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DAYBREAK IN TURKEY
DAYBREAK IN TURKEY
BY JAMES L. BARTON, D. D. Secretary of the American Board AUTHOR OF “THE MISSIONARY AND HIS CRITICS,” “THE UNFINISHED TASK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH,” ETC. SECOND EDITION BOSTON THE PILGRIM PRESS NEW YORK CHICAGO Copyright, 1908 By James L. Barton THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. To the revered memory of that noble company of men and women of all races and creeds who have toiled and sacrificed and died that Turkey might be free, this volume is dedicated....
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
This book was not written in order to catch popular favor at this time of revolution in the Ottoman empire. All except the concluding chapter was prepared some time before the 24th of July, 1908, and the entire work was at that time nearly ready for the press. Much of the material had been used in the Hyde Lecture Course at Andover Seminary and in the Alden Lecture Course at the Chicago Theological Seminary. The chapter, “Turkey and the Constitution,” was written since the overthrow of the old r
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
One of the obstacles which lie in the path of the European when he wants to arrive at the true opinion of the Oriental is that the European, especially if he be an official, is almost always in a hurry. If, he thinks, the Oriental has anything to say to me, why does he not say it and go away? I am quite prepared to listen most attentively, but my time is valuable and I have a quantity of other business to do; I must, therefore, really ask him to come to the point at once. This frame of mind is q
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I. THE COUNTRY
I. THE COUNTRY
In attempting to understand this motley field, two principles of the empire must always be kept in mind. One is the Mohammedan principle, which allows non-idolatrous peoples to retain their religion on payment of a poll-tax, at the same time freeing them from military duty. The other is the Turkish principle, which allows different nationalities to remain distinct, but requires them to be represented before the sultan by a political or religious head. There is no assimilating power tending to un
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II. ITS RESOURCES
II. ITS RESOURCES
The dominion of the Ottoman clan, which should have been a mere passing phenomenon, like the similar dominion of another Tartar clan in Russia, owes its continuance, as we read its history, to three causes, two of them intellectual. The first is the extraordinary, indeed the absolutely unrivalled force displayed through ages by the descendants of Othman, the Tartar chief from Khorassan. The old line, “An Amurath, an Amurath succeeds,” has been substantially true. Sprung originally from a stock w
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III. HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT
III. HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT
Even now, when we all talk of the Turkish empire as moribund, it is doubtful if it will perish under any decay from within. The subject races do not grow stronger, as witness recent scenes in Armenia, where a single tribe, with only tolerance from the sultan, keeps a whole people in agonies of fear. The Arabs, full-blooded and half-caste, who might succeed in insurrection, find the strength of civilized Europe right across their path, and are precipitating themselves, in a fury of fanaticism and
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IV. THE SULTAN, THE HEART OF TURKEY
IV. THE SULTAN, THE HEART OF TURKEY
The general tendency of Islam is to stimulate intolerance and to engender hatred and contempt not only for polytheists, but also, although in a modified form, for all monotheists who will not repeat the formula which acknowledges that Mohammed was indeed the Prophet of God. Neither can this be any matter for surprise. The faith of Islam admits of no compromise. The Moslem is the antithesis of the pantheistic Hindoo. His faith is essentially exclusive. Its founder launched fiery anathemas against
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THE NUSAIRIYEH
THE NUSAIRIYEH
The Nusairiyeh number a quarter of a million souls or more and are perhaps the most degraded of all of the races in Turkey. They are also most difficult to classify religiously or ethnologically. Their religion is a mixture of ancient heathenism, the survival of certain Gnostic beliefs, tinged strongly with Mohammedanism. The Mohammedans claim them, as they do the Koords and Albanians. They dwell in the mountains north of Syria and along the Mediterranean coast as far north as Cilicia. Their ori
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THE MARONITES
THE MARONITES
The Syrian Maronites number not less than 250,000 and are scattered all over the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges. They are found in largest numbers in the northern districts of Lebanon and there they have control of local affairs. They are also found as far south as Mount Hermon in the country of the Druses. The hostility of these two races led to the massacres of 1860 in which thousands of the Maronites were slain. They take their name from John Maron, their first patriarch and political leader
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THE DRUSES
THE DRUSES
The Druses are a smaller sect numbering probably not more than 100,000, possibly less, and occupying the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon in touch with the Maronites. They are found as far north as Beirut and as far south as Tyre, extending even to Damascus. Their chief town is Deir-el-Kamor, about fifteen miles southeast of Beirut. They are decidedly a mixed race with the blood of the Crusaders mingling with that of native and invading peoples. They are a people of an unusually high order of intelligen
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THE JEWS
THE JEWS
The Jews are too well known in both ancient and modern history to demand space here. While they are found in considerable numbers in Syria, possibly as many as eighty thousand, they do not hold an important position in relation to the government of that country, or in the mission problems. While the Jews in Russia are always at the front, in Turkey they seldom appear. The Turks seem to have no fear that they will interfere in any way with the affairs of state. They do not command the prominence
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SYRIANS OR JACOBITES
SYRIANS OR JACOBITES
There is probably no distinct race in Turkey that may be called Syrian. Dwelling in Syria and extending north into Mesopotamia and east towards Persia are Christian peoples who do not belong to any of the races mentioned, but who are the direct descendants of the early Christian Church. This country has been the great meeting-ground of nations, over which have swept from time to time Egyptians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Mongols, Koords, and Europeans of every name and race. The presence of th
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THE GREEKS
THE GREEKS
The Greeks claim that they have the oldest Christian Church, since they are the heirs to the old Byzantine empire at Constantinople, and use even now in their worship the Greek of the apostles and the liturgy of the early fathers. They constituted the majority at the first seven ecumenical councils, dominating in no small degree by their philosophy and thought the doctrines there established. They contend with the Syrian Church over priority of origin. The political history of the Greek Church b
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VI. THE ARMENIANS
VI. THE ARMENIANS
When I was in Constantinople I felt the restless tossings of long enthralled nationalities awaking to the new destinies that might be theirs—Armenians thirsting for their lost country and dispersed people; Bulgarians panting and striving for freedom in a Greater Bulgaria; Egyptians claiming independence; Jews praying for a return to the land of David and Solomon; Greeks dreaming strange dreams of a greater and united Greece, yes, even of an eastern empire restored to them, with Constantinople as
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THE KOORDS
THE KOORDS
Besides the Turks and Armenians, no race in Turkey has commanded more attention during the past two decades than the Koords. They have attracted the notice of the world by their large part in the Armenian massacres in 1895-96 as well as by their relations to the sultan himself through the organization and arming of the Hamidich cavalry within the last quarter of a century. They were almost unknown and unheard-of except locally until they came into prominence at the time of the siege of Erzerum b
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THE TURKS
THE TURKS
In Turkey the word “Turk” is used only to designate a Mohammedan. A Greek who had accepted Islam would at once be called a “Turk.” It would be said of him that “he had Turkofied himself.” In its ordinary use, therefore, in Turkey it signifies a religious belief and that alone. The same may be said of the other names for nationality, such as Armenian, Greek, Jacobite, Yezidi, Koord, etc. Instead of using the word “Mohammedan” at this point we will consider this part of our subject under the title
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OTHER RACES
OTHER RACES
We need not speak at length of the Circassians, who in some respects are the most interesting race in Asiatic Turkey. These are Mohammedans who came into Turkey in large numbers after the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. Their business is primarily robbery. They are a race which must be reckoned with in the northern half of Asia Minor. We must pass over the Turkmen, or Turkomans, who can be traced back at least eight centuries. These are also Mohammedans and nomads in their habits. They are fou
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VIII. TURKEY AND THE WEST
VIII. TURKEY AND THE WEST
Only last year the Arabic paper, Es-Zahir, published in Egypt, said: “Has the time not come yet when uniting the suppressed wailings of India with our own groans and sighs in Egypt, we should say to each other, Come, let us be one, following the divine words, ‘Victory belongs to the united forces’? Certainly the time has come when we, India and Egypt, should cut and tear asunder the ties of the yoke imposed on us by the English.” On the other hand, Mohammed Husain, the editor of a paper at Lahor
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IX. A STRATEGIC MISSIONARY CENTER
IX. A STRATEGIC MISSIONARY CENTER
In Constantinople one does not fail to meet Greeks and Armenians who are bright and entertaining and obliging, or Mohammedans who are noble and courteous, and thoughtful enough to make their acquaintance an acquisition. But every study of the people in mass is a revelation of arrested development, absence of initiative, and general uselessness by reason of narrow selfishness. The city, and with it the millions to whom the city is model, seems hostile to what is best in the world’s work. High-sou
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X. SOCIAL, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS
X. SOCIAL, MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS
The second cause of the continuance of the Ottoman dominion has been less accidental. Like the early caliphs, and indeed all able Mussulman dynasties except the Persian, the ruling house of Turkey has for all these centuries maintained unbroken the principle that, apart from creed, ability is the only qualification for the highest service. Outside the navy, a Turkish grandee must be a Mussulman; but that granted, there is no obstacle of birth, or cultivation, or position standing in any man’s pa
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XI. CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
XI. CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM
The mind of the true Eastern is at once lethargic and suspicious; he does not want to be reformed, and he is convinced that, if the European wishes to reform him, the desire springs from sentiments which bode him no good. Moreover, his conservatism is due to an instinct of self-preservation, and to a dim perception that, if he allows himself to be even slightly reformed, all the things to which he attaches importance will be not merely changed in this or that particular, but will rather be swept
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EXPLORATIONS ALONG THE UPPER EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS RIVERS
EXPLORATIONS ALONG THE UPPER EUPHRATES AND TIGRIS RIVERS
In 1850 Rev. and Mrs. Dunmore were appointed missionaries to the city of Diarbekr, which had been previously visited by Dr. Grant and others. This city, known in classic history as Amida, is an ancient walled town upon the Tigris river located at the northern extremity of Mesopotamia. It was nearly a year before they reached their destination, having stopped for a time in Aintab and Urfa to study the Turkish language. The city was hot with persecution when they arrived, so that repeatedly the li
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XIII. ESTABLISHED CENTERS
XIII. ESTABLISHED CENTERS
So far as Americans are concerned, the missionary work in European Turkey and Asia Minor is and long has been almost exclusively in the hands of the American Board. In no part of the world has that Board or any Board had abler or more devoted representatives to preach the gospel, to conduct schools and colleges or to establish and administer hospitals. Their original aim was to infuse new life into the native Armenian and Greek churches, to rescue them from mere formalism, and to imbue them with
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XIV. BEGINNINGS IN REFORM
XIV. BEGINNINGS IN REFORM
I had occasion some years ago to visit a considerable part of Turkey, from Constantinople and Beirut to Mosul and Bagdad, and everywhere I paid particular attention to missionary conditions and the influence of mission work upon the people. This is a land assigned almost wholly to American Missionary Boards, and the influence is everywhere marked and excellent. The late Premier Stviloff told me in Sofia that but for young men educated by American teachers in Constantinople, Bulgaria when it beca
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XV. LEADERS, METHODS, AND ANATHEMAS
XV. LEADERS, METHODS, AND ANATHEMAS
I must frankly confess that when I first went to Turkey I was somewhat prejudiced against the missionaries there and missionary work, to this extent: As what, I suppose, you might call a high Anglican, I looked with a certain esteem and regard upon the old churches of the East and it seemed to me theoretically that the proper method of missionary enterprise was to try to cooperate with those churches, helping them to educate and evangelize themselves. As a result of contact first with the Congre
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XVI. RESULTS
XVI. RESULTS
I have had occasion to revert to the work of the accomplished and devoted band of American missionaries and teachers settled in these districts. In a thousand ways they are raising the standard of morality, of intelligence, of education, of material well-being, of industrial enterprise. Directly or indirectly every phase of their work is rapidly paving the way for American commerce. Special stress should be laid upon the remarkable work of the physicians, ordained or unordained, who are attached
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XVII. INTELLECTUAL RENAISSANCE
XVII. INTELLECTUAL RENAISSANCE
Education has accomplished more toward the regeneration of these lands than anything else. While it has been very broad, especially in the higher institutions, it has likewise been thoroughly permeated with Christianity. Though Robert College is not directly connected with any missionary society it “has exerted an incalculable influence for Christian life all over the empire. Among its graduates are many of the most prominent men in Bulgaria, and it is perhaps not too much to say that the nation
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XVIII. THE PRINTING-PRESS
XVIII. THE PRINTING-PRESS
I cannot mention the American missionaries without a tribute to the admirable work they have done. They have been the only good influence that has worked from abroad upon the Turkish empire. They have shown great judgment and tact in their relations with the ancient churches of the land, Orthodox, Gregorian, Jacobite, Nestorian, and Catholic. They have lived cheerfully in the midst, not only of hardships, but latterly of serious dangers also. They have been the first to bring the light of educat
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XIX. MODERN MEDICINE
XIX. MODERN MEDICINE
In the Turkish empire a remarkable impetus has been given to the material development of Asia Minor and Syria, which may be largely traced to the quickening influences of American missions. Mission converts are proverbially men of affairs, alert and progressive, and in full sympathy with modern ideals of progress. The change in their personal environment, and in the temper and spirit of their lives, testifies to new impulses, higher ambitions, and an enlarged and increasing sympathy with modern
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XX. STANDING OF MISSIONARIES
XX. STANDING OF MISSIONARIES
My purpose is twofold: first to show the American people the kind of work in which the missionaries in Turkey are engaged, and second to assure them from personal observation that these missionaries do not encourage revolutionists or the revolutionary spirit. I am surer of nothing than I am of this. If you could see them at their somewhat thankless tasks you would regard them as the most consecrated men and women on the planet, as far removed from fostering rebellion as heaven is from earth, mak
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XXI. COMPLETED WORK
XXI. COMPLETED WORK
What is in the future no man can tell, but the growth of pure religion in whatever form of church organization; the development of freedom of thought; the attainment of civil liberty, and that not merely for Armenia, but for Greek, Nestorian, Jacobite, and even for the Turk himself, depends upon the continuance of the influences for a higher life that have been at work during the past sixty years, and that depends upon the missionaries being supported at their posts. Theirs is no sectarian work.
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XXII. INDUSTRIAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGES
XXII. INDUSTRIAL AND RELIGIOUS CHANGES
In the year 1860, in a public address in the city of London, the Earl of Shaftesbury paid the following tribute to the character of the American missionaries in Turkey:— “I do not believe that in the whole history of missions; I do not believe that in the history of diplomacy, or in the history of any negotiations carried on between man and man, we can find anything to equal the wisdom, the soundness, and the pure evangelical truth of the body of men who constitute the American mission. I have s
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XXIII. AMERICAN RIGHTS
XXIII. AMERICAN RIGHTS
It has been stated by American officials in 1895 and 1896 that the missionaries, having forced themselves into Turkey against the will of the government, had no legal rights there and no claim to protection. The officials who made these statements must have been wilfully ignoring the facts of recent history. The missionaries were supported and encouraged by the three sultans, Mahmud the strong, Abd-ul-Medjid the weak, and Abd-ul-Aziz the weaker. They stand on a firm basis of treaties, special en
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XXIV. RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
XXIV. RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
One distinctive feature of Islam in Turkey—and this applies to nearly all Moslem races in the Ottoman empire except the Arabs—is that the Turk does not know the language of his sacred book. The Koran is as much a sealed book to the Turk as the Bible is to the peasant Roman Catholic of Central Europe. He knows, even if he is a peasant, many Arabic words and phrases, but although he may read the Koran, he cannot understand it; and it is, to the Mohammedan, a greater impiety to attempt to translate
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XXV. THE MACEDONIAN QUESTION
XXV. THE MACEDONIAN QUESTION
Mr. G. B. Ravndal , until recently United States consul at Beirut, Syria, is an intelligent and sympathetic witness of the progress of events in that part of the Turkish empire. He writes, with special reference to the commercial aspects of missionary advance, that “the Syria of to-day cannot be compared with the Syria of twenty-five years ago. Education is working wonders, raising the standard of living, multiplying and diversifying the requirements of the people, developing the natural resourc
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XXVI. GENERAL POLITICAL SITUATION
XXVI. GENERAL POLITICAL SITUATION
There are no indications of the presence of the “Young Turk” secret organization, but there is a growing discontent with the present régime. This is caused (1) by individual dissatisfaction with injustice, increased taxation and harsh military service; (2) by the racial ambition of Arabic speaking Moslems who regard the Turk as a barbarian and of doubtful orthodoxy, and are restive under Turkish rule which allots them few positions, civil or military. Many Arabs wish the caliphate assumed by one
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XXVII. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
XXVII. CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT
In the Mohammedan dominions of Turkey missionary institutions have graduated men who have in many instances occupied government positions on account of their superior capabilities, in spite of the fact that Christian officials are greatly handicapped by Moslem prejudices. In the case of the Bulgarian graduates of Robert College, it was said in 1902, by a missionary of the American Board then residing at Sofia, that “since the beginning of the national administration of Bulgaria, in 1878, there h
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