Birth name | Ömer Fahreddin[1] |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Defender of Medina The Lion of the Desert[2] The Tiger of the Desert[3] |
Born | 1868 (November or December) Rusçuk, Danube Vilayet, Ottoman Empire |
Died | 22 November 1948 (aged 79–80) Eskişehir, Turkey |
Buried | |
Allegiance | Ottoman Empire (1888–1919) Ankara Government (1921–1923) Turkey (1923–1936) |
Service | Ottoman Army Army of the GNA Turkish Land Forces |
Years of service | 1888–1919, 1921–1936 |
Rank | Lieutenant general |
Commands | 31st Division, XII Corps, Fourth Army (deputy), Hejaz Expeditionary Force |
Battles / wars | Italo-Turkish War Balkan Wars World War I Turkish War of Independence |
Other work | Turkish 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]