Paris Peace Treaties & Mandates

1919: Establishment of the Mandate System

• Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations introduced the Mandate system, establishing legal status for former Ottoman territories

• ME territories are classified as Class A mandates, meaning they are deemed capable of self-rule in the near future under European guidance

April 1920: San Remo Conference

• League of Nations finalises the mandates, dividing the Middle East between Britain and France

• Britain got Iraq, Transjordan and Palestine while France got Lebanon and Syria

• Division ignored Arab aspirations for independence, contradicting wartime promises like the McMahon-Hussein Correspondence

August 1920: Treaty of Sèvres

• Formally dismantles the Ottoman Empire, stripping Turkey of it’s Arab territories

• Confirmed the League of Nations mandates

• Promises Independence for Armenia and an autonomous Kurdistan

• granted Greece control over Izmir and Italy control over parts of Anatolia

1920-1922: Turkish War of Independence

• led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Turkish nationalists rejected Sèvres

• Ataturk’s forces defeat Greek forces in Smyrna (1922) and push troops out of Anatolia

• Britain and France reconsider enforcing Sèvres due to Ataturk’s military successes

1921: British Administration in Iraq

• British rule is met with resistance (1920 Iraqi Revolt)

• British install King Faisal as a British-backed ruler to stabilise the region

1921: British Administration in Transjordan

• British established the Emirate of Transjordan, placing Abdullah I under control

• Transjordan is governed seperately from Palestine but remains under British control

1921-23: French Administration in Lebanon and Syria

• France faces nationalist resistance; supresses the Great Syrian Revolt (1925-27)

• France divides Syria into seperare states: Greater Lebanon, State of Damascus, State of Aleppo

• The Maronite Christian minority is favoured in Lebanon, leading to long-term sectarian divisions

1923: Treaty of Lausanne

• Replaces the Treaty of Sèvres, officially defining Turkey’s modern borders

• Recognised Turkish sovereignty and nullified Kurdish and Armenian independence

• Turkey regained control over Smyrna and eastern Anatolia

• European powers abandon plans for direct control of Turkey in exchange for trade agreements and the closure of capitulations