# Canonical recap data for Ottoman Empire Dissolution & Treaty of Lausanne (1923)
# Source: https://recap.at/1923/treaty-of-lausanne
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: treaty-of-lausanne
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1923/treaty-of-lausanne"
title: Ottoman Empire Dissolution & Treaty of Lausanne
aliases:
- Treaty of Lausanne
- Ottoman Empire collapse
- Turkish War of Independence
- Birth of the Turkish Republic
subtitle: Six centuries of empire ended not with conquest, but with a pen.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1923-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 1923
decade: 1920
country:
name: Turkey
slug: turkey
summaryShort: The Ottoman Empire, which had ruled for over 600 years, formally dissolved in 1923 when Turkey signed the Treaty of Lausanne, establishing its modern borders and ending Allied occupation.
summaryLong: |-
  The Ottoman Empire's final collapse came not with a bang but through a series of military defeats, nationalist uprising, and diplomatic agreements that reshaped the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. By 1922, the empire that had lasted since 1299 was reduced to Anatolia and a portion of Thrace, its vast territories carved up by European powers following World War I. The Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923) gave nationalist forces under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk the military upper hand needed to negotiate from a position of strength rather than pure surrender.

  The Treaty of Lausanne, signed on July 24, 1923, formally ended hostilities between Turkey and the Allied powers-Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Romania, and Yugoslavia. Unlike the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, which had demanded harsh reparations and territorial concessions, Lausanne recognized Turkish sovereignty over Anatolia and parts of Thrace, with the Dardanelles and Bosporus placed under international control. The agreement required Turkey to recognize the independence of various former Ottoman territories and accept responsibility for minority rights, though enforcement proved inconsistent in practice.

  The treaty's human cost was substantial. It formalized the exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece-roughly 1.5 million people displaced in total-to prevent future ethnic conflict. Turkish Muslims were transferred from Greece to Turkey, while Greek Orthodox Christians moved the opposite direction. This mass migration, often euphemistically called "population exchange," created profound trauma and economic dislocation, though it was framed at the time as a pragmatic solution to sectarian tensions.

  Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's government used Lausanne's success to consolidate power and begin radical modernization of the Turkish state. On October 29, 1923, just three months after signing the treaty, Turkey was formally proclaimed a republic, with Atatürk as its first president. The Ottoman sultanate was abolished; the caliphate followed in 1924. These moves severed the institutional continuity that had anchored the empire for six centuries.

  Lausanne proved durable in ways many post-war settlements did not. Its recognition of Turkey's territorial integrity prevented the fragmentary chaos that had threatened the region and avoided the resentment that had fueled grievances from World War I. That said, the treaty's provisions on minority protections and international waterways control created ongoing friction that would define Turkish foreign policy for decades.
lede: The Ottoman Empire-one of history's longest-lasting empires, spanning six centuries-formally ended on July 24, 1923, when Turkey signed the Treaty of Lausanne with the Allied powers. The deal recognized Turkish independence and modern borders after a brutal three-year war of independence, but required mass population transfers between Turkey and Greece that displaced over a million people. Within months, Turkey became a republic under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, marking the end of 624 years of Ottoman rule and the start of a radically different Turkish state.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria_on_Treaty_of_Lausanne.png/1280px-Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria_on_Treaty_of_Lausanne.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Treaty of Lausanne"
importance: 50
sourceConfidence: 50
keyFacts:
- label: Treaty signed
  value: July 24, 1923
- label: Ottoman Empire duration
  value: 1299–1923 (624 years)
- label: Turkish Republic proclaimed
  value: October 29, 1923
- label: People displaced in population exchange
  value: Approximately 1.5 million
- label: Allied signatories to Lausanne
  value: 7 nations (Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Japan, Romania, Yugoslavia)
- label: War of Independence duration
  value: 1919–1923 (3 years)
- label: Sultanate abolished
  value: November 1, 1922
- label: Caliphate abolished
  value: March 3, 1924
timeline:
- date: 1919-05-19
  title: Turkish War of Independence begins
  description: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk launches nationalist campaign against Allied occupation and Istanbul government, marking the start of Turkey's fight for sovereignty.
- date: 1920-08-10
  title: Treaty of Sèvres signed
  description: Allied powers impose harsh settlement on Ottoman Empire, requiring massive territorial cessions. Turkish nationalists reject the treaty immediately.
- date: 1922-08-26
  title: Battle of Dumlupınar
  description: Turkish forces decisively defeat Greek Army in Anatolia, effectively ending the Greco-Turkish War and strengthening Atatürk's negotiating position.
- date: 1922-11-01
  title: Ottoman Sultanate abolished
  description: Grand National Assembly in Ankara formally ends the sultanate. The last sultan, Mehmed VI, flees to Malta aboard a British warship.
- date: 1923-01-30
  title: Treaty negotiations commence
  description: Turkish and Allied delegations begin formal negotiations at Lausanne, Switzerland, leading to a revised settlement more favorable to Turkey.
- date: 1923-07-24
  title: Treaty of Lausanne signed
  description: Turkey and Allied powers sign treaty recognizing Turkish sovereignty over Anatolia and parts of Thrace. Population exchange between Turkey and Greece formalized.
- date: 1923-10-29
  title: Turkish Republic proclaimed
  description: Mustafa Kemal Atatürk becomes first president of the new Turkish Republic. Modern Turkey is officially established.
- date: 1924-03-03
  title: Caliphate abolished
  description: Grand National Assembly formally abolishes the Islamic caliphate, severing the final institutional link to the Ottoman Empire.
sources: []
related: []
relationships:
- targetSlug: treaty-of-versailles
  type: responded_to
  confidence: 85
  evidence: Lausanne directly superseded the 1919 Treaty of Sèvres, which had imposed harsher terms on the Ottoman Empire following WWI; Turkish nationalists under Atatürk rejected Sèvres and renegotiated from a position of military strength, resulting in a treaty far more favorable to Turkish sovereignty.
  source: ai
- targetSlug: league-of-nations-established
  type: happened_during
  confidence: 75
  evidence: The Treaty of Lausanne was negotiated and signed in 1923 under the auspices of League of Nations frameworks, though Turkey itself did not join the League until 1932; the treaty represented an early test of the League's capacity to mediate post-war territorial settlements.
  source: ai
- targetSlug: irish-independence-treaty
  type: echoed
  confidence: 60
  evidence: Both the Irish Independence Treaty (1922) and Treaty of Lausanne (1923) resulted in former colonial or multi-ethnic empires granting independence to nationalist movements through negotiated settlements, establishing templates for 20th-century decolonization.
  source: ai
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria_on_Treaty_of_Lausanne.png/1280px-Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria_on_Treaty_of_Lausanne.png"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria_on_Treaty_of_Lausanne.png/800px-Turkey-Greece-Bulgaria_on_Treaty_of_Lausanne.png"
  caption: Treaty of Lausanne
  credit: Wikipedia · "Treaty of Lausanne"
  width: 330
  height: 169
culturalContext:
topMusic:
- title: Şarkı (Turkish folk and classical traditions)
  artist: Ottoman & early Turkish Republican court musicians
  year: 1923
  note: 1923 marked a pivot toward secular nationalist music; Atatürk later reformed the Ottoman musical canon, Westernizing performance and composition.
  referenceCard:
  status: not_found
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T07:36:16.067Z"
topFilms:
- title: Within Four Walls (Dört Duvar Arasında)
  year: 1924
  note: One of the first Turkish feature films, shot just months after the republic's founding; cinema became a tool for nationalist cultural messaging.
  referenceCard:
  status: not_found
  checkedAt: "2026-05-27T07:36:16.067Z"
topTVShows: []
zeitgeistNote: "1923 Turkey was gripped by radical nation-building: Atatürk's reforms abolished the caliphate, replaced Arabic script with Latin alphabet, and reoriented Turkish identity from Ottoman-Islamic to secular-Western. The Treaty of Lausanne was the international benediction on a revolution already underway domestically. The cultural mood was one of erasure and reinvention-mourning for a lost empire but also liberation from Ottoman decline."
comparisonThenNow:
- metric: Turkish Territory
  thenValue: ~783,562 km² (reduced from 5.2 million km² Ottoman Empire at peak)
  thenYear: 1923
  nowValue: ~783,562 km² (unchanged)
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Lausanne essentially froze Turkey's modern borders; territorial disputes with Syria, Iraq, and Greece persist but borders remain formally constant.
- metric: Population
  thenValue: ~13.6 million (post-exchange)
  thenYear: 1923
  nowValue: ~85 million
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Natural growth and immigration, particularly from the Balkans and Caucasus, have increased Turkey's population sixfold.
- metric: International Recognition
  thenValue: Newly sovereign, still excluded from League of Nations
  thenYear: 1923
  nowValue: NATO member (1952), EU candidate, G20 participant
  nowYear: 2024
  note: Atatürk's modernization strategy succeeded in integrating Turkey into Western institutions, though EU accession remains stalled over human rights concerns.
- metric: Christian Population
  thenValue: ~20% (Anatolian Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians)
  thenYear: 1923
  nowValue: <0.5%
  nowYear: 2024
  note: The treaty's population exchanges, combined with earlier genocides, effectively eliminated Anatolia's ancient Christian communities.
impactStatement: The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne formally dissolved the Ottoman Empire and established the borders of modern Turkey under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, ending decades of territorial fragmentation and foreign occupation. It replaced the punitive Treaty of Sèvres and granted Turkey recognition as a sovereign nation-state, reshaping the geopolitical map of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
consequences:
- title: Turkish Republic Proclaimed
  year: 1923
  description: On October 29, 1923, just weeks after Lausanne was signed, Atatürk declared Turkey a republic, formally abolishing the Ottoman sultanate and establishing a secular nationalist state.
- title: Population Exchanges Begin
  year: 1923
  description: The treaty mandated exchange of Greek and Turkish populations; over 1.2 million people were forcibly relocated, creating refugee crises across both nations and reshaping demographics in Anatolia and the Aegean.
- title: Cyprus Remains Under British Control
  year: 1923
  description: Unlike most Ottoman territories, Cyprus was not returned to Turkey but remained a British crown colony, becoming a point of ethnic and geopolitical tension for decades.
- title: Arab Mandates Solidify Under League of Nations
  year: 1924
  description: Following Lausanne, the League of Nations formally recognized British and French mandates over former Ottoman territories in the Middle East, including Iraq, Palestine, and Syria, establishing colonial frameworks that would generate conflict through the 20th century.
- title: Aegean Sea Border Disputes Emerge
  year: 1960
  description: Ambiguities in the treaty's maritime clauses contributed to Greek-Turkish tensions over Aegean islands and continental shelf rights, disputes that remain unresolved and periodically destabilize NATO's southeastern flank.
archiveSnapshots: []
categories:
- war
metaDescription: The Ottoman Empire collapsed. Lausanne formalized what war couldn't finish-stripping the sultanate, redrawing borders, and forcing Turkey into the modern state system. No reparations. Total reset.
originSignals:
- "wikipedia:treaty-of-lausanne"
translations:
es:
lede: El Imperio Otomano, uno de los imperios más duraderos de la historia, que se extendió durante seis siglos, terminó formalmente el 24 de julio de 1923, cuando Turquía firmó el Tratado de Lausana con las potencias aliadas. El acuerdo reconoció la independencia turca y las fronteras modernas después de una brutal guerra de independencia de tres años, pero requirió transferencias masivas de población entre Turquía y Grecia que desplazaron a más de un millón de personas. Meses después, Turquía se convirtió en una república bajo Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, marcando el fin de 624 años de dominio otomano y el inicio de un estado turco radicalmente diferente.
summaryShort: El Imperio Otomano, que había gobernado durante más de 600 años, se disolvió formalmente en 1923 cuando Turquía firmó el Tratado de Lausana, estableciendo sus fronteras modernas y terminando la ocupación aliada.
summaryLong: |-
  El colapso final del Imperio Otomano llegó no de manera abrupta sino a través de una serie de derrotas militares, levantamiento nacionalista y acuerdos diplomáticos que remodelaron el Mediterráneo Oriental y Oriente Medio. Para 1922, el imperio que había durado desde 1299 se había reducido a Anatolia y una porción de Tracia, sus vastos territorios repartidos por potencias europeas después de la Primera Guerra Mundial. La Guerra de Independencia Turca (1919–1923) dio a las fuerzas nacionalistas bajo Mustafa Kemal Atatürk la superioridad militar necesaria para negociar desde una posición de fuerza en lugar de rendición pura.

  El Tratado de Lausana, firmado el 24 de julio de 1923, terminó formalmente las hostilidades entre Turquía y las potencias aliadas—Gran Bretaña, Francia, Italia, Grecia, Japón, Rumania y Yugoslavia. A diferencia del Tratado de Sèvres en 1920, que había exigido reparaciones duras y concesiones territoriales, Lausana reconoció la soberanía turca sobre Anatolia y partes de Tracia, con los Dardanelos y el Bósforo colocados bajo control internacional. El acuerdo requería que Turquía reconociera la independencia de varios antiguos territorios otomanos y aceptara responsabilidad por derechos de minorías, aunque la aplicación resultó inconsistente en la práctica.

  El costo humano del tratado fue sustancial. Formalizó el intercambio de poblaciones entre Turquía y Grecia—aproximadamente 1,5 millones de personas desplazadas en total—para prevenir futuros conflictos étnicos. Musulmanes turcos fueron transferidos desde Grecia a Turquía, mientras que cristianos ortodoxos griegos se trasladaron en dirección opuesta. Esta migración masiva, frecuentemente llamada eufemísticamente "intercambio de poblaciones", creó trauma profundo y dislocación económica, aunque fue presentada en el momento como una solución pragmática a tensiones sectarias.

  El gobierno de Mustafa Kemal Atatürk utilizó el éxito de Lausana para consolidar el poder e iniciar la modernización radical del estado turco. El 29 de octubre de 1923, apenas tres meses después de firmar el tratado, Turquía fue proclamada formalmente una república, con Atatürk como su primer presidente. El sultanato otomano fue abolido; el califato le siguió en 1924. Estos movimientos cortaron la continuidad institucional que había anclado al imperio durante seis siglos.

  Lausana demostró ser duradero de formas que muchos acuerdos de posguerra no lo fueron. Su reconocimiento de la integridad territorial de Turquía previno el caos fragmentario que había amenazado la región y evitó el resentimiento que había alimentado agravios de la Primera Guerra Mundial. Dicho esto, las disposiciones del tratado sobre protecciones de minorías y control de vías fluviales internacionales crearon fricción continua que definiría la política exterior turca durante décadas.
generatedAt: "2026-06-05T08:55:55.149Z"
fr:
lede: L'Empire ottoman - l'un des empires les plus durables de l'histoire, s'étendant sur six siècles - a officiellement pris fin le 24 juillet 1923, quand la Turquie a signé le Traité de Lausanne avec les puissances alliées. L'accord a reconnu l'indépendance turque et les frontières modernes après une brutale guerre d'indépendance de trois ans, mais a exigé des transferts massifs de populations entre la Turquie et la Grèce qui ont déplacé plus d'un million de personnes. Quelques mois après, la Turquie est devenue une république sous Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, marquant la fin de 624 ans de règne ottoman et le début d'un État turc radicalement différent.
summaryShort: L'Empire ottoman, qui avait régné pendant plus de 600 ans, s'est officiellement dissous en 1923 quand la Turquie a signé le Traité de Lausanne, établissant ses frontières modernes et mettant fin à l'occupation alliée.
summaryLong: |-
  L'effondrement final de l'Empire ottoman est venu non pas avec fracas mais par une série de défaites militaires, un soulèvement nationaliste et des accords diplomatiques qui ont remodelé la Méditerranée orientale et le Moyen-Orient. En 1922, l'empire qui avait duré depuis 1299 était réduit à l'Anatolie et une partie de la Thrace, ses vastes territoires découpés par les puissances européennes suite à la Première Guerre mondiale. La Guerre d'indépendance turque (1919–1923) a donné aux forces nationalistes sous Mustafa Kemal Atatürk l'avantage militaire nécessaire pour négocier à partir d'une position de force plutôt que d'une pure capitulation.

  Le Traité de Lausanne, signé le 24 juillet 1923, a officiellement mis fin aux hostilités entre la Turquie et les puissances alliées - la Grande-Bretagne, la France, l'Italie, la Grèce, le Japon, la Roumanie et la Yougoslavie. Contrairement au Traité de Sèvres en 1920, qui avait exigé des réparations sévères et des concessions territoriales, Lausanne a reconnu la souveraineté turque sur l'Anatolie et des parties de la Thrace, les Dardanelles et le Bosphore étant placés sous contrôle international. L'accord exigeait que la Turquie reconnaisse l'indépendance de divers anciens territoires ottomans et accepte la responsabilité des droits des minorités, bien que l'application s'avéra incohérente en pratique.

  Le coût humain du traité était considérable. Il a formalisé l'échange de populations entre la Turquie et la Grèce - environ 1,5 million de personnes déplacées au total - pour prévenir les futurs conflits ethniques. Les musulmans turcs ont été transférés de Grèce en Turquie, tandis que les chrétiens orthodoxes grecs se sont déplacés dans la direction opposée. Cette migration massive, souvent appelée de manière euphémistique « échange de populations », a créé un trauma profond et une dislocation économique, bien qu'elle ait été présentée à l'époque comme une solution pragmatique aux tensions sectaires.

  Le gouvernement de Mustafa Kemal Atatürk a utilisé le succès de Lausanne pour consolider le pouvoir et commencer la modernisation radicale de l'État turc. Le 29 octobre 1923, seulement trois mois après la signature du traité, la Turquie a été formellement proclamée république, avec Atatürk comme premier président. Le sultanat ottoman a été aboli ; le califat a suivi en 1924. Ces mesures ont rompu la continuité institutionnelle qui avait ancré l'empire pendant six siècles.

  Lausanne s'avéra durable de manière que nombreux règlements d'après-guerre ne l'ont pas été. Sa reconnaissance de l'intégrité territoriale turque a prévenu le chaos fragmentaire qui avait menacé la région et a évité le ressentiment qui avait alimenté les griefs de la Première Guerre mondiale. Cela dit, les dispositions du traité concernant la protection des minorités et le contrôle international des voies navigables ont créé des frictions permanentes qui définiraient la politique étrangère turque pendant des décennies.
generatedAt: "2026-06-05T08:56:02.359Z"
geo:
lat: 39.294076
lng: 35.2316631
place: Turkey
note: Location inferred from recap.country via OSM Nominatim.
significance: 25
