Treaty of Batum

Treaty of Batumi
Type Peace treaty
Signed June 4, 1918
Location Batumi, Georgia
Condition Ratification
Signatories Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire
Armenia First Republic of Armenia
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan Democratic Republic
Georgia (country) Democratic Republic of Georgia
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Historiography

Treaty of Batum was signed in Batum between the Ottoman Empire and 3 Trans-caucasus states: the First Republic of Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Democratic Republic of Georgia, on June 4, 1918.[1][2] It was the first treaty of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and had 14 articles.

Background

On December 5, 1917, the armistice of Erzincan was signed, between the Russians and Ottomans in Erzincan, ending the armed conflicts between Russia and Ottoman Empire in the Persian Campaign and Caucasus Campaign of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I.[3] On March 3, 1918, the armistice of Erzincan followed up with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk marking Russia's exit from World War I. Between March 14 and April 1918, the Trabzon peace conference was held between the Ottoman Empire and the delegation of the Transcaucasian Diet (Transcaucasian Sejm). Enver Pasha offered to surrender all ambitions in the Caucasus in return for recognition of the Ottoman reacquisition of the east Anatolian provinces at Brest-Litovsk, at the end of the negotiations.[4] On April 5, the head of the Transcaucasian delegation Akaki Chkhenkeli accepted the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk as a basis for more negotiations and wired the governing bodies urging them to accept that position.[5] The mood prevailing in Tiflis was very different. The Armenians pressured the Republic to refuse and acknowledged the existence of a state of war between themselves and the Ottoman Empire.[5] Hostilities resumed, and the Ottoman troops overran new lands to the east, reaching the prewar borders.

Treaty

On May 11, a new peace conference opened at Batum.[4] Ottomans extended their demands to include Tiflis as well as Alexandropol and Echmiadzin; they also wanted a railroad to be built to connect Kars and Julfa with Baku. The new Armenian state, through which the transport corridor would run, was to give free right of passage. The Armenian and Georgian members of the Republic’s delegation began to stall. Beginning on May 21, the Ottoman army moved ahead once again into areas of Russian Armenia that had not been under the sultan's control since the 17th century. The conflict led to the Battle of Sardarapat (May 21–29), the Battle of Kara Killisse (1918) (May 24–28), and the Battle of Bash Abaran (May 21–24).

The treaty was signed while the Third Army held positions 7 km from Yerevan and only 10 km from Echmiadzin. The treaty needed to be examined and confirmed by the Central Powers. Fifteen days after the treaty, delegates from Armenia were asked to come to Constantinople. In the surrendered territories the majority of the 1,250,000 pre-war inhabitants had been Armenians, with more than 400,000 in the ceded sector of Yerevan province alone.[6]

Signatures

Ottoman side:

Armenian side:

Azerbaijanian side:

Georgian side:

References

  1. ↑ Charlotte Mathilde Louise Hille (2010), State Building and Conflict Resolution in the Caucasus, BRILL, p. 71, ISBN 978-9-004-17901-1
  2. ↑ Alexander Mikaberidze (2011), Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World, ABC-CLIO, p. 201, ISBN 978-1-598-84337-8
  3. ↑ Tadeusz Swietochowski (1985), Russian Azerbaijan, 1905-1920: The Shaping of a National Identity in a Muslim Community, Cambridge University Press, p. 119, ISBN 978-0-521-26310-8
  4. 1 2 Ezel Kural Shaw (1977), Reform, revolution and republic : the rise of modern Turkey (1808-1975), History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, 2, Cambridge University Press, p. 326, OCLC 78646544 (Turkish Perspective)
  5. 1 2 Richard Hovannisian, The Armenian people from ancient to modern times, pp. 292–293, ISBN 978-0-333-61974-2, OCLC 312951712 (Armenian Perspective)
  6. ↑ Richard G. Hovannisian (1997). The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 301. ISBN 978-0-333-61974-2. OCLC 312951712.
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