Fakhri Pasha

Fahruddin Turkhan
1304 (1888)-SV. 1[1]
Lieutenant General Türkkan (c. 1935–1936)
Birth nameÖmer Fahreddin[1]
Nickname(s)The Defender of Medina
The Lion of the Desert[2]
The Tiger of the Desert[3]
Born1868 (November or December)
Rusçuk, Danube Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
Died22 November 1948 (aged 79–80)
Eskişehir, Turkey
Buried
AllegianceOttoman Empire Ottoman Empire (1888–1919)
Ankara Government (1921–1923)
Turkey Turkey (1923–1936)
Service / branch Ottoman Army
Army of the GNA
 Turkish Land Forces
Years of service1888–1919, 1921–1936
RankLieutenant general
Commands31st Division, XII Corps, Fourth Army (deputy), Hejaz Expeditionary Force
Battles / warsItalo-Turkish War
Balkan Wars
World War I
Turkish War of Independence
Other workTurkish ambassador to Kabul

Omer Fahruddin Turkhan (1868-1948), commonly known as Fakhri Pasha and nicknamed the Defender of Medina, was a Turkish career officer who commanded Ottoman forces and served as governor of Medina from 1916 to 1919. His British and Arab opponents nicknamed him "The Lion of the Desert" and "The Tiger of the Desert"[3] due to his determined defence of Medina[4][2] from 10 June 1916 to 10 January 1919 during World War I.[5]

  1. ^ a b Harp Akademileri Komutanlığı, Harp Akademilerinin 120 Yılı, İstanbul, 1968, p. 19. (in Turkish)
  2. ^ a b Defence Of Medina Archived 9 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, İsmail Bilgin, ISBN 975-263-496-6, Timas Publishing Group.
  3. ^ a b S. Tanvir Wasti: The defence of Medina, 1916–19, Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 27, No. 4 (Oct., 1991), Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. pp. 642-653
  4. ^ "President, opposition continue reaction to UAE FM's retweet targeting Turks, Ottomans". DailySabah. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Fahreddin Pasha: Ottoman officer who defended the holy lands with all he had". Daily Sabah. 22 December 2017. Retrieved 24 December 2017.