Kırım’ın Sembol Şahsiyetlerinden Gerçekle Kurgu Arasında Alim Azamatoğlu
A Symbolic Figure of the Crimea: Alim Azamatoglu between Reality and Fiction

Summary/Abstract: Turkish nation who raised countless heroes throughout history always kept those values alive. There are numerous myths and epics emphasizing values such as heroism, bravery and courage, and a number of figures representing the national characters in the verbal culture of the Crimean Tatars who have a deep-rooted history. When we look at the more recent past we see that in the second half of the 19th century a hero named Alim Azamatoglu came to light in the life of Crimean Tatars. Over time, he took part in the historical memory, became a legend and was always respected as a national hero. Alim Azamatoglu, who fought against injustice on his own, became an extremely popular historical personage in Crimea in the second half of the 19th century and he was thought to have had been born between 1813-1815. As is known, after the khanate era the Crimean Tatars had a long period of time under the Russian invasion and oppression. The invasion not only was physical but also had a cultural dimension. As a result of the very cultural invasion happened in this setting, we have so limited information about Alim Azamatoglu as many other cultural values. What is known about him rather consists of what was told by his acquaintances and the rumors that arose over time based on these memoirs. Along with his courage, this hero is known with his character defending and guarding the weak against the unjust and arbitrary treatment both by the Tsardom authorities and by the wealthy segment of the society, in brief, taking from the oppressor giving to the oppressed. Backed with the support of the society he lived in, Alim was tried to be infamized as a brigand by the authorities of the era; however, this propaganda did not result in success. Our objective is to introduce this hero, who emerged from Crimean Tatars that lived in a specific historic period, and came to this day as a legend, with respect to his life, world-view and the values he fought for.

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