established in 1920
Military units and formations disestablished in 1920