War minister among the Three Pashas who took the Ottomans into the war and was a main perpetrator of the Armenian genocide
Born in Constantinople, he joined the Committee of Union and Progress and became a hero of the Young Turk Revolution of 1908. After the 1913 coup he became war minister and ruled the empire with Talat and Djemal as the Three Pashas. He took the Ottomans into the First World War in alliance with Germany, and after losing most of his army at Sarıkamış in December 1914 blamed the defeat on the Armenians. He was a main perpetrator of the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian genocides. After the defeat he fled and was sentenced to death in absentia. He worked with the Bolsheviks, then in 1921 in Central Asia went over to the Basmachi rebels, and was killed fighting the Red Army in 1922.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1908Leader of the Young Turk Revolution
- 1913Raid on the Sublime Porte
- 1914–1918Ottoman War Minister
- 1914Defeat at Sarıkamış
- 1919–1920Sentenced to death in absentia
- 1921–1922Joined the Basmachi revolt