Allies and Adversaries: Anglo-Ottoman Boundary Negotiation in the Middle East, 1906–1914

Abstract

From 1906 with the Egyptian-Ottoman Agreement of 1906 to the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, the British and Ottoman Empires signed numerous agreements. These were attempts to avoid conflict and achieve mutual goals. In these treaties, British interests were best served, but Ottoman interests were recognized, in many cases, as legitimate. The best examples of these power-sharing agreements were the Egyptian-Ottoman Agreement of 1906, British participation in the final implementation of the Treaty of Erzurum in 1911–1914, and Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913 and 1914. These agreements were essentially peaceful resolutions to long-standing issues associated with the ‘Eastern Question.’ The First World War ruptured this working relationship. With the outbreak of war, Britain penned new agreements undoing treaties signed with its erstwhile partner. The Treaty of London of 1915, Constantinople Agreement of 1915, and the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 planned for an outright partition of the Ottoman Empire. These wartime agreements were, for the most part, put into practice with the Armistice of Mudros of 1918 and the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920. With the failure of many of the provisions of the Treaty of Sèvres, Britain and the newly emergent Republic of Turkey re-established a working relationship and finally came to an agreement with the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923. This chapter will outline the ebb and flow of the diplomatic relationship of the Ottoman and British Empires; it will highlight the spirit of cooperation between the two powers and will synthesize many of the issues resolved in 1923.