Max Von Oppenheim's political and cultural activities in the Ottoman Empire

This thesis examines the activities of Max Freiherr von Oppenheim who acted on behalf of the German Empire during the Wilhelmine Period. The purpose of this study is to clarify the aims and motivations of Oppenheim during these years. In this regard the sources are the Ottoman archives, which includes significant information about the activities, Oppenheim's own books and other researches that had been done about him. Working in Cairo until 1909, Oppenheim wrote countless of reports to German Foreign Ministry about the Islamic World and their problems. In 1909, French and English pressure was finally enough for Germany to dismiss Oppenheim and he gave up his post in the consulate. But Oppenheim did not want to leave the area and he appealed for an excavation permission to Ottoman government about the Tel Halef ruins which he discovored in 1899. With the permission he acquired, Oppenheim started his excavation in 1911 but he furthermore continued his activities like he was still Consulate's employee. Oppebheim's career had reached a peak when the First World War broke out. Germany's declaration of war to England, France and Russia brought Oppenheim a chance to finally carry out his plans about the Islam and the Muslims. In October 1914 he wrote a memorandum in which he asserts the need for Muslim subjects of the Entente Powers to rebel against them. He later established "Nachrictenstelle dür den Orient" (NfO) to implement his plans. NfO's primary task was to carry Oppenheim's memorandum into action. Acting under the German Foreign Ministry, NfO stayed active until the end of the war. On the other hand, Oppenheim himself came again to Ottoman Empire in 1915 to personally execute the plans. Alongside the encouragement of rebellions he tried to expand Germany's economic interests in the Ottoman Empire. In İstanbul, he organised "Kaiserlich Deutsche Botschaft Nachrichtenstelle Konstatinople" -a new institution- for these purposes.