Ziya Ghokalp Essay

1098 Words5 Pages

Who is Ziya Gökalp?
Ziya Gökalp was born in the Diyarbakir province in 23 March 1876, which is a cultural and a political frontier of the Ottoman Empire. His early life was shaped by the shifting terrain of national identity which he saw around him. Where he live was a mixture of Turkish, Kurdish and Armenian people, Diyarbakir, the administrative and the cultural center of south-eastern Anatolia, had been ruled for centuries by Persians and Arabs (foundation of Turkish nationalism p.20). The province was populated by non-Turkish communities. Kurdish tribes were revolting against the central government, and the Armenians had foreign help, formed a strong underground movement which aimed at securing their complete independence. He became infatuated …show more content…

When Ziya began his duty, the first thing he did was to contact the central government to intervene in this case. Finally, they removed hamidiye regiments and its leader Ibrahim Pasha. Through this, Ziya Gökalp became a famous leader in the Diyarbakir. 1909was a special period for Ziya Gökalp. He was invited to attend the Salonika congress of the Union and progress movement as a representative of Diyarbakir for the first time (page 31 foundation of Turkish nationalism). While settling down in Salonika, Ziya became friends with some important political figures. In this period he interested in ideal of Ottomanism. He thinks that the equality of all citizens of whatever race and religion consequently laid little emphasize on Islam.Ziya Gökalp became teachers of philosophy and sociology at the Union and progress secondary school. The lectures of Ziya attracted huge audiences. After a short time he became known by some party leaders. Yet, he never entered in any kind of political party, ( deep note 32 33 the foundations of Turkish nationalism) just followed his own way. When Balkan wars started Ziya Gokalp needed to move in capital. In capital he began a systematic investigation of social and cultural problems of the society. Ziya Gökalp became a member of the