On the night of 21–22 June 1919, a few officers sat in a barracks in Amasya and finished a two-page text. It went out on 22 June by coded telegram. The Amasya Circular (in Turkish, Amasya Genelgesi or Amasya Tamimi) is the document that organized the national struggle in Anatolia.
If you are visiting Turkey, you can see the town where it was written. If you are a student, this is the text that links the first resistance to the later congresses. Here is what it said, who stood behind it and how it reached the country.
What is the Amasya Circular?
The Amasya Circular is a document dated 22 June 1919. It set out the organizational goals of the National Struggle (Millî Mücadele). It was published in Amasya, a town in northern Anatolia.
The Atatürk Encyclopedia calls it the first national strategy document. In its words, it explained both the aims and the legitimate means of an organization working toward the founding of a new state. That matters. The text did not only protest. It also laid out a method.
The night before, on 21–22 June, its wording was settled. The Amasya Governorate says it was announced from the Saraydüzü Barracks on 21–22 June 1919.
Who wrote and signed it?
Mustafa Kemal Pasha was staying in the Saraydüzü Barracks in June 1919. The circular was written there. He dictated its main points to his aide, Cevat Abbas Bey.
Four names are listed as the main signatories in Amasya:
- Mustafa Kemal Pasha
- Rauf Orbay
- Ali Fuat Cebesoy
- Refet Bele
Ali Fuat Cebesoy joined the talks as commander of the 20th Army Corps in Ankara.
Two more commanders were not in the room. Kâzım Karabekir commanded the 15th Army Corps in Erzurum. Mersinli Cemal Pasha was the Inspector of the 2nd Army in Konya. Both were consulted by telegram while the text was prepared. Their approval was in hand before the circular was published.
Think of a group chat where one person needs everyone’s consent before posting. Here the “chat” ran on telegraph wires between three cities. Nothing went out until the absent commanders had said yes.
What the circular said
The text is short. The Atatürk Encyclopedia describes it as two pages with six main articles. Its message is easy to summarize.
It named the danger. The circular declared that the country’s territorial integrity and the nation’s independence were under threat.
It named a failure. It stated that the Istanbul Government was not fulfilling the responsibility it had taken on.
It gave an answer. The best-known sentence is this one. In its widely quoted form it reads: “Milletin istiklalini, yine milletin azim ve kararı kurtaracaktır.” In English: the nation’s independence will be saved by the nation’s own resolve and decision.
That sentence moves the center of action. It does not wait for a ruling from the capital. It puts the decision in the hands of the people.
The plan: a committee and a congress
The circular did not stop at warnings. It gave orders for what to build.
A national committee. The circular held that a national committee (millî heyet) was needed. Its task was to make the nation’s rights known to the world. It was also to work independently of outside influence.
A congress in Sivas. The circular decided that a national congress should meet quickly in Sivas. Sivas was described as a safe centre in Anatolia. If you look at a map, you can see the logic: it sits deep in the interior.
Three delegates per sanjak. Each sanjak (an Ottoman administrative district) was asked to send three representatives. These had to be people who had won the public’s trust.
No party quarrels. When choosing delegates, party divisions were not to be taken into account. The goal was a broad gathering, not a faction.
A second meeting in Erzurum. On behalf of the eastern provinces, a congress was planned in Erzurum. The date given was 10 July 1919. The members of the Erzurum Congress were then expected to join the general congress in Sivas.
So the plan had two steps. First, regional gatherings. Then one national meeting.
How the circular reached the country
The document went out as an encrypted telegram over Mustafa Kemal’s signature. The recipients were military commands, civil administrators and the boards of civil societies.
This was a deliberate choice. Telegraph lines were how orders and news travelled in 1919. A coded telegram could reach many offices at once.
Timeline
- 21–22 June 1919 (night): The circular receives its final form.
- 22 June 1919: It is sent by coded telegram to military and civil authorities and to the boards of civil societies.
- 10 July 1919: The planned date for the Erzurum Congress, as announced in the circular.
- 1944: The old Saraydüzü Barracks, where the circular was prepared, is demolished.
- 2007: A rebuilt barracks building on a different site is completed.
Details you won’t find in guidebooks
The cipher number. In the text reproduced by the Atatürk Encyclopedia, the circular opens with the note “Şifre 194” (Cipher 194). It reads like a telegram because it was one.
Six articles on two pages. The document is short. Its power came from clear points that any officer or official could read and act on.
Secrecy. The circular asked that preparations for the congress be kept secret. Delegates were told they could travel without revealing their identities when necessary. A congress meant to be national still began quietly.
A building that moved. The barracks where the text was prepared is gone. It was demolished in 1944. Because of landslide risk, it was rebuilt in a different place, and the new building was finished in 2007.
Seeing the place today
If you travel to Amasya, look for the Saraydüzü Barracks building. The Amasya Directorate of Culture and Tourism lists it as the National Struggle Museum and Congress Centre.
Keep one point in mind as you walk through. This is the rebuilt version, completed in 2007. The original barracks stood elsewhere and was pulled down in 1944. The museum remembers the place. It is not the room itself.
Why the circular matters
Before Amasya, resistance was scattered. After it, there was a written plan with a date, a place and a method. Delegates were to come from every sanjak. Party labels were to be set aside. The Erzurum meeting was to feed into the one in Sivas.
The circular also showed how decisions were made. Four officers signed in Amasya. Two more, far away in Erzurum and Konya, agreed by telegram. Only then did the text go out.
FAQ
When was the Amasya Circular issued?
It was issued on 22 June 1919. Its text received its final form during the night between 21 and 22 June.
Who signed the Amasya Circular?
The main signatories in Amasya were Mustafa Kemal Pasha, Rauf Orbay, Ali Fuat Cebesoy and Refet Bele. Kâzım Karabekir and Mersinli Cemal Pasha were not in Amasya, but their approval was obtained before the circular went out.
What did the Amasya Circular call for?
It called for a national committee that would make the nation’s rights heard abroad and work free of foreign influence. It also called for a national congress in Sivas, with three delegates from every sanjak.
Where was the Amasya Circular written?
It was written in the Saraydüzü Barracks building in Amasya, where Mustafa Kemal Pasha was staying in June 1919. The old barracks was demolished in 1944. A rebuilt building on a different site was completed in 2007.
Sources
- Atatürk Ansiklopedisi — Amasya Tamimi ataturkansiklopedisi.gov.tr
- Wikipedia — Amasya Circular en.wikipedia.org
- Vikipedi — Amasya Genelgesi tr.wikipedia.org
- Amasya İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü — Saraydüzü Kışla Binası amasya.ktb.gov.tr
- Amasya Valiliği — Saraydüzü Kışla Binası ve Millî Mücadele Müzesi amasya.gov.tr
- Türkiye Barolar Birliği — Kurtuluşun İlk Çağrısı barobirlik.org.tr
Image: Amasya Saraydüzü Barracks 7557.jpg — Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0