Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate
Encyclopedia
On November 1, 1922, the Ottoman Sultanate was abolished by the Turkish Grand National Assembly and Sultan Mehmed VI
Mehmed VI
Mehmet VI was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922...

 departed the country. This allowed the Turkish nationalist
Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.-Pan-Turkism:...

 government in Ankara to become the sole governing entity in the nation.

Defeat in World War I

The Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, under Mehmed V
Mehmed V
Mehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...

 and the Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...

, had sided with the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...

 during World War I. Despite initial successes against British Commonwealth troops, the tide turned against the declining empire and its allies, Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 and Austria-Hungary.

The Ottoman Empire lost much territory in both World War I and the preceding Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

, completing its steady decline
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
The Decline of the Ottoman Empire is the period that followed after the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire in which the empire experienced several economic and political setbacks. Directly affecting the Empire at this time was Russian imperialism...

, which had begun in 1699. By 1918, when the Ottoman Empire left the war, it had lost much of its territory, with the exception of the Ottoman homeland of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

.

Turkish War of Independence

Turkish national pride was greatly injured by the war, and many Turks grew weary over the centuries-old Ottoman political system. Especially infuriating was Mehmed VI's dissolution of Parliament, which resulted in Turkish nationalists
Turkish nationalism
Turkish nationalism is a political ideology that promotes and glorifies the Turkish people, as either a national, ethnic or linguistic group and puts the interests of the state over other influences, including religious ones.-Pan-Turkism:...

, led by the general Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

, establishing another government in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

. Meanwhile, Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

 broke out between the nationalist army and Greek forces
Hellenic Army
The Hellenic Army , formed in 1828, is the land force of Greece.The motto of the Hellenic Army is , "Freedom Stems from Valor", from Thucydides's History of the Peloponnesian War...

. Fighting was particularly severe in Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...

, where a successful Turkish guerrilla campaign, led by Kemal, prevented the Greeks from occupying the region.

From 1920 until 1922, the Turkish nationalist government engaged in conflicts with neighboring nations and European powers, including France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, while the Allies secured Istanbul, Mehmed's capital.

Resolution proposed in the Assembly

On November 1, 1922, the nationalist Grand National Assembly declared that the Istanbul government was no longer the legal Turkish government, appointing the nationalist body in Ankara to that place. The Assembly also resolved that Istanbul had not been the capital of the nation since its occupation by the Allies. In yet another declaration, the sultanate was divided into the office of sultan and Caliph of Islam, positions which had long been combined. The former was abolished, and Mehmed's cousin Abdulmecid was made caliph.

The Assembly was also prompted by an Allied invitation, given to both the Istanbul and Ankara governments, to appear at a conference at Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...

. Kemal, now known as Kemal Ataturk, was determined that only the Ankara government would be represented at the conference.

Mehmed's departure

After hearing of the resolution, Mehmed VI sought refuge aboard the British warship Malaya on November 17. His cousin Abdulmecid continued on as caliph until 1924, when that office was abolished.
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