Mekteb-i AÅŸiret-i Humayun

The tribal school ( Ottoman مكتب عشيرت همايون, IA Mekteb -i ʿ Aşīret -i Humayun, " Great Gorgeous tribal school" ) was an Ottoman School, which was founded on September 21, 1892 by Sultan Abdulhamid II in Istanbul. Their goal was to more closely tie the sons of tribal leaders to the Ottoman state, as it was threatened in its survival. Initially, only sons of Arab tribes were admitted to the school. Later, Kurdish and Albanian tribal children were added.

The school can also be seen as an attempt to students and therefore the inhabitants of the Arabian and Anatolian provinces of the Ottoman Empire on the edge of state-sanctioned, almost bringing about national identities in accordance with the ideas of Ottomanism and Pan-Islamism.

The Ottoman state and the tribes

Nomadic tribes could hardly be recognized by the tax authorities of the empire. They were armed, obeyed the tribal law, organized raids in villages and towns and were a constant source of unrest. The government tried to promote the loyalty of tribal leaders by their education in the capital Istanbul.

1886 48 students were sent from distant provinces such as the Hijaz, Yemen and Tripoli to Istanbul and educated at the NCO School ( Harbiye ). Before these returned to their homeland, they were received personally by the Sultan and was awarded the title of adjutant of the Sultan ( Yaver -i Fahri ).

In the 1890s, tribal leaders were invited to Istanbul with the intention to move through the awarding of titles to become sedentary. This was the first time in the tribal leader of the Ruwala, Sheikh al - Sha ʿ Sattam lan, who was awarded the rank of Pasha and the Medjidie Medal Second Class. Several other leaders of nomadic tribes then asked also for an audience with the Sultan.

With the establishment of a tribal school in 1892, the loyalty of the tribes should be consolidated.

Foundation of the school

Sultan Abdulhamid II, who had great interest in the school, gave the instructions to set up and was an honorary director and founder. On July 6, 1892, Grand Vizier asked the Education Ministry to make the arrangements. The school should symbolically on the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed on October 4, 1892 ( Ottoman calendar 12 Rabi ʿ al - Auwal 1310) to be opened. There were a school regulations ( Nizamname ) and a curriculum established and appointed teachers. The Nizamname was adopted in late July by the Ministerial meeting. The provincial governors were instructed to look for appropriate students. As a school building should serve the unused Esma Sultan Konağı, lying in Kabataş district. The accommodations the student should be set up in five buildings in the Beşiktaş district.

The school was by a Director ( Müdir ) with a secretary ( Katip ) passed. For the appointment or dismissal of employees, for textbooks and curriculum, the Ministry of Education was responsible, but in the background chose the Sultan.

In the first year 50 students should be received between 12 and 16 and in the following years at age 40 each other. The cost of accommodation and meals were taken over by the government. In addition, each student monthly 30 Ottoman Kurus received. Under Article 4 of Nizamname only the sons of the most respected strains should be selected. But until one month before the opening of school, only 20 students were sent to Istanbul. Overall, there were fewer than the targeted 50 The students were brought by steamboats to Istanbul, where for the first time saw most of a big city. The impression and the presentation of modern civilization were planned in order to clarify the meaning of the kingdom and the center the students.

The opening address was delivered on October 4, Ministers of Education in Arabic. He emphasized in his speech the contrast between the "natural" world from which the students came, and the "civilized " world in which they now were. Each student was then photographed by the court photographer Abdullah Frères in traditional clothes. As a contrast, a group photo was taken, on which the students wore the school uniform and a fez as head covering. This photo took the Sultan as an advertisement for his policy to European and American libraries to send.

Curriculum

The training lasted five years and included subjects such as Islamic Sciences, Turkish spelling, calligraphy and French. During this period, the subject matter of seven years of state funds and college, the Rüşdiye and İ ʿ dâdiye was treated compressed. The students learned classical Arabic and Ottoman Turkish or and received three years of French and two years teaching Persian. To prepare them for their future careers and occupations, the curriculum also included technology education in the last year.

Source: Salname -i -i Maarif -i nezaret Umumiye 1316 p 296

School day

The examinations at the end of each school year lasted four weeks, and were carried out by two or three examiners per subject. There was a maximum of ten points, four points were needed to pass. Students with more than 90 % of the possible points were given a Aliyül ʿ a ʿ lā ( علی الاعلا / 'very good' ), with more than 80% of an A ʿ lā ( علی / 'good' ) and with more than 60% of a Carib - i a ʿ lā ( قریب علی / almost good '). Students with scores between 40 and 60 % received a Zayıf ( ضعيف / 'weak' ) and below 40% a Fena ( فنا /, inadequate '). In the tests from August 1894 fell four out of 23 students by. The highest failure rate, there were specialist Ottoman orthography. With few exceptions, the students reached more than 60 % of the points.

The students had to perform three issues that have been regularly inspected by the teachers. One of the books contained notes made ​​daily. In another a summary of the lessons a week was added at the end of the week. This book was the Director for the assessment of students. A third issue involved the weekly events. Errors were not retouched but had to be ruled out. The correct word was written about it.

Even letters to the families were controlled by the teachers, corrected and submitted to the Director. The student life was strict. The buildings were poorly heated and many students were ill, clothing and food were inadequate. The first winter, the students had to spend because of poor heating in the accommodation, Hofmusikergruppe. The classes met after class and lunch with the director to pray together, to express their gratitude to God, his prophet and the sultan.

The contact with the outside world was strictly controlled. On the way from their homes to the school building, students were accompanied by school staff. Friday mosque was visited for Friday prayers. Visits from the outside were prohibited.

Because of this nannying would sometimes cause unrest and to " misconduct" ( yaramazlık ). On the whole, it seemed that the students were more alienated from the original target, rather than to bind more to the Ottoman Empire.

Career after finishing school

If a student after five years graduated from school, he was 17-21 years old. In front of him were either from the Military Academy ( Mekteb -i Harbiye ) or the School of Administration ( Mekteb -i Mülkiye ). However, the graduates were not on the same level as the high school students because they had to deal with the subject matter of seven years within five years. But even in the universities, the teaching material has been compressed for them. During the regular university studies lasted three years, the graduates of the tribal school joined the University from after only one year. Behind it the intention of the Sultan, to bring as soon as possible many tribal sons in high positions.

Graduates of the tribal school were taught in separate classes. So it was at the military academy own tribal class ( Aşiret Sinifi ). The curriculum were subjects such as religion, practical and theoretical topography, civil and military criminal law, military formations and maneuver exercises.

The School of Administration also had a special class ( Sınıf -ı mahsus ) for the graduates of the tribal school. Some subjects were civil law, administrative law, principles of management, philosophy, Turkish, Persian and Calligraphy. The test results decided on the later position in the administration.

Apparently, the graduates were not as well trained as the regular graduates of the School of Administration, so that they were increasingly used in remote provinces. They received 350 Kurus per month. First, they worked as assistants of the governor ( maiyet memuru ) of their home province. Later, they were mostly as managers of communities ( Nahiye müdiri ) or as Kaymakam.

1897 included the first 45 students from the universities. Of these, 33 went to the infantry or cavalry, the other twelve worked in the imperial administration.

Closure of the school

The school was closed in February 1907 after the students went on strike because of bad food. The students were sent back to their homeland. In the building of the Kabataş İ ʿ was housed dâdiye ( Kabataş college).

It turned out that the school had missed their targets mainly. Firstly, the numbers of school had increasingly taken over the years, since it was difficult to convince the tribal leaders from sending their sons to Istanbul. That had to do with the fact that in the years 1876 to 1909 the number of Rüşdiye ( middle schools ) from 250 to 600 and the İ ʿ dâdiye (universities ) had increased from 5 to 104. Many of these schools were in the Arab provinces, so that the tribal leaders sent their sons prefer the closer schools, which also dealt with the visitation less restrictive.

For the students, the training was quite successful in many cases. 45 of 88 students in the first three years studying at the military and administrative academies. Many were Kaymakam, two were awarded the rank of Pasha and five were later in the Ottoman Parliament.

Whether the goal is a stronger loyalty to the Sultan has been reached, it can be stated more difficult. Some graduates remained loyal until the end of the empire and continued to work in the Turkish Republic, while others were advocates of Arab nationalism and acted against the Reich.

References and Notes

Swell

• Archive of Turkish Prime Minister (short AMP). Documents with a Y are from the Yıldız Palace of the Sultan. Both quoted in Eugene L. Rogan, 1996.