The Ottoman Empire's Last Poet: Mehmed Akif and the National Anthem

The Last Ottoman Parliament: How Ankara Defied the Sultan

In January 1920, the Ottoman Parliament in Istanbul adopted the Misak-ı Milli (National Pact), a bold manifesto that declared the indivisibility of Ottoman lands and rejected Allied plans for partition. This episode traces the dramatic weeks from the parliament's secret meetings to its dissolution by British forces on March 16, 1920. We explore the key figures: Reşat Hikmet, the parliamentary president; Ali Fethi Okyar, a young deputy loyal to Mustafa Kemal; and the last Ottoman Speaker, Ahmet Celalettin. The tension between Sultan Mehmed VI's government in Dolmabahçe and the rising nationalist movement in Ankara comes to a head. The parliament's defiance accelerated the Allied occupation of Istanbul and pushed Mustafa Kemal to establish the Grand National Assembly in Ankara. This is the story of the last gasp of Ottoman constitutionalism and the birth of a new Turkish state. #MisakıMilli #OttomanParliament #ReşatHikmet #AliFethiOkyar #AhmetCelalettin #MehmedVI #MustafaKemal #Ankara #Istanbul #AlliedOccupation #TurkishNationalMovement #1920 #Lausanne #Sèvres #History #FexingoHistory #WorldWarI #OttomanEmpire Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

How the Allied Ultimatum Ended the Ottoman Empire

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the final days of the Ottoman Empire through the lens of the Allied ultimatum that forced Sultan Mehmed VI to abdicate and abolished the sultanate in 1922. They trace the events from the Mudros Armistice in 1918 to the Turkish War of Independence, focusing on the political maneuvering in Istanbul and Ankara. Key figures include Mustafa Kemal Pasha, the last grand vizier Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, and the religious authority of the Şeyhülislam. The episode examines the role of the Sultanate and Caliphate in the empire's collapse, the Allied occupation of Istanbul, and the final abolition of the sultanate by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Drawing on primary sources and recent scholarship, the hosts unpack how a centuries-old dynasty ended not with a bang, but with a series of political compromises and foreign pressures. #OttomanEmpire #MustafaKemal #SultanMehmedVI #MudrosArmistice #TurkishWarOfIndependence #AbolitionOfSultanate #Caliphate #Ankara #Istanbul #AlliedOccupation #Şeyhülislam #Saltanat #Hilafet #TBMM #AhmetTevfikPasha #LausanneTreaty #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Last Ottoman POWs: British Captivity and the End of Empire

When the Ottoman Empire surrendered in 1918, tens of thousands of its soldiers were already in Allied prisoner-of-war camps, many held for years after the guns fell silent. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten story of Ottoman POWs in British hands — from the surrender at Kut to the camps of Egypt and Malta, and the political weaponization of prisoners during the Turkish War of Independence. They discuss the harsh conditions, the role of the Red Crescent, the prisoner exchanges at Mudros, and how the fate of these men became entangled with the struggle between the Istanbul government and Mustafa Kemal's nationalist movement in Ankara. Drawing on recent scholarship and personal memoirs, the episode reveals how captivity shaped the final collapse of the empire and the birth of modern Turkey. #OttomanEmpire #POWs #WWI #Kut #BritishEmpire #Malta #Egypt #RedCrescent #MudrosArmistice #MustafaKemal #TurkishWarOfIndependence #PrisonerExchange #Hilal-iAhmer #Ankara #Istanbul #GenevaConvention #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Last Caliph: How Turkey Abolished the Caliphate in 1924

After the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the Treaty of Lausanne was signed, Mustafa Kemal faced a final decision: what to do with the caliphate itself. This episode follows the abolition of the caliphate in March 1924, the exile of the last caliph Abdülmecid II, and the debate within Turkey's Grand National Assembly over whether Islam needed a political figurehead. We discuss the role of the caliphate during the war, the rivalry between Ankara and Istanbul, and how a single vote in a small Ankara chamber ended a 1,300-year-old institution. Along the way, we touch on the caliphate's symbolic power in the Muslim world, the protests in India and Egypt, and the quiet last words of a caliph who spent his remaining days painting in a Paris suburb. #OttomanEmpire #Caliphate #Abolition #MustafaKemalAtatürk #AbdülmecidII #TurkishWarOfIndependence #TBMM #Islam #1924 #Ankara #Istanbul #LausanneTreaty #IndianKhilafatMovement #Exile #FexingoHistory #History #MiddleEast #Turkey Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

How the Allied Occupation of Istanbul Ended the Ottoman Empire

In November 1918, weeks after the Mudros Armistice, Allied warships sailed into the Bosphorus and began a military occupation of Istanbul that would last nearly five years. Lucas and Luna explore how British, French, and Italian forces controlled the Ottoman capital, dissolved the parliament, and arrested nationalist leaders. They discuss the role of General Harrington, the sultan's collaboration, the rise of the Karakol resistance network, and how the occupation galvanized support for Mustafa Kemal's Ankara government. The episode also covers the final Allied evacuation in October 1923, just days before the Republic was proclaimed. Featuring details on the Allied High Commission, the 1920 raid on Parliament, and the silent struggle over the city's future. A story of imperial collapse and national rebirth in the streets of Istanbul. #OttomanEmpire #Istanbul #AlliedOccupation #MudrosArmistice #MustafaKemal #TurkishWarOfIndependence #GeneralHarrington #Karakol #SultanMehmedVI #SevresTreaty #Occupation #Resistance #LausanneTreaty #History #FexingoHistory #WorldWarI #MiddleEast #Turkey Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]