Nuri Bey

Nuri Bey, whose date of birth has not been identified, was an Ottoman staff officer from Trabzon. On his gravestone he is introduced as one of the “Erkân-ı Harbiye miralays.” Erkân-ı Harbiye refers to the staff class of the Ottoman army, while miralay corresponds to the modern rank of colonel.

Nuri Bey’s most striking place in the history of military education is his teaching of tactics in the circles of the Military Academy and the Staff College. Tactics was the field concerned with the conduct of military operations, battle order and tactical principles. Trabzonlu Nuri Bey is especially mentioned among the teachers who influenced Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during his school years. Ali Fuat Cebesoy states that, among their new teachers, he and Mustafa Kemal most appreciated Trabzonlu Nuri Bey; he describes him as a cultured, enlightened staff officer for his time and a master of strategy.

It is also recorded that Nuri Bey did not limit his classes to the military subjects in the curriculum, but spoke to young staff candidates about matters such as guerrilla operations and the responsibilities of command. Some assessments made by Mustafa Kemal Paşa on guerrilla warfare during his Tripolitanian years are linked to the traces of the lessons he received from Trabzonlu Nuri Bey at the Military Academy.

Trabzonlu Nuri Bey died on 5 Jumada al-awwal 1332, corresponding to 1 April 1914, and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery. Memoir sources state that he died as the result of an accident before the war began.