Treaty of Sèvres

Treaty of Sèvres, peace treaty between Turkey and the Allied powers, excluding the USSR and the United States, following World War I. The agreement was signed on August 10, 1920, at Sèvres, France. It dissolved the Ottoman Empire and limited Turkey to the city of Constantinople (present-day İstanbul) and surrounding territory and to part of Asia Minor, or Anatolia. The treaty, acceptable to Mohammed VI, sultan of Turkey, and the existing government, was not acknowledged by the Nationalist leader Mustafa Kemal (later Atatürk). As head of the Nationalist Party, he rallied the opposition to the treaty, overthrew the government, and established the Republic of Turkey, with Angora (now Ankara) as its capital. His success against the French, Italian, and Greek armies, which had occupied Turkey at the end of the war, led to agreements with the Allies. The Conference of Lausanne (1923) resulted in a general treaty more favorable to the Turks.