Djemal Pasha, WWI Ottoman Military Leader

Rights Managed

SS2591626

BZ7218

Caption: "Djemal Pasha (left), commander of the Turkish 4th Army, with his chief of staff behind the frontline in Palestine." Djemal Pasha (May 6, 1872 - July 21, 1922) was an Ottoman military leader. Before the outbreak of WWI he supported an alliance with France, but his negotiations failed. Djemal, along with Enver and Talaat took control of the Ottoman government in 1913. The Three Pashas effectively ruled the Ottoman Empire for the duration of WWI. He was one of the designers of the government's internal and foreign policies, nearly all of which proved disastrous for the Empire. After the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Allies in WWI, Enver Pasha nominated Djemal Pasha to lead the Ottoman army against British forces in Egypt and Djemal accepted the position. He proved unsuccessful as a military leader. A military court in Turkey accused Djemal of persecuting Arab subjects of the Empire, and sentenced him to death in absentia. He travelled to Tbilisi where he was assassinated, together with his secretary, on July 21, 1922 by three Armenians, as part of Operation Nemesis, in retribution for his role in the Armenian Genocide.

New York Public Library / Science Source