Having completed a BA in History at Bogazici University and an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford (St. Antony’s College), Muhammed Aslaner is currently doing a DPhil in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at St. John’s College. He specializes in late Ottoman history with a particular focus on military and social history of the First World War and of post-WWI independence movements in the Middle East. His DPhil research, tentatively titled “Ottoman Lands: The Kemalist Bid for Syria and Iraq (1918-1927),” focuses on the relations between the anti-colonial resistance movements in modern-day Turkey, Syria, and Iraq after the First World War. Muhammed is supervised by Professor Eugene Rogan and was awarded the OOC AHRC DTP scholarships, generously co-funded by Clarendon and All Souls College.
Research Interests:
Social, economic, political, and military history of the Ottoman Empire from the 19th century onwards.
History of the one-party period in Turkey and of the mandate regimes in the Middle East (1920s-1940s).
Political economy of the Modern Middle East.
Educational Background:
MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies (Distinction), St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford
BA in History (GPA 3.96/4.00), Bogazici University
Publications:
“Responding to the Arab Revolt: the Circassian Volunteer Cavalry and the defence of Ottoman Transjordan in the First World War.” Middle Eastern Studies, (May 2025): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263206.2025.2498531.
“Devlet, Kanun, ve Toplum: Kurtuluş Savaşı’nda Asker Firarileri Meselesine Sosyal Açıdan Yaklaşmak,” Toplumsal Tarih, (Ağustos, 2023): 38-44.
