Abstract
Cenab Şahabeddin (1871–1934), who has an important place in Turkish literature as well as in Servet-i Fünun literature with his identity as a poet, journalist, and prose writer, is also one of the figures frequently associated with controversial and publicized events. During his term as professor of Turkish Literary History at the Darülfünun from 1919 onwards, he was frequently criticized for offending national feelings with his statements. He moved to the Peyâm-ı Sabah newspaper, owned by Ali Kemal, and took his place in the ranks of those who did not believe in national liberation. His overconfidence in his intelligence, his stubborn and sarcastic personality, and his sudden outbursts in moments of chaos surpassed his literary personality and caused him to be pushed into the background in the collective memory over time. For this reason, he was not only ignored but was also branded as a “traitor.” The main event that caused the negative judgments against him to be reinforced was the protests led by the students of the Faculty of Letters in April 1922. The protests, which started with Rıza Tevfik’s conference in which he declared that Fuzûlî was not a Turk, lasted five months, and the Ministry of National Education had to suspend education as the incident grew with the participation of various faculties. The case was closed with the resignation and dismissal of the dissident faculty members consisting of Rıza Tevfik, Ali Kemal, Hüseyin Dâniş, Barsamyan Efendi, and Cenab Şahabeddin. In this article, the poet’s opposition to the War of Independence and his suspension from the university, which occupy an important place in his biography and are the source of speculation about him, are attempted to be clarified in the light of archival documents and periodicals.
Keywords: Osmanlı Devleti, Millî Mücadele, Darülfünun, Cenab Şahabeddin, Protesto
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