“The Turkish thesis has matured, it is necessary to walk on it and work continuously. There may be some disbelief. They are like highwaymen, do not pay attention to them” Late 1938.
(In 1937, he convened the Second Turkish History Congress. He made the above-quoted statements close to his death, making suggestions that could be considered as a testament. How right he was in this warning will be seen with what happened to the Turkish History Thesis after his death. “Belleten” 140, p.540; a.k. Doğan Avcıoğlu “Türklerin Tarihi” Tekin Yay., 1995, Volume I, p.26)
Main Concepts: Civilization. Writing. Science. Turk. Central Asia. Europe. Mediterranean. Rivers. Aegean, Eti, Scythian, Sumerian, Egyptian
The Aegean, Hittite, Scythian, Sumerian, and Egyptian civilizations are civilizations located on rivers and seas. Atatürk associated these civilizations with the Central Asian Turks.
Atatürk devoted himself intensively to history and language studies in the early 1930s, and as a result, a history thesis and a language thesis emerged. However, after his death, these theses were abandoned in 1939. Although the foundations of the republic he founded were laid with dynamite by the Atlantic Alliance, the republic is now in a permanent position thanks to the power of the people.
What should make us think is how we can meet again and come together with the content of Atatürk’s history thesis in particular. Because Atatürk put forward the history thesis in question by devoting all his thought power to this subject and as a result, this thesis was presented together with the notifications in history congresses. Those who walk around saying they are Atatürkists do not even mention the name of this thesis.
What is presented with this thesis is the civilizations of writing and science that were first laid down and ignited by the Turks in the past, especially in the region between the Nile River and Transoxiana, starting from Central Asia and Turkestan, and in the Mediterranean basin.
The Aegean, Hittite, Scythian, Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations that Atatürk mentioned are the living and dynamic civilizations that the Turks gifted to the human community as a whole. Then, what falls to us today is to revive Atatürk’s history thesis, organize congresses and meetings, and present the civilizational quality and identity of the Turks, who have been marginalized in this way, to the world public opinion.
The historical past that Atatürk’s promise of “we will catch up with the level of contemporary civilization” is based on is the Central Asian Turks, the source of the 7000-year-old civilization that started with the Sumerian written civilization. The Turks who came from Central Asia to the Mediterranean basin 7000 years ago and settled there created many civilizations. So the secret of catching up with that line in contemporary times is to reunite with that civilization past and the rules, art and science of that past.
Atatürk wanted to encourage scientific studies through institutions by establishing the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish Language Society in order to ignite minds in order to ensure the permanence and sustainability of the history thesis, and he also founded the Faculty of Language, History and Geography for the same purpose.
Despite all these institutional efforts, Atatürk’s history thesis is now ownerless and not taken seriously after his death and has disappeared. What has disappeared is the science and mathematics that lie at the foundation of the civilization of the Sumerians, the Turkish people who migrated from Central Asia to the hinterland regions of the Mediterranean basin 7000 years ago, which Atatürk considered as a point of reference.
So, the basics that should be taken are science and mathematics, since the Sumerians are the Turanian people who started writing. In Turkey, only the personal efforts of Muazzez İlmiye Çığ are in question in this regard, and she is already a person of mission whose surname was given by Atatürk.
But when we think about it, there needs to be a team in terms of adapting the Sumerian civilization studies to the present day. After Atatürk died, his historical thesis legacy was not evaluated by politicians and culture figures, it was rejected and instead, the ancient Greek civilization and ancient Anatolian civilizations, excluding Turkishness, were brought to the agenda and an artificial reference point was tried to be established by working on them.
However, studies conducted without Atatürk’s history thesis are baseless, and since there is no reference point, there is a tissue incompatibility. In that case, Sumerian studies, especially those based on civilization, need to be revived in order to harmonize the tissue. Another point that we should pay attention to and not overlook is that the ancient Sumerian civilization is the basis of ancient Egyptian civilization, and Atatürk has revealed the association between Egyptian civilization and Turkishness due to the Sumerian civilization. While these associations are obvious and constitute a great treasure, why is there still silence, this needs to be examined.
Atatürk’s history thesis was taught as a history textbook in schools for only ten years between 1931-1941. Then it was shelved, never to be discussed again, and İsmet İnönü and Hasan Ali Yücel were the leading figures in this. Halide Edip Adıvar, Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu joined this Greek chorus. While Turkish civilization was the main concept in Atatürk’s thesis, Greek civilization was made a concept in İnönü’s thesis that replaced it, and İsmet İnönü, who was called the second man of the Republic, was the leading figure in this thesis.
The central concept of Atatürk’s history thesis is the concept of civilization. While Atatürk talks about the Turkish civilizations that originated in Central Asia in the past and then reached the Mediterranean basin, he also talks about the level of contemporary civilization for the future. If you notice, the concept of culture and civilization is preferred here instead of the concept of race. How will those who have thrown this thesis into the dustbin of history, who have tolerated the existence of this thesis for only three years since Atatürk’s death, give an account of this in the direction of history?
When Atatürk speaks of a civilization seven thousand years ago, he is talking about the civilization of writing and the innovations and scientific applications brought by the Sumerians. Is it these essential character traits attributed to the Turks that have not been digested, that the Turks have begun to be humiliated, like the French Ernest Renan (1873) and the British Prime Minister Gladstone (1876), by the chorus that demolished Atatürk’s thesis?
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Ataturk’s words about the Sumerians
Historical development of the principle of democracy: The principle of democracy was applied in the Sumerian , Elamite and Akkadian tribes who established the first civilization of humanity in Elcezire (Mesopotamia) 7000 years ago. Indeed, such tribes formed a united republic. After this, Greek cities such as Athens and Isparta were governed by a kind of democracy. Even Rome lived a democratic life. Source: Handwritten Draft for the book Civil Knowledge. January 1930
After the conference, I was introduced to Gazi Hazrat at the Turkish Hearth and talked for about 1.5 hours. We had a conversation with Gazi Hazrat on the subject of prehistory and ancient artifacts. Gazi Hazrat, who had made deep studies on these issues, talked about the Hittites, the Sumerians , Akkadians who had established a civilization in El Jazira (Mesopotamia) before the Babylonians, and the Etrorians who lived in Italy. Gazi Hazrat is of the opinion that the origin of the civilization established by these nations, the essence of which is not definitely known, is Turkish.
Hazrat Gazi says: These ancient civilizations emerged from Central Asia. Central Asia is also the homeland of the Turks. Therefore, it is necessary to accept the essence of these civilizations as Turkish. Hazrat Gazi gave such detailed and deeply researched information about these issues that I could not remember all of this information. I was amazed that Gazi had so many other studies in his official military and political life, despite all his preoccupations. I especially saw the following trait in Gazi: He thinks of nothing but Turks and things that belong to Turks; the idea that dominates his entire thinking power is Turks and Turkishness. Here lies the secret of the spiritual strength of this great and wonderful man. Professor Y. Oestrup, Director of the Department of Eastern History and Civilization, University of Copenhagen. April 3, 1930
Although the Turks in Central Asia were able to skip the Paleolithic Age 12,000 years before Christ, the Europeans continued to live in this period until 5,000 years after this date; in other words, Europe could only leave this period 7,000 years before Christ. The Bronze Age began among the Turks and in the countries where the Turks established civilization, for example in Sumer , 6,7000 years before Christ, and in Egypt a little later. Writing was invented by the Turks at the beginning of the Iron Age, and the historical period began. Four specific periods passed in Europe without the knowledge of writing. Source. Handwritten drafts and corrections for history books. Autumn 1930.
It is known that the oldest city of the Sumerian land is Ur. They say that Oğus Khan lived in the city of Ur 4000 years before Christ. This fact is important in terms of shedding light on the kinship of Sumerian and Turkish. In the oldest Sumerian ruler lists, the names of two rulers, Uş (Ouch) with the title Patesi and Okuş (Okouch) with the title of ruler, are encountered. The words Uş and Okuş are similar in pronunciation to the words Us and Ogus. This similarity helps to show the accuracy of the relationship between the languages of the ancient Turks and the Sumerians . The name Oğus was used for the country as well as for the person. Source. Handwritten drafts and corrections for history books. Autumn 1930.
The Egyptians knew many sciences. After the Flood, they used measurement to identify their fields, as in Chaldea. This quality made them advance in geometry. The Egyptians advanced in astronomy by observing the stars, which made the observation of the stars easier with the cloudless sky and bright nights of Egypt. The priests had advanced very far in all kinds of sciences. They were all teachers, doctors and scholars. The sciences that had long been discovered and applied in Mesopotamia, Sumer -Akkad and Elam had also developed in Egypt. The Egyptians were highly respected by other nations in ancient times for their knowledge and the order in their country, and their priests thought of many things. Foreigners, especially the Greeks, came to talk to them. Source. Handwritten drafts and corrections for history books. Autumn 1930.
Cities dating back to 2000 BC have been found. Palaces, shops, houses, endless works of art, plaques, statues, tiles, tools, weapons, jewels, in short, the remains of an original and refined civilization have been unearthed. What all of these were was unknown. Since 1875, thanks to the successful investigations of German Şilman and other scholars after him, an entire civilization that had remained in darkness for centuries has emerged at thousands of points. The people who owned this civilization are “Indo-Europeans, older than the , and foreign to the Semites. There was an ancient civilization in Yemen (the Himeyris). This civilization was undoubtedly brought by the Sumerians from the Persian Gulf coast . Handwritten drafts and corrections for history books. Autumn 1930.
“For example, the Aegean civilization, the Aegean civilization that settled and developed in Asia Minor, the Scythian civilization that flowed from the Danube with our Achaeans, the Sumerian civilization that established its great focus in Mesopotamia, and the Egyptian civilization that started in the Delta and rose to the waterfalls of the Nile, then crossed the Mediterranean coast like the waterfalls and touched the Aegean basin with its waves, all these civilizations are connected to each other like the links of a chain. The two ends of the chain are in the iron furnaces of Altay where the links are forged. Therefore, these civilizations should be examined as a whole, having transferred the fire of effulgence coming from that furnace to each other and each of which has had an effect on the other. These ancient civilizations that I have mentioned have become the suns of today’s civilization. We are the children of the men who ignited this sun. (Applause) ” A General View of the Origin of the Aegean Civilization. July 1, 1932. ABE. Volume 25. Kaynak Publications.
We are naturally and essentially concerned with the group that came westward into the Near East and founded the civilizations now called Sumerians , Hittites, and other prehistoric civilizations of Asia Minor. Western civilization built a great bulwark against these successive waves of the human ocean on the Asian continent, which eventually took the form of the Byzantine Empire. They and our Turkish ancestors went to war. August 14, 1932. ABE. Volume 25. pages 393-394
Our Turkish nation is an old and honorable nation. Since it was raised in the Altay plateau of Central Asia, it acquired the qualities of an eagle while it was still young; it can see far, has a fast flight and has a body strong enough to contain this spirit. Since it is in its nature that it does not stay within any boring boundaries, whether material or mental, it rebelled against the distant situation of its high homeland from the world. It was then that these first Turks took their lead and spread to both the east and west of the world. We, the Turkish nation of today, are very much interested in all these first raids of our indomitable ancestors.
However, our greatest interest is not in their breaking through the Great Wall of China and penetrating into the heart of the Chinese civilization that had been preserved until then, or in their turning northwest and entering the vast Scandinavian area, nor in their raids into Central Europe under the command of a great Turk whom history calls Attila, or in such invasion movements of brother nations. Our interest is naturally and primarily in that group, which came from a western direction towards the Near East and founded the civilizations called today the Sumerian civilization, the Hittite civilization and the major prehistoric civilizations of Anatolia.
Western civilization built a great barrier against these chasing waves of the human sea in the Asian continent, and this barrier eventually emerged in the form of the Byzantine Empire. Our ancestors began to fight with this empire. Just as victory was within our grasp, another wave from the West – the Crusaders – attacked Anatolia and postponed our decisive victory, that is, the conquest of Istanbul, the prize of the great war and the symbol of a vast empire, for exactly two hundred years – until 1453.
We, the Turks, were the sharp edge of the sword of the East in every age. However, as many Levantine elements gradually joined us, the victors, that mixture of nations called the Ottoman Empire emerged. This Ottoman Empire took advantage of the Turkish element in the country by using it in two great waves of water in the north-west direction towards the interior of Europe. During the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, it captured all the Balkans and beyond and reached the gates of Vienna.
The second wave of the Turks in this direction was during the reign of Mehmet IV, which was equally warlike and victorious. The Ottoman Empire became a great state because of us heroic Turks, and a great spiritual organization was established based on our religion, Islam. This state and the spiritual organization were united in Istanbul as a very powerful institution. There, the heroic Turk was defeated by palace intrigues and the influence of the spiritual organization, and these two institutions were governing the regions far from the centers of domination and in Europe, Anatolia and North Africa.
Here ends our first great picture. While this picture had been painted and decorated by the Turks, these warriors were now pushed into the background, overwhelmed by palace intrigues.
History moved on. After this, the Turkish Empire defended itself against Western civilization not with Turkish weapons, but rather by pitting Western states against each other, and the politics of these states was united with the desire to claim Istanbul and the Bosphorus. The Europeans called us the “sick man of Europe” and many inheritance claimants emerged everywhere. Finally, the Great War broke out between the Western states. We were dragged into this war by the Near East ambitions of the central European states, which were seeking commercial interests in Asia Minor. 1932 (General Sherrill, A Year of Embassy by Atatürk, Trans: Ahmet Ekrem, 1935, p. 88-89)
“For example, the Aegean civilization, the Hittite civilization that settled and developed in Asia Minor, the Scythian civilization that flowed from the Danube with our Achaeans, the Sumerian civilization that established its great focus in Mesopotamia , and the Egyptian civilization that started in the Delta and rose to the waterfalls of the Nile, then passed over the Mediterranean coast like waterfalls and touched the Aegean basin with its waves, all these civilizations are connected to each other like the links of a chain.
The two ends of the chain are in the Altay iron mines where the links are forged. Therefore, these civilizations should be examined as a whole, having transmitted the fire of inspiration from that mine to each other and each having an effect on the other. These ancient civilizations that I have mentioned are the suns of today’s civilization. We are the children of the men who ignited this sun. (Applause) ” A General View of the Origin of the Aegean Civilization. July 1, 1932. ABE. Volume 25. Kaynak Publications.
We are naturally and essentially concerned with the group that came westward into the Near East and founded the civilizations now called Sumerians, Hittites, and other prehistoric civilizations of Asia Minor. Western civilization built a great bulwark against these successive waves of the human ocean on the Asian continent, which eventually took the form of the Byzantine Empire. They and our Turkish ancestors went to war. August 14, 1932. ABE. Volume 25. pages 393-394
The Preliminary Project of the Turkish Historical Research Institution Program: “The distinguished position that the Turkish language occupies among all the languages of the world with its imperfection, nobility, fertility and endless creative capacity; how this language has become the national language of other nations, or how it has served as a general main source for all of them by giving roots, words and elements from its own vocabulary and syntax to the languages of other nations; that the Turkish language has been the most effective factor in the development of all the languages of the world; that the Turkish language is the mother tongue of the Sumerians, Hittites and other ancient Anatolian nations, the Egyptians, the Cretans and Aegeans who gave birth to the Greek civilization and the Etruscans who gave birth to the Roman culture; and to show that these oldest high civilizations, which are the main source of today’s modern Western civilization, are the product of the racial genius of the Turkish nations.” July 4, 1935 (ATABE, Vol. 27, Kaynak Publications, Istanbul, 2010, p.282-283)
The Turkish Language in Terms of Etymology, Morphology and Phonetics: “It was born from the studies and researches made on the Turkish language and on other languages in this context and from the review of the philosophy, psychology and sociology subjects related to language. This birth can be seen as a new theory in philology. The basis of this theory is the idea that the Sun, which gives the self to man, has introduced him. (…)
Language has come into being in accordance with psychological and sociological laws. The most minute details of intellectual life manifest themselves as plaques coming from the external world or as spiritual currents born within us. People manage to detect these through language. Language is an effort to separate many indicator signs that represent the external world and remind us of it, with subtle differences.” October 1935 , (ATABE, Vol. 27, Kaynak Publications, Istanbul, 2010, p.315, 317)
‘Turkish language is not an artificial language’
Language articles for Ulus newspaper: “The analysis of these few pure Turkish words, which are very well known and whose meanings are obvious to every Turk, clearly shows us that the Turkish language is not an artificial language that was established after the full formation and development of the mind. The Turkish language is as natural as the Turkish mind. The Turkish language is as logical and high as the Turkish mind and genius. The smallest morpheme of the Turkish language is the expression of the greatest concept that the Turk has acquired from examining nature.” November 2-December 7, 1935 (ATABE, Vol. 28, Kaynak Publications, Istanbul, 2011, p.91-92)
“One of the main duties of the enlightened Turks of today’s Republic is to show this truth to the scientific world in all technical and logical ways. We Turks have no doubt about this. The point of hesitation is not outside, it is inside us. Those who do not understand our inside. If we have realized that we have understood our inside, our ego, we ask our citizens to believe with all their hearts that rejecting the great truths we will reveal would be very small and meaningless things.” November 2-December 7, 1935 (age., p.108)
The speech dictated to Afet Hanım for the 3rd Turkish Language Congress: “Turkish history can only find the Turkish race through positive scientific documents. The Turkish language is the most important of these. There are scholars in today’s world of science who do not accept language as the basis for race. This basis may be correct for some circles. But for the Turk, never…
The originality of the Turkish language, in particular, clearly shows the historical existence of the Turks and the prevalence of this existence in the world. In this respect, the Turkish Historical Society are two enlightened monuments that should complement each other. It is with this belief that the Turkish Historical Society greets the congress of the Turkish Language Society with great respect and wishes it to obtain scientific productivity in terms of history as well as language.” August 24, 1936 (ATABE, Vol. 28, Kaynak Publications, Istanbul, 2011, p.254)
In nature, as you know, nothing is destroyed. Not a sound, not a word, not a movement. No matter how old or new the era is, all these formations are in nature as they were at the moment they happened. There is no concept of time and distance in this fluctuation. Tomorrow, it will certainly be possible to collect and identify the words spoken thousands and thousands of years ago, as they are, within the elements of nature that surround us.
The human intelligence, which is entering the mysterious bosom of nature more and more each day, has found and determined sciences that will satisfy those who work to reach reality and enlighten the history of humanity. In terms of history, archaeology and anthropology are at the forefront of these sciences. History becomes more fundamental as it is based on the documents that these sciences find and reveal. The nations whose history is based on these documents find and recognize their own origins. Here, our history, Turkish history, is based on these scientific documents. That is why every piece of our historical documents is also the mother of cultural works that are considered classics. January 1936 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – January 1936
From a note dictated by Atatürk: Writing: It is impossible not to see the undeniable truth of human intelligence in this. Writing, this Turkish word, indicates the following meaning: Everything, especially something! It is something that serves to express human intelligence, thought, the vast brilliance in his head, all the inventions, views, and actions of that brilliance of intelligence.
Now, when the scholars of the world talk about writing, they mean the letters Gerek, Latin, Finike and similar, and the very old works written with them. This intention is undoubtedly correct; however, weren’t there written texts with or without names before the various names mentioned? Can the writings of Sumer, Hati, Egypt, Uyghur and Maya, which are known and seen to be much older than them today, be left outside the framework of history that is fortified as historical? Aren’t these writings and the Orkhon writings a fortress and a monument of writing that expresses a very lively power and strength that stands tall in order to destroy the high fortresses that narrow-minded historians are trying to create? 1937 (Cevat Abbas Gürer, Yeni Sabah, 9.2.1941)
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The reason for Atatürk’s interest in the Sumerians: Atatürk, who thought that cultural unity was necessary to ensure the integrity of the state and the nation, paved the way for researchers to investigate the Turkish language, history and culture, which are our common denominator, and to prove how old their roots go in order to ensure this cultural unity. He also left this cultural awareness that he had to the Turkish intellectuals who would come after him.
It has never withheld its support from the institutions opened and the studies carried out to research Turkish culture, history and language in the light of science and to prove how deep-rooted they are.
The reason for Atatürk’s interest in the Sumerians was the similarity of their language to Turkish, the idea that they may have come to Mesopotamia from Central Asia, and the parallels in the Sumerian Turkish culture. The fact that the department that was to be opened as “Assyriology” in the Faculty of Language, History and Geography was named “Sumerology”, that he took notes on the sections related to the Sumerians in his readings, and that he expressed his opinions about the Sumerians in the language congresses he attended broadened the horizons of researchers.
On this path opened by Atatürk, many researchers identified the similarities between the Sumerian language and culture and the Turkish language and culture, and proved that the Turks existed on the stage of history thousands of years ago. https://www.academia.edu/38073188/Atat%C3%BCrk_T%C3%BCrk_K%C3%BClt%C3%BCr%C3%BC_ve_S%C3%BCmerler
The Turkish History Thesis, which emphasizes civilization, contradicts the Turanist view that advocates a racial basis. In the Turkish History Thesis, the definition of nation is not based on a racial affiliation, but instead is based on civilizations. Atatürk corrected the definition of nation as a political and social organization of citizens who are connected to each other through a unity of language, culture and ideals by removing the reference to racial affiliation that was prominent in Afet İnan’s book titled Civil Knowledge prepared in 1930.
The exaggeration of criticisms of the Turkish History Thesis, which were based on accusations of lack of scientific basis and nationalism, has made it necessary for researchers interested in the history of the Turks to take on the risk of facing accusations such as primitive nationalism and skullduggery. Turkish History Thesis – Wikipedia
CHRONOLOGY
1873 Ernest Renan: Do not attribute civilization to Turanian peoples (quoted by Cengiz Özakıncı https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLYAlrhPRv8 .. 1:14:20)
In a conference he gave in Paris in 1873 , Leon Cahun argued that civilization
was brought to Europe by the Turanians and that the settlements in Europe ending with suffixes such as -ac, -aq, -ak
were of Turanic (Turkish) origin .
1876 Gladstone: Do not attribute civilization to Turanian peoples (quoted by Cengiz Özakıncı https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLYAlrhPRv8 .. 1:14:20)
Since Atatürk gave great importance to history, he pioneered the establishment of the Turkish History Board. In 1930, Afet İnan , Tevfik Bıyıklıoğlu , Samih Rıfat , Yusuf Akçura , Reşit Galip , Hasan Cemil Çambel , Sadri Maksudi Arsal , Şemsettin Günaltay , Vasıf Çınar and Yusuf Ziya Özer began work to research Turkish history “not written by Western writers”.
In 1930 , they prepared a 606-page work called the Main Lines of Turkish History . This 606-page work was only a preliminary compilation. Only 100 copies were printed and distributed to scientists throughout the country to be examined. The first compilation book was examined, discussed, and evaluations and corrections were made by scientists.
In 1931 , the second book, Main Lines of Turkish History-Introduction Section, consisting of 87 pages, was prepared. This work, consisting of 4 volumes, was printed in 30,000 copies this time. The 4-volume work was taught in history classes in high schools between 1931-1941. In 1935, Atatürk dictated a new research program to Afet İnan and Hasan Cemil Çambel. In order to train scientists who would conduct research on historical issues, the Faculty of Language, History and Geography was established in 1935. The Second Turkish History Congress was held in 1937. Foreign scientists also attended this congress.
1935 Turkish Language in terms of Etymology, Morphology and Phonetics October 1935 Sun Language Theory Principles and Sources pp 311-348 ABE Volume 27
Ataturk was reading foreign language books in his last years. The sun language theory is a result of this. However, in his last days of illness he said, “We have not yet reached stability in our language work, we need to work harder and harder.” Quoted by Afet Inan. March 1935.
1936 The part written for the introduction to history course by Afet Hanım, Vice President of the Turkish Historical Society, January 1936. The part written by Afet İnan for the introduction to history course. Source: Complete Works of Atatürk, Volume 28, p.152
1939 : Atatürk’s Turkish History Thesis was shelved
Ataturk and the Sumerians, Muazzez Ilmiye Çığ Would you like to learn about Ataturk’s revolutions and his connection with the Sumerians? If your answer is “Yes!”, then the Ataturk and the Sumerians book is for you. World-renowned Sumerologist Muazzez Ilmiye Çığ explains many topics in this book, from the relationship between Ataturk and Sumer to the revolutions of the republican era. Get ready for a fun and educational adventure from ancient history to the present! Let’s take a look at this unique book. Why should you read the book “Ataturk and the Sumerians”? Muazzez Ilmiye Çığ talks about a comprehensive historical process in her book. The work also references many documents and books of high historical value. The book, which touches on the importance that Ataturk gave to archeology and ancient civilizations, also touches on many different views and ideas. The book, which explains Ataturk’s revolutions and the importance that Ataturk gave to science, addresses sociological and philosophical elements together with the conditions of the period. The book, which sheds light on many political processes from secularism to democracy, also refers to articles and books written by Muazzez İlmiye Çığ. The author, who traces historical facts, also uses many articles and various interviews in the book. The author, who dates the beginning of Turkish history and culture to the Sumerians, also presents the reader with documents on the subject. A fluent and simple style is used in the book Atatürk and the Sumerians. The book, which blends myths, legends and historical facts, creates great appreciation in readers. This work in the history and research category is one of the unique books that every library should have.
- Turkish Historical Society
- Turkish Language Association
- Faculty of Language, History and Geography 1935
What is Atatürk’s Turkish History Thesis?
The Turkish History Thesis is based on the hypothesis that the origin of the white race is Central Asia. Accordingly, the people who were the ancestors of the Turks, who spread from Central Asia to the world in various waves of migration in different ages, established a significant part of the world’s civilizations.
