Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ICOSEH International Congress of Ottoman Social and Economic History, Bucuresti, Romanya, 7 - 11 Temmuz 2025, ss.3, (Özet Bildiri)
Tripoli, known as Trablusgarb in Turkish, was one of the most remote provinces of the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. It was invaded by the Italians in October 1911. Despite the diplomatic efforts, Istanbul could not prevent the invasion and ultimately lost its last territories in the North Africa. In the aftermath of this event, which became a great tragedy for the Ottoman public, the allegation emerged that the Ottomans had left Tripolitania to its own devices—economically and socially—in the pre-invasion period. This neglect allegedly made the province vulnerable, and the influence Italy gained in the economic and social fields in this vacuum was said to have paved the way for the invasion. This narrative frequently appeared in the media. Using this framework, the Italians attempted to justify their occupation by claiming they were promising a bright future to Libya.
On the other hand, when the Ottomans were forced to abandon Libya to the Italians with the outbreak of the Balkan Wars, criticisms arose that Libya had been sacrificed—or even sold—to the Italians to preserve the Ottoman territories in the Balkans. These criticisms were widely published in both the Turkish and Arabic press. In this context, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was often accused of inexperience, ambition, and, in some cases, of prioritizing the Balkans over Arab lands as an extension of Turkish nationalism.
Taking into account both the Arabic and Turkish press, as well as the memoirs of influential Arab intellectuals and politicians of the time, such as Suleyman al- Bārūnī, this study investigates the immediate reactions to the loss of Tripoli and Cyrenaica among Arabs and Turks across the empire. It analyzes the discourse of perceived neglect or abandonment, examining how it was leveraged by both Arab and Turkish opponents of the CUP government.
Keywords: Italo-Turkish War, Tripoli, Abandonment, Ottoman administration, Italy