Turkey

Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)

or the OTTOMAN EM- PIRE. Prior to the World War Turkey was composed of Turkey in Europe, Turkey in Asia, and certain islands in the Mediterranean. Considerable territory was lost following the conclusion of the First Balkan War (November, 1913). Turkey in Europe was in part divided among Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece, and in part created into an independent state of Albania. Cyprus and Egypt, which formerly were included in the Ottoman empire, were annexed to the British empire, the first in November, 1914, and the second in January, 1915. By the terms of the Peace Treaty of the Allied nations, signed on May 11, 1920, the area of the empire was still further reduced. Turkey ceded practically all of Thrace to Greece, as well as Tenedos and Imbros, and the islands in the Ægean, occupied by Greece. Smyrna, with the surrounding strip of territory, was to be administered by Greece under Turkish sovereignty for five years, after which the territory might annex itself to Greece by plebiscite. By the terms of a later agreement, signed on March 17, 1921, Smyrna was returned to Turkey. Mesopotamia, Palestine, Armenia, and Hedjaz became independent. The first three were placed under mandatories. Kurdestan was to be autonomous. Several islands in the Ægean were ceded to Italy. Turkey retained Constantinople, but the coastal area of the Dardanelles, Marmora, and Bosporus was placed under the control of the Commission of the Straits appointed by the League of Nations. The area taken from Turkey was 438,757 square miles, with a population of about 12,000,000. The area of the remaining territory is 174,900 square miles. with a ap population of about 8,000,000. In the territory remaining under Turkish rule, Moslems greatly preponderate. In Asiatic Turkey there is a large Turkish element with about 4,000,000 Arabs, besides Greeks, Syrians, Kurds, Circassians, Ar- The menians, Jews, and other races. chief towns remaining under Turkish rule and their populations, are as follows: Constantinople, 1,000,000 ); Brus- ; sa, 110,000; Kerbela, 65,000; Sivas, 65,000; Trebizond, 55,000. Production and Industry.-Agriculture is carried on according to the most primitive methods in nearly all parts of the empire, although the soil, for the most part, is extremely ferti fertile. The chief products are tobacco, cereals, cotton, figs, nuts, almonds, grapes, olives, and other varieties of fruit. There are in Asiatic Turkey about 17,000,000 acres under cultivation. The principal tobacco districts are Samsun, Bafra, and Charchambe. The production in 1917 was valued at 650,363 Turkish pounds. The cotton output is about 200,000 bales annually. About 21,000,000 acres of land are under forest. Commerce. The latest figures available are for 1916 and 1917. In that year the imports were valued at 22,105,304 Turkish pounds, and the exports at 34,- 058,581 Turkish pounds. As Turkey was at that time under the practical rule of Germany, by far the largest portion of her exports were to that country. The imports were received chiefly from Germany and Austria-Hungary. England, prior to the war, had the largest proportion of trade. Industrial and commercial conditions during 1919 were normal and were marked by high prices, large production, and speculation. During that year nearly one half the trade of Constantinople was with Russia, and the remainder was with the Balkan states and with other parts of Turkey, The chief imports were cotton, wool, linen and silk textiles, ready-made clothing, leather goods, and food of all kinds. The chief exports were tobacco, wool and mohair, rugs and carpets, olive oil, castor beans, and nuts. Mineral Production. - The Turkish provinces of Asia are rich in n minerals, which, however, have been little worked. There are deposits of silver, manganese, zinc, antimony, borax, asphalt, coal, petroleum, and salt. Transportation. Prior to the World War there were in European Turkey 1,046 miles of railway, and in Asiatic Turkey, 2,865. The Bagdad railway had been extended into Cilicia. The total railway mileage in 1916 was 3,720. There are about 30,000 miles of telegraph line. Finance. The total revenue in 1918- 1919 was 33,965,698 Turkish pounds, and the expenditure was 51,762,761 Turkish pounds. By the Treaty of Peace with Turkey, it was provided that Turkish finances shall be controlled by a Finance Commission composed of representatives from Great Britain, France, and Italy. The total debt of Turkey on Aug. 31, 1919, was 465,673,338 Turkish pounds. Army. In August, 1914, the army consisted of 39 divisions, with a strength of about 150,000 men. During the war it was expanded to 70 divisions, and at the time of the armistice, nearly 2,700,000 men had been recruited. The strength during the was approximately war 650,000. By the Treaty of Peace, Turkey lost possession of all her fortresses in Europe and Asia. The defenses of the Dardanelles and Bosporus were demolished, and Great Britain, France, and Italy reserved the right to maintain naval, military, and air forces in the Straits. The armed forces were reduced to a maximum of 50,000 men, and compulsory service was abolished. Navy. By the terms of the Treaty of Peace, the Turkish navy was abolished, except for certain vessels retained for police and fishery duties. There are few vessels of real value. Religion and Education. -The established state religion is Mohammedan. The Sultan is the supreme head. The chief ecclesiastical official is the Sheikhul-Islam. His duties are judicial and legal, rather than spiritual. In Asiatic Turkey the Mohammedans form the great majority of the population. Elementary education is nominally compulsory for all children of both sexes. The state school is under the direct control of the Minister of Public Instruction. Schools of various kinds in the empire number about 40,000 and contain about 1,500,000 pupils. There are training schools for teachers, but the general level of efficiency in the schools is low. There are a large number of foreign schools conducted by French, English, and American missionaries. The University of Constantinople was reorganized in 1918. There are a number of state schools, including the Imperial Art School and a theological seminary. Government.-Turkey, prior to the World War, was nominally a constitutional monarchy, but in reality was an absolute monarchy. The formal constitution was adopted in 1876, which provided for a Parliament and other features of constitutional government. Under Abdul-Hamid II., however, this constitution became a dead letter. In 1908, the prevailing discontent, especially in the army, compelled the Sultan to issue an Imperial decree for a convocation of a new Parliament and a constitutional government was restored on July 23, 1908. Following the armistice in 1918, Turkey was practically under control of the Allied Powers, especially Great Britain, although the Sultan had nominal rule. History. The earliest notice of the Turks, or Turcomans, in history is about the year 800, when, issuing from various parts of Turkestan, they obtained possession of a part of Armenia, called from them Turcomania. They afterward extended their conquests over the adjacent parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, occupying Syria, Egypt, and eventually the territory that remained to the Greek empire. In 1453 Constantinople was taken by by Mohammed II., and became the capital of the empire. pire. The Morea and the islands were afterward overrun, with parts of Hungary, the Crimea, and the shores of the Black Sea. They next took the whole of the country now forming Turkey in Asia, the Hezja in Egypt, and the regencies of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers. From the accession of Mohammed IV. in 1648, the Turkish empire began rapidly to decline, the vice and profligacy of the harem and seraglio being reflected in every branch of the state. The shelter given to Charles XII. of Sweden, in 1711, led to the first war with Russia, which must have ended in the ruin of that empire but for the cupidity of the grand-vizier, who accepted a bribe to allow Peter the Great and his army to escape. From that time till 1774 the war with Russia was frequently renewed, and, by the peace of the latter year, a large extent of territory and the Black Sea were ceded by the Porte to Russia. In the campaign of 1787 the Turks were still more unfortunate, and, though in 1789, under Selim III., III., they retook Belgrade, they were elsewhere defeated. In 1807 the Emperor Alexander declared war against the Porte, and in the campaign advanced his frontier to the Pruth by the conquest of Bessarabia; the next severe loss the Turks sustained was from the revolt of the Greeks and the subsequent independence of their country. In 1854 war was once more declared against Turkey by Russia, when England, France, and Sardinia joined the Porte to enable the Sultan to resist the threatened invasion of his dominions; the burning of the Turkish fleet off Sinope, pe, the campaign on the Danube, the battles of Alma, Inkerman, Balaklava, and the bombardment and capture of Sebastopol, were some of the results of the two years' war with Russia; Turkey, for the first time in nearly a century, sheathing the sword without the loss of a foot of territory. Subsequently, Turkey engaged in a war with the Montenegrins, who sought to cast off her yoke; and, later, was concerned in suppressing revolutionary tendencies in the Danubian principalities. In 1875, an insurrection broke out in Herzegovina, and in October, Turkey declared her partial insolvency. In February, 1876, the six great European Powers proposed a scheme of reform which was largely accepted by the Sultan. On May 30 Sultan Abdul- Aziz was deposed. His nephew, Murad V., succeeded him, but was also deposed and followed, Aug. 31, by his brother, Abdul-Hamid II. On Jan. 18, 1877, the Grand Council of Turkey refused all interference by the European Powers and Russia declared war on April 21. Turkey was badly beaten and an armistice was signed in February, 1878. The terms of the treaty of peace at San Stephano (March 3) were subsequently modified at the Congress of Berlin. On April 19, 1897, Turkey was forced by Greece to declare war. The war was short and ended in Turkey's favor on June 3, Greece agreeing to pay a war indemnity of $2,000,000. In 1898 Crete was taken in charge by the Great Powers and the island was handed over for government to Greece. In the first decade of the 20th century, Turkey seemed on the point of collapse. There were revolts in Arabia and conditions of anarchy prevailed in Albania and Macedonia. In the latter country conditions led to foreign intervention, and the Sultan, much against his will, acceded to new reform schemes, which, however, were never carried out. In the meantime, the public debt was increasing and the railways, mines, and banks were falling into the hands of the foreign capitalists. Just as Turkey appeared on the point of collapse, a movement for the rejuvenation of the country was started by a body called the Young Turks, who for many years had been working to bring about reform measures. On July 23, 1908, the central body, called the Committee of Union and Progress, headed by Enver Pasha, proclaimed the restoration of the constitution of 1876. An attack on Constantinople was threatened and the Sultan, greatly terrified, issued a decree restoring parliamentary government. Taking advantage of these disturbances, Austria, in October, 1908, annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the same time Ferdinand of Bulgaria proclaimed the independence of that Government . The new Turkish country. try was obliged to agree. Albania became still more turbulent in 1909, and there were serious disturbances in Arabia and Macedonia. A counter-revolution started which, however, was promptly suppressed. Parliament now voted to depose Abdul-Hamid and placed him practically in captivity near Saloniki. His brother, Mohammed V., was made Sultan in his place. Measures were now taken on a large scale to Ottomanize the Turkish empire. The Bulgarians, Greeks, and Serbians in Macedonia bitterly resented this, and Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia began to draw more closely together with the object of protecting their nationals in Macedonia. În 1911 Italy seized Tripoli and followed by a Cyrenaica. This was foll war between Turkey and Italy. Peace was not concluded until 1912, when Italy gained a large territory, including Tripoli and Cyrenaica. During the summer of 1912, the Balkan states formed the Balkan League, which resulted in the Balkan War. See BALKAN WARS. The outcome of this struggle was the loss of all Turkish possessions in Europe, except Constantinople, Adrianople, and a small adjacent territory. German influence had become strong in Turkey during these events. The Turkish army was armed and drilled by Germans, and the German Government secured the greater share of new concessions, including the Bagdad railroad. Germany's sympathy was shown toward Turkey during the Balkan War. It was no occasion for surprise, then, when Turkey chose to side with Germany and Austria against the Allied Powers in the World War. The Turkish Government, indeed, in the first days of the war, declared its neutrality, but mobilization of her military forces at once began. The commander-in-chief of the Turkish armies was Enver Pasha, who had been educated in Germany and whose ideals were those of his German associates. The German general, Liman von Sanders, had brought about the reorganization of the Turkish army on a modern basis. On the declaration of war between Germany and Russia, Turkey at once closed the Dardanelles and the Bosporus to all shipping, planting mines at the entrances. This effectively bottled up the Russian fleets in the Black Sea. On Oct. 30, 1914, Russia declared war against Turkey, and the Sultan at against Russia, once declared war France and England. On Nov. 17, ally declared a pro- Great Britain formally ypt. The Sultan entectorate over Egypt. deavored to foment a "Holy War" against the Allies, but this met with little response outside of the Turkish empire. The first military operations of importance took place in the Caucasus where a Turkish army advanced into Persia. This force was defeated by Russians There on Jan. 30, 1915. were other Russian successes in Persia and in the Caucasus. The main operations, however, were carried on in Transcaucasia, where, Dec. 26, 1914, on a great Turkish army was decisively beaten by Russian forces, and for some months Turkey was unable to carry on further operations in this field. The campaign was, however, conducted for the purpose of capturing the Suez Canal, in January, 1916. This was frustrated by prompt British resistance which drove back the Turkish forces, leaving the British in possession of the canal. Other operations early in the war occurred in the Persian Gulf. The British disembarked a force near Basra, which the Turks evacuated on their approach. Here the British prepared a base camp for an attack upon Bagdad, about 300 miles distant. 50 miles above Basra, the Turkish army had been mobilized. The British attacked this point and finally succeeded in defeating the Turkish army, which surrendered. The British then intrenched themselves, having cut off Turkey from any advance on India. The most spectacular operations in which Turkey was engaged during the first period of the war was the effort on the part of the French and British to force a passage of the Dardanelles. Great preparations having been made, the main attack upon the Gallipoli forts was begun on Feb. 19, 1915. It is probable that Turkey had concentrated half a million men on the peninsula. The British, after a severe bombardment 1 of the forts, landed marines, but these were attacked by superior forces of Turks and were compelled to re-embark. These attacks continued for months following, but with little success. The Allies, during the progress of the bombardment, lost several of their best battleships. In the meantime the Allies were preparing an expeditionary for force in Egypt which was later transferred to the island of Lemnos, which had been occupied by the Allies. On April 23, 1915, the first of these forces disembarked on the Gallipoli peninsula under cover of the guns of the warships. The Turkish troops, who were under the command of the German General yon opened a furious parti ing the hillsides, drove the Turks back and succeeded in obtaining a foothold. For the months following, almost continuous fighting went on, through which the Turks lost considerable ground. In the beginning of September, however, they began vigorous counter-attacks and succeeded in driving back the Allied troops at a high cost in killed and wounded. The attempt to capture the peninsula persisted and would probably have succeeded, but for serious blunders in the operation. In the autumn of 1916 it became obvious that the expedition was a failure, and the British troops were withdrawn in December. This concluded the most disastrous series of military operations carried on by the Allies during the first period of the war. In the meantime, the campaign in Mesopotamia was well under way. On June 3, 1916, the British captured Amara, 75 miles above Kurna. Kut-el-Amara, a strongly fortified post, still remained in the hands of the Turks. A four days' battle, which ended on Sept. 29, was ended by the defeat of the Turkish armies and the capture of Kut-el-Amara. The British, under General Townsend, now engaged upon a campaign for the capture of Bagdad. The advance began in the early days of October, and was strongly opposed. The Turks retired until they reached the vicinity near Ctesiphon, where they were strongly intrenched. After a severe struggle, the Turks were obliged to fall back. They received re-enforcements, however, and repelled the British forces. Further re-enforcements having been received, they were able to continue to force back the British troops until until they the finally reached Kut-el-Amara, with a loss of fully one-third of the strength with which they had started. Here the British were able to intrench themselves and hold back the Turkish army. They were, however, cut off from communication with the outside world. Attempts were made to send relief, and British forces defeated the Turkish army near Kutel-Amara, on Jan. 6, 1916. The conditions of the country, however, made it impossible for the troops to advance farther. They were subject to various attacks by the Turks and finally the British commander decided to move up the left bank of the Tigris and attack the Turkish position from the rear. The movement failed, and the British were obliged to withdraw. Attempts were made to relieve Kut during the next months. On April 8 a sharp battle was fought at Sanna-i-yat. Here the British were unable to advance. By this time the besieged army at Kut-el-Amara had reached the point where food had become scarce, and physical endurance was well nigh exhausted. On April 28, 1916, the British garrison surrendered to the Turks, thus ending the siege which lasted 143 days. The surrender caused a deep sensation throughout all the countries at war, and the British Government determined to make a further and more extensive attempt to capture Bagdad. A large army was gathered under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Maud. On Feb. 26, 1917, Kut-el-Amara was captured after a stubborn resistance. The British continued steadily on up the Tigris river, although the Turks re- On sisted with the utmost firmness. March 11, 1917, Bagdad surrendered. Large quantities of stores and war materials fell into the hands of the British. Campaigns continued in the Caucasus during the progress of the Mesopotamian operations. Turkey raised a large army for the purpose of seizing Kars and Tiflis and controlling the great Caspian oil fields. This army numbered about 140,000 men and was opposed by a Russian army of about 110,000. Operations began on Nov. 20, 1914, and were carried on with varying success during the following months. The Turks were decisively defeated in the second week of January, 1915, and the Turkish offensive in the Caucasus was effectively checked for the time being. Attempts by the Russians to carry on operations farther south were defeated by strong Turkish forces. The Russian armies were re-enforced, however, and checked further advances on the part of the Turks. Hostilities continued in Persia and the Caucasus during the first months of 1915. On May 23 the Russians occupied the city of Van and other places. By the autumn of this year, Russia was able to devote more strength to the Caucasus front and under the direction of Grand Duke Nicholas, a campaign was begun for the capture of Erzerum. The city was taken in the second week of February, 1916. The Russian advance continued toward Trebizond, the Turkish base of supplies on the Black Sea. On April 18 the city was captured. The larger part of Turkish Armenia was now in Russian hands. The Russians continued minor operations, but in the spring of 1917 disturbances in Russia, following the revolution, prevented active military operations. Following the capture of Bagdad, the British forces proceeded with the conquest of Syria and Palestine. Prior to the beginning of this campaign, it was finally announced that the country would be turned over to the Jews for their a political entity. sentenced many forworking for the This resulted in the of all the Bey, and Allied cause among the Jews countries. Operations Allied and neutral began on Oct. 27 with bombardment and French warof Gaza by English by land atships. This was followed cavalry and foot tacks by British were driven back soldiers. The Turks the city of Gaza with great loss, and 7. On Nov. 16 was taken on Nov. without opposition Jaffa was captured . of heavy resist- The British, in the face Jerusalem and ance, continued toward December, succeeded in the early part of which surrendered in isolating that city, the occupation of on Dec. 11. After continued their Jerusalem, the British surrounding country. operations in the in clearing it of They finally succeeded Turkish forces. The Arabs in the Hedjaz, that part of Red Sea, had in Arabia adjoining the arisen against Turkish the meantime insurgents derule. In July uly, 1917, the Turkish troops at Maan and feated the and Akaba, the occupied that town the head of the Red latter town being at the same name. Sea, on a gulf bearing Arabian forces, During September, the King of the Hedjaz, operating under the important operacarried on a series of and Arabians. tions against the Turks had been officially recog- King Hussein Governments and nized by the Allied an independent Hedjaz was declared kingdom. On Oct. 12, 1918, the Turkish Govfor a sepaernment opened negotiation the Allies, and on rate peace with arranged be- Oct. 30, an armistice was and the Allied tween the Turkish war ceased in the Governments, and the accordance with Turkish empire. In , British troops the terms of the armistice peninsula were allowed to land on the on Nov. 13, 1918, of Gallipoli, and through the Dar- Allied warships passed troops in Constantidanelles and landed nople. During the progress of the war, the had suffered from people in Armenia the devastation repeated massacres, and alleviated as far in this country was expeditions sent as possible by relief States and other out by the United 1920, Mohamcountries. On March 7, a distinctly pro-Ally med VI. established David Pasha government, with 13, Kemal Grand Vizier. On April Bey, German commandone of the former proin Stamboul ers, was publicly hanged Armenian massafor complicity in the Turkey was represented at the Peace cres. Conference by a delegation, but this re ceived small consideration. On July 11 re-establishment as , the court martial officials, includmer prominent Turkish ing Enver Pasha, Talaat Djemel Pasha, to death. All three eshowever, was assascaped. Talaat Bey, March 15, 1921 sinated in Berlin, on . were practically in These three men during the war. The control of Turkey was handed to the treaty with Turkey , on May 11, Turkish delegates in Paris included mandates 1920. Its provisions Mesopotamia, while over Syria and a Jewish state under Palestine was to be was awarded British protection. Thrace , Turkey refused to Greece. In reply parts rts of Thrace, to cede Smyrna or once occupied by Greek and they were at called Turkish Nationalforces. The soterms of the treaty ists, directly after the established a sepahad been published, Anatolia, headed by rate government in and declared that the Mustapha Kemal would be resisted to terms of the treaty was disthe utmost. A Greek army against the Nationalists and patched on throughout hostilities were carried results on either 1920, with no decisive carried on operaside. The Turks also tions in Syria. The Turkish government did not until March sign the Treaty of Peace a conference in 1921, when, following representatives of the London between and the Turkish Govern- Allied countries , an agreement and Turkish Nationalists at. By the ment was finally arrived was returned to terms of this, Smyrna was made Turkey, and an agreement would be apwhereby a commission on ethnological pointed to determine , lines to whom military, and commercial belongs. Turkish sov- Thrace rightly was conereignty over Constantinople V. died on July 3, firmed. Mohammed by Mohammed 1918, and was succeeded is a list of the Sul- VI. The following of Othman): tans of Turkey (House Amurath IV., "The Othman, or Osman .....1623 Intrepid" 1299 1640 1326 Ibrahim I. Orchan Amurath I. 1360 Mohammed IV....1649 1687 Solyman III. Bajazet I., "The 1691 Achmet II... Thunderbolt,".. 1389 1695 Mustapha II. 1402 Solyman I.. 1703 Mohammed I.....1413 Achmet III. 1730 Mahmoud I. Amurath II.1421 1754 Osman III Mohammed II. (Con- .1757 Mustapha III. queror of Constan- 1774 Abdul-Hamid. 1451 tinople) 1788 Selim III. Bajazet II.1481 1807 Mustapha IV.. .1512 Selim I.... 1808 as Mahmoud II. Solyman II., "The .1839 Abdul-Medjid Magnificent,".. 1520 .1861 Abdul-Aziz 1566 1876 Selim II. Murad V.. 1574 Abdul-Hamid II..1876 Amurath III. Mohammed III... 1595 Mohammed V....1909 1603 Mohammed VI...1918 Achmet I. Mustapha I.1617 Osman II.. .1618