Black Musa
Born1880
Ottoman Crete, Ottoman Empire
(now Crete, Greece)
Died1919 (aged 38–39)
Üsküdar, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
(now Istanbul, Turkey)
Other namesSudanese Negro Musa, Sudanese Black Musa Bey, Black Moses
OccupationIntelligence officer

Black Musa (Turkish: Zenci Musa) or Sudanese Negro Musa (1880–1919) was a member of the Special Organization and a volunteer soldier in the Ottoman Empire; he participated in every war involving the empire from the Italo-Turkish War to World War I. He is known as Kuşcubaşı Eşref's aide and amir.[1] Musa was seen as one of the faces of anti-colonialism in the Ottoman Empire, and was renowned for his loyalty to the state.

Life

Black Musa was born in Crete in 1880. He was originally from Sudan. Upon his father's death, who he was living with in Crete, he moved to Cairo with his grandfather, who was an Ottoman enthusiast, and grew up in a neighborhood with Turks.[2][3][4][5] Musa became fluent in Turkish while living in this neighborhood. He voluntarily participated in the Italo-Turkish War with his grandfather in 1911. While in Tripolitania, he met Kuşçubaşı Eşref, who came to Libya to galvanize the local people against the Italians, and became his amir.[6][7] After the Italo-Turkish War, he participated in the Balkan Wars, the Sinai-Palestine Campaign, the Campaign in South Arabia during World War I, the Gallipoli campaign, and the Raid on the Suez Canal.[8][9][10][11] According to Kurdish–Turkish historian Cemal Kutay, during the occupation of Istanbul, a British Army general, Charles Harington, offered gold to lure Musa to the side of the British, but Musa did not accept it.[12] He carried out both armed struggles and intelligence activities in the wars he participated in. He died of tuberculosis in 1919 while living in Üsküdar Şeyh Ata Efendi's Özbekler Lodge.[13][14] His body was buried in the cemetery next to the Özbekler Lodge. Since the burial place still remains undiscovered, an epitaph was built in his memory in a designated place in the cemetery.[4]

An epitaph built in the memory of Black Musa in the cemetery next to the Üsküdar Özbekler Lodge.

Famed poet, writer, academic, politician, and the author of the Turkish National Anthem, Mehmet Âkif Ersoy, met Black Musa, who was with Eşref Bey, in 1915 during his trip to Arabia.[14][15][16] Ersoy later wrote the following lines of poetry about Black Musa:[3][4]

"Eşref Bey's amir Zenci Musa,
ascended from his shoulder Nebi İsa"

References

  1. ↑ "Kuşçubaşı, Eşref Sencer | International Encyclopedia of the First World War (WW1)". encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  2. ↑ Aşk Olsun. Efor Yayınları. 2016. p. 222. ISBN 978-605-82122-0-6.
  3. 1 2 "Mehmed Niyazi'nin Romanlarında Tarih Algısı" (PDF).
  4. 1 2 3 "Diyanet Dergi | Diyanet – Aylık Dergi – Aile – Çocuk – İlmi Dergi – Bülten". dergi.diyanet.gov.tr. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "Zenci Musa". Rusen.Org | Ankara Türkiye. 29 July 2017. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. ↑ "[ Yeni Safak Online – Gündem – Haber: Tarihin unuttuğu savaş – 22.4.2002 ]". www.yenisafak.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "Sudanlı bir Osmanlı kahramanı: Zenci Musa". Dünya Bülteni. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "Zencı Musa | Afro Türkler Dayanışma Derneği" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 27 February 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "Sudanlı Zenci Musa Hartum'da Anıldı". Hartum (in Turkish). 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  10. ↑ "Sudanlı Musa – Tvnet Belgesel Kitaplığı". www.tvnet.com.tr. Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "Request Rejected". www.tbmm.gov.tr. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  12. ↑ Cemal Kutay. Lavrens'e karşı Kuşçubaşı. The University of California. pp. 242–243. ISBN 978-975-98884-6-6. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  13. ↑ "Mehmet Niyazi Özdemir İle Adâlet ve Medeniyet Sohbeti". Kırmızılar Resmi Web Sayfası (in Turkish). 23 November 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Zenci Musa'nın tek kişilik destanı". Haber7 (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Mehmed ÂKıf Ersoy – TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Dijital Safahat". safahat.diyanet.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 31 December 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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