The Human Rasing System of the Ottoman Empire and Its Effects on the Establishment of the Republic of Turkey

Abstract

The curricula of education systems, education and training programs, the philosophy of education in a country, the mission that was assigned to education by the society, educational instruments and goals determine the quality of human resources with the learning methods and strategies which are implemented by them. They provide clues with respect to what the educated human resources have done throughout history and how the quality of such resources will be shaped in the future as well. The Turkish communities that sometimes lived in solidarity with each other and sometimes as separate states for long periods of time in the past, contributed significantly to world civilization with the civilizations they themselves formed. The homeland of Turks is Central Asia. The territory of this homeland stretches from the Caspian Sea to the Khingan Mountains, from the North Siberian Lowland to the Pamir Plateau in the south, the Altun Mountains and the northern provinces of China. The oldest and most heavily populated place where the Turks mingled with each other is the area between the Caspian Sea and Lake Balkhash in this vast geographical region. The Turkish tribes that left Central Asia en masse from time to time stretched across China, India, Iran, Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia and the eastern part of Europe as well as the Balkans and the middle of Europe and established states under various names, the most famous of which are the Turkic Khaganate, the Kara-Khanid Khanate, the Seljuk Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire, which is the last great Turkish Empire according to the present day, dominated the world for almost 600 years with its unique features. Unfortunately with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, The Turkish society dissolved and was captivated to a large extent in the 20th century. It was again the core of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey, which was able to overcome the captivity of the 20th century for the first time within the Turkish communities and Turkey gained independence thanks to the significant resistance in Anatolia. The other countries of the Turkic World had no other way but make a choice between the Western Bloc or the Eastern Bloc. This very right of preference caused the 20th century to be the century of captivity for the Turkic World. Although the starting point of education dates back as far as the humanity, its development as a scientific field is considered new. The lifestyles and the social structures of different states established by Turks determine the History of Turkish Education. The History of Turkish Education includes all the activities performed for the sake of education starting from the period in which Turks migrated from Central Asia to the present time. The history of education which contains a very long period of time goes well beyond the scope of this study, therefore; the Ottoman education system and the influences of this education system on the founders of the Republic as well as the effects of the Ottoman education system on the founders' shaping the new Turkish Republic will be discussed in this article.