MESA Banner
The Servant of the Kurdish Language: Kurdîzade Ahmed Ramiz
Abstract
Diyarbekirli Kurdîzade Ahmed Ramiz (1878-1940) was an author of many books, a publisher (nâşir or tab‘), and an entrepreneur. He was the licensee (Sahib-i İmtiyaz) and responsible manager (Müdir-i Mesul) of the Kurdish newspaper, Kirmanç [Kurmanc], from April 5, 1910 (23 Mart 1326) and the responsible manager of the Turkish-Kurdish newspaper, Aşiret, whose licensee was Ahmed Süreyya Bedirkhan (1883-1938), from November 13, 1910 (23 Eylül 1326). He was also the owner of a bookstore, Kütübhane-i İctihad, in Beyazıd. Additionally, he was a very active Kurdish intellectual among the Kurdish population in Istanbul. His name can be seen in the list of the founders of the Society for the Spread of Kurdish Education (Kürd Neşr-i Maarif Cemiyeti) and the Society for the Strengthening of Kurdistan (Kürdistan Azm-i Kavi Cemiyeti). Diyarbekirli Kurdîzade Ahmed Ramiz had a close relationship with many intellectuals and publishers from different backgrounds and ideologies during the reign of Sultan Abdüllhamid II (1876-1909) and the government of the Committee of Union and Progress (İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti), including, for example, Abdullah Cevdet (1869-1932), Bediüzzaman Saidi Kurdî (1878-1960), Mevlanzade Rifat Bey (1869-1930), Dağıstanlı Hüseyin Kâmî Bey (Dehrî) (1878-1912), İsmail Hakkı (Amasya Mebusu), and Doktor Şerefaddin Mağmumî (1860-1931). Unfortunately, Kurdîzade Ahmed Ramiz has not been a subject of extensive study. As we can see he was a prominent figure before and during the Second Constitutional Era. I will explore the life and publications of Kurdîzade Ahmed Ramiz. Additionally, I will focus on Ahmed Ramiz’s role as the main figure within a network of intellectuals and publishers from different standpoints, and how they supported and worked together against the government in the first quarter of the twentieth century
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
Kurdistan
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries