Abstract:

At the end of the First World War, the Ottoman Empire had to sign the armistice, which revealed its position against the Allied Powers, on October 30, 1918. The Armistice of Mudros, which contained 25 articles, was imposing extremely harsh conditions. Especially the twenty-fourth article was of great interest to Erzurum and the people of Erzurum. Here, it was stated that "In the event of confusion in the Vilâyât-ı Sitte (Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbakır, Harput, Sivas and Trabzon), the Entente Powers preserve the right to occupy any part of the aforementioned provinces". The Vilâyât-ı Şarkiye Müdâfaa-i Hukuk-u Milliye Cemiyeti, which was founded in Istanbul by the former governor of Bitlis, Harputlu Nedim Bey, was activated by Süleyman Nazif and a few of his friends. Mustafa Kemal Pasha, came to Samsun in 19 May 1919, as the IXth Army Units Inspector. On 21 May he sent a telegram to Kazım Karabekir Pasha, the Commander of the XVth Army Corps in Erzurum. With this telegram, the relations between Mustafa Kemal Pasha and Erzurum began. In the Erzurum Congress convened on 23 July 1919, Mustafa Kemal Pasha was elected as the chairman of the congress, and the principles of the Turkish National Struggle were determined. As a result of these decisions, the Sivas Congress was convened. Then the Turkish Grand National Assembly was opened. Thus, the Turkish War of Independence was continued with great tenacity and determination, and victory was won with the Great Offensive.