Acknowledgements
This long journey would not be possible without the assistance and support of many individuals and institutions. I am grateful “to be brought up” at Boğaziçi University. The interdisciplinary curriculum of my undergraduate years broadened my vision, nurtured my interests and guided me in finding the right place for my focus. From the beginning of my graduate studies, the Atatürk Institute provided the necessary intellectual environment for improving and shaping my academic skills and perspective. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my mentor, Nadir Özbek. Without the theoretical and historical perspective that I have gained from him, a study such as this could not mature. His encouragement, comments, questions, and patience were important for finishing my dissertation on the same topic. I am indebted to Cengiz Kırlı, not only because he was one of the jury members for my dissertation from its initial phase, but also because of his lectures and his comments which have shaped my way of thinking. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Şevket Pamuk, Çağlar Keyder, Ayşe Buğra, Asım Karaömerlioğlu and Yücel Terzibaşoğlu for guiding my academic life. I would also like to thank the jury members for my dissertation, Fehmi Yılmaz, Can Nacar, and Ali Sipahi, for their invaluable suggestions and comments. I have to thank Hamit Bozarslan whose suggestions and directions in relation to sources and archives in France, during a semester stay at the EHESS, were very illuminating. Istanbul Medeniyet University was my scholarly home when this project was completed. I am also heartily thankful to Turhan Kaçar and Recep Karacakaya for their help, support and understanding. My thanks are also due to Alp Yücel Kaya for his help and kindness.
The research, writing and re-writing process of this study were possible with the help of many archives and libraries. I am grateful to the staff of the Ottoman Archives of the Office of the Prime Minister who were very helpful during my research. The staff of Boğaziçi Library were also very kind, helpful and thoughtful in their dealings with me, I would like to thank all of them. The staff of the National Archives of the United Kingdom and the Archive Diplomatiques du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères facilitated my research. My thanks are due to the staff of the Atatürk Kitaplığı of Istanbul Municipality for the visual materials used in this study.
My trip to Diyarbakır, Muş and Bitlis was possible thanks to Seren Üstündağ and Ayşe Batgi, along with the hospitality of their families. I am thankful to Seren for sharing joys and sorrows of life, though we are miles apart. My deepest gratitude is due to Tayyip Yıldırım and his late father Abdurrahman Yıldırım, who were generous in sharing their family history with me. My conversations with them enabled me to imagine what took place almost two hundred years ago.
I am profoundly grateful to Brill for this great opportunity. I feel fortunate in having the comments and extensive reading of two anonymous reviewers, which enabled me to turn a dissertation into a monograph. I am grateful to Suraiya Faroqhi for her valuable comments and drawing my attention to some of the finer details. I am thankful to the assistant editor, Franca de Kort, for making the whole review and publication process easier for me and for her quick replies to my endless questions. My thanks are also due to Ester Lels for supervising the production process. I would like to express my gratitude to Jonathan Philips and Barry Stocker who respectively copy-edited the initial and last versions of this project.
During my years at Boğaziçi University, I had the good fortune to have many friends whose companionship made the dissertation-writing process enjoyable. I am thankful to Uğur Bayraktar for his companionship during our archival research in the Ottoman Archives of the Office of the Prime Minister. The friendship and moral support of Alp Kadıoğlu, Başak Akgül, Ramiz Üzümçeker, Seval Gülen, Özkan Akpınar, İbrahim Kuran, Erhan Bektaş, Faruk Yalçın, Hüseyin Sert, Çiğdem Oğuz, Ozan Gürlek, Özlem Kinaş, Berna Kamay, Melike Sümertaş, Ezgi Burcu Işıl, and Ş̧ahika Karatepe have always been valuable for me.
Özlem Dilber has always been more than a friend for me. I am grateful for her unconditional help, encouragement, enthusiasm, and good judgement. I am heartily thankful to Ceren Ünlü and Fatma Özkan who have been wonderful colleagues and friends and with whom I have shared the feeling of solidarity. Yıldız Yıldırım is the sister who deserves huge thanks for her invaluable support and true friendship.
Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents, Sevgi and Mehmet Baki and my brother Semih who always unquestioningly supported me during my academic journey. My thanks also are due to my cousins Gizem, Ebru, Şeyma and Ceren for supporting me and making me laugh.
This book is dedicated to the two men of my life. I am profoundly indebted to Yener, my companion and husband, who was the closest witness of the writing and re-writing of this project, critically reading each word of it. His emotional support, love, and care sustained me through the writing of this book and for every single day. In September 2020, my beloved son Derin was born, and he has become the sun and the mirth, the source of gratitude and inspiration for my life. I am grateful to him for teaching me endless love and the joy of being curious about everything.