Ministry of Defense applies for Ottoman soldier’s belongings

ISTANBUL

AA Photo

The personal belongings of Ottoman soldier and politician Enver Paşa, which were provided by his family and put up for auction by Istanbul Müzayede on April 5, were bought by the Turkish Ministry of National Defense.

Before the auction, the ministry sent a letter to the auction company to buy 103 out of the 122 auction items, including Enver Paşa’s photos as well as his uniform, hat, staff officer diploma, cutlery, medals, photos from the Libya and Tripoli fronts, military maps and paintings.

After this application, the owner of the Istanbul Müzayede, Uğur Yeğin, decided to stop the sale of those items, putting only 19 items, including charcoal pencil paintings belonging to his Enver Paşa’s wife, Naciye Sultan, in the auction.

After applying for the items, the National Defense Ministry formed an “evaluation committee” and held talks with the auction company to determine the prices of the items. The commission will finish its price determination in a few days and display Enver Paşa’s 103 personal belongings in a special section at the Military Museum in Istanbul, which is affiliated with the Turkish General Staff. 

Enver Paşa was the main leader of the Ottoman Empire in both the Balkan Wars and World War I. After the 1913 Ottoman coup d’état, he became the minister of war for the Ottoman Empire and was considered the most powerful figure in the Ottoman Empire government.

He died on Aug. 4, 1922, in an armed attack in Tajikistan.