SèVRES, TREATY OF (1920)

Peace treaty signed by Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire after World War I.

World War I ended in the Middle East with the signing of the Mudros armistice by the Ottoman Empire on 30 October 1918; but the Middle East was only a small concern of the overall peace negotiations held in France in 1919—German issues took precedence.

Each nation and group came with its own agenda. British prime minister David Lloyd George, while mouthing all the proper slogans about goodwill to Middle Eastern peoples, was there to advance the interests of the British Empire. These included British-controlled sea and land routes to India and assurance that no other power be given important strategic areas. French president Georges Clemenceau, compensating for heavy French troop losses, adamantly adhered to each wartime agreement signed by the Allies that would give France a hold on Syria and southern Anatolia. He also hoped for dominance over the Turkish Straits and perhaps over what would become Turkey. U.S. president Woodrow Wilson came with his Fourteen Points.

In addition to the big three, representatives of other concerned nations and groups came to the peace negotiations, including the Hijazis, Armenians, Greeks, Italians, and Zionists. No permanent decision were made in 1919 in this atmosphere of claims and counterclaims.

At the end of 1919, British troops in Syria were replaced by French troops, giving the Arabs the impression that the Sykes–Picot Agreement would be upheld. In Palestine, anti-Jewish riots broke out. The Arab Syrian Congress elected Faisal ibn Hussein as king of Syria and his brother Abdullah I ibn Hussein as king of Iraq and tensions rose in Iraq and Egypt. Britain realized that a treaty for the Middle East could no longer be postponed and in April 1920 met with France in San Remo, Italy, to forge an agreement on their points of difference. This prepared the way for a peace settlement with the Ottoman Empire—and the Treaty of Sèvres was signed on 10 August 1920.

By this treaty, the Ottoman sultan recognized that his Arab provinces were cut off from his empire.
Control over the Straits went to an international commission. Arabia was recognized as independent and a British protectorate over Egypt was acknowledged. Syria and Iraq became provisionally independent under the newly created mandate system—with Syria to be under the French and to include Alexandretta, Aleppo, Damascus, and Beirut; France could deal with King Faisal as it wished. The state of Iraq was formed under British tutelage, with the province of Mosul attached to those of Baghdad and Basra. Palestine, including both sides of the Jordan river, became a British mandate as well, and the (pro-Zionist) Balfour Declaration of 1917 was written into it. Germany's shares of the Turkish petroleum Company went to France, and Britain got oil-pipeline transit rights across Syria. Britain and France immediately moved into their respective spheres, although the League of Nations mandates did not become effective until 1923.

The Treaty of Sèvres, imposed on the Ottoman government, was never ratified—because of internal Turkish affairs—namely the rise to power of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the overthrow of the Ottoman sultan. Thus the treaty became obsolete and final arrangements were put off until the Treaty of Lausanne, signed in 1923.

see also balfour declaration (1917); lausanne, treaty of (1923); sykes–picot agreement (1916).

Bibliography

Hurewitz, J. C., ed. The Middle East and North Africa in World Politics: A Documentary Record, 2d edition. 2 vols. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1975-79.

Lewis, Bernard. The Emergence of Modern Turkey, 3d edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

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Treaty of Sèvres 1920, peace treaty concluded after World War I at Sèvres, France, between the Ottoman Empire (Turkey), on the one hand, and the Allies (excluding Russia and the United States) on the other. The treaty, which liquidated the Ottoman Empire and virtually abolished Turkish sovereignty, followed in the main the decisions reached at San Remo (see San Remo, Conference of ). In Asia, Turkey renounced sovereignty over Mesopotamia (Iraq) and Palestine (including Transjordan), which became British mandates; Syria (including Lebanon), which became a French mandate; and the kingdom of Hejaz . Turkey retained Anatolia but was to grant autonomy to Kurdistan. Armenia became a separate republic under international guarantees, and Smyrna (now Izmir ) and its environs was placed under Greek administration pending a plebiscite to determine its permanent status. In Europe, Turkey ceded parts of E Thrace and certain Aegean islands to Greece, and the Dodecanese and Rhodes to Italy, retaining only Constantinople and its environs, including the Zone of the Straits (see Dardanelles ), which was neutralized and internationalized. The Allies further obtained virtual control over the Turkish economy. The treaty was accepted by the government of Sultan Muhammad VI at Constantinople but was rejected by the rival nationalist government of Kemal Atatürk at Ankara. Ataturk's separate treaty with the USSR and his subsequent victories against the Greeks forced the Allies to negotiate a new treaty in 1923 (see Lausanne, Treaty of ).

Sèvres, Treaty of (10 Aug. 1920) A peace treaty after World War I, negotiated as part of the Paris Peace Conferences and signed between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire. Adrianople (Edirne), Eastern Thrace, and Smyrna (Izmir) were ceded to Greece. Rhodes and the Dodecanese Islands were passed on to Italy. A short-lived independent Republic of Armenia was created, while Kurdistan gained autonomy. The Ottoman Empire lost all of its Arab possessions: Syria became a French League of Nations Mandate, while Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan (Jordan) became British Mandates. The Bosphorus and Dardanelles were demilitarized and placed under international control, while the Ottoman army was restricted to a strength of 50,000 men. The treaty incensed Turkish nationalist opinion and united it around Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk). It was never ratified by the Ottoman Parliament. Kemal reclaimed Smyrna from Greece in a successful military campaign in 1922, which led to the treaty's replacement by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.

Sèvres, Treaty of (1920) A treaty, part of the VERSAILLES PEACE SETTLEMENT, signed between the Allies and Turkey, effectively marking the end of the OTTOMAN EMPIRE. Adrianople and most of the hinterland to Constantinople (now Istanbul) passed to Greece; the Bosporus was internationalized and demilitarized; a short-lived independent ARMENIA was created; Syria became a French mandate; and Britain accepted the mandate for Iraq, Palestine, and Transjordan. The treaty was rejected by Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, who secured a redefinition of Turkey's borders by the Treaty of Lausanne (see VERSAILLES PEACE SETTLEMENT).

Sèvres, Treaty of (1920) Peace treaty between Turkey and its European opponents in World War I that imposed harsh terms on the Ottoman Sultan. It was not accepted by the Turkish nationalists led by Atatürk, who fought a war for Turkish independence (1919–22). The treaty, never ratified, was superseded by the Treaty of Lausanne (1923).