Ottoman 1916 Death and Incident Certificate Military Deserter WW1 Janissary Çankırı Army Kurdish
Ottoman Death and Incident Certificate – Military Deserter, Çankırı (1916)
Description:
This Ottoman Turkish document is an official Vefaat ve Vukuat İlmühaberi (Death and Incident Certificate), dated 3 Haziran 1332 (16 June 1916), concerning Yeniçerioğlu Şaban, son of Hüseyin and Zeliha. He was born in Ovacık Village, Çankırı, in 1311 (approximately 1896), was recorded as Muslim, and resided in House No. 106 in Ovacık Village. His death occurred at the Kürt İsmail Çiftliği of the Zeyveli Tribe on 5 Şubat 1331 (18 February 1916), with the cause of death recorded as hummâ (fever).
The document is particularly significant because of the additional handwritten notes attached to the certificate. These records indicate that Şaban Efendi, who came from a family identified with the Yeniçeri tradition, had been sent to the army but subsequently deserted (firar). After leaving military service, he became ill at the place known as Kürt İsmail Çiftliği and died there. His death and circumstances were subsequently reported to the relevant authorities, with the signature of the local gendarmerie commander appearing on the correspondence.
The attached correspondence further records that the information was communicated both to the Tuht Nahiye Gendarmerie Command and to the Tuht Nahiye Directorate. The combination of the official death certificate with these handwritten administrative notes makes the document particularly valuable, as it preserves not only the fact and circumstances of Şaban Efendi's death but also the bureaucratic process through which the authorities were informed of the death of a military deserter during the First World War.
The reference to the Yeniçerioğlu family name is also historically interesting, connecting the deceased with a family tradition associated with the Ottoman Janissary military class. The document therefore brings together military service, desertion, rural administration, gendarmerie records, and wartime mortality in a single primary source from the First World War period. Bearing numerous original seals and signatures, it is an unusually rich piece of Ottoman military and social history.
Key Features:
• Type: Ottoman Vefaat ve Vukuat İlmühaberi (Death and Incident Certificate)
• Date of Certificate: 3 Haziran 1332 (16 June 1916)
• Deceased: Yeniçerioğlu Şaban
• Father: Hüseyin
• Mother: Zeliha
• Birthplace: Ovacık Village, Çankırı
• Date of Birth: 1311 (approximately 1896)
• Religion: Islam
• Residence: House No. 106, Ovacık Village, Çankırı
• Place of Death: Kürt İsmail Çiftliği, belonging to the Zeyveli Tribe
• Date of Death: 5 Şubat 1331 (18 February 1916)
• Cause of Death: Hummâ (fever)
• Military Context: Attached correspondence records that Şaban Efendi had been sent to the army and subsequently deserted
• Administrative Correspondence: Information concerning his death was communicated to the Tuht Nahiye Gendarmerie Command and Tuht Nahiye Directorate
• Historical Context: First World War-era evidence concerning military desertion, death, gendarmerie administration, and rural Ottoman society
• Physical Features: Numerous original seals and signatures, together with attached handwritten administrative notes
• Collectible Significance: Highly desirable for collectors of Ottoman military documents, First World War material, gendarmerie records, Çankırı history, and rare Ottoman administrative ephemera.