Young Turks (original) (raw)
The Young Turks was the name given to a group of army officers who favoured reforming the administration of the Ottoman Empire. In 1908 the group rebelled against the rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid. Hamid was forced to summon a parliament in 1908. When he attempted a counter revolution in April 1909, he was deposed and exiled to Salonika. Several political parties were formed but in 1913 power was seized by the Committee of Union and Progress. This was led by three army officers from the Young Turks movement, Enver Pasha (1881-1922), Mehmed Talaat (1874-1921) and Ahmed Djemal (1872-1922). These men supported the Central Powers during the First World War but lost power when the Allies won victory in 1918.