Çorum in the National Struggle (1918-1923)

Çorum holds a distinctive place in the organisation of Turkey’s National Struggle (Milli Mücadele): it was never directly occupied, its Greek (Rum) population was very small, and it lay close to the centres where the resistance was organised. This page summarises developments in Çorum between 1918 and 1923, based on Chapter 4 of Çorum Tarihi (“Mütareke ve Kurtuluş Savaşı’nda Çorum” — Çorum in the Armistice and War of Independence), written by İlhan Tekeli. The political career of TBMM deputy speaker İsmet Eker, who chaired the session that declared the Republic, is covered on a separate page.

Çorum during the Armistice Period

After the Armistice, while Greek Pontus organisation intensified in the eastern Black Sea region, Çorum’s small Greek population and its distance from the coast kept that threat from reaching the district. According to the book, the threat felt in Çorum at this time instead came from traditional Anatolian bandit gangs: the Kördede gang around Ortaköy, the Musa Çavuş gang around Hamamözü, the Esat gang around Dörttepe and the Yırtma gang in the Harami Boğazı pass. These gangs were largely suppressed during the term of governor Süleyman Sami Bey (16 November 1918 – 5 April 1919), and — unlike the Greek gangs elsewhere — never turned into a resistance force (Çorum Tarihi, p. 199-200).

According to the book, the organisation of Kuvâ-yı Milliye (National Forces) resistance in Çorum began after May 1919, driven by two coinciding causes: the governorship of Hürriyet ve İtilaf-aligned Samih Fethi, which began on 6 April 1919, and Mustafa Kemal Pasha’s landing at Samsun on 19 May 1919. As the Hürriyet ve İtilaf Party, led locally by lawyers Kamil and Sabit, tried to re-organise in Çorum, it faced two rival forces: the now-disbanded but still influential former Committee of Union and Progress (İttihat ve Terakki) circle — which at this time included İsmet Bey (Eker), not yet an MP — and the İhtiyat Zabitleri Cemiyeti (Reserve Officers’ Society), founded during the First World War. According to the book, this society’s members met in a room on the upper floor of the Veli Paşa Hotel (Çorum Tarihi, p. 200-201).

The Road to the Sivas Congress

On 16-17 June 1919, Ali Fuat (Cebesoy) Pasha, together with Rauf (Orbay) Bey and companions, stopped in Çorum and stayed at the house of the Müezzinoğulları family, meeting local notables to draw their attention to the conduct of the Ankara governor and the Çorum governor. Ahead of the Sivas Congress called for by the Amasya Circular, and despite the obstruction attempts of Çorum governor Samih Fethi, two men attended as Çorum’s delegates: Mehmet Tevfik Efendi (Ergun), a madrasa-educated teacher, and Sâbıkzade Abdurrahman Dursun Bey, a literature teacher at the Çorum idadi — each concealing his true purpose in leaving Çorum (one claiming to be going to Malatya, the other to Erzurum). Velipaşaoğlu Şevket Bey played an important role in selecting and sending the delegates (Çorum Tarihi, p. 203-204). The book notes that Çorum was well represented at the congress, which convened on 4 September 1919 with limited overall attendance (p. 204-205).

After the Sivas Congress, a Müdafaa-i Hukuk (Defence of Rights) Society was also founded in Çorum, led by Velipaşaoğlu Şevket Bey; Sedat Efendi, originally from Istanbul, was among its active members (Çorum Tarihi, p. 206).

The Phrase “The Treacherous Scheme of Çorum”

In an 8.5-hour telegraph exchange on the night of 27-28 September 1919 between Mustafa Kemal Pasha and Abdülkerim Pasha — later included in Atatürk’s Nutuk (Great Speech) — the phrase “the treacherous attempt at Malatya, the treacherous scheme of Çorum, the desperate attempt at Konya” appears. The book notes that this phrase distressed the people of Çorum in later years, but that read in context, it does not accuse the people of Çorum: those blamed are the governors of the Damat Ferit Pasha government — chiefly Ankara Governor Muhittin Pasha — who plotted in Malatya, Çorum and Konya (Çorum Tarihi, p. 209). Indeed, Muhittin Pasha had come to Çorum to try to block the Sivas Congress, scheming with governor Samih Fethi and a regiment commander, but the plot came to nothing after Ankara intervened; both he and Samih Fethi were arrested and sent first to Sivas, then to Istanbul (p. 206-207).

Çorum’s Deputies in the Assemblies

In the election of 23 December 1919, Enbiyazade İsmet Bey (Eker) was elected as Çorum’s deputy to the last Ottoman Chamber of Deputies, which convened in Istanbul; sources differ on the identity of the second deputy (Çorum Tarihi, p. 211). After the British raided and dissolved that Chamber, a new election held in Çorum under the 19 March 1920 instructions sent Ferit Bey, Fuat Bey, Haşim Bey, Mumcuzade Sıddık Bey and Dr. Atıf Bey to the new Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM); when Dr. Atıf Bey resigned, Sâbıkzade Abdurrahman Dursun Bey took his seat. İsmet (Eker) Bey escaped from the group of deputies being deported from Istanbul to Malta, made his way back to Çorum via Samsun, and joined the TBMM on 21 July 1920 (Çorum Tarihi, p. 211-213).

In the Assembly’s early months, Dr. Atıf Bey — who had resigned his seat — and Kadifeoğlu Abbas attempted an uprising in Çorum. The book recounts this episode in detail, drawing on the account of İhtiyat Zabitleri member Mahir (Tümer): the pair tried to organise a movement against Ankara but failed after Çorum’s tradesmen and notables intervened, and fled via Samsun to Istanbul (p. 214-215).

Defending Çorum against the Yozgat and Zile Uprisings

In the summer of 1920, uprisings led by the Çapanoğulları family in Yozgat and by “caliphist” forces in Zile advanced as far as Sungurlu and Alaca, coming within 13 km of Çorum. According to the book, Çorum’s governor Cemal Bardakçı called a public meeting in response to this threat; following an appeal by cloth merchant Süccaeddinzade Mehmet Bey, a defence committee (chaired by Albaybeyzade Hacı Sait Bey) and a supply committee were formed, 200 armed volunteers enlisted on the spot, 160 men were assigned to village watch and communications duty, Hıdırlık Şeyhi Abbas Efendi had trenches dug on Hıdırlık hill, and the supply committee raised 15,000 lira in a single day (Çorum Tarihi, p. 218-219). Volunteer detachments were also sent from Osmancık and İskilip.

Through operations led by Colonel Refet Bey and Çerkez Ethem’s forces, Yozgat was retaken on 23 June and Alaca on 26 June 1920; a 150-strong militia from Çorum took part in the campaign. Çapanoğlu Halit Bey, the ringleader of the uprising, was captured after a second uprising attempt and executed by the Amasya court-martial (Çorum Tarihi, p. 219-224).

The Tekâlif-i Milliye Levy and Human Contribution

According to the book, as the War of Independence entered its later, conscription-based phase, Çorum’s contribution in manpower stands out: of the 36,236 soldiers killed in the War of Independence, the breakdown by recruitment office shows that Çorum, Alaca, İskilip, Mecitözü, Osmancık and Sungurlu together — recalculated to today’s provincial borders — lost 1,516 men, at a time when Çorum accounted for roughly 2 percent of Turkey’s population but close to 5 percent of its war dead. By the end of the War of Independence, 1,610 people in Çorum province had received the İstiklal Madalyası (Independence Medal) (Çorum Tarihi, p. 224).

The people of Çorum also carried out the Tekâlif-i Milliye (National Levy) orders issued during the Battle of Sakarya; the use of the Veli Paşa Hanı as a collection point under this levy is described on the Veli Paşa Hanı page. According to the book, Hıdırlık Şeyhi Abbas, encouraged by Refet Pasha, set up a transport network starting with 35 camels and 4 two-horse carts; by the time of the Battle of Sakarya this had grown to 68 camels and 40 carts (Çorum Tarihi, p. 224-225).

Aftermath

After the second Yozgat uprising was suppressed between September and November 1920, Çorum ceased to be a front-line resistance zone and instead became a governorate that supported the War of Independence with soldiers and financial resources. According to the book, İsmet (Eker) Bey, who worked closely with Mustafa Kemal throughout the war as part of the “first group,” was later elected deputy speaker of the TBMM in the Second Assembly, and in that capacity chaired the historic session of 29 October 1923 at which the Republic was declared (Çorum Tarihi, p. 225) — details are given on the İsmet Eker page.

Sources

• Çorum Tarihi (Çorum History), 5th Hittite Festival Committee; ed. Çorum Municipality City Archive, 3rd ed., Çorum Belediyesi Kültür Yayını, Çorum 2020, ISBN 978-605-84272-4-2 — Chapter 4, “Mütareke ve Kurtuluş Savaşı’nda Çorum” (İlhan Tekeli), p. 197-229. https://www.corum.bel.tr/public/uploads/2026/01/corumtarihi.pdf

Frequently asked questions

Who founded and led Çorum's Müdafaa-i Hukuk (Defence of Rights) Society?

According to the book, Çorum's Müdafaa-i Hukuk Society was founded after the Sivas Congress (September 1919) and was led by Velipaşaoğlu Şevket Bey.

Who represented Çorum at the Sivas Congress?

Despite the Çorum governor's attempts to block delegate selection, madrasa-trained teacher Mehmet Tevfik Efendi (Ergun) and Çorum idadi literature teacher Sâbıkzade Abdurrahman Dursun Bey attended the Sivas Congress in September 1919 as Çorum's delegates.

What does the phrase 'the treacherous scheme of Çorum' in Atatürk's Nutuk mean?

The phrase appears in a September 1919 telegram from Mustafa Kemal to Abdülkerim Pasha. According to the book, it does not accuse the people of Çorum, but targets the governors of the Damat Ferit Pasha government, such as Ankara Governor Muhittin Pasha, who plotted against the National Movement in Çorum.