Talk: Life of a Special Operations Officer in the Final Years of the Ottoman Empire

This talk presents recent research on the private papers of Kuş?ubaşı Eşref, a special operations officer whose career is intertwined with the story of the Ottoman Empire in its final years. Eşref served in the most important conflicts of the empire's last decade, including the Ottoman-Italian war over Libya in 1911, the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, World War I and the Turkish "War of Independence". During the latter conflict he broke with Mustafa Kemal's rebel government in Ankara, earning the enmity of the soon-to-be-founded Turkish Republic from which he was banned. The presentation will highlight some of the varied sources found among his papers and consider their value for reconstructing a life narrative that by turns amplifies and complicates the history of this troubled period.

Admission/Cost: FREE

Location:
UCSD
Room 4025
Humanities and Social Science Building
9500 Gilman Dr
La Jolla, CA 92093

Tuesday, November 10 - 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM

For more information, please visit: www.ucsd.edu