Adolf Farkas
Sándor Adolf Farkas | |
|---|---|
 Photograph of Macar Osman Pasha | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 November 1822 Moravia, Austrian Empire |
| Died | 29 May 1898 (aged 75) Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Cause of death | Suicide or heart attack |
| Spouse | Emine Rıfatî Hanım |
| Children | Nigâr Hanım Ali |
| Occupation | Teacher |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | |
| Branch/service |
|
| Years of service | 1848–1898 |
| Battles/wars | |
Sándor Adolf Farkas (30 November 1822 – 29 May 1898), also known as Farkaş Osman Paşa and Macar Osman Pasha (Turkish: Macar Osman Paşa, lit. 'Hungarian Osman Pasha', Hungarian: Farkas Oszmán pasa), was an Ottoman pasha of Hungarian descent. Like many other Hungarian and Polish revolutionaries, he fled to the Ottoman Empire after the revolution of 1848 and served in the Ottoman army until his death. Farkas was the father of one of the first Turkish female poets, Nigâr Hanım.
Background
[edit]Early life
[edit]Sándor Adolf Farkas was born on 30 November 1822 in Moravia, Austrian Empire to a Hungarian family. Not much is known about his early years other than that his family moved to Nagyvárad when he was young.[1]
Hungarian Revolution of 1848
[edit]Farkas was a participant in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. In Transylvania, he was one of the aide-de-camp's of Polish national hero Jozef Bem, who would also later become an Ottoman pasha. On 27 March 1849, under Dániel Ihász's and Bem's commands, he fought in a victorious three-hour battle fought at the Turnu Roșu Pass (Vöröstoronyi-szoros). Farkas served as captain in Szamosújvár. The last major battle of the revolution that Farkas fought in was at Krassó-Szörény county.[2]
With the failure of the revolution, he fled to Turkey like most of the leaders of the revolution (Lajos Kossuth and the majority of his cabinet, Jozef Bem, György Klapka, Henryk Dembiński, Józef Wysocki, György Kmety, and many more).
Emigration to the Ottoman Empire
[edit]Crimean war
[edit]Farkas moved to the Ottoman Empire and converted to Islam, taking the name Osman Nihalî. He served in the Crimean War and quickly rose in military rank. As a major, he served as one of Omar Pasha's aide-de-camp and was mostly active in the Danubian front of the war. For a time, Farkas was assigned to the general staff of the Commander-in-Chief of British soldiers sent to Crimea, Lord Raglan.[2]
Marriage
[edit]In the early 1860s, Farkas married the daughter of Grand Vizier Mehmed Fuad Pasha's sealer (İzmirli Nûri Bey), Emine Rıfatî Hanım. Although they were said to be happily married for around 30 years, they divorced in the last years of Farkas' life. One of the children from this marriage was born in 1856, shortly after the end of the Crimean War; Nigâr Hanım, one of the first Turkish female poets. Another child they had was a boy by the name of Ali.[3]
Later life
[edit]Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
[edit]In 1870, Farkas was appointed as a teacher at the Turkish Military Academy by Sultan Abdulaziz. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), Farkas was personally tasked with delivering orders from Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Istanbul to Gazi Osman Pasha during the Siege of Plevna. On one occasion, he was nearly killed by Russian cavalry whilst attempting deliver a message. Farkas was mostly based in Istanbul during the war and welcomed Hungarian visitors to his house. On 20 July 1888, Farkas was made pasha.[2]
Visit to Budapest
[edit]During a visit to Budapest in the late 1880s, Farkas met with editor-in-chief of Pesti Hírlap, Nándor Borostyáni (husband of Irma von Troll-Borostyani), who called him a "brave old man". He said that Farkas rarely spoke Hungarian, but followed events in Austria-Hungary through newspapers. Aside from spending time with his family, his most enjoyable pastimes were reading books in his large library and producing music (especially with the piano). Farkas had a harem and several wives other than Emine Rıfatî Hanım, including a Circassian woman.[4]
Death
[edit]The circumstances of Farkas' death are debated. It is said that Farkas went on his daily walk but on the way, he died from a heart attack in Büyükada and fell into the sea.[2] Even though her daughter, Nigâr Hanım, writes in her memoirs that he did not seem suicidal, witnesses of Farkas' death said that they saw a man in military uniform deliberately jump into the sea and drown himself instead of shouting for help. If he did indeed commit suicide, its reasons are unknown but he was described as being melancholic and nostalgic because he missed his family and homeland dearly, which may have been a motive for suicide. Among those in Hungary who offered condolences for his death was member of Parliament Frigyes Podmaniczky.[1]
After his death, Nigâr Hanım received a letter of condolences from the National Museum of Transylvanian History in Kolozsvár which asked if she could send as many belongings of her father as possible. She replied by saying that it would be an honour to entrust her father's belongings to the "chivalrous" Hungarian nation. Nigâr Hanım gave this letter and Farkas' possessions to her oldest son, Münir, who would present it to Ödön Széchenyi, another important Ottoman-Hungarian pasha, so that he could send it to the museum. Ödön Széchenyi wrote that "Most of the [Hungarian and Polish] refugees either passed away or left the country. Therefore, I will try to forward everything these revolutionaries [in Turkey] left behind to the museum".[5]
Citations
[edit]- ^ a b Atlasz, Márton (29 December 1912). "Nigar Hanum egy Török Költönö" (in Hungarian). Budapest: Pesti Napló. p. 33.
- ^ a b c d "Farkas Oszmán Basa" (PDF) (in Hungarian). Vol. 45, no. 24. Hungary: Vasárnapi Ujság. 12 June 1898. pp. 414–415.
- ^ L., R. (21 June 1925). "Nigar Hanum hagyatéka" (in Hungarian). Budapest: Pesti Napló. p. 12.
- ^ Borostyáni, Nándor [in Hungarian] (2 March 1890). "Nygjar hanym" (in Hungarian). Budapest: Pesti Hírlap. p. 3.
- ^ "Egy török költönö" (in Hungarian). Budapest: Pesti Napló. 26 June 1898. p. 16.