"" (; ) is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

of both the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and the

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus, officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), is a '' de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the island of Cyprus. It is recognised only by Turkey, and its territory is considered by all o ...

. It was officially adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 12 March 1921—two-and-a-half years before the 29 October 1923 establishment of the nation—both as a motivational musical saga for the troops fighting in the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

, and as an aspirational anthem for a Republic that was yet to be established. Penned by Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, and ultimately composed by Osman Zeki Üngör, the theme is one of affection for the Turkish

homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

, freedom, and

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

, as well as praise for the virtues of hope, devotion, and sacrifice in the pursuit of liberty, all explored through visual, tactile, and kinesthetic imagery as these concepts relate to the

flag A flag is a piece of textile, fabric (most often rectangular) with distinctive colours and design. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and fla ...

, the human spirit, and the soil of the homeland. The original manuscript by Ersoy carries the dedication – "To our Heroic Army", in reference to the people's army that ultimately won the

, with lyrics that reflect on the sacrifices of the soldiers during the war. It is regularly heard during state and military events, as well as during national festivals, bayrams, sporting events, and school ceremonies. Visual depictions can also be found adorning state or public displays, such as in the form of a scroll displaying the first two quatrains of the anthem on the reverse of the Turkish 100

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current Turkish lira, currency of Turkey and also the local name of the Lebanese pound, currencies of Lebanon and of Syrian pound, Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, ...

banknotes of 1983–1989. Of the ten-

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

anthem, only the first two

quatrain A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four Line (poetry), lines. Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India ...

s are sung. A framed version of the national anthem typically occupies the wall above the blackboard in the classrooms of Turkish schools, accompanied by a Turkish flag, a photograph of the country's founding savior Atatürk, and a copy of Atatürk's famous speech to the nation's youth from the concluding remarks to his 20 October 1927 address to the Parliament. In 1983, the

also adopted the Turkish national anthem under Article II of the Constitution of Northern Cyprus.

History

The present-day anthem is a collective effort by several prominent poets, musicians, and composers that took form over several years due to the relatively tumultuous nature of the period in which it was crafted. Even before the full official dissolution of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, a nationwide competition was organized in 1921 by the

Turkish National Movement The Turkish National Movement (), also known as the Anatolian Movement (), the Nationalist Movement (), and the Kemalists (, ''Kemalciler'' or ''Kemalistler''), included political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resu ...

— an independent and self-organized militia force led by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

waging a lengthy campaign for independence against both invading foreign powers and the

Ottoman Court Ottoman court was the culture that evolved around the court of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman court was held at the Topkapı Palace in Constantinople where the sultan was served by an army of pages and scholars. Some served in the treasury and th ...

itself, due to the latter being treasonous and complicit in the partitioning of the Turkish homeland in the aftermath of the 1920

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres () was a 1920 treaty signed between some of the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire, but not ratified. The treaty would have required the cession of large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, ...

. The goal of the competition was to select an original composition suitable for a National March, intended to both motivate the militia forces fighting for independence across the country, and to provide inspiration and pride for a new homeland that would be established once victory was achieved. A total of 724 poems were submitted. Mehmet Akif Ersoy, a well-known poet of the period, initially refused to participate due to a monetary prize being offered in the competition, but was subsequently contacted and convinced by the

National Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

to submit a poem and disregard the reward. The resulting ten-stanza-long poem written by Ersoy was recited to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

by representative Hamdullah Suphi, on 1 March 1921, where it was unanimously adopted by the deputies following evaluation by a parliamentary committee. The prize of the competition was later bestowed on a society of

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an job, occupation or Craft, field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the military, armed forces. A topic o ...

s. Shortly thereafter, twenty-four composers participated in another competition arranged for the selection of a musical composition that would best suit the elected anthem. The committee, which was only able to convene in 1924 due to the 1919–1923

, adopted the music composed by Ali Rıfat Çağatay. This early composition by Çağatay lasted only six years. In 1930, a new composition by Osman Zeki Üngör, virtuoso composer and the first conductor of the Presidential Symphony Orchestra of the

, was adopted as a permanent musical arrangement by Parliament. Shortly thereafter, in 1932, Ottoman Armenian musician Edgar Manas was commissioned by the Turkish government to harmonize and orchestrate the melody created by Üngör, and the final and official version of the anthem took form.

Lyrics

The full lyrics of the Turkish national anthem consist of 41 lines of verses, with ten stanzas total, though only the first two verses (shown in bold) are performed in official ceremonies.

Notes

References

External links

Vocal of the İstiklal Marşı in Ogg Vorbis
* Official Records of the Grand National Assembly of The Republic of Turkey on the parliamentary debates and history of the İstiklal Marşı �
''Zabit Ceridesi – 12.03.1921''
*
archive link

Music notes of the Independence March
{{DEFAULTSORT:Istiklal Marsi National symbols of Turkey Culture of Northern Cyprus Asian anthems Turkish words and phrases European anthems National anthems Music of Turkey Turkish military marches