Ayşegül Koca, M.A.

Doctoral Project

Guardians of an Empire, Founders of a Republic: The Lives of the 1902 Graduates of the Ottoman Imperial Military Staff College

The project focuses on the life stories of a class of 12 elite graduates of the Ottoman military academy who as military officers. The class of 1902 is of special interest, as its members pursued very different career paths – and many survived the wars to continue being active in later times. In Turkish studies, prosopographic research has so far concentrated on civilian elites; no thorough collective biography on military men exists. Moreover, while the military elite played a key role in modern Ottoman and Turkish history throughout, the time between 1924 to 1960 has rarely been examined as direct military interventions in politics did not occur in this period. Therefore, the role of the ex- officers, who had been fighting between 1911 and 1922, in early republican history remains unknown. The project steers a middle route between formal prosopography and deeper analysis typical for single biographies. In doing so, it embraces concepts of ‘post-new’ military history and focuses on neglected aspects of military culture in different times and regions. It is based on rich source material including archival material, memoirs, diaries, newspaper articles, and biographies.

Curriculum Vitae

In August 2019, she earned her master’s degree in History at Istanbul Şehir University, writing a thesis under the supervision of Professor Abdulhamit Kırmızı. Master Thesis: Fahreddin Altay (1880-1974): Under the Shadow of Militarism. In November 2021, she began his doctoral studies at the Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies where Professor Christoph K. Neumann is her doctoral supervisor.

Awards

2021-2022: Munich Graduate School for East and Southeast European Studies, Ph.D. Scholarship
2017-2019: The Turkish Historical Association, Graduate Scholarship in the History of the Republic of Turkey
2017-2019: Istanbul Şehir University, Full Tuition Fee Waiver Scholarship
2013-2017: The Turkish National Cultural Foundation, Undergraduate Scholarship
2012-2017: Middle East Technical University, Undergraduate Scholarship

Publications

In Preparation: Together with Associate Professor Resul Yavuz : “Büyük Taaruz Öncesi Büyük Hesaplaşma: Sakarya’da Zafer ve Yenilgi Üzerine Kısa Bir Değerlendirme” [The Great Showdown Before the Great Offensive: A Brief Evaluation of Defeat and Victory in Sakarya]

Conferences

2021: (Online) Young Historians Conference, National Struggle Research Association, Ankara, Turkey “A Master’s Thesis on Fahrettin Altay: A Different Perspective and Featured Guest Speaker”

2021: (Online) Graduate Seminar in Turkish Studies, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Munich, Germany “A Research Proposal: Guardians of an Empire, Founders of a Republic: The Lives of the 1902 Graduates of the Ottoman Imperial Military Staff College”

Work Experience (Selected)

2021: Volunteer Translator (Modern Greek into English), the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks, Ankara, Turkey, Translation of the Archival Materials (proofread by Assistant Professor Konstantinos Travlos) on the Military Operations of the Hellenic Army for the Research Project on the Military Geology of the Battle of Dumlupınar (the Last Part of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922)

2020: Volunteer Translator (Ottoman Turkish into Turkish), Istanbul Military Museum, Istanbul, Turkey, Translation of Major General Fahreddin [Altay]’s Book Under the Title “Military Operations of the Cavalry Units in the Turkish War of Independence” for the Exhibition on the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Sakarya (a Significant Part of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922)

2019: Volunteer Assistant to Professor Abdulhamit Kırmızı, Turkish Religious Foundation Encyclopedia of Islam, Istanbul, Turkey, Categorization of 8073 Biographies According to Their Genders, Authors, Geographies, Home Countries, Research Fields, Character Numbers and Introductory Statements

2018: Volunteer Translator (Ottoman Turkish into Turkish), Istanbul Military Museum, Istanbul, Turkey, Translation of the Archival Materials on the Production of the Chemicals, Artillery, Cavalry and Infantry Weapons at the Military Factories of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th and 20th Centuries for the Presentation on the Museum Objects