ALMAN ASKERİ VE ALMANYA’DA HAYAT-I ASKERİYE AVANZÂDE MEHMED SÜLEYMAN

The Ottoman-German relations, which had been developing since the reign of Abdulhamid II, reached their peak during the İttihat ve Terakki period and as a result, Ottoman Empire entered World War I on Germany's side. The entry of the Ottoman State into the war as an ally of Germany brought about the intensification of the military, economic and cultural relations between the two countries which had been developing since the last quarter of the 19th century. Due to this intensification, the interest of both the state and the public toward Germany increased even more. Besides the news and articles about Germany written in newspapers and magazines, books and booklets about Germany were published as well. One of these authors is Avanzade Mehmed Süleyman. A versatile personality, he described himself as a pharmacist, but it is seen from his publications and studies that he has many other qualifications such as compiler,historian, literary historian, author, translator, and journalist. The author wrote most of his military works on Germany. In this study, one of the books he wrote about Germany, namely "The German Soldier and the Military Life in Germany", is in focus. The author claims that he wrote his work to provide brief information about his military life in Germany. However, the main reason of the author appears to promote Germany's military characteristics as an example to be followed. In this respect, we understand that he wrote the work with a pragmatic purpose. The work consists of general information and it is seen in many parts of the work that the author praises the Germans and the German army, and expresses the superiority of Germany with admiration and definite expressions. Considering the publication year of the work and the content mentioned, it can be inferred that the valid reasons for the alliance with Germany were presented to the public as a sub-message.