Osman Nuri-Asan oğlu Aqçoqraqlı ( – 17 April 1938), also written as Aqchoqraqli or Akchokrakli, was a Crimean Tatar writer, journalist, historian, archaeologist, ethnographer, and teacher.

Early life

Osman Nuri-Asan oğlu Aqçoqraqlı was born in the city of

Bakhchysarai Bakhchysarai is a city in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Bakhchysarai Raion (district), as well as the former capital of the Crimean Khanate. Its main landmark is Hansaray, the only extant ...

into the family of an

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

calligrapher on 15 January 1879. He received his primary education at the Zincirli Madrasa, before later studying at the Daoud Pasha gymnasium in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

from 1894 to 1896. In 1908, he moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and began taking private lessons on eastern history, Arabic literature, and archaeology from

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

. When questioned by universities, he would modestly refer to his education credentials as being incomplete secondary education. However, this did not prevent universities from hiring him.

Career

Aqçoqraqlı began his career in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, teaching calligraphy at the of

Saint Petersburg State University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. He also participated in the decoration of mosques throughout Bakhchysarai and Saint Petersburg with ornaments and Quranic verses. From 1896 to 1900, he also worked as a proof-reader and typesetter in the publishing house of , his mentor. Aqçoqraqlı was later placed in charge of translating Russian literary works into the

Crimean Tatar language Crimean Tatar (), also called Crimean (), is a Turkic languages, Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada. It should not ...

, among them ''

The Fountain of Bakhchisaray ''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' (, ''Bakhchisaraiskiy fontan'') is a narrative poem by Alexander Pushkin, written from 1821 to 1823. Pushkin began writing ''The Fountain of Bakhchisaray'' in the spring of 1821, after having visited The ...

'', ''Marriage'', and the fables of

Ivan Krylov Ivan Andreyevich Krylov (; ; 13 February 1769 – 21 November 1844) is Russia's best-known fabulist and probably the most epigrammatic of all Russian authors. Formerly a dramatist and journalist, he only discovered his true genre at the age of ...

. From 1901 to 1905, Aqçoqraqlı served in the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

. From 1906, he worked at various Tatar newspapers and magazines, among them ''Ulfet'' in Saint Petersburg and ''Shura'' in

Orenburg Orenburg (, ), formerly known as Chkalov (1938–1957), is the administrative center of Orenburg Oblast, Russia. It lies in Eastern Europe, along the banks of the Ural River, being approximately southeast of Moscow. Orenburg is close to the ...

. Like many other Crimean Tatar intellectuals, Aqçoqraqlı took inspiration from

Ismail Gasprinsky Ismail bey Gasprinsky (also written as Gaspirali and Gasprinski; , ; ''Ismail Gasprinskii''; – ) was a Crimean Tatar intellectual, educator, publisher and Pan-Turkist politician who inspired the Jadidist movement in Central Asia. He was one o ...

, and worked in the editorial office of Gasprinsky's Terciman twice, in 1906 and from 1910 to 1916. At ''Terciman'', Aqçoqraqlı combined his journalistic skills with knowledge from his education at the Zincirli Madrasa. He also was involved in Bakhchysarai's local life, serving as one of two directors of the city's , and as treasurer of the Bakhchysarai Library Society. From 1913 to 1916, he also studied Russian calligraphy at the A. Cossodo Institute in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

. Later, in 1921, the would be established at his behest, in the house where ''Terciman'' was printed. In 1917, Aqçoqraqlı was elected as a member of the

Kurultai A kurultai (, ),Derived from Russian language, Russian , ultimately from Middle Mongol ( ), whence Chinese language, Chinese 忽里勒台 ''Hūlǐlēitái'' (); ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; (). also called a qurultai, was a political and military counc ...

of the short-lived

Crimean People's Republic The Crimean People's Republic ( Crimean Tatar: ; ; ) or Crimean Democratic Republic was a self-declared state that existed from December 1917 to January 1918 in the Crimean Peninsula. The Republic was one of many short-lived states that declare ...

. He taught Turkish and Oriental calligraphy, Crimean Tatar folklore, and Crimean Tatar ethnography at the Taurida National V.I. Vernadsky University and Crimean Tatar Pedagogical Institute. He also occasionally lectured at

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and

Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

universities. In this time, he became a friend of

Pavlo Tychyna Pavlo Hryhorovych Tychyna (; – September 16, 1967) was a major Ukrainians, Ukrainian poet, translator, publicist, public activist, academician, and statesman. He composed the lyrics to the Anthem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Lif ...

and

Ahatanhel Krymsky Ahatanhel Yukhymovych Krymsky (, , romanized: ''Agafangel Yefimovich Krymsky''; ; – 25 January 1942) was a Ukrainian Orientalist, linguist, polyglot (knowing up to 35 languages), literary scholar, folklorist, writer, and translator. He was on ...

. He was also academic secretary of the in the

Bakhchisaray Palace The Khan's Palace (; ) or Hansaray is located in the town of Bakhchysarai, Crimea. It was built in the 16th century and became home to a succession of Crimean Khans. The walled enclosure contains a mosque, a harem, a cemetery, living quarters and ...

. In 1923, Aqçoqraqlı was elected as a member of the Taurida Society of History, Archaeology and Ethnography. From 1930 to 1931, he served as its secretary, being the last to hold that role before the organisation's dissolution. In 1925, alongside Üsein Bodaninsky, Aqçoqraqlı discovered a 17th-century manuscript of 's

dastan Dastan () is an ornate form of oral history, an epic, from Central Asia, Iran, Turkey and Azerbaijan. A dastan is generally centered on one individual who protects his tribe or his people from an outside invader or enemy, although only occasion ...

''Tugay Bey'' in the village of Kapsikhor (now Morske), a then-lost work fabled to be among the best works of Crimean Tatar literature. He collected and described about 400 Crimean Tatar

tamga A tamga or tamgha (from ) was an abstract seal or brand used by Eurasian nomads initially as a livestock branding, and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was used as a livestock branding for a particular tribe, clan or family. They wer ...

s and studied numerous epigraphs in Crimea dating back to the Middle Ages. In 1926, he attended the First All-Union Turkological Congress in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Death

In the early 1930s, Aqçoqraqlı began to be persecuted by the Soviet authorities on charges of "nationalism," leading to his firing from the Crimean Tatar Pedagogical Institute in 1934. After his firing, he taught geography for some time at a

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League, usually known as Komsomol, was a political youth organization in the Soviet Union. It is sometimes described as the youth division of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), although it w ...

school before moving in with his sister in

. However, his time in Baku would be short-lived; on 5 April 1937, he was arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

and charged with "participation in a nationalist counter-revolutionary organisation," (stated to be the Crimean Tatar party Milliy Firqa), as well as espionage. He was put before a

show trial A show trial is a public trial in which the guilt (law), guilt or innocence of the defendant has already been determined. The purpose of holding a show trial is to present both accusation and verdict to the public, serving as an example and a d ...

conducted by the

Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union The Military Collegium of the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union () was created in 1924 by the Supreme Court of the Soviet Union as a court for the higher military and political personnel of the Red Army and Fleet. In addition it was an immedia ...

. On 17 April 1938, he was found guilty and sentenced to death, being shot on the same day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aqçoqraqlı, Osman 1879 births 1938 deaths Crimean Tatar academics Crimean Tatar independence activists Crimean Tatar ethnographers Crimean Tatar journalists Crimean Tatar people executed by the Soviet Union Crimean Tatar politicians Crimean Tatar schoolteachers Crimean Tatar writers Great Purge victims from Russia Great Purge victims from Ukraine People from Bakhchysarai People from Taurida Governorate Muslims from the Russian Empire