Mehmed Said (1877,

Gaziantep Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

, Aleppo Vilayet – 28 March 1920), better known as Şahin Bey, was the commander of the

Turkish revolutionaries 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 ...

that were stationed in the city of

during the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

. Şahin Bey‘s Family was of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

descent.

Ottoman Army Years

Beginning in 1899, he started to take active roles at numerous battles for 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 was sent to

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

to fight against the local imams that were trying to take the control of the region from the Ottomans. His efforts would help the Ottoman Empire to control Yemen until its dissolution after

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 ...

. Later, he voluntarily went to

Ottoman Tripolitania The coastal region of what is today Libya was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1551 to 1912. First, from 1551 to 1864, as the Eyalet of Tripolitania ( ota, ایالت طرابلس غرب ''Eyālet-i Trâblus Gârb'') or ''Bey and Subjects of Tri ...

in 1911 to defend the Ottoman territories against the invading Italian forces. After a successful beginning for the Ottoman side, the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

turned out to be an Italian victory in the end. An outcome that ended the Ottoman presence in the

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

totally. Disappointed after the defeat, Şahin Bey returned to

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, ...

and was sent to the

Balkan front The Balkan Front was a military formation of the Bulgarian People's Army, intended for wartime use under the general direction of the Soviet General Staff. If a war was to have broken out between NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the bulk of the Bulgar ...

immediately. Another defeat was waiting for him there. Turks lost nearly all of their territories in Europe. Şahin Bey's return to the Western front would come after the Ottoman Empire entered the World War I on the side of the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...

. He was sent to Galicia to help the allies of the empire. He was later transferred to the Middle Eastern front of the war, specifically to

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

in 1917. There he took part in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign which resulted with another defeat for the Ottoman-German alliance. Şahin Bey became a prisoner of war in the hands of the British forces. He was not released until 1919. When he returned in 1919 to his homeland, south-central Turkey, he became the representative of the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

, with a duty to control the important road between

Kilis Kilis is a city in south-central Turkey, near the Syria–Turkey border, border with Syria, and the administrative centre of Kilis Province. History Although there aren't any definite information related to its foundation, today's Kilis mainl ...

and Gaziantep. There he saw the disadvantageous results of World War I.

Local leader of the revolution

1919 was an important year for the Turkish revolution against the invading

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

was starting a revolt in Anatolia, and the French were invading Şahin Bey's homeland. Şahin Bey decided to join the spirit of the revolution and became the leader of the local revolutionaries. He was hoping to defeat the French Army, as his comrades had done at the

Battle of Marash The Battle of Marash ( tr, Maraş Muharebesi), also called the "Marash Affair", was a battle that took place in the early winter of 1920 between the French forces occupying the city of Maraş in the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish National Fo ...

. For this purpose, he attacked

Charles Joseph Edouard Andréa Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...

's forces, a spearhead group of the actual army, that left

Aintab Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approximat ...

in the morning of 26 March 1920. The combat started with the advance of the Turkish side, but turned into a defeat when the main French force arrived onto the battlefield. Şahin Bey nevertheless fought against the advancing Andréa's troops and managed to stop them on Elmalı bridge. On 28 March, he and his men were killed, allowing Andrea's forces could enter to the city of Aintab.

Selâhattin Âdil Selâhattin Âdil (January 19, 1882; Constantinople (Istanbul) – February 27, 1961; Istanbul) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. Works * Selahattin Adil (ed. Enver Koray), ''Hayat Mücadeleleri- Selahattin ...

, ''Hayat Mücadeleleri: Selahattin Âdil Paşanın hatıraları'', Zafer Matbaası, 1982, p. 339.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahin Bey 1920 deaths 1877 births People from Gaziantep People from Aleppo vilayet Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish military personnel of the Franco-Turkish War Turkish militia officers Members of Kuva-yi Milliye Deaths by bayonet Turkish military personnel killed in action Turkish revolutionaries