So sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy and distracted. I hope to have some new stuff soon, but in the meantime I've revised the last chapter to factor in those inconsistencies and mistakes y'all have been bringing to my attention (thanks for doing so btw, I tend to write stuff without checking plausibility sometimes).
Section III Healing from the National Schism; 1922-1925
During World War I, the government of Greece had been divided between the pro Central Powers King Constantine I and the Pro Entente and pro Republican Venizelists (led by statesman Eleftherios Venizelos). At the time of Turkish defeat in the 4th Greco Turkish war, the government had been lead by staunchly pro Constantine Prime Minister Dimitrios Gounaris. Constantine hoped to sooth the lack of unity in his country, but he died in 1923 and Crown Prince George II became King.
King George II’s rule saw the start of Greece’s recovery from almost a decade of war and political turmoil. Unemployment fell steadily, and people began to trust the government again. King George II viewed restoring his nation as a big priority, and was sometimes questioned for his rightwing tendencies .
In Turkey Mustafa Kemal found himself running into wall after wall as Turks met his attempts to remake their society with increasing hostility. With Turkish defeat in the Fourth Greco Turkish war, much of the support Kemal won in OTL was nonexistent. Reforms such as translating the Qoran into Turkish were fiercely opposed by the religious, and making the nation officially secular was very unpopular. Some reforms, such as moving the capital to Ankara or making education accessible for all, were seen as good, yet in general these were outweighed by reforms like the banning of the fez or the abolition of Sharia Courts. However, the final straw came when Kemal introduced his proposed Turkish Name Law and the use of the Latin Alphabet. These two were seen as an attempt to not only root out Islamic tradition, but to root out the Turkish identity. Riots started in mid 1923 in Ankara, which quickly spread to Qawniyya (Konya), Sivas, Adana, and other major cities.
By November it became apparent that if Kemal stayed in power there would be a rebellion, and in December of that year he stepped down as president. Musa Kâzım Karabekir, a Turkish general who had clashed with Kemal in the past, became president, and reversed many of Kemal’s reforms. Sharia courts were returned as the default court, but one was allowed to opt for a secular court if they chose. The liturgical language was returned to Arabic, and any plans for name reforms were dropped. Universal education was still given, and women retained having equal rights as men.
At the same time this was happening in Turkey, the Ottoman “Empire” was facing changes of their own. The Empire’s population was about 900,000, of which about 850,000 resided in Constantinople. The city had a Turkish majority, with a large minority of Greeks and smaller minorities of Armenians, Jews, Slavs, Aromanians, Circassians, Albanians, Georgians, and others. The European advisors had de facto rule of the country. Despite this, the 1920s was a time of great reform in the empire.
The most profound reform was the Constitutional Reform. Also known as the Third Constitutional Era, it resulted in a relatively functional democracy in the Empire. The new constitution was similar to the old one with a few exceptions. There would still be a bicameral legislature, with the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, having its representatives elected every 4 years. The upper house, or Senate, would have its representatives appointed by the Sultan, and serve for life. However, given that the empire was now much smaller, the Administrative Councils (equivalent to the USA’s Electoral College) were too be abolished, and the Chamber of Deputies elected directly by the people. The Grand Vizier would be elected by the Chamber of Deputies, and serve for 4 years.
The first elections under the new system were held in 1924. The refounded Freedom and Accord Party won 113 out of 200 seats, followed by the Respect and Rehabilitation Party, with 68 seats. The Freedom and Accord Party’s namesake was a large, liberal party in the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies before WWI. The Party’s new platform called for increasing ties with the west and the importance of the Emperor. The Respect and Rehabilitation Party was founded a few weeks before the election, with a platform of abolishing the nation and joining the Turkish Republic. The party wasn’t trusted by the western Pashas, but were allowed in Parliament due to their minority status. The remaining twenty seats were held by various ethnic parties, and one seat held by the Communist Party.
At this same time the Russian Civil War had all but ended, but with Constantinople again in Christian hands, it was chosen as the place of residence for the House of Romanov-in-exile, led by Kirill Vladimirovich, and was also chosen as the base for the Russian-orthodox-church-outside-Russia.
In 1922 Benito Mussolini came to power in Italy, bringing stable, but repressive government to the nation. Mussolini’s government was the first “fascist” government in Europe, but would not be the last. Mussolini increased the Italian presence in Constantinople, and encouraged poor Italians to settle Lydia. Greece was wary of Italy’s expansionism, but recognized the nation was nowhere near ready for war.
Another country that feared Italian expansion was Albania. Albania was one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a weak government. The Prince of Albania had fled in 1914 due to civil war and WWI, and had not returned at the request of the victorious allies afterwards. By 1921 Albania was being governed by a High Council. The three most powerful men in Albania, who were all vying for control of the country, were Ahmet Muhtar Zogolli, Ymer Pasha Vrioni II, and Theofan Stilian Noli. However, Zogolli, who had over 500 blood feuds against him, was assassinated in a café in Vlorë in May 1923. This shifted the balance of power in the country, and both Vrioni and Noli quickly tried to take control. Vrioni, who had the support of the wealthy landowners and the Muslim majority of the country, won the brief civil war against Noli and his followers, who were primarily part of the Eastern Orthodox Minority.
Vrioni had himself declared Bey of Albania shortly afterwards, as the official Prince, William of Weid, hadn’t been to the country in almost a decade (although he would continue to claim the throne from exile). Vrioni believed in the formation of a greater Albania, which hurt the country’s relations with neighboring Greece and Yugoslavia. Throughout the 1920s Albania would continue to struggle economically.
Greece’s other neighbor, Bulgaria, was facing problems of their own. Tsar Boris III had come to power just in 1918, and faced large discontent among the peasantry. Looking for allies, Bulgaria began to foster relations with Italy during the 1920s.
During all this time, the Weimar Republic in Germany was suffering economically. Hyperinflation had pushed the economy to the brink, and the majority of people were not satisfied with the government. Various radical groups, such as the National Socialist Party, were gaining support. In 1923 the Nazi Party attempted to take over the government in Bavaria. This “Beer Hall Putsch” as it became to be know, was an utter failure. Over a dozen Nazis were killed in the short fight, including the deputy leader of the party, Rudolph Hess. After this, the Weimar Republic stayed in power, but lost even more support.
In 1924, Britain signed a treaty with the Kingdom of Hejaz, making it a British protectorate. Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Mecca and King of Hejaz, signed the treaty to protect his country from a feared Saudi attack, and the British signed the treaty to both secure the Red sea and to gain influence over a religion held by millions of people in the British Empire. Mehmed VI, the Emperor of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph, also declared that Hussein bin Ali would be the new caliph after he died. Mehmed did this recognizing that the ruler of an empire the size of a city claiming to be the ruler of a religion of millions was only discrediting the title of Caliph.
While not originally intended to do so, the UK decided to encourage the recognition of the new Caliph, seeing as to how that would help Britain possess influence on the millions of Muslims in the British empire. Britain encouraged the recognition of Hussein bin Ali in their colonial empire, as did France, and over the next few years was recognized by the Muslim world as Caliph.
