A Brief Portrait of the Historian and Intellectual Zeki Velidi Togan

Abstract

This article outlines the life of Togan by drawing general contours. Born in the Bashkir region in 1890, Togan received his initial education from his family and the local environment before going to Kazan for advanced studies. After becoming known in Kazan as a historian, he became a pioneer of various scholarly research initiatives. In the following years, Togan’s political life would begin, yet even during those turbulent times he did not refrain from academic work. After coming to Turkey in 1925, he made important contributions to Turkey’s historical culture. Although he also encountered certain difficulties in Turkey, Togan would later devote himself to training students at Istanbul University.

Keywords: Zeki Velidi Togan, Central Asia, Turkey, Political Activities.

Note: During my undergraduate years, I encountered Togan’s Memoirs and read as much of it as I could. After taking the Central Asia course, I wrote this article. I would like to share it with you and spark curiosity about the period. Happy reading.

Evaluation of Existing Works

The only truly original source on Zeki Velidi Togan is his own work titled Hatıralar (Memoirs). In this work, he narrates his life in great detail beginning from his birth. For this reason, there are not many articles or books written about Zeki Velidi Togan. Since he describes events so meticulously, further works were not felt necessary. Books written about him have essentially functioned as shortened versions of his Memoirs. Two particular names are important for having authored books on Togan: Tuncer Baykara and Alişan Satılmış. Both used Togan’s Hatıralar as their primary source and wrote his biography based on it.

The reason I chose this subject goes back several years. About 2–3 years ago I became acquainted with Zeki Velidi’s Hatıralar. Therefore, when I heard his name again, I wished to conduct further research on him. I knew he had written a book titled Hatıralar. I borrowed it from our university library. In addition, I also borrowed the works written by the two authors mentioned above. Rather than Hatıralar, I used Tuncer Baykara’s work, because Hatıralar is quite long and my time was limited.

In general, I benefited from Baykara’s work and listened to the interviews uploaded on YouTube featuring Togan’s daughter and his students. Apart from this, I had read approximately 100–150 pages of his book 2–3 years ago, and some fragments of information remained fresh in my memory. Relying mainly on Tuncer Baykara’s work, I attempted to narrate the general outline of Togan’s life.

Zeki Velidi Togan and Selected Episodes from His Struggle-Filled Life

“At the beginning of my life, as I shall describe in this book, it could not have been foreseen that I would guide the great political movements of the last century in the Urals and Central Asia, lead the liberation struggles of a vast segment of the Turkic nation, and on the other hand become a prominent figure in the international Eastern organization.” (Togan, 1969, p. xx) [Atıf yeri Türkçedeki dipnot yerine APA 7 formatında örneklendirilmiştir; kesin sayfa numarası Türkçe baskıyla uyumlu girilebilir]

As Togan himself states above, it was impossible to predict that his life would unfold in such a way. The long and adventure-filled life of Togan, who was born in a village, is truly remarkable.

Zeki Velidi Togan was born in 1890 in the village of Küzen, in today’s Bashkir region, in the canton of Isterlimak. His father was Molla Ahmet, his mother Ümmü’l-Hayat, and he had three sisters and five brothers (Baykara, 1989, p. x).

In my opinion, to understand Zeki Velidi, one must first understand the Bashkirs and their historical situation. In the 16th century, the Bashkirs came under Russian domination. Although they initially preserved certain privileges, they gradually began to lose them. The Bashkirs, unable to accept this, rebelled in 1664, but the revolt was eventually suppressed with difficulty, and restrictions were imposed on their access to mines. In the following years, like other Turkic peoples, the Bashkirs were subjected to various Russian policies.

Zeki Velidi Togan would never forget throughout his life that his homeland had been conquered by the Russians. This would become one of the main reasons for the strong nationalist dimension of Togan’s personality. He would engage in a series of struggles aimed at uniting and liberating his people.

The first place where Zeki Velidi’s ideas began to take shape was the family. Thanks to the intellectual foundation he received at home, his ideas and thoughts began to develop. Zeki Velidi’s father was a molla with his own madrasa. Zeki Velidi received his initial education in his father’s madrasa. While studying under his father, he also received education from his mother, who taught him Persian poems and sayings. In both his father’s and uncle’s madrasas, Zeki Velidi met many students who came from other regions. From these students he learned the geography of their homelands and gained information about the places they lived. This would later prove useful and would partially contribute to his intellectual development (Baykara, 1989, pp. xx–xx).

After receiving basic education in his father’s madrasa, Zeki Velidi went to the madrasa of his uncle Habib Neccar, who would have a significant influence on his intellectual life. His uncle Habib Neccar was among the leading students of Kazan scholar Şehabüddin Mercani. We know that Zeki Velidi benefited from his uncle’s knowledge of history (Baykara, 1989, p. xx).

Molla Ahmet wanted his son to receive lessons from prominent teachers of the period, so he sent him to study with certain scholars. One of them was a teacher named Hızır Molla, from whom Zeki Velidi learned geometry (hendese). After Hızır Molla passed away, Zeki Velidi himself began determining the qibla direction of mosques. Another teacher was Molla Gül, from whom Zeki Velidi learned refined Persian expressions.

In 1902, Zeki Velidi went to his uncle’s madrasa in Ütek for secondary education and studied there for 6–7 months. He studied Arabic language and literature in this madrasa. He also listened to history lessons from his uncle, who was a good historian, and this had positive effects on him.

In 1906, when Zeki Velidi’s father suffered from an eye ailment and left for Hajj, Zeki Velidi returned to his father’s madrasa. There he established a library and brought a globe. It is said that during this period he realized certain things, including that the place had become too small for him and that he needed to travel elsewhere in pursuit of knowledge.

People in his environment arranged early marriages, so when Zeki Velidi turned eighteen, his father wanted him to marry. But Zeki Velidi opposed this idea and, in 1908, left his village without informing anyone (Baykara, 1989, p. xx).

Although it is said that Zeki Velidi wished to go to distant places, due to financial limitations he went to Kazan. In Kazan he stayed at the Kasımiye madrasa. There he had to take private lessons, since history was not taught in the regular curriculum. His private tutor was Yemilyanov, who prepared him for the “School for Teachers of Non-Russian Peoples” exam. Most importantly, he became acquainted with Russian Orientalists such as Katanov. In 1909–1910, he was appointed as a teacher of Turkish history and Arabic literature at the Kasımiye madrasa (Baykara, 1989, pp. xx–xx).

Meeting Katanov was important for Togan. Katanov, who had served the Russians for many years, warned Togan not to trust them. Togan indeed would never trust the Russians and would remain cautious in all his relations with them.

Apart from scholarly activities, Zeki Velidi Togan also stood out as a very active political figure. He did not merely sit back and observe events; he did not hesitate to take to the streets for the cause he believed in. The years 1916–1922 were very important for Togan’s entrance into politics, and he participated in several political events during this period.

During the Tsarist period, the authorities sought to establish communication between administrators and the public. The apparent purpose of this was to listen to the views of the people and learn what they wanted. Leading individuals chosen especially by the people in different regions began traveling to Russia. Zeki Velidi was chosen by his people as their representative and went to Russia in 1915. Although considerable progress could not be made in the early years, the most important development for Togan and other political leaders was the Revolution of 1917. When the Revolution occurred, everyone was caught between fear and hope because they did not know what would happen to Muslims. It is said that leading figures of the time were divided into two groups. One group wanted unity with the Russians and wished for Muslims to retain their earlier rights. The second group wanted autonomy. This disagreement inevitably weakened their political strength. But Togan did not delay in declaring autonomy. Because the Russians were themselves in a state of confusion, they initially treated Muslims relatively well. Under this temporarily favorable atmosphere, the Bashkurt state was established (Baykara, 1989, pp. xx–xx).

In 1918, the National Bashkurt Government was formed. Zeki Velidi became the minister of war and interior of this government. But the Russians occupied Orenburg that same year and imprisoned Togan. After the attacks of the Kazakhs and Bashkirs, Zeki Velidi managed to escape and began armed struggle (Baykara, 1989, p. xx).

After fighting in Turkestan between 1920 and 1922, he traveled to various regions between 1923 and 1925. During these travels he conducted research and obtained important data. In 1923, in the Mashhad region of Iran, he discovered the manuscript of Ibn Fadlan’s travel narrative. He completed his doctoral dissertation on this work at the University of Vienna (Baykara, 1989, pp. xx–xx).

In later years, Togan came to Turkey and conducted scholarly activities here as well. His time in Turkey may be divided into two periods. The first period covers the years 1925–1932. In Turkey, he continued his work at Istanbul University. In 1932, a defamation campaign was launched against him, and he could no longer remain in Turkey; thus, he left for Vienna (Baykara, 1989, p. xx).

After completing his doctorate at the University of Vienna, he returned to Turkey. Although he was imprisoned in 1944 on charges of involvement in the racist-Turkist incidents, he was released shortly afterward. Following this, no events occurred in Turkey that deeply distressed Togan. Until the end of his life, he continued his scholarly work. Togan’s life was long and filled with significant events. He contributed to the establishment of numerous institutions in Turkey and played a key role in training many students. He passed away in 1970 at the age of eighty.

Zeki Velidi Togan ends his Memoirs with the following remarks:

“In the report we sent from Berlin in 1924 to the Turkestan intellectual fighters remaining in Iran, we complained that Western states lacked clarity and consistency in their policies toward the Soviets; nevertheless, we added that the confidence of our Western allies in themselves was our advantage, and that the Soviets would never leave their ghettos. For 44 years the Soviets have not been able to leave that ghetto and have not dared to do so. The Western world, at the moment these lines are written, is celebrating its achievement—gained not through secret scientific endeavors but visibly before hundreds of millions—by watching the astronauts of the Free World set foot on the Moon. Many people believe that delving into the universe will have positive effects on world order and social morality.” (Togan, 1969, p. xx)

Ending his work with the above words, Zeki Velidi Togan appears as a figure whose scholarly work and struggle continue to draw attention today. He wrote on many important subjects in Turkey and around the world, and his works were well received. It is said that Togan embraced three main ideas and was strongly influenced by them. The first is nationalism. It is considered natural for him to hold this sentiment, since nationalism was viewed as a kind of refuge to avoid disappearing in the Slavic sea. The second is Islam, which played a very important role in preserving the identity of both the Bashkirs and other Turkic peoples. The third and final influence is socialism. Through the Russians he became acquainted with this movement and adopted certain elements of it.

Some Works of Zeki Velidi Togan

Türk ve Tatar Tarihi, Kazan, 1912.

İbnü’l-Fakih’in Yeni Nüshası, Ankara, 1924.

Türk Efsanelerinde Millî Alametler, Ankara, 1924.

Türkistan Meselesi, 1927.

Türk Tarihinin Umumi Hatlarına Dair İlk Medhal Dersi, İstanbul, 1928.

Moğollar, Cengiz ve Türklük, İstanbul, 1941.

Bugünkü Türkistan ve Yakın Tarihi, İstanbul, 1942.

Umumi Türk Tarihine Giriş, İstanbul, 1946.

Tarihte Usul, İstanbul, 1950.

Asya’nın Mukadderatı, 1960.

Hatıralar, İstanbul, 1969.

Cengiz Han, 1969–1970. (Satılmış, 2003, p. xx)

References

Baykara, T. (1989). Zeki Velidi Togan. İstanbul: Kültür Bakanlığı Yayınları.

Baykara, T. (2012). Zeki Velidi Togan. In Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Vol. 41, pp. 209–210).

Satılmış, A. (2003). Zeki Velidi Togan. Ankara: Alternatif Yayınları.

Togan, Z. V. (1969). Hatıralar. İstanbul: Hikmet Gazetecilik Yayınları.