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Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Collection of İclal Danişmend Correspondence & İsmail Hami Danişmend Family, IHMK.ms.1, Suna Kıraç Library Archive, Koç University.

Acquisitions Information

The collection was donated to Koç University by Müjde Gümüşoğlu and Metin Tekin in 2017.

Processing Information

Processed by University Archive Staff

Ismail Hami Danishmend, a Turkish historian and Turkish language researcher, is a very strong historian, literary and intellectual who has taken part among our heroes of national struggle, has given lectures in universities and has taken part in the national struggle heroes. İsmail Hami Danişmend was born in Merzifon in 1899. He is a descendant of Melik Dânişmend Gazi, the founder of the Dânişmendoğulları Principality. He knows Arabic, Persian and French very well and can read and understand German, Latin and Sumerian. His father was the governor of Cebel-i Garbî Emîr Mehmed Kâmil Bey and his mother Melek Hanım. After receiving a special education and graduating from Damascus, he went to Istanbul and entered Mekteb-i Mulkiye. In July 1912, he completed his education there. In September of the same year, he started to work as a secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But he quit because he was unfaithful to the civil service. In December 1912, he was appointed as a history teacher at the School of Finance. On December 14, 1913, the Dârülfünun Literature Department was appointed as assistant professor of religions, and three months later he was appointed as the deputy-teacher of political and civil history. On 30 November 1914, he was transferred to the Baghdad School of Law, where he remained until the disposal of Baghdad during the First World War.

Ismail Hami returned to Istanbul after the war Damad Ferid Pasha government did not give any task. Meanwhile, he was writing articles for the newspaper Minber, published by Mustafa Kemal. After the closure of Minbar, he started to publish Memleket newspaper with his own means. Between 10 February and 14 August 1335 (1919), he was the editor-in-chief and responsible manager of the daily newspaper. In the dark days of the Armistice, there was a glimmer of hope in Istanbul with its fiery writings defending full independence and encouraging nationalism. When the newspaper was closed by the government in July 1919 under the pressure of the Allied Powers because of the articles against the armistice, it continued its publication secretly until August. The last edition of the newspaper, which was distributed secretly by nationalist youth in particular, was a national declaration. For this reason, the government again under pressure from the Entente states took action to arrest Ismail Hami. Thereupon İsmail Hami moved to Anatolia and participated in the Sivas Congress, which was held on 4 September 1919, as the Istanbul delegate. He was elected as the clerk of the congress; during the congress he also served as general secretary and chief of the intelligence department. He also became the first editor of the newspaper İrâde-i Milliye, which was published in Sivas.

After winning the National Struggle, İsmail Hami Bey, who did not take an official duty, turned to historical research. He also wrote for various magazines and newspapers. He studied Turkish and Islamic history based on a Turkist main idea. Especially the various articles he wrote as the chief journalist of the monthly Turkism Journal, which was published on April 1, 1939, are of great importance in terms of history and literature. Ismail Hami Danishmend, who was fluent in Arabic, Persian and French, was able to read and understand German, Latin and Sumerian. He died on April 12, 1967 and was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.

His last wife, İclâl Hanım, whose letters and documents were included in this collection, was a historian like him. It is possible to understand in detail the effects of socio-economic and political conditions on the lives of ordinary people through the correspondence of the majority in 1930s, 1940s and 1950s rather than the dry narrative of official history. Letters of Iclal Hanım enable us to understand Türkiye from the years of her study at school, through the years when she was appointed as History teacher to practice her profession with all the details.

History.

Letters.

Ottoman.

Turkish.

Türkiye.

Danişmend, İsmail Hami, 1889-1967.

Adalet, Bahriye

Akay, Emel Vassaf

Aksel, M.

Altan, Dürdane

Arapzade Sait

Araz, Mualla

Asal, Zeki

Atik, Dürdane

Aybar, Raif

Babila, Hüseyin Bedrettin

Baran, Cemil

Baykurt, Şerif

Boranpay, Turgut

Demir, Halit

Erduran, M.

Erel, Salih

Erginarkan, Şükriye

Ersoy, Memduh

Erutku, Metin

Gökmen, Behçet

Gönenç, Yaşar

Göze, Ergun

Gümel, Abdullah

Güner, İmren

Güngör, Özdemir

Günsel, Şükriye

Günüç, Nazif

Gürol, H.

Handan

Hilmi

Kadan, Nimet

Kalabay, A.

Kalabay, Leman

Karpat, Emire

Koçoğlu, Muhlis

Mualla

Necmiye

Nevrolcu, Cemal

Onur, H.

Ömer, Taciser

Öngör, Turgut Hamdi

Ören, Ramazan

Özden, ?

Özen, Vahit

Özer, S.

Par, Galip

Par, İclal

Par, Nigar

Pekin, R.

Sahavet

Sağanak, Hadi

Sarı, Suna

Sözen, Gökçen

Tükel Sabahat

Tükel, Remzi

Tükel, Tuncer

Tükel, Yücel

Tümer, Kemal

Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Dahiliye Vekaleti

Ulutaş, S.

Ülgen, A. Cevat

Ünsal, Şadiye

Yetişen, S.

Yolal, Şaziye

Box 1

Correspondence: no. 1-102, dates 1938-1945

Letters: Hadi Sağanak and İclal Par letters

Box 2

Personal Correspondence & official and financial documents: no. 103-206, dates 1938-1945

Letters: Hadi Sağanak, Kemal Tümer, Raif Aybar and İclal Par letters

Official documents: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Interior and Arapzade Sait

Box 3

Correspondence, letters and legal documents: no. 207-321, dates 1908-1969

Letters: İclal Par, Hüseyin Bedrettin Babila, Bahriye Adalı, Halit Demir, and others

Legal documents: notary communiqué, court records, petitions, and other legal documents related to the testament of İsmail Hami Danişmend

Box 4

Personal correspondence: no. 322-408, dates 1931-1952

Letters and postcards: Galip Par, İmren Güner, Bahriye Adalı, Nimet Kadan, Nazif Günüç, Şükriye Günsel, Suna Sarı, and others

Box 5

Personal correspondence: no. 409-500, dates 1937-1951

Letters and postcards: Galip Par, Nigar Par, Şükriye Günsel, Tucer Tükel, and others

Box 6

Personal correspondence: no. 501-612, dates 1936-1951

Letters: İclal Par, Hadi Sağanak, Vahit Özen, Galip Par, and others

Box 7

Personal correspondence, documents, and telegrams: no. 613-715, dates 1895-1999

Letters: Galip Par, İclal Par, Hüseyin Bedrettin Babila, Hadi Sağanak, Emine Karpat, and others

Box 8

Personal correspondence and other miscellaneous documents: no. 716-794, dates 1919-1952

Letters: Galip Par, İclal Par, Hadi Sağanak, Leman Kalabay, and others