Western Anatolian Notables (Eşraf) During the National Struggle

"Eşraf", which has the same meaning as terms such as "âyan", "âyan-ı memleket", "mütegallibe", "mütehayyizan", "vücuh", which define the provincial elites, is an intermediary element that provides reconciliation between the state center and the provinces. The relations of the notables with the state transformed over time. This situation shows subtle but important differences for the Western Anatolia region, where feudal ties were broken as a result of being included in the market economy much earlier than in other parts of the country. The gentry of Western Anatolia increased their influence by adding their income from trade to their property wealth and added the important attribute of being educated. This article focuses on the notables of Western Anatolia, whose contribution to the National Struggle is constantly emphasized, but it is not clear what this contribution was or was not. Since the emphasis throughout the article will be on the activities of the notables of the region in the National Struggle, the change in the status of this group and the legal and administrative processes will be briefly emphasized. In addition, the reason why Western Anatolia, which includes the entire Aegean region, the south of the Marmara region, the west of the Mediterranean region and Eskişehir from the Central Anatolia region in today's geographical division, is chosen as the area of interest of the article is because these are the areas where the fate of the liberation struggle was determined. After defining the term "eşraf" in the article, the activities of the eşraf in the period from the occupation of Izmir to the signing of the Mudanya Armistice will be explained. In the creation of the text of the article, academic works describing the years of the National Struggle in almost every province in the Western Anatolia region will contribute. In addition, archival documents, printed works and periodicals of the period are included in the scope of the evaluation, as well as the memoirs written by military and civilian people who participated in the National Struggle will also be used as a source.

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