Erdogan hails 953rd anniversary of decisive Turkish victory over Roman Empire as ‘victory of all Muslims’

You can read about the Battle of Manzikert, now called Malazgirt, in Empire of God: How the Byzantines Saved Civilization. In this battle, which took place in the year 1071, the Seljuk Turks smashed the army of the Roman Empire, devastating it to the extent that the whole of Anatolia, which had been the heartland of the Roman Empire, was open for their conquest. This battle, in other words, paved the way for the land to become what is now Turkey. The Turks are still in the process of completing the ethnic cleansing of the indigenous people of Anatolia, most of whom they have by now forcibly converted to Islam, driven into exile, or killed.

“President Erdoğan: Malazgirt is a victory for all Muslims, including the Turks,” translated from “Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan: Malazgirt, Türklerle birlikte tüm Müslümanların zaferidir,” Lider Haber, August 26, 2024:

“I wholeheartedly greet all of our 81 provinces and every individual of our 85 million people from here. We were in Bitlis and Ahlat yesterday. We embraced our youth in Ahlat, where the first tent was set up and the first arrow was fired. In the evening, we held our historic cabinet meeting at the Presidential Ahlat Complex. This first cabinet meeting held outside Ankara after 21 years under our presidency contained important messages. Then, we came together with our regional governors and mayors. Now we are in Malazgirt. We are with you on the anniversary of the Malazgirt Victory, which determined our history, our destiny, our direction and our eternal residence. In these lands where the doors of Anatolia were opened wide to never close again, Malazgirt, we are experiencing the joy of reaching the 953rd anniversary of the victory.

Today, we, as 85 million people, celebrate the anniversary of the glorious victory with pride, gratitude and excitement that has not changed for exactly 953 years. I offer my endless thanks and praise to our Lord who has shown us these days to our nation that brought us to these days. At the beginning of my words, I remember Sultan Alp Arslan and his honorable and brave soldiers with mercy. May their souls be happy. I say may their places be heaven. We remember with gratitude all our heroes who have been martyred and veterans since the first conquest movements so that the call to prayer would not be silenced, the flag would not be lowered, the hearth would not be extinguished, so that our nation would live in peace and with its forehead clean, so that foreign shadows would not fall on us and our independence would not be harmed.

The Malazgirt Victory is one of the epics of our nation’s thousands of years of unity and solidarity consciousness against oppression and the oppressor. Malazgirt is the victory of unity and unity against oppression. Look, exactly 953 years ago, Sultan Alp Arslan addressed his soldiers while riding his horse:

‘If I become a martyr, let this white dress be my shroud. I have dedicated my soul to Allah. For me, both martyrdom and victory are happiness. If we win the victory, the future is ours.’

That great sultan had given the good news that the future would be ours with the Malazgirt Victory 953 years ago. God granted Sultan Alp Arslan and his army a magnificent victory against an enemy four times his size on August 26, 1071. After the victory, we established our first state on these lands, the Anatolian Seljuk State, in Iznik, just 4 years later. We have continued to make Anatolia our homeland and keep it as our homeland for nearly a thousand years.

Despite the 953 years that have passed since then, the spirit of Malazgirt continues to flow like a waterfall of faith in Turkey and the Turkish and Islamic world. With God’s permission, unless the blue sky collapses above and the dark earth below opens, this spirit will continue to surround our hearts until the apocalypse. Every individual of this nation will continue to carry the same faith, the same love, the same ideal, the same sensitivity as the veterans and martyrs in the Malazgirt square. I pray that God will not separate us from the path of our heroic martyrs.

“MALAZGİRT IS THE VICTORY OF ALL MUSLIMS TOGETHER WITH THE TURKS”

Beyond a victory, Malazgirt is also the beginning of a construction and revival movement that gives birth to a homeland, a civilization. Because to make this land, this stone and geography a homeland requires spirit, culture, consciousness, and faith. Along with all these, the dough of those lands must be mixed with blood, kneaded with faith, and watered with sweat. As a nation, we made Anatolia our homeland after Malazgirt. We wove these lands stitch by stitch with love, affection, knowledge and wisdom. We filled every place we conquered with mosques and libraries. We declared to the whole world that Anatolia was the eternal and everlasting homeland of the Turks. The most critical step in the process leading to the conquest of Istanbul was taken in Malazgirt. The victory of Malazgirt was also a strategic turning point that paved the way for the conquest of Jerusalem. It is necessary to emphasize this here. Malazgirt is the victory of all Muslims, together with the Turks.

“OUR CAUSE IS TO MAKE THE LAND A HOMELAND AND THE HOMELAND SACRED”

In Alp Arslan’s army, Kurds, Arabs and Muslims from other tribes honored with Islam fought shoulder to shoulder against the enemy, and their blessed blood was mixed in these lands. The powerful alliance established under the banner of Sultan Alp Arslan has presented us with the glorious victory that we have been celebrating for 953 years. It is possible to see the legacy that Sultan Alp Arslan left us as only the conquest of Anatolia and not to understand it properly. That great Khan also entrusted us with a sacred cause together with Anatolia. Our cause is to take the divine word of Allah to every place where the sun rises and sets. Our cause is to be a hope for the oppressed, to be an ointment for bleeding wounds, to be a light for generations and ages. Our cause is to always stand by the right in the fight between right and wrong that will continue until the apocalypse. Our cause is to make the land a homeland and the homeland sacred.

“HISTORY EXISTS TO LEARN LESSONS AND WIN NEW VICTORIES”

Look, times change, centuries change but the soul does not. Even if generations change, blood is the same blood. Character is the same character. The soul, consciousness and character of those who threw themselves against the enemy in Malazgirt wearing their white shrouds and praying ‘Oh Allah, exalt the banners of Islam and do not leave alone the mujahids who have sacrificed their lives to serve you’ are still standing today. What does the poet say? ‘Every single individual of my nation is a soldier of Alp Arslan. Our thousand-year march is a red apple expedition. Our faith trembles on earth. Let our call to prayer, our state and our homeland be witnesses, they are the work of Malazgirt.’ Yes, our march is also towards the Century of Turkey. Under the guidance and light of the Malazgirt Victory, God willing, we will walk this path. We will properly protect the legacy of Sultan Alparslan. We will carry the spirit of Malazgirt until the last breath of our lives, and deliver it to the new generations who will take over the flag from us, with honor and glory. While doing this, we will never forget this truth. Those who do not learn history are forced to relive it. History is not for memorization, but for lessons and advice, to add new bricks to our world of civilization and to start new victories.

We need to see Malazgirt not only as a golden link in our glorious history, but also as a beacon illuminating our path on the way to the Turkey of 2071. Protecting Malazgirt is possible by bringing Turkey together with its roots, history, values ​​and most importantly its future with enthusiastic programs. Thank God, we are comprehending and reviving Malazgirt in this respect. I saw the signs of this in Ahlat yesterday. I see the good news of this in Malazgirt Square right now. Malazgirt is different today compared to last year. The youth of TEKNOFEST, who take Sultan Alp Arslan, who took his inspiration from Malazgirt as an example, as the heirs of the millennium, thank God, are raising our hopes. God willing, we will further strengthen this climate and this historical consciousness that has taken root in young hearts and minds.

“WE CAN ONLY RESPONSE ATTACKS IF WE STAND TOGETHER”

I would like to emphasize the following here: The Malazgirt Victory is the fruit of unity and togetherness, as well as faith and belief. We can only overcome difficulties as a nation if we stand together. We can only repel attacks against our homeland if we stand together. We can only shatter the darkness of infidelity if we stand as one. We will meet under the shadow of this delicate crescent as 85 million people, regardless of whether they are Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Sunnis or Alevis. We will achieve this by being one and big on the horizon line extending from 1071 to 2071 Turkey, especially with the struggle we will carry out against those who want to disrupt our brotherhood. We have not and will not allow those who try to separate us through our differences, to the centers of discord that try to sow seeds of discord between us. I say, May my Lord make our love and brotherhood permanent. On the 953rd anniversary of the Victory of Malazgirt, I remember our ancestors who made these lands their homeland with mercy and gratitude. Now I am addressing you with Yahya Kemal: ‘This storm that is breaking is the Turkish Army, O Lord. This is the army that died for you, O Lord. So that your name will rise with the call to prayer, victorious.