Misplaced Pages

Revision as of 21:07, 21 January 2013

The geographical name change program of Turkey was an initiative by the Turkish government to replace former geographical and topographic names of the Turkish Republic or the Ottoman Empire with Turkish names, by which many geographical name changes were made. These names were almost always of Armenian, Greek, Laz, Bulgarian, Kurdish and Arabic origin.

History

Ottoman Empire

In 1913, after the Committee of Union and Progress took the reigns of the Ottoman government, through a coup d'etat a nationalist political current came to power. At the height of World War I and during the final years of the Ottoman empire when the ethnic cleansing policies of non-Muslim Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian minorities were underway, Minister of War Enver Paşa issued an edict (ferman) on October 6, 1916 declaring:

It has been decided that provinces, districts, towns, villages, mountains, and rivers, which are named in languages belonging to non-Muslim nations such as Armenian, Greek or Bulgarian, will be renamed into Turkish. In order to benefit from this suitable moment, this aim should be achieved in due course

Enver Paşa disregarded however, changing the geographical names belonging to Muslim minorities (i.e. Arabs and Kurds) due to the Ottoman governments role as a Caliphate. His decree however, inspired many Turkish intellectuals to write in support of such measures. One such intellectual, Hüseyin Avni Alparslan (1877 - 1921), a Turkish soldier and author of books regarding Turkish language and culture, was inspired by the efforts of Enver Paşa and wrote in his book Trabzon İli Lâz mı? Türk mü? (Is the Trabzon province Laz or Turkish?) the following:

If we want to be the owner of our country, then we should turn even the name of the smallest village into Turkish and not leave its Armenian, Greek or Arabic variants. Only in this way can we paint our country with its colors.

It is not known how many geographical names have changed due to the ordinance, nevertheless the ultimate objective of the policy ended up in failure due to the collapse of the Ottoman government and its leaders being sent to trial before Ottoman and European courts for the massacres committed in 1915. These policies however contributed to the commencement of similar and more successful initiatives in the Turkish republic.

Republic of Turkey

Turkish nationalism and secularism were two of the founding principals of the Turkish Republic. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the leader of the early decades of the Republic, aimed to create a nation state (Turkish: Ulus) from the Turkish remnants of the Ottoman Empire. It is known that during the first three decades of the Republic, efforts of changing geographical names were a reoccurring theme. Imported maps containing references to historical regions such as Armenia, Kurdistan, or Lazistan (the official name of the province of Rize until 1921) were prohibited and banned (such was the case of Der Grosse Weltatlas, a map published in Leipzig).

Journalist and writer Ayşe Hür has noted that after the death of Ataturk and during the Democratic period of the Turkish republic in the late 1940s and 50s, "ugly, humiliating, insulting or derisive names, even if they were Turkish, were subjected to changes. Village names with lexical components meaning red (kizil), bell (çan), church (kilise, i.e. Kirklareli) were all changed. To do away with “separatist notions”, the Arabic, Persian, Armenian, Kurdish, Georgian, Tatar, Circassian, and Laz village names were also changed."

However, it was not until 1956 when The Special Commission for Name Change (Ad Degistirme Ihtisas Komisyonu) was created under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior, which brought together professors, politicians, generals, linguists, and academicians throughout Turkey to take up the task of official name changing. The initiative proved successful as approximately 28,000 topographic names were changed which included 12,211 village and town names and 4,000 mountain, river, and other topographic names. This figure also included names of streets, monuments, quarters, neighborhoods, and other components that make up certain municipalities. In 1927, all street and square names in Istanbul, which were not of Turkish origin, were changed. The campaign continued until 1978 but was reintroduced after the military coup of 1980 in 1981-83. During the heightened tension between Kurdish rebels and the Turkish government, the focus of geographical name changing in the 1980s were of Kurdish villages, towns, rivers, and etc.

Current status

Although geographical names have formally changed in Turkey, their native names persist and continue in the local dialects throughout the country. At times, Turkish politicians have also used the native names of cities during their speeches. On August 8, 2009, when addressing a crowd in the town of Güroymak, president Abdullah Gul used the native name Norşin. On August 12, 2009, when talking about his family origins, Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan used the native Greek name of Potamya instead of Güneysu.

Efforts at restoring the former names of geographical terms have been recently introduced in Turkey. In September 2012, legislation has been promulgated to restore the names of (primarily Kurdish) villages to their former native names. According to the bill, the province of Tunceli would be named Dersim, Güroymak would be named Norşin, and Aydinlar would be named Tilo.

Comparative analysis

Most of the geographical name changes occurred in the eastern provinces of the country and the coast of the eastern Black Sea where minority populations tend to live. Through independent study, Sevan Nisanyan estimates that of the geographical location name changes, 4,200 were Greek, 4,000 Kurdish, 3,600 Armenian, 750 Arabic, 400 Assyrian, 300 Georgian, 200 Laz, and 50 others. However, the official statistics of the The Special Commission for Name Change (Ad Degistirme Ihtisas Komisyonu) claims that the total number of villages, towns, cities, and settlements renamed is 12,211. The chart below lists the provinces and the number of villages or towns renamed.

Notable geographical name changes

Armenian

Historically, Armenian geographical locations were first abolished under the reign of Sultan Abdulhamit II. In 1880 the word Armenia was banned from being used in the press, schoolbooks, and governmental establishments and was subsequently replaced with words like Anatolia or Kurdistan. Armenian name changing continued under the early Republican era up until the 21st century. It included Turkification of last names, change of animal names, change of the names of Armenian historical figures (i.e. the name of the prominent Balyan family were concealed under an identity of a superficial Italian family called Baliani), and the change and distortion of Armenian historical events.

Most Armenian geographical names were in the eastern provinces of the Ottoman empire. Villages, settlements, or towns that contain the suffix -kert meaning built or built by (i.e. Manavazkert (today Malazgirt), Norakert, Noyakert), -shen meaning village (i.e. Aratashen, Pemzashen, Norashen), and -van meaning town (i.e. Charentsavan, Nakhichevan, Tatvan) signify an Armenian name. Throughout Ottoman history, Turkish and Kurdish tribesmen have settled into Armenian villages and changed the native Armenian name (i.e. the Armenian Norashen was changed to Norşin). This was especially true after the Armenian genocide when much of eastern Turkey was depopulated of its Armenian population.

It is estimated by etymologist and author Sevan Nişanyan that 3,600 Armenian geographical locations have been changed.

Kurdish

The Kurdish geographical name changes were exempt under the Ottoman Empire due to the Islamic religious orientation of Kurds. However, during the Republican era and especially after the Dersim massacre, Kurdish geographical name changes became more common. During the Turkish Republican era, the word Kurdistan and Kurds were banned. The Turkish government had disguised the presence of the Kurds statistically by categorizing them as Mountain Turks. This classification was changed to the new euphemism of Eastern Turk in 1980.

It is estimated by etymologist and author Sevan Nişanyan that 4,000 Kurdish geographical locations have been changed.

Greek

Much of the Greek names have maintained their origins from the Byzantine empire and Empire of Trebizond era.

With the establishment of the Ottoman empire, many Turkish name changes have continued to retain their Greek origins. For example, the modern name "İzmir" derives from the former Greek name Σμύρνη "Smyrna", through the first two syllables of the phrase "εις Σμύρνην" (pronounced "is Smirnin"), which means "to Smyrna" in Greek. A similar etymology also applies for other Turkish cities with former Greek names, such as İznik (from the phrase "is Nikaean", meaning "to Nicaea"), Istanbul (from the phrase "is tan Polin" or "to the City") or even for the Greek island of Kos, called "İstanköy" in Turkish.

After the Cyprus war and the establishment of Northern Cyprus, Greek geographical names were once again subject to change. Villages and cities such as Kyneria were changed to Girne, Famagusta to Gazimağusa, Kythrea to Değirmenlik, and more.

It is estimated by etymologist and author Sevan Nişanyan that 4,200 Greek geographical locations have been changed, the most of any ethnic minority.

Assyrian

Most Assyrian name changes have occurred in the southeast of Turkey near the Syrian border in the Tur Abdin region. The Tur Abdin (Template:Lang-syr) is a hilly region incorporating the eastern half of Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria. The name 'Tur Abdin' is from the Syriac language meaning 'mountain of the servants (of God)'. Tur Abdin is of great importance to Syriac Orthodox Christians, for whom the region used to be a monastic and cultural heartland. The Assyrian/Syriac people of Tur Abdin call themselves Suroye and Suryoye and traditionally speak an Aramaic dialect called Turoyo.

After the Assyrian genocide, the Assyrians of the region were either depopulated or massacred. Currently, there are 5,000 Assyrians living in the region.

It is estimated by etymologist and author Sevan Nişanyan that 400 Assyrian geographical locations have been changed.

See also

• Geographical renaming
• Turkification
• Citizen speak Turkish!
• Surname Law (Turkey)

External links

• Index Anatolicus: Map of Geographical locations of Anatolia with descriptions, etymology, and cultural origins (Turkish)

References

1. ^ Nişanyan, Sevan (2010). Adını unutan ülke : Türkiye'de adı değiştirilen yerler sözlüğü (in Turkish) (1. basım. ed.). İstanbul: Everest Yayınları. ISBN 9789752897304. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
2. Halis, Mujgan (07.30.2011). "Norşin'den Potamya'ya hayali coğrafyalarımız". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 12 January 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. ^ Jongerden, edited by Joost. Social relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870-1915. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 9789004225183. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |first= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
4. ^ Simonian, edited by Hovann H. (2007). The Hemshin: history, society and identity in the highlands of northeast Turkey (Repr. ed.). London: Routledge. ISBN 9780700706563. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
5. ^ Jongerden, Joost (2007). The settlement issue in Turkey and the Kurds : an analysis of spatial policies, modernity and war (. ed.). Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill. p. 354. ISBN 9789004155572. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
6. Yaylaian Setian, Shahkeh (2011). Humanity In the Midst of Inhumanity. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 9781462884254.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
7. Korkut, Tolga (14 May 2009). "Names of 12,211 Villages Were Changed in Turkey". Bianet. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
8. Naimark, Norman M. (2002). Fires of hatred: ethnic cleansing in twentieth-century Europe (1. Harvard Univ. Press paperback ed., 2. print. ed.). Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard Univ. Press. ISBN 9780674009943.
9. General Directorate of State Archives of the Republic of Turkey, İstanbul Vilayet Mektupçuluğu, no. 000955, 23 Kânunuevvel 1331 (October 6, 1916) Ordinance of Enver Paşa (retrieved from the private archives of Sait Çetinoğlu)
10. Ungor; Polatel, Ugur; Mehmet (2011). Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk Seizure of Armenian Property. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 224. ISBN 9781441130556.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
11. ^ Nisanyan, Sevan (2011). Hayali Coğrafyalar: Cumhuriyet Döneminde Türkiye'de Değiştirilen Yeradları (PDF) (in Turkish). Istanbul: TESEV Demokratikleşme Programı. Retrieved 12 January 2013. Turkish: Memalik-i Osmaniyyede Ermenice, Rumca ve Bulgarca, hasılı İslam olmayan milletler lisanıyla yadedilen vilayet, sancak, kasaba, köy, dağ, nehir, ilah. bilcümle isimlerin Türkçeye tahvili mukarrerdir. Şu müsaid zamanımızdan süratle istifade edilerek bu maksadın fiile konması hususunda himmetinizi rica ederim.
12. Dündar, Fuat (2001). İttihat ve Terakki'nin Müslümanları iskân politikası : (1913 - 1918) (in Turkish) (1. baskı ed.). İstanbul: İletisim. p. 284. ISBN 9789754709117. Retrieved 12 January 2013.
13. ^ Öktem, Kerem (2003). Creating the Turk’s Homeland: Modernization, Nationalism and Geography in Southeast Turkey in the late 19th and 20th Centuries (PDF). Harvard: University of Oxford, School of Geography an the Environment, Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3TB, UK.
14. ^ Sahakyan, Lusine (2010). Turkification of the Toponyms in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey (PDF). Montreal: Arod Books. ISBN 9780969987970.
15. Alparslan, Huseyin (1920). Trabzon ili laz mı türk mü?. Giresun Matbaası. p. 17. Retrieved 14 January 2013. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
16. "Verdict ("Kararname") of the Turkish Military Tribunal" (in Ottoman Turkish). Published in theOfficial Gazetteof Turkey(Takvimi Vekayi),no. 3604 (supplement), July 22, 1919. Retrieved 12 January 2013. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
17. Findley, Carter Vaughn (2010). Turkey, Islam, nationalism, and modernity : a history, 1789-2007. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300152609.
18. Başbakanlık Cumhuriyet Arşivi 030.18.01.02/88.83.20 (31/8/1939): ‘Leipzigde basılmış olan Der Grosse Weltatlas adlı haritanın hudutlarımız içinde Ermenistan ve Kürdistanı göstermesi sebebiyle yurda sokulmaması.’ , Bakanlar Kurulu Kararları Katalogu .
19. "28 BİN YERİN İSMİ DEĞİŞTİ, HANGİ İSİM HANGİ DİLE AİT?". KentHaber (in Turkish). August 16, 2009. Retrieved 14 January 2013. Ayşe Hür, Demokrat Parti döneminde oluşturulan kurul için şöyle diyor: "Bu çalışmalar sırasında anlamları güzel çağrışımlar uyandırmayan, insanları utandıran, gurur incitici yahut alay edilmesine fırsat tanıyan isimler, Türkçe de olsalar değiştirildi. İçinde 'Kızıl', 'Çan', 'Kilise' kelimeleri olan köylerin isimleri ile Arapça, Farsça, Ermenice, Kürtçe, Gürcüce, Tatarca, Çerkezce, Lazca köy isimleri 'bölücülüğe meydan vermemek' amacıyla değiştirildi."
20. ^ İnsel, Ahmet (9/16/2007). "İsmime dokunma". Radikal (in Turkish). Retrieved 12 January 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
21. Koylu, Murat (3/21/2011). "Bütün isimlerimizi geri istiyoruz". Yesil Gazete (in Turkish). Retrieved 12 January 2013. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
22. Sediyani, İbrahim (2009). Adını arayan coğrafya (in Turkish). İstanbul: Özedönüş Yayınları. ISBN 9786054296002. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
23. Türker S., “28 bin yerin ismi değişti...,”, Vatan, 16 Agustos, 2009.
24. ^ Tunçel H., “Türkiye’de İsmi Değiştirilen Köyler,” Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Firat Universitesi, 2000, volume 10, number 2.
25. Hacısalihoğlu, Mehmet (2008). Doğu Rumeli'de kayıp köyler : İslimye Sancağ'ında 1878'den günümüze göçler, isim değişikleri ve harabeler (in Turkish) (1. basım ed.). İstanbul: Bağlam. ISBN 9789758803958. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
26. ^ Eren, editor, Ali Çaksu ; preface, Halit (2006). Proceedings of the second International Symposium on Islamic Civilization in the Balkans, Tirana, Albania, 4-7 December 2003 (in Turkish). Istanbul: Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture. ISBN 9789290631521. Retrieved 12 January 2013. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
27. T.C. Icisleri Bakanligi (1968): Köylerimiz. 1 Mart 1968 gününe kadar. T.C. Icisleri Bakanligi, Iller Idaresi Genel Müdürlügü. Ankara
28. T.C. Icisleri Bakanligi (1977): Yeni Tabii Yer Adlari 1977. Yeni, Eski ve Illere Göre Dizileri. Icisleri Bakanligi, Iller Idaresi Genel Müdürlügü, Besinci Sube Müdürlügü. Ankara
29. ^ Okutan, M. Çağatay (2004) Tek Parti Döneminde Azınlık Politikaları , İstanbul, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
30. ^ Boran, Sidar (August 12, 2009). "Norşin ve Kürtçe isimler 99 yıldır yasak". Firatnews (in Turkish). Retrieved 13 January 2013.
31. Öktem, Kerem (2008). "The Nation's Imprint: Demographic Engineering and the Change of Toponymes in Republican Turkey". European Journal of Turkish Studies (7). Retrieved 18 January 2013.
32. ^ Cengiz, Orhan Kemal (14 July 2011). "How the names of places have been changed in Turkey". Zaman. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
33. ^ "Turkey to restore some Kurdish place names". Zaman. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
34. Tuncel, Harun (2000). "TÜRKİYE'DE İSMİ DEĞİŞTİRİLEN KÖYLER English: Renamed Villages in Turkey" (PDF). Fırat University Journal of Social Science (in Turkish). 10 (2). Retrieved 13 January 2013.
35. Modern History of Armenia in the Works of Foreign Authors , edited by R. Sahakyan, Yerevan, 1993, p. 15 (in Russian)
36. Blundell, Roger Boar, Nigel (1991). Crooks, crime and corruption. New York: Dorset Press. p. 232. ISBN 9780880296151. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
37. Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. HarperCollins. p. 36. ISBN 9780061860171. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
38. Books, the editors of Time-Life (1989). The World in arms : timeframe AD 1900-1925 (U.S. ed. ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books. p. 84. ISBN 9780809464708. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); |edition= has extra text (help); |first= has generic name (help)
39. K. Al-Rawi, Ahmed (2012). Media Practice in Iraq. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 9. ISBN 9780230354524. Retrieved 16 January 2013. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
40. "Turkey renames 'divisive' animals". BBC. 8 March, 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2013. Animal name changes: Red fox known as Vulpes Vulpes Kurdistanica becomes Vulpes Vulpes. Wild sheep called Ovis Armeniana becomes Ovis Orientalis Anatolicus Roe deer known as Capreolus Capreolus Armenus becomes Capreolus Cuprelus Capreolus. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |quote= at position 156 (help)
41. "Yiğidi öldürmek ama hakkını da vermek..." Lraper. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
42. "Patrik II. Mesrob Hazretleri 6 Agustos 2006 Pazar". Bolsohays News (in Turkish). August 7, 2006. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
43. Hovannisian, ed. by Richard G. (1991). The Armenian genocide in perspective (4. pr. ed.). New Brunswick, NJ : Transaction. ISBN 9780887386367. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)
44. ^ Sevan Nisanyan (Lastest update: January 12, 2013). "Index Anatolicus" (Map). Türkiye yerleşim birimleriyle evanteri (in Turkish). Retrieved 14 January 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
45. ^ TC Dahiliye Vekaleti, Son Taksimati Mulkiyede Koylerimizin Adlari, Ankara 1928.
46. "Multicultural Pasts as a Problem in the Construction of National Programs of Cultural Heritage in Modern Southeast Europe,Paper read at the 10th Annual Kokkalis Program Workshop at Harvard University, February 7-8, 2007,page 2"http://www.hks.harvard.edu/kokkalis/GSW10/Hartmuth,%20Maximilian%20GSW10%20submission.pdf
47. Ajaryan, H. Armenian Etymological Dictionary (Hayeren atmatakan bararan), Yerevan, 1971, State Univ.y Publ. House, vol. 1, p. 106-108.
48. Suny, edited by Ronald Grigor. A question of genocide : Armenians and Turks at the end of the Ottoman Empire. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195393743. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
49. Marc Dubin; Enver Lucas (1989). Trekking in Turkey. Lonely Planet. p. 125. ISBN 0-86442-037-4.
50. Robert H. Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas. — University of Chicago Press, 2001. — 341 p. — ISBN 0-226-33228-4, ISBN 978-0-226-33228-4. P.212. "River between the port of Atina (now Pazar) on the coast and the great inland peak called Kajkar (Arm. Khach'k'ar) Dagh 'Cross-stone Mountain'"
51. KÜRKÇÜKOĞLU, Erol. "Ermeni, Bizans ve Türk Hakimiyetinde Ani" (in Turkish). Institute for Armenian Research. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
52. Chorbajian, ed. by Levon (1999). Studies in comparative genocide. Basingstoke, Hampshire : Macmillan ISBN 9780312219338. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
53. Turkey - Linguistic and Ethnic Groups - U.S. Library of Congress
54. Bartkus, Viva Ona, The Dynamic of Secession, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 90-91.
55. "Linguistic and Ethnic Groups in Turkey". Countrystudies.us. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
56. Mauss-Copeaux, Étienne Copeaux; Claire (2005). Taksim! : Chypre divisée, 1964 - 2005 (in French). Lyon: Aedelsa. p. 74-78. ISBN 9782915033076. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
57. Gallipoli, Turkey in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
58. Diana Darke, Guide to Aegean and Mediterranean Turkey, M. Haag, 1986, 296 pages. Page 165,
59. Darke, Diana (1986). Guide to Aegean and Mediterranean Turkey. M. Haag. p. 160. ISBN 0-902743-34-1, 9780902743342.
60. Tuğlacı, Pars (1985). Osmanlı şehirleri. Milliyet. p. 220. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
61. Room, Adrian (2006). Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features, and Historic Sites (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2248-7.
62. The Middle East, abstracts and index, Part 1. Library Information and Research Service. Northumberland Press, 2002. Page 491.
63. Central Asia and the Caucasus: transnationalism and diaspora. Touraj Atabaki, Sanjyot Mehendale. Routledge, 2005. Page 228.
64. "Assyrian Association Building Attacked in Turkey". Assyrian International News Agency. Retrieved 17 January 2013. Facing persecution and discrimination, Turkey's Assyrian population, once numbering more than 130,000, has been reduced to about 5,000.
65. "Kafro" (in German). Retrieved 16 January 2013.
66. Lipiński, Edward (2000). The Aramaeans: their ancient history, culture, religion. Peeters Publishers. p. 146. ISBN 978-90-429-0859-8.
67. Payne Smith's A Compendious Syriac Ditcionary, Dukhrana.com

• Turkish culture
• Geography
• Geography of Turkey
• Turkish society
• Discrimination in Turkey