To Search for Traces of Rumelia in Atatürk's Life

Ataturk's childhood passed in the days of Ottoman Empire’s decline of rule in the Balkans step by step. Each war entered was lost and borders were greatly shrunken. Migrations were realized eastwards from the old parts of dominance and there were big economic and social problems. To put an end to this bad trend, Ataturk took part in   communities founded by young officers and later he established “the Fatherland and Freedom Society” in Damascus. Having arrived in Salonika he became influential in the proclamation of the Constitution. As the Constitution was under threat in Istanbul, he became the chief of staff of “The Army of Action”. As a result of these efforts Abdulhamid II, who was seen as responsible for the bad situation, was deposed. Later with the First Balkan War, the Ottoman reign in the Balkans largely came to an end. Ataturk did not accept this consequence and constantly criticized those responsible for it. Ataturk accepted the loss of lands in which he was born in this way as an irresponsible action and sought the possibility of regaining them at the first opportunity. Even though Ataturk believed that war was a murder, while he was an ambassador in Sofia he said a war on the side of Germany was a great chance and opportunity. However the results went from bad to worse and this time he felt great sorrow when talked about Rumelia.