Sèvres, Treaty of

Sèvres, Treaty of,

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 ofSan Remo, Conference of,
1920, meeting with the purpose of ratifying decisions made at the Paris peace conference of May, 1919. Representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Greece, and Belgium met at San Remo, Italy, in Apr.
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). 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 HejazHejaz
or Hedjaz
, region, c.150,000 sq mi (388,500 sq km), NW Saudi Arabia, on the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Mecca is the chief city. Extending S to Asir, Hejaz is mainly a dissected highland region lying between the narrow, long coastal strip and the interior
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. Turkey retained Anatolia but was to grant autonomy to Kurdistan. ArmeniaArmenia
, Armenian Hayastan, officially Republic of Armenia, republic (2015 est. pop. 2,917,000), 11,500 sq mi (29,785 sq km), in the S Caucasus. Armenia is bounded by Turkey on the west, Azerbaijan on the east (the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan is on its
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 became a separate republic under international guarantees, and Smyrna (now IzmirIzmir
, formerly Smyrna
, city (1990 pop. 1,762,849), capital of Izmir prov., W Turkey, on the Gulf of Izmir, an arm of the Aegean Sea. The largest Turkish seaport after İstanbul, its exports include cotton, tobacco, vegetables, manufactures, and carpets.
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) 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 DardanellesDardanelles
or Çanakkale Boğazi
, strait, c.40 mi (60 km) long and from 1 to 4 mi (1.6 to 6.4 km) wide, connecting the Aegean Sea with the Sea of Marmara and separating the Gallipoli peninsula of European Turkey from Asian Turkey.
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), 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 AtatürkAtatürk, Kemal
, 1881–1938, Turkish leader, founder of modern Turkey. He took the name in 1934 in place of his earlier name, Mustafa Kemal, when he ordered all Turks to adopt a surname; it is made up of the Turkish words Ata and Türk [father of the Turks].
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 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 ofLausanne, Treaty of,
1922–23. The peace treaty (see Sèvres, Treaty of) imposed by the Allies on the Ottoman Empire after World War I had virtually destroyed Turkey as a national state.
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).