Victory and defeat: the representation of the Manzikert and Kösedağ battles in Turkish history textbooks (1931–2018)

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

This study aims to conduct a critical and comparative examination of the portrayal of the Manzikert (Malazgirt) Victory (1071) and the Kösedağ (Kose Dag) Defeat (1243) in history textbooks used in the Republic of Turkey from 1931 to 2018, with a focus on ideological and political interventions in the content. Utilising document analysis, the researchers reviewed over 300 history textbooks used at the middle and high school levels between 1923 and 2020. Based on their alignment with the political ideologies and paradigm shifts of their respective periods (1931–2018), 11 textbooks were selected for review. The portrayals of victory and defeat in these textbooks were then analysed and compared using discourse analysis. In this context, the study evaluated how the Manzikert Victory, which played a crucial role in the Turkish conquest of Anatolia, and the Kösedağ Defeat, which led to the collapse of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rūm, were addressed in textbooks. The findings show the Manzikert Victory is portrayed in detailed, laudatory terms. In contrast, the Kösedağ Defeat receives brief, superficial treatment – differences reflecting the direct influence of shifting republican-era political paradigms on history textbooks.