Dr. Riza Nur and his relationship to the Turkish history thesis

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1606912 (Table of Contents)

This thesis attempts to examine whether Dr. Rıza Nur had any influence on the Turkish History Thesis. Being marginalized, Dr. Rıza Nur is either an unknown figure or he is known for his criticism towards Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This has had several repercussions on Dr. Rıza Nur’s image, leading to the neglect of his contributions to Turkish history, his influences as a Turkist, and, in particular, the lack of interest in producing scholarly works about him. In order to manifest whether Dr. Rıza Nur influenced the Turkish History Thesis, Dr. Rıza Nur’s Turkish History, published over the period between 1924 and 1926, has been studied and compared with the Turkish History Thesis, which was launched by the Kemalist regime at the beginning of the 1930s. By comparing the two historical narratives, which depict the Turkish national historiography of the early Republican era, a significant number of similarities are observed that demonstrate the high possibility of Dr. Rıza Nur’s influence. Additionally, the comparison reveals a number of divergent aspects between the two historical narratives, which sets Dr. Rıza Nur apart from the authors of the Turkish History Thesis.