Postwar Negotiations and the League of Nations

1914 – WWI Begins in the Middle East

Britain declares Egypt a protectorate and the Ottoman Empire joins the Central Powers, setting the stage for imperial collapse and wartime repression.

1918 – Ottoman Defeat

The Ottoman Empire collapses militarily, Allied forces occupy key territories, and a power vacuum opens in Anatolia.

Early 1919 – Wilsonian Ideas Spread

Wilson’s language of self-determination inspires anti-colonial activists in Egypt and the Ottoman world.

March 1919 – Egyptian 1919 Revolution

British arrest Saad Zaghlul, triggering a nationwide uprising involving peasants, workers, students, elites, and women demanding independence.

April 1919 – British Diplomatic Maneuvering

Britain pressures the U.S. to recognize the Egyptian protectorate, undermining Egyptian appeals to Wilsonian self-determination.

May 6–15, 1919 – Decision to Occupy Smyrna

Allied leaders authorize Greek landings in Smyrna to block Italian expansion, igniting violence and shocking the Turkish population.

May 15, 1919 – Greek Landing at Smyrna

Greek troops occupy Smyrna, riots erupt, and the event becomes a symbol of foreign partition for Turks.

May 19, 1919 – Atatürk Arrives in Samsun

Mustafa Kemal launches nationalist resistance in Anatolia, marking the start of the Turkish War of Independence.

Summer–Fall 1919 – Rise of Turkish Nationalism

Atatürk convenes congresses, issues the National Pact, and unifies disparate resistance groups.

1919–1920 – Struggle Over Anatolia

Allies attempt to impose mandates and divide Turkish lands; Turkish nationalists consolidate and resist.

Collapse of Empires

WWI destroyed the Ottoman imperial structure, creating political vacuums in Anatolia and accelerating nationalist state-building.

Rise of Nationalism in Turkey

Foreign occupation, partition plans, and Smyrna’s landing activated a mass Turkish nationalist movement under Atatürk.

Rise of Nationalism in Egypt

Wartime repression and Wilsonian language inspired Egyptians to launch the 1919 Revolution demanding independence from Britain.

Self-Determination vs. Imperial Reality

Colonized peoples embraced Wilson’s ideals, but the great powers applied them selectively, exposing contradictions and fueling anti-colonial anger.

Great-Power Bargaining Over Ottoman Lands

At Paris, Britain, France, Italy, Greece, and the U.S. treated Anatolia as negotiable territory, escalating conflict and undermining legitimacy.

Mandate System Imposed on the Region

WWI ended with European powers replacing Ottoman sovereignty with mandates, intensifying colonial domination rather than ending it.

Mass Politics and Social Mobilization

WWI created conditions for cross-class and cross-religious movements, seen in Egypt’s 1919 Revolution and Turkish popular resistance.

Turkish War of Independence Begins

Allied plans to partition Anatolia produced armed national resistance that ultimately reshaped the region and created modern Turkey.

Delegitimization of Old Regimes

The Ottoman Sultanate lost authority after defeat and occupation; British rule in Egypt lost moral legitimacy after wartime repression.

Birth of Modern Nation-States

WWI violence and postwar diplomacy set Turkey and Egypt on paths toward modern national identity, sovereignty, and mass political participation.

TIMELINE FLASHCARDS

Late 1800s–1914 Lebanese Migration Networks

Rising migration to the Americas creates economic dependence on mahjar remittances, making families—especially women-headed households—highly vulnerable during WWI.

Late 1800s–1914 Rising Ottoman Nationalism

CUP ideology shifts toward Turkification and distrust of non-Muslim minorities, tightening identity boundaries before WWI.

1914 Ottoman Entry into WWI

Ottoman alliance with Germany triggers Allied blockade of Lebanon, remittance stoppage, and heightened suspicion toward Armenians.

1915 Armenian Draft & Disappearance of Men

General mobilization removes Armenian men from their communities, causing fear and destabilizing families.

1915 Beginning of Armenian Deportations

CUP orders mass deportation of Armenians framed as “security measures,” marking the start of genocide.

1915–1916 Armenian Genocide Escalation

Armenians are deported, massacred, dispersed, and targeted for destruction across Anatolia.

1915–1918 Lebanon Famine

Blockade, failed remittances, and Ottoman inaction cause one-third of Mount Lebanon’s population to die of starvation.

1917 U.S. Enters WWI

All financial transfers to Lebanon collapse, intensifying famine and social breakdown.

1918 End of WWI

Deportations end; Armenian survivors emerge scattered and traumatized, while Lebanon faces devastation after years of famine.

⭐ THEMATIC FLASHCARDS — Role of National Identity & Nationalism

Ottoman Wartime Nationalism

CUP redefines the empire as a Turkish national homeland, framing Armenians as a collective internal threat requiring removal.

Ethno-National Purification Ideology

Policies justified deportation and massacre of Armenians on the basis of ethnic identity, not individual actions.

Armenian Identity as Target

Armenians were persecuted explicitly for their identity; entire communities deported regardless of loyalty or behavior. Cultural Erasure as Nationalist Goal

Women as Wartime Heads of Household

Lebanese women assumed new economic and social roles during WWI as migration networks collapsed.

Diaspora Identity as Survival Tool

Lebanese women framed themselves as “American citizens” or linked to mahjar relatives to access aid, showing how identity shaped access to protection.

National Identity as Justification for Violence

Ottoman leaders used nationalist rhetoric to portray Armenians as traitors, enabling genocide under the guise of wartime necessity.

Breakdown of Ottoman Pluralism

Wartime nationalism ended the centuries-old multiethnic structure of the empire, replacing coexistence with ethnic hierarchy and exclusion.

Nationalism Reshaping Daily Life

In both Lebanon and Armenia, families experienced war through identity—determining who starved, who fled, and who lived or died.

WWI as Identity-Based Catastrophe

The war transformed the Eastern Mediterranean into a space where national identity structured suffering, survival, and the future of entire communities.