Ahmed Anzavur: Soldier, Governor, and Rebel

Abstract

Following the Russian conquest of the North Caucasus, many Muslims from the region were exiled to the Ottoman Empire from the 1860s onwards. They were settled in different parts of the empire from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Syria and Iraq vilayets. By following this policy, the Ottoman state ensured that many Circassians would become part of the Ottoman army, ruling elites, harems and agricultural workforce. Anzavur Ahmed’s family was one of them. Although he did not graduate from military school, he participated in the army during the war in Libya (1911), the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), and the First World War (1914–1918). He was also appointed as the governor of Izmit (1920). Anzavur Ahmet is portrayed as a rebel by Turkish official historiography, but in reality, he was much more than that. He was an Ottoman Governor, and supported byOttoman administrators such as Damad Ferid and Ali Kemal, who were against the Kuvayi Milliye because they believed that the empire would eventually emerge from the chaotic atmosphere of the post-First World War period and make an agreement with the British. This article argues that although Ahmed Anzavur has been labeled a rebel and a traitor according to the official historiography, it is difficult to use these labels given the circumstances of his time.