Committee of Union and Progress
Quick Summary
The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), often referred to as the Young Turks, was a coalition of reformist groups that spearheaded a revolution against the authoritarian rule of Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamid II. Their efforts led to the establishment of a constitutional government and introduced programs aimed at modernizing the Ottoman Empire and fostering Turkish nationalism.1
Initially formed by students in Istanbul in 1889, the movement gained momentum, with many leaders fleeing abroad to organize. Key factions included the CUP, advocating for reform under a strong central government and exclusion of foreign influence, and the League of Private Initiative and Decentralization, which favored administrative decentralization and European aid.1
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908, driven by discontented army officers, ultimately restored the 1876 constitution. However, ideological differences persisted, and the CUP solidified its control in 1913 under the leadership of Talât Paşa, Cemal Paşa, and Enver Paşa. While they implemented domestic reforms, including administrative centralization and secularization, their foreign policy decisions, such as entering World War I on the side of the Central Powers, led to the empire's dissolution. During this period, the CUP government also directed the Armenian Genocide. The CUP cabinet resigned in October 1918, shortly before the Ottoman Armistice of Mudros.1
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- Associations for the Defense of Rights
…whom were members of the Committee of Union and Progress, which was dissolved in 1918). In 1919 Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) arrived in Anatolia as inspector general of the 3rd Army and established contacts with the groups there. Mustafa Kemal resigned his post that July and persuaded the Association for…
Read More…whom were members of the Committee of Union and Progress, which was dissolved in 1918). In 1919 Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) arrived in Anatolia as inspector general of the 3rd Army and established contacts with the groups there. Mustafa Kemal resigned his post that July and persuaded the Association for…
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Ottoman EmpireThe Young Turk Revolution of 1908…came to call themselves the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP; İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti) and were commonly known as the Young Turks. When the plot was discovered, some of its leaders went abroad to reinforce Ottoman exiles in Paris, Geneva, and Cairo, where they helped prepare the ground for…
Read More…came to call themselves the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP; İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti) and were commonly known as the Young Turks. When the plot was discovered, some of its leaders went abroad to reinforce Ottoman exiles in Paris, Geneva, and Cairo, where they helped prepare the ground for…
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Young Turks…Turk organization known as the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which advocated a program of orderly reform under a strong central government and the exclusion of all foreign influence. A major rival faction was formed by Prince Sabaheddin. His group, called the League of Private Initiative and Decentralization, espoused…
Read More…Turk organization known as the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which advocated a program of orderly reform under a strong central government and the exclusion of all foreign influence. A major rival faction was formed by Prince Sabaheddin. His group, called the League of Private Initiative and Decentralization, espoused…
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Kemal AtatürkMilitary career…the dominant antigovernment group, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which had ties to the nationalist and reformist Young Turk movement.
Read More…the dominant antigovernment group, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), which had ties to the nationalist and reformist Young Turk movement.
Read More- Celâl Bayar
…the Smyrna branch of the Committee of Union and Progress directed against Sultan Abdülhamid’s autocratic rule. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, he joined the movement of Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) to resist the Allied occupation of Anatolia, organizing the national forces…
Read More…the Smyrna branch of the Committee of Union and Progress directed against Sultan Abdülhamid’s autocratic rule. Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, he joined the movement of Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk) to resist the Allied occupation of Anatolia, organizing the national forces…
Read More - Cemal Paşa
Cemal joined the secret Committee of Union and Progress while a staff officer, becoming a member of the military administration after the Revolution of 1908. A forceful provincial governor, he was made head of security forces in Constantinople and then minister of public works. When World War I broke…
Read MoreCemal joined the secret Committee of Union and Progress while a staff officer, becoming a member of the military administration after the Revolution of 1908. A forceful provincial governor, he was made head of security forces in Constantinople and then minister of public works. When World War I broke…
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Enver Paşa…in the politics of the Committee of Union and Progress, leading the coup d’état of Jan. 23, 1913, which restored his party to power. In the Second Balkan War (1913), Enver was chief of the general staff of the Ottoman army. On July 22, 1913, he recaptured Edirne (Adrianople) from…
Read More…in the politics of the Committee of Union and Progress, leading the coup d’état of Jan. 23, 1913, which restored his party to power. In the Second Balkan War (1913), Enver was chief of the general staff of the Ottoman army. On July 22, 1913, he recaptured Edirne (Adrianople) from…
Read More- Ziya Gökalp
…took part in the underground Committee of Union and Progress in Salonika (now Thessaloníki, Greece) and settled there as a philosophy and sociology teacher in a secondary school. He played a major role as an intellectual leader in this organization, which later virtually ruled the country. During that period he…
Read More…took part in the underground Committee of Union and Progress in Salonika (now Thessaloníki, Greece) and settled there as a philosophy and sociology teacher in a secondary school. He played a major role as an intellectual leader in this organization, which later virtually ruled the country. During that period he…
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Mehmed V…the absolute rule of the Committee of Union and Progress and by Turkey’s defeat in World War I.
Read More…the absolute rule of the Committee of Union and Progress and by Turkey’s defeat in World War I.
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Mehmed VI8, 1918, the nationalist–liberal Committee of Union and Progress had collapsed, and its leaders had fled abroad. The Sultan, opposed to all nationalist ideologies and anxious to perpetuate the Ottoman dynasty, acceded to the demands of the Allies. On December 21 he dissolved Parliament and undertook to crush the…
Read More8, 1918, the nationalist–liberal Committee of Union and Progress had collapsed, and its leaders had fled abroad. The Sultan, opposed to all nationalist ideologies and anxious to perpetuate the Ottoman dynasty, acceded to the demands of the Allies. On December 21 he dissolved Parliament and undertook to crush the…
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Mahmud Şevket Paşa…of 1908, which brought the Committee of Union and Progress to power, Şevket became commander of the 3rd Army at Salonika (Thessaloníki, now in Greece), in which capacity in 1909 he crushed a religious uprising against the Young Turk government, known as the 31st of March Incident, and deposed the…
Read More…of 1908, which brought the Committee of Union and Progress to power, Şevket became commander of the 3rd Army at Salonika (Thessaloníki, now in Greece), in which capacity in 1909 he crushed a religious uprising against the Young Turk government, known as the 31st of March Incident, and deposed the…
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Talat Paşa…being a member of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), the conspiratorial nucleus of the Young Turk movement. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, however, he became deputy for Edirne in the Ottoman Parliament, and in 1909 he was appointed minister of the interior. He became minister of…
Read More…being a member of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), the conspiratorial nucleus of the Young Turk movement. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, however, he became deputy for Edirne in the Ottoman Parliament, and in 1909 he was appointed minister of the interior. He became minister of…
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