Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s Life deals with the life of Mehmet Akif Ersoy, one of the important figures of Turkish literature and the national struggle. In this article, we will examine in detail the events that Mehmet Akif Ersoy experienced throughout his life, his literary career and his place in Turkish history as the author of the National Anthem. Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s Life covers his childhood, his education processes in his youth and finally his contributions to the Turkish nation’s struggle for independence. In this process, we will try to understand the important turning points in Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s Life and his mindset.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s Life: Childhood and Education Years
Mehmet Akif Ersoy was born in Istanbul on December 20, 1873. His father, Tahir Efendi, was a teacher who graduated from Fatih madrasahs, and his mother, Emine Şerif Hanım, was the daughter of a family from Bukhara. Mehmet Akif’s childhood years were spent in a family environment that gave great importance to his education. After completing his primary education in a neighborhood school in Fatih, he continued his secondary education at Fatih Central Junior High School. After completing junior high school, he enrolled in Mekteb-i Mülkiye, but had to leave this school due to his father’s death and family problems.
Mehmet Akif continued his education at the Veterinary School and graduated from there with honors. He improved himself in Arabic, French and Persian throughout his education. Mehmet Akif Ersoy‘s life can be considered as a period in which his literary talents blossomed and he acquired the basic knowledge and skills that would make him a great poet in the future.
The Beginning of His Literary Career
Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s destiny took a new turn with the beginning of his literary career. While he was practicing his profession as a veterinarian, he also began writing poems. His first poems were published in the Servet-i Fünun magazine and he soon became known in literary circles. Mehmet Akif gave great importance to national and spiritual values in his poems and expressed the problems of society.
With the declaration of the Second Constitutional Era in 1908, Mehmet Akif began writing in Sırat-ı Müstakim and Sebilürreşad magazines. His poems and articles published in these magazines brought him together with a wide range of readers. Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s life became even richer during this period and his literary career experienced a significant rise.
The Period of National Struggle
Mehmet Akif Ersoy became even more important during the War of Independence. The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I and the subsequent occupations deeply affected Mehmet Akif. He went to Anatolia to join the War of Independence and encourage the people to resist. Mehmet Akif called the people to national unity and resistance with the sermons he gave in Balıkesir, Kastamonu and other Anatolian cities.
During this period, he wrote one of Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s most important works, the National Anthem. Mehmet Akif, who participated in the national anthem competition opened by the Turkish Grand National Assembly, did not accept the award and presented the National Anthem to the Turkish nation. The National Anthem, which was accepted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on March 12, 1921, is considered one of Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s greatest works throughout his life.
The Republican Period and Its Last Years
After the declaration of the Republic, Mehmet Akif lived in Egypt for a while. During this period, he began to experience health problems and returned to Turkey. Mehmet Akif spent the last years of his life in Istanbul. Mehmet Akif, who died on December 27, 1936, was buried in Edirnekapı Martyrs’ Cemetery. Although Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s life ended with his death, he continues to live in the memory of the Turkish nation with the works and ideas he left behind.
Mehmet Akif Ersoy tells the story of one of the most important figures of Turkish literature and the national struggle. With his ideology that took shape from his childhood, his rise in his literary career and ultimately his place in Turkish history as the author of the National Anthem, Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s Life draws a complex and impressive portrait. His life, with his contributions to the national struggle and the importance he gave to national values, has left a deep mark on the memory of the Turkish nation. Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s destiny was shaped by his leadership skills and literary genius, but he was eventually remembered with great admiration and respect.
The events that took place during Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s life are witnesses to one of the most important turning points in the Turkish nation’s struggle for independence. The events narrated in this article, Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s life and his devotion to national values are considered as an important legacy that will set an example for future generations. Mehmet Akif Ersoy’s life is a subject that must be examined in order to understand his place in Turkish history as a poet, thinker and national struggle hero.