Djemal Pasha
Ahmed Cemal (Ottoman Turkish: احمد جمال پاشا, romanized: Ahmed Cemâl Pasha; 6 May 1872 – 21 July 1922), also known as Cemal Pasha, was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Ahmed Djemal أحمد جمال باشا Pasha | |
|---|---|
| Minister of the Navy | |
| In office 10 March 1914 – 14 October 1918 | |
| Monarchs | Mehmed V, Mehmed VI |
| Preceded by | Çürüksulu Mahmud Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Hüseyin Rauf Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 May 1872 Midilli, Vilayet of the Archipelago, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 21 July 1922 (aged 50) Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Children | 5 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Ottoman Empire Emirate of Afghanistan (1920–1922) |
| Years of service | 1893–1918 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | Fourth Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Cemal was born in Mytilene, Lesbos. As an officer of the II Corps, he was stationed in Salonica where he developed political sympathies for the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) reformers. He was initially praised by Christian missionaries and provided support to the Armenian victims of the Adana massacres.
In the course of his army career Cemal developed a rivalry with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, served in Salonica on the frontlines of the Balkan Wars and was given the military command of Constantinople after the Raid on the Sublime Porte. Djemal's authoritarian three year rule in Syria alienated the local population who opposed Turkish nationalism. Djemal Pasha's role in the Armenian genocide has been controversial as his policies were not as deadly as other CUP leaders; Djemal favored the forced assimilation of Armenians.