Chronology

This Chronology of Events (1839–1939) was compiled by the Editor by comparison of several chronologies. These were: a chronology presented at the Australian National University Conference on ‘Atatürk and the Turkish Revolution’, Canberra, August 1981, and the chronologies given in ‘Atatürk’ by Jorge B. Villalta (Turkish Historical Society Publications, Series XVI, No. 39-1, Ankara, 1982) and in ‘Turkey 1983 Almanac’ (İlnur Çevik, Ed., A Turkish Daily News Publication, Ankara).

Efforts of Ottoman Reorganisation

1839 — Abdülmecit I issues the Imperial Rescript of Gülhane, containing the ‘Tanzimat’ reforms.

1854 — Crimean War against Russians; the British and French join in support of the Ottomans.

1856 — Sevastopol falls, Russians ask for peace, treaty signed in Paris; a new decree of reforms (Imperial Rescript) issued.

1866 — Young Ottomans Association formed.

1876 — Abdülhamit II proclaimed Sultan; Parliamentary Constitution adopted; opening of the ‘First Meşrutiyet’ era.

1877 — Another Ottoman-Russian war begins; the first Ottoman Assembly convenes, but soon dissolved.

1878 — Turkey sues for an Armistice, Treaty of San Stephano signed; Congress and Treaty of Berlin; Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Romania become independent; the administration of Cyprus is left to the British while the island remains a part of the Ottoman Empire; ‘First Meşrutiyet’ ends.

1881 — Mustafa Kemal born in Salonika.

1882 — Britain occupies Egypt.

1908 — Young Turk revolution in Salonika, Committee of Union and Progress forces Abdülhamit II to restore Constitution of 1876 and recall Parliament; Bulgaria proclaims independence; Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina; Crete votes for union with Greece.

1909 — Counter-revolution in Istanbul; Union and Progress striking force marches on the city from Salonika; Abdülhamit II deposed and exiled.

1911 — Italy declares war on Ottoman Empire - invades Tripoli.

1912 — Italian troops occupy Dodecanese.

The Balkan and First World Wars

October 1912 — Outbreak of First Balkan War. Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Montenegro attack Ottoman Empire.

May 1913 — Treaty of London. Ottoman Empire cedes all territory in Europe west of Enos-Midia line.

June 1913 — Outbreak of Second Balkan War. Bulgaria attacks Serbia, Greece and Romania.

August 1913 — Treaty of Bucharest. Ottoman Empire regains eastern Thrace up to Maritza River including Edirne. Greece gains Salonika, southern Macedonia and Epirus.

August 1914 — Ottoman Empire signs treaty of alliance with Germany. British occupy Iraq.

November 1914 — Russia, Britain and France declare war on Ottoman Empire.

18 March 1915 — Unsuccessful Allied naval attack on the Dardanelles.

25 April 1915 — Mustafa Kemal checks Allied military landings at Gallipoli.

1916 — Allied evacuation of Gallipoli peninsula; Mustafa Kemal promoted General; Sherif of Mecca proclaims independence of Arabia; Russian army captures Erzurum in Eastern Turkey.

April 1917 — Treaty of St. Jean de Maurienne. Britain, France and Russia recognise Italian sphere of influence in south-western Anatolia, including Izmir and Adalia.

June 1917 — King Constantine of Greece forced to abdicate by France and Britain. Succeeded by son Alexander. Greece declares war on Ottoman Empire.

March 1918 — Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Soviet Russia agrees to evacuate eastern Anatolia and cede districts of Ardahan, Kars and Batum to Turkey. Enver Pasha takes Erzurum from Armenians.

May 1918 — Break up of Transcaucasian Republic and formation of separate Republic of Armenia.

September 1918 — Turkish forces occupy Baku and hold it until November. Collapse of Turkish armies in Palestine and Syria.

October 1918 — Armistice of Mondros (Mudros). Ottoman Empire surrenders unconditionally to Allies.

November 1918 — Allied fleet passes Dardanelles; British and French forces occupy Istanbul.

The War of Independence

13 April 1919 — Karabekir leaves Istanbul to take command of Fifteenth Army Corps at Erzurum.

29 April 1919 — Italians occupy areas of south-western Anatolia.

12 May 1919 — ‘Big Four’ at Paris Peace Conference agree to allow Greek Prime Minister, Venizelos, to land troops at Izmir.

15 May 1919 — 20,000 Greek troops land at Izmir protected by Allied warships.

19 May 1919 — Mustafa Kemal lands at Samsun as Inspector-General of the Ninth Army in Eastern Anatolia (later renumbered as the Third Army).

21 June 1919 — Mustafa Kemal and leading supporters sign Amasya Protocol calling for national resistance against occupation of Turkish territory.

July 1919 — Greek Army completes occupation of large area of Izmir hinterland.

August 1919 — Nationalist Congress in Erzurum issues the ‘National Pact’ declaring the policy of national resistance.

September 1919 — Sivas Congress confirms the National Pact. Mustafa Kemal severs relations with Sultan’s Government.

November 1919 — British evacuate Cilicia and French occupy it.

27 December 1919 — Mustafa Kemal establishes headquarters in Ankara.

12 January 1920 — Last Ottoman Chamber of Deputies meets in Istanbul. Many nationalists elected; Mustafa Kemal remains in Anatolia.

16 March 1920 — Allies proclaim martial law in Istanbul and arrest many army officers, civil servants and deputies.

11 April 1920 — Dissolution of Istanbul Parliament.

23 April 1920 — First Grand National Assembly (GNA) meets in Ankara.

11 May 1920 — Mustafa Kemal and other nationalist leaders condemned to death in abentia by the Sultan’s Government.

29 May 1920 — Armistice between French and Turks in Cilicia.

22 June 1920 — By agreement with Lloyd George, Greek Army advances on Bursa.

July 1920 — Greek troops occupy eastern Thrace and capture Edirne.

10 August 1920 — Sultan’s delegates sign the Treaty of Sevres. Greece to gain all Aegean islands, Thrace up to Chatalya lines, and to occupy Izmir area for five years pending a plebiscite. Armenia to be independent with boundaries delineated by President Wilson. Area of Straits to be under international control.

24 August 1920 — Soviet Russia and the Ankara government sign draft treaty.

September 1920 — Russian diplomatic mission arrives in Ankara.

24 September 1920 — Outbreak of war between Turkey and Armenia. Karabekir conducts successful Turkish offensive.

25 October 1920 — Death of King Alexander of Greece.

14 November 1920 — Greek General Election: Venizelos heavily defeated.

2 December 1920 — Treaty of Alexandropol between Turkey and Armenia. Treaty of Sevres nullified. Turkey gains Kars and present eastern boundary.

December 1920 — Bolshevik coup in Armenia establishes Soviet rule.

6 December 1920 — King Constantine returns to Greece.

10 January 1921 — Greek advance checked at the First Battle of İnönü.

12 March 1921 — London Conference fails to reach agreement with the Turkish Nationalists on modifications to the Treaty of Sevres.

13 March 1921 — Turko-Italian agreement. Italian troops to be withdrawn from southern Anatolia.

16 March 1921 — Treaty of Moscow between Soviet Russia and Ankara government. Territorial boundaries of Treaty of Alexandropol confirmed. Soviet financial aid for Turkey.

7 April 1921 — Greek offensive on Bursa repulsed in the Second Battle of İnönü.

13 June 1921 — King Constantine lands at Izmir.

June 1921 — Allied conference in London offers mediation. Rejected by Greeks.

13 July 1921 — Greek offensive opens on Eskişehir-Afyon Karahisar.

4 August 1921 — Turks driven over Sakarya River.

4 August 1921 — Mustafa Kemal appointed Commander-in-Chief of Turkish armed forces with full powers.

13 September 1921 — Greek offensive against Ankara repulsed after the 22-day long Battle of Sakarya River. Greeks withdraw to line west of Eskişehir-Afyon Karahisar.

20 October 1921 — French Foreign Minister, Franklin-Bouillon, signs Ankara Accord with the Ankara government; promises close economic and military support for Kemal Government.

22 March 1922 — Britain, France and Italy propose armistice with evacuation of Anatolia and part of eastern Thrace by Greece. Greece and Turkey refuse.

July 1922 — Greece withdraws two divisions from Anatolia to Thrace, but request to occupy Istanbul is rejected by Allies.

4 August 1922 — Lloyd George in House of Commons urges Greeks to wage war “with full strength”.

26 August 1922 — The great Turkish offensive against the Greek Army begins.

30 August 1922 — Turkish Army wins the Battle of Dumlupinar.

9 September 1922 — The Nationalist Forces enter Izmir.

18 September 1922 — Mustafa Kemal announces complete destruction of Greek Army in Anatolia.

27 September 1922 — Abdication of King Constantine.

September 1922 — Chanak crisis. France and Italy refuse to co-operate with Britain in defence of Straits zone.

11 October 1922 — Armistice of Mudanya between Allies and the Nationalist Government. Greeks agree to evacuate eastern Thrace and withdraw to line of Maritza River.

1 November 1922 — Grand National Assembly abolishes the Sultanate.

Establishment of the Turkish Republic

24 July 1923 — Treaty of Lausanne. Successful diplomacy of İsmet Pasha establishes present Turkish boundaries apart from Hatay.

6 October 1923 — Turkish Army enters Istanbul.

29 October 1923 — Turkish Republic declared. Mustafa Kemal elected first President.

The Republican Era

3 March 1924 — Abolition of the Caliphate; Ministry of Sheria and Pious Foundations abolished, Religious Affairs attached to the Prime Ministry.

4 March 1924 — Caliph Abdülmecit and the members of the Ottoman Dynasty expelled.

8 April 1924 — Abolition of religious courts.

25 November 1925 — Abolition of the fez.

11 February 1925 — Revolt in the Southeast provinces.

2 September 1925 — Decree dissolving religious orders.

17 December 1925 — Treaty of neutrality and non-aggression signed with the Soviet Union.

26 December 1925 — Turkey adopts Western calendar.

17 February 1926 — Adoption of the new Civil Code based on the Swiss Civil Code.

5 June 1926 — Treaty of Ankara between Turkey, Britain and Iraq; agreement on Mousul.

17 February 1927 — Resumption of diplomatic ties between Turkey and the United States which were suspended since 1917.

9 April 1928 — Turkey becomes a secular state, Islam is no longer the official religion of the state.

3 November 1928 — Introduction of the Latin alphabet.

30 October 1930 — Turkey and Greece sign Ankara Treaty.

23 December 1930 — Reactionary disturbances in Menemen.

1 April 1931 — Turkey adopts the metric system to be effective as January 1, 1933.

12 April 1931 — Mustafa Kemal founds the Turkish Historical Society.

12 July 1932 — Mustafa Kemal founds the Turkish Linguistic Society.

12 August 1932 — Turkey becomes member of the League of Nations.

14 September 1933 — Turkey-Greece sign a ten year non-aggression treaty.

9 February 1934 — Balkan Pact concluded between Turkey, Greece, Romania and Yugoslavia.

24 November 1934 — Mustafa Kemal awarded the surname of Atatürk by the Grand National Assembly in terms of the new law requiring Turks to adopt a surname.

5 December 1934 — Women obtain the right to vote and are eligible to become MP’s.

January 1935 — 18 women elected as MP’s.

29 May 1936 — Dispute regarding future status of Hatay referred to the League of Nations.

20 July 1936 — Montreux Convention signed, Turkey regains military control over the Dardanelles and Bosphorus straits.

5 February 1937 — Turkish Constitution amended; the state becomes ‘Republican, Nationalist, Populist, Etatist, Secular and Reformist’ which are also the mottos of the single party Republican People’s Party rule.

9 July 1937 — Sadabad Pact signed between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.

31 March 1938 — Illness of Atatürk officially announced.

11 May 1938 — Atatürk donates his model farms to the State and some of his real estate to the Municipality of Ankara.

2 September 1938 — Grand National Assembly votes nominal Republic of Hatay with Turks in effective control, following agreement with the French.

10 November 1938 — Death of Atatürk in Istanbul.

11 November 1938 — İsmet İnönü designated President of the Republic.

29-30 June 1939 — Hatay Assembly votes for union with Turkey; Turkish troops enter Hatay.

1 September 1939 — World War II begins.