Abstract:

This paper investigates the use and development of oaths in the Ottoman-Turkish political life from the constitutional monarchy to the republican era. It aims to determine the wording, symbols, and formulas used in the oaths, together with the values and the purposes represented by them in the political conjunctures of the period. Questions like “How did the new political actors who appeared on the stage in this process take their oaths?,” “At what stage did they use the oath in their political organizations?,” and “How did they activate the oath?” are addressed. Oath, a social and cultural concept, attained a political character during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecit, and by occurring in the provisions of the Kanun-i Esasi, it became a constitutional instrument. Oaths were used as an institutional instrument within the Young Turk organizations and subsequently during the National Struggle period. While oaths were shaped by the values and facts of the political actors, they gave direction to their ideals in the evolution process of the rule from person to institution, institution to regime, and empire to nation state. Used by almost every political actor and following a parallel path with the development and change of the Ottoman-Turkish political life, oaths had been an important political instrument.

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