Identity
Rumeli – 1963, Mesudiye
Son of Ömer
War of Independence
Süvari (cavalryman)
In the War of Independence he fought as a süvari (cavalryman). After the war he settled in Istanbul and returned to his village in his old age.
Mesudiye Village biography
Eşref Cıvataş
Turkish War of Independence Cavalry (Rumelia – 1963 Mesudiye)
Turkish War of Independence cavalry veteran. Settled in Istanbul after the war, returned to Mesudiye in old age.
Born in Rumelia, exact date unknown. Eşref Cıvataş served as cavalry in the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922).
After the war, he settled in Istanbul rather than returning to Mesudiye — a path some veterans took, drawn by urban opportunity or simply unwilling to resume village life. He spent his working years there.
In his old age, he returned to Mesudiye and lived out his final years in the village before dying there in 1963. His story illustrates the diaspora-and-return pattern that recurs in Mesudiye's history.
Photographs
Biographical Summary
Eşref Cıvataş was born in Rumeli. His father is Ömer. His date of birth is not known with certainty. He belongs to one of the muhacir (migrant) families who grew up in the years of the Ottoman Empire's collapse and migrated to Anatolia.
When the War of Independence began, Eşref joined the defence of the homeland. He served in a süvari (cavalry) unit. Fighting at the front on his horse, Eşref is one of the two gazis (war veterans) of Mesudiye who took part in the War of Independence.
After the war came to an end, Eşref did not return to his village. He settled in Istanbul and spent his years there. When the Surname Law was enacted in 1934, he was given the surname CIVATAŞ.
Return to the Village in His Old Age
After spending his years in Istanbul, Eşref returned in his old age to the land where he was born and raised, to the village of Mesudiye. He spent the last years of his life in his village, among his fellow countrymen. The story of a gazi who came back from the speed of the big city to the calm of the village lives on in Mesudiye's memory.
Biographical Summary (continued)
Eşref Cıvataş died in Mesudiye in 1963. He is remembered as a gazi of the War of Independence who fought as a cavalryman, lived in Istanbul and in the end returned to his village.
Key Points
Birth: ?, Rumeli
Death: 1963, Mesudiye
Father: Ömer
War: War of Independence (1919-1922)
Unit: Süvari (cavalry)
Surname: CIVATAŞ (1934 Surname Law)