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 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).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Turkish and Ottoman History
