Linguist and
historian (b. 23 July 1878, Taşsu / Kazan / Tatarstan - d. 20 February1957, Ankara). After
graduating from the Madrasah Muslim Theology School and teacher training school
in Kazan, he went to Paris to be educated in law, literature and sociology
(1906). On returning to Russia, he was elected as the Kazan deputy to the
former Russian parliament. After the October Revolution in 1917, he joined the
struggle of the Muslim Turks for autonomy and he became the President of the
İdil-Ural State. One year after the repartition of the state, he fled to
Finland. Then he went to France and gave lectures on Central Asian Turkish
History at the Sorbonne University (1923-25).
On being
invited by the government in Ankara, he came to Turkey and became a citizen of
the Republic of Turkey. During the single party period, he was elected the
Şebinkarahisar parliamentary deputy in 1931, the Giresun parliamentary deputy
in 1935, and the Ankara parliamentary deputy for the Democratic Party in 1950.
As a professor at Ankara and İstanbul Universities he gave lectures on law,
history and philosophy. The preface of his book, Türk Dili İçin (For the Turkish Language), was written by Atatürk.
But when Arsal argued that the words “Sümerbank” “Bay” (Mr), “Bayan” (Mrs) were
wrong, he fell out of favor.
WORKS:
TRAVEL
LITERATURE: Türk Dili İçin (For the
Turkish Language, 1930), İskitler- Sakalar (Iskits- Sakas, peoples of
Uzbekistan, 1934), Orta Asya Türk
Devletleri (Central Asian Turkish States, 1934), Hukukun Umumi Esasları (General Principles of Law, 1937), İngiliz Amme Hukukunun İnkişaf Safhaları (Development Period of
English Public Law, 1940), Teokratik
Devlet ve Laik Devlet (Theocratic
State and Secular State, a separate edition from the first volume of the
collaborative work called Tanzimat*-Ottoman
Reformation, 1940), Hukuk Tarihi Dersleri
(Lessons of the History of Law, 1942), Umumi
Hukuk Tarihi (General Law History, 1942), Hukuk Felsefesi (Law Philosophy, 1946), Türk Tarihi ve Hukuku (Turkish History and Law, 1947), Kutadgu Bilig (Wisdom of Royal Glory,
1947), Milliyet Duygusunun Sosyolojik
Esasları (Sociological Principles of the Feeling of Nationality, 1955).