PDF Dosyası - Ankara Üniversitesi Kitaplar Veritabanı

just offered, has been commonly made; and it surely offers one of thebest indicators of Atatürk's exceptional character.CONCLUSIONIs it only a coincidence that the northeastern corner of the Mediterraneanworld has done more than its share to stimulate the development ofworld history as a field of study? Two of the most important pioneers ofthe field, Arnold Toynbee and William McNeill, both began in Greekstudies. I cannot claim to walk their footsteps, and indeed my interest inworld history is secondary to my interest in Turkish studies; however, I,too, came to the study of world history through an interest in this part ofthe world. Toynbee's thinking about relations among civilizations wasgreatly influenced by his experiences in Turkey in the early days of thenational struggle. He had come to like the Turks, and what he saw stimulatedhis thinking about what happens when civilizations collide. Many ofhis ideas are now quite outdated, and his theories about Ottoman historyare quite maddening to anyone in Turkish studies. Hovvever, he wrote eloquentlyabout other facets of Turkish history, such as the early Turks ofthe steppes, or Mustafa Kemal and the early republic. And, as a scholartrained in classical studies, he believed that the nation state provides toonarrovv a canvas for the study of history.However eccentric Toynbee was, these are lines of thought that historiansof the Turks ought to take seriously. The Ottoman Empire, certainly,was no nation-state. And where indeed is there a canvas bigenough to depict the entire history of the Turks, if it is not the canvas ofcomparative global or at least Eurasian history? I hope the few things Ihave been able to say here today will stimulate others, too, to comtemplatethe Turkish experience in global perspective.98