22. Today in 1920s Turkey: 1 October 1923 (Global Dissatisfaction with Monarchies)

(Cartoon signed by Muhittin, Zümrüdüanka, 1 October 1923, no. 76, page 1.)

Comments:
Ninety-three years ago today the journal Zümrüdüanka featured this simple yet striking cartoon at the center of its cover page. The abbreviated imagery of this particular cartoon is accessible to a wide audience as the symbols employed are fairly universal ones. The globe, crown, and stomping action require very little elaboration. This “globally minded” man represents the civilized urbanite who rejects the paternalistic, self-interested monarchical orders of the past by destroying and desecrating their most visible (and most lavishly ornamented) symbol of authority and oppression.

The cartoon’s commentary is relevant to both domestic and international trends and current concerns. In the aftermath of the Great War (World War I) many monarchies collapsed including the Ottoman sultanate which was abolished a year prior, on 1 November 1922 by the Turkish Grand National Assembly Government. Other longstanding monarchical forms of government that were terminated during and after the war were those of the Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian administrations. The age of kingdoms and omnipotent rulers who drag their subjects into trivial wars is coming to an end according to this cartoon which credits this turning tide to the efforts of informed citizens (worldwide) who have realized their own capacity to rule themselves.

This cartoon was published at a time when the new Turkish state’s form of government had not yet been determined and thus this subject was a hotly debated topic at this moment ninety-three years ago. The state was still being run by the same temporary government established in Ankara in 1920 for the sake of organizing the Independence War (1919-1922). With the war won and the Ottoman dynasty abolished, now a new, permanent form of government needed to be agreed upon. Indeed, the government would be declared a Republic by the end of October of 1923.

English:
(Above) In response to the condition of the civilized [townsman].
(Below) The World: I am fed up with this crown!

Türkçe:
(Üstte) Vaziyet-i Hazıra Dolayısıyla
(Altta) Dünya: Artık bu taçtan usandım!!..

(Entire cover page, Zümrüdüanka, 1 October 1923, no. 76, page 1.)

Additional Notes: Zümrüdüanka is the name of a mythical giant phoenix and like most journals from this period, a depiction of this winged creature soaring high above the Istanbul skyline is included in the masthead above the cartoon. The rather elaborate illustration for the masthead is signed by the prolific cartoonist, İsmail Hakkı. His signature is located in the lower left corner of the masthead, next to the silhouette of the famous Maiden’s Tower (Kızkulesi). The journal’s title (زمردعنقا) is rendered in block-like letters which are reflected in the calm, crystalline waters of the Bosporus beneath.

(Masthead by İsmail Hakkı, Zümrüdüanka, 1 October 1923, no. 76, page 1.)