A LITTLE-KNOWN RESOURCE REGARDING HISTORICAL GEOGRAHPY: ANATOLIA – STATISTICAL, ECONOMIC AND MILITARY GEOGRAPHY (Volume 1)

The purpose of this article is to introduce the book entitled “Anatolian-Statistical, Economic and Military Geography - one of the examples of the late Ottoman period (20th century) military geography literature - in terms of its features that can serve as a resource for historical geography studies through content analysis. Besides the main features of the book written by District Governor Mehmet Cemal serving in Erkan-ı Harbiye (War Academy at the time) in 1920-21, its importance in the literature, its scientific approach, its level of information, the ideologies it represents and its value reflected to the present day were reviewed in this article. The book, mainly written as a textbook with the use of field observations and secondary data, is regarded as one of the representatives of the Anatolianism movement in the field of geography. In the book, physical geographical features, as well as natural boundaries, of the Anatolian peninsula, which is defined as the real homeland, were revealed by the natural region approach. Accordingly, the coasts, mountains, plains and highlands of Anatolia and its rivers and lakes were classified and depicted with geo-morphogenetic and hydrographic approach. In addition, the effects of geographic factors on transportation lines and their geostrategic and geo-economic significance were also emphasized. Mainly consisted of depicted text supplemented with statistics, the book was supported by 48 cartographic drawings reflecting the general features of modern geography studies of the period. Although the descriptive information was made more scientific with statistical data, maps and cartographic drawings, the encyclopedic aspect predominates as it is not processed with the cause-effect and correlation principles. The book has particular significance as it introduces both the military geography literature of the late Ottoman period and the characteristics of Anatolian geography at the beginning of the 20th century. In addition to presenting the scientific and general idea structure of the period within the geography literature, it is also noteworthy that it exhibits the geographical features of Anatolia from a century ago. It is a particularly important resource for historical geography studies as it shows human elements such as location, accessibility, settlement names, usage, settlement texture and population of the places and elements examined via natural region approach and how significant these are in military, economic and social life. With a strong emphasis on Anatolia under the influence of the Anatolianism movement, today's Turkey is portrayed, so to speak, and answers to the questions such as what can be done for the development of the country and how the homeland could be made prosperous are sought. The book is an important source for geography and especially historical geography studies in that it reflects the scientific and general intellectual structure of the period in the geography literature, as well as exhibiting the geographical features of Anatolia a century ago.

Keywords

Historical Geography, Ottoman Geography Literature, Military Geography, Anatolia, Natural Region.