GİRİT’İN KAYBI ÜZERİNE YAZILAN BİR PİYES: GİRİT’İN FETHİ 1080
A PLAY WRITTEN ON THE LOSS OF CRETE: CONQUEST OF CRETE 1080

Summary/Abstract: The events and people giving directions to the history have been of a rich source to the litterateurs. The experiences lived in the history continue to lead the way as a topic to the literary works in later periods. A writer or a poet faces towards the history with various purposes such as to create a sense of history, learn lessons, strengthen spiritual body, and criticize an era safely. In the play called The Conquest of Crete 1080 written by Abdi Tevfik of Thessaloniki in 1327/1911, it is seen that the writer embraces a historical event to elevate the spiritual power of his nation and to criticize a specific era. The topic covered in this literary work is the problem of Crete which had never lost its actuality both during the period when the event took place and when it was exhibited as a play. In this literary work in which patriotism and the idea that part of the fatherland annexed with great sacrifices should not be lost are covered, the impact of the play Fatherland or Silistria by Namık Kemal is quite visible. Crete had a strategical importance for the Ottoman Empire for its hegemony in the Mediterranean. The conquest of the island was completed after challenging fights that had lasted around twenty-five years. Candia siege which concluded the conquest of Crete is covered in the play. In the play, the first campaigns which took place twenty-five years before the invasion of the fortress with flashbacks and the fights on the borders of Candia two and half years ago are revealed. It has been seen that the play The Conquest of Crete 1080 had not been transcribed into the Latin Alphabet. There is limited information about Abdi Tevfik of Thessaloniki and his literary works in the sources. In this study, I have aimed at contributing to the history of Turkish literature to some extent by analyzing a play on the loss of Crete.

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