Greek Turkish relations go back a long way and have in the
past generally been marked by broken periods of hostility over the years. In
1821 Greece finally became
independent from the Ottoman Empire and ever since this time there have been a
number of wars which have seen Greece
and Turkey
face each other. The first of these was in 1897 and was the Greco-Turkish War
followed by the Balkan Wars in 1912-1913, the First World War in 1914-1918 and
then the Greco-Turkish War during the years of 1919–1922.
Greek Turkish relations become strained after Greece declared
its independence in 1821 and its initial borders were accepted in 1832. Initially
this included of the Greek mainland south of Arta to Volos
as well as Euboea and the Cyclades islands. However
the remaining areas such as Crete, Cyprus and the remaining Aegean islands, Epirus, Thessaly,
Macedonia and Thrace were still under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Constantinople was originally the capital
of the Greek part of the Roman Empire but was
lost in 1453 to the Turks. During the 19th Century the main Greek
politicians wished to claim back these areas and this became known as the Great
Idea. However the Ottoman Empire did not agree
to these and as such relations became even more strained.
During the Crimean War Britain
and France tried to prevent Greece from
attacking the Ottomans. Again during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 the Greeks would
have liked to have participated but had no effective part in this conflict. Following
the Congress of Berlin in 1881 Greece
was given most of Thessaly and part of Epirus. However during 1897 a
revolt in Crete resulted in a Greek Turkish War which did not go well for Greece and they
were unable to overpower the Ottomans. As a result of this loss Greece had some
loss of power and had to give up some of their territory. In 1908 power of the Ottoman Empire was given to Young Turks who wished to
create some kind of centrally governed state. However this meant that the
minorities such as the Greeks and Armenians lost even more of the position they
once held. Due to this Crete became an area that both wanted and the Balkan
Wars in 1912–1913 resulted in Greece,
with the help of Bulgaria
and Serbia, seizing Crete,
the islands, the rest of Thessaly and Epirus,
and coastal Macedonia.
Further Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Turkish_War_(1919%E2%80%931922)
http://greekhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_grecoturkish_war_of_1897
