[NOVEMBER 22, 1881–AUGUST 4, 1922]

Turkish Minister of War in the Ottoman Empire during World War I; better known as Enver Pasha

Ismail Enver was born on November 22, 1881, into a well-to-do family in Istanbul. His father was a civil servant. Enver studied in Germany, where he was particularly influenced by German military theory and organization, which he tried to emulate upon his return to the Ottoman Empire. He was quickly promoted in the army, attaining the title of Pasha (Bashaw) in 1913, when he was but thirty-two years old. He married Naciye Sultana, the Sultan's daughter. He was one of the leaders of the Committee for Union and Progress, also known as Ittihadists or Young Turks, together with Talaat Pasha and Cemal Pasha. He was a vocal supporter of a pan-Turkish Empire extending deep into the Caucasus, Iran, India, and Central Asia.

A bloodless revolution in July 1908 deposed Sultan Abdul...