Turkey is a country that spans two continents, Asia and Europe. Most of its territory is located in the Asia Minor Peninsula in Western Asia. A small part of its territory is located in the East Thrace region of the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, with a total area of about 780,000 square kilometers.
Turkey has a very glorious history. During the Ottoman Turkish Empire , its ruling area spanned the three continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, controlling the Balkan Peninsula, as well as large tracts of land in West Asia and North Africa, with a total area of 5.5 million square kilometers.
In the early days of the establishment of the Ottoman Empire, it captured Constantinople and destroyed the Byzantine Empire. In its heyday, it monopolized the East-West trade routes and continued to expand into Europe. Therefore, European countries were very hostile to the Ottoman Empire.
By 1699, with the signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire basically stalled. After that, the Ottoman Empire gradually declined, and European countries began to continuously encroach on the Ottoman Empire's land.
In 11821, the Greek War of Independence broke out. Britain, France, and Russia strongly supported Greece and directly sent troops to attack the Ottoman Empire's army, eventually forcing the Ottoman Empire to recognize Greece's independence.
The independence of Greece kicked off the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. By the time of the First World War in 1914, the Ottoman Empire had completely lost its land in Africa and most of the Balkan Peninsula in Europe. However, at that time, the Ottoman Empire still controlled the Asia Minor Peninsula, etc. A large area of land in West Asia, with a total area of approximately 1.59 million square kilometers.
At that time, the territory of the Ottoman Empire had been greatly reduced, but Britain, France and other countries were not prepared to let Türkiye go. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, out of hostility to Britain, France and other countries, the Ottoman Empire joined the German-Austrian camp, hoping to use the power of Germany and Austria to defeat Britain and France, and then preserve large tracts of land in West Asia.
But the war ended with the defeat of Germany, Austria and other countries. After the end of World War I, Germany could only be at the mercy of Britain and France, and the Ottoman Empire was even less immune. In 1920, the Allied Powers and the Ottoman Empire signed the Treaty of Sèvres in France. The main content of this treaty was to divide the lands of the Ottoman Empire. However, the Treaty of Sèvres was not implemented. So if the Treaty of Sèvres was implemented, how much territory would Turkey have left?
The Treaty of Sèvres was the peak of the carving up of the Ottoman Empire by Britain, France and other European countries. According to the Treaty of Sèvres, the Ottoman Empire must divide the eastern Thrace region outside Istanbul, and the eastern Aegean Sea The Izmir area was ceded to Greece.
ceded the southwestern part of the Asia Minor Peninsula to Italy, the southeastern part of the Asia Minor Peninsula, and other areas in West Asia were divided between Britain and France, and the northeastern part of the Asia Minor Peninsula was merged into Armenia. A demilitarized zone was established in the Turkish Strait area and was jointly managed by the Allied Powers.
If the Treaty of Sèvres is implemented, the territory of Greece will be further expanded, Armenia will gain access to the sea, Britain, France, Italy and other countries will also be able to obtain large areas of land, while Turkey will only be left with the northern part of the Asia Minor Peninsula, with an area of 1.59 million square meters from the pre-war level. kilometers, became 450,000 square kilometers.
In addition to losing a large area of land, the Turkish Straits will also be controlled by the Allies. The Turkish Strait connects the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is known as the throat of the world and its strategic position is extremely important. Therefore, once the Treaty of Sèvres is implemented, Türkiye will completely decline. But in the end, Kemal Kemal led the Turks to launch the War of Independence, forcing the Allies to abandon the Treaty of Sèvres and sign the Treaty of Lausanne with Turkey. Turkey thus retained key straits and large tracts of territory.
