Hamit Zübeyir Koşay

Hamit Zübeyir Koşay (* 1897 in Tilenkçi Tamak, Mincele (now Menselinsk in the Republic of Tatarstan ), † 1984 in Ankara) was a Turkish archaeologist and ethnologist.

Life

Koşay was the son of the scientist Ubeydullah Efendi. With the support of his brother- Rızaeddin Fahreddin he was sent for training in 1909 in Turkey. After completing his education at Central High School in Selanik, at the beginning of the Balkan Wars, he went to Istanbul, where he began a teacher training, which he completed in 1916. After listening to lectures in anthropology and Hungarian, he continued his educational studies at the Eötvös College continues at Ne'meth Gyula in Hungary. After receiving his doctorate in philology and Turkish studies, he went to Germany to the University of Berlin and studied Turkish Linguistics at Wilhelm Bang - Kaup. In 1925 he returned to Turkey and took a job in the Ministry of Education. From 1938 he was responsible for the restoration of the building of the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Later, he became director of the Ethnographic Museum in Ankaraund Director of the Department of Antiquities and Museums in the Ministry of Culture. Koşay retired in 1969.

As a member of the Turkish Historical Society Koşay was involved in numerous excavations in Turkey, including in Alaca Höyük, Kumtepe, Pazarlı and Büyük Güllücek.

Koşay was a member of numerous Turkish and international scientific institutions, including the German Archaeological Institute, and a founding member of the Turkish Historical Society and the Society for Turkish language. He is regarded as one of the preeminent archeologists of Turkey.

Publications

In addition to excavation reports and numerous works on ethnological topics Koşay also published under the pseudonym Şerafettin Işık a novel and short stories:

• Yuvak Tasi, novel, 1947
• Dokuz Ötkünç, nine short stories, 1929
• Cıncık ( Keban Baraji Öyküsü, Cincik, the history of Keban dam ), 1973