Noman Çelebicihan

Noman Çelebicihan
Noman Çelebicihan
Born	1885 Perekop
Died	February 23, 1918(1918-02-23) (aged 33) Black Sea Fleet
Cause of death	Execution
Nationality	Crimean Tatar

Noman Çelebicihan (Crimean Tatar: نومان چلبى جهان, Numan Çelebicihan) (1885–1918) was a Crimean Tatar politician, lawyer, mufti of Crimean Muslims, and writer. He was the first President of the short-lived independent Crimean People's Republic, established on November 26 (December 9 under the Gregorian Calendar), 1917. He is known for having written the poem "Ant etkenmen" ("I've pledged"), which became the Crimean Tatar national anthem. His early death at the hands of Bolshevik forces during the Russian Civil War is still commemorated in the Crimean Tatar nation.

Noman Çelebicihan was born in 1885, in the village of Büyük Sonaq, in Chonhar region of Crimea near the present-day city of Dzhankoy. Today the village does not exist and in 1948-68 was known as Chirik village within the Zavet Lenin rural council.

His father's name was İbraim Çelebi, a member of a well-to-do Crimean Tatar family. His mother also was from a well-to-do family, daughter of Cihanşah Çelebi. He received his early education in his village. Afterwards, due to lack of opportunity, Çelebicihan was sent to Gülümbey Medrese, one of the well known madrassas of that time, with the help of his uncles. Later on he was sent to Constantinople to further his education.

Noman Çelebicihan arrived in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire in 1908. He attended Vefa Lisesi (High School) and later Law School. He resided in Karagümrük section of Constantinople where a small group of Crimean Tatar students lived. One of the first organizations he founded, while a student in Constantinople, was "Yaş Tatar Yazıcılar Cıyını" (Young Tatar Writers' Association). He founded this association with his friend Abibulla Temircan in 1910, and published his first literary works such as Qarılğaçlar Duası (Swallows' Prayer), Altın Yarıq (Golden Light) and Şiirler Cönkü (Collection of Poems). He was one of the original founders of "Crimean Tatar Student Association" and also "Vatan" (Homeland), which became the seed for the political organization Milliy Fırqa (National Party) to carry on the independent movement in Crimea during the most turbulent period in its history.