Republic of Hatay
Encyclopedia
Hatay State also known informally as the Republic of Hatay, was a transitional political entity that formally existed from September 7, 1938 to June 29, 1939 in the territory of the Sanjak
of Alexandretta of the French Mandate of Syria
. The State was transformed de jure into the Hatay Province
on July 7, 1939 and joined Turkey
on July 23, 1939. Hatay Province also includes districts of Erzin
, Dörtyol
and Hassa
in addition to former Hatay State territories.
of the Ottoman Empire
, the Sanjak of Alexandretta was occupied by France
at the end of World War I
and constituted part of the French Mandate of Syria
.
The Sanjak of Alexandretta was an autonomous sanjak
from 1921 to 1923, as a result of the French-Turkish treaty of 20 October 1921, considering the presence of an important Turkish community alongside with Arab and Armenian ones. Then it was attached to the State of Aleppo, then in 1925 it was directly attached to the State of Syria, still with a special administrative status.
Turkey
under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
refused to accept the Sanjak of Alexandretta to be part of the Mandate and, in a speech on 15 March 1923 in Adana
, claimed, probably in projection to the Turkish Historical Thesis, that it was "a Turkish homeland for forty centuries" that "can’t be a captive at the hands of enemy". Turkish politics aimed at incorporating the Sanjak of Alexandretta when the French mandate of Syria would expire in 1935. Local Turks initiated reforms in the style of Atatürk's, formed various organisations and institutions in order to promote the idea of union with Turkey.
In 1936, the elections returned two Syrian independentist (favoring the independence of Syria from France) MP's in the Sanjak, and this prompted communal riots as well as passionate articles in the Turkish and Syrian press. Particularly, Arab nationalist Zaki al-Arsuzi
was influential in anti-irredentist agitation. Atatürk coined the name Hatay for the Sanjak of Alexandretta, and raised the issue of Hatay at the League of Nations
. On behalf of the League of Nations, representatives of France
, the United Kingdom
, The Netherlands
, Belgium
and Turkey
prepared a constitution for the Sanjak. The new statute came into power in November 1937, the Sanjak becoming 'distinct but not separated' from Syria on the diplomatic level, linked to both France and Turkey for defence matters.
and Hassa
and expelled most of its Arab and Armenian inhabitants. Before this, Alawi Arabs and Armenians made up the majority of the Sanjak's population. Turkey also crossed tens of thousands of Turks into the Sanjak of Alexandretta.
An ethnic voter registration was initiated to determine the repartition of the seats in the sanjak assembly. However, the results seemed to be questionable because it happened for the sole purpose of seat repartition, and Turkish propaganda was very active among Alevi
s and Circassians, all of which were considered as Turks by Ankara.
According to the official registration numbers by July 22, 1938, 57,008 voters in the Sanjak were registered, belonging to the following ethnic groups.
40 seats of the sanjak assembly per qadaa
were distributed as follows:
Despite the voter registration, no elections were held and an "approved" sanjak assembly was commissioned by Turkish and French authorities. Tayfur Sökmen
who was appointed by Atatürk to lead the transition arrived in Antakya from Dörtyol on August 25, 1938.
for the Sanjak of Alexandretta. The constitution defined the territory as an independent state called "Hatay Devleti" (Hatay State), divided into Antakya and four districts (İskenderun, Ordu (Yayladağı
), Kırıkhan, Reyhaniye (Reyhanlı
). Turkish was declared the state language, while French retained a status as a secondary language. Schools teaching Arabic could continue to do so.
On September 7, 1938, the Hatay adopted a flag sketched by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
. On February 6, 1939, the Hatay legislative adopted all Turkish laws, and on March 13, 1939, made the Turkish lira the official currency.
(then Seyhan Province) and Gaziantep Province
. By July 23, 1939, last vestiges of the French Mandate authorities left Antakya and the territory was fully annexed to Turkey.
. In the film, the Holy Grail
is discovered in an ancient temple within Hatay, although the location used for the external shots of the temple is the Treasury of the ancient city of Petra
, actually located in Jordan
.
Aside from the name and location, most of the detail of Hatay within the movie is fictionalised - the flag is incorrect, and the state is shown as a monarchy with a Sultan.
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
of Alexandretta of the French Mandate of Syria
French Mandate of Syria
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
. The State was transformed de jure into the Hatay Province
Hatay Province
Hatay Province is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast. It is bordered by Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of...
on July 7, 1939 and joined Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
on July 23, 1939. Hatay Province also includes districts of Erzin
Erzin
Erzin, also known as Yeşilkent, is a city in the province of Hatay, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The mayor is Kasım Şimşek .- Geography :...
, Dörtyol
Dörtyol
Dörtyol is a port city and oil terminus at the head of the Gulf of İskenderun, near the easternmost point of the Mediterranean coast. Dörtyol is located 26 km north of the city of Iskenderun in the province of Hatay in southeastern Turkey.-Geography:...
and Hassa
Hassa, Turkey
Hassa is a district of Hatay Province, Turkey on the eastern side of the Nur Mountains, looking towards the city of Gaziantep. It is on the Antakya-Malatya road. Hassa was a district in Cebel-i Bereket Province from 1923 to 1933 and then a part of Gaziantep Province until 1939.Hassa is an...
in addition to former Hatay State territories.
Background
Formerly part of the Aleppo provinceVilayet of Aleppo
The Vilayet of Aleppo was a vilayet or province of the Ottoman Empire centered around Aleppo.-History:Thanks to its strategic geographic location on the trade route between Anatolia and the east, Aleppo rose to high prominence in the Ottoman era, at one point being second only to Constantinople in...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the Sanjak of Alexandretta was occupied by France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
at the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and constituted part of the French Mandate of Syria
French Mandate of Syria
Officially the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon was a League of Nations mandate founded after the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire...
.
The Sanjak of Alexandretta was an autonomous sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
from 1921 to 1923, as a result of the French-Turkish treaty of 20 October 1921, considering the presence of an important Turkish community alongside with Arab and Armenian ones. Then it was attached to the State of Aleppo, then in 1925 it was directly attached to the State of Syria, still with a special administrative status.
Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
refused to accept the Sanjak of Alexandretta to be part of the Mandate and, in a speech on 15 March 1923 in Adana
Adana
Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...
, claimed, probably in projection to the Turkish Historical Thesis, that it was "a Turkish homeland for forty centuries" that "can’t be a captive at the hands of enemy". Turkish politics aimed at incorporating the Sanjak of Alexandretta when the French mandate of Syria would expire in 1935. Local Turks initiated reforms in the style of Atatürk's, formed various organisations and institutions in order to promote the idea of union with Turkey.
In 1936, the elections returned two Syrian independentist (favoring the independence of Syria from France) MP's in the Sanjak, and this prompted communal riots as well as passionate articles in the Turkish and Syrian press. Particularly, Arab nationalist Zaki al-Arsuzi
Zaki al-Arsuzi
Zakī al-Arsūzī born Latakia June 1899, died Damascus July 1968) was a Syrian political activist and writer, and is widely regarded as a main inspiration for the Ba'ath Party...
was influential in anti-irredentist agitation. Atatürk coined the name Hatay for the Sanjak of Alexandretta, and raised the issue of Hatay at the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
. On behalf of the League of Nations, representatives of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
prepared a constitution for the Sanjak. The new statute came into power in November 1937, the Sanjak becoming 'distinct but not separated' from Syria on the diplomatic level, linked to both France and Turkey for defence matters.
1938 voter registration
On July 5, 1938, the Turkish military went into the Sanjak from PayasPayas
-Geography:Payas is a town in Dörtyol district which is a part of Hatay Province. It is a Mediterranean coastal town situated at about . Distance to Dörtyol at the north is and to İskenderun is at the south is .The population is 33444 as of 2010.-History:...
and Hassa
Hassa, Turkey
Hassa is a district of Hatay Province, Turkey on the eastern side of the Nur Mountains, looking towards the city of Gaziantep. It is on the Antakya-Malatya road. Hassa was a district in Cebel-i Bereket Province from 1923 to 1933 and then a part of Gaziantep Province until 1939.Hassa is an...
and expelled most of its Arab and Armenian inhabitants. Before this, Alawi Arabs and Armenians made up the majority of the Sanjak's population. Turkey also crossed tens of thousands of Turks into the Sanjak of Alexandretta.
An ethnic voter registration was initiated to determine the repartition of the seats in the sanjak assembly. However, the results seemed to be questionable because it happened for the sole purpose of seat repartition, and Turkish propaganda was very active among Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
s and Circassians, all of which were considered as Turks by Ankara.
According to the official registration numbers by July 22, 1938, 57,008 voters in the Sanjak were registered, belonging to the following ethnic groups.
- TurksTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
: 35,847 - Arab Alawis: 11,319
- ArmeniansArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
: 5,504 - Arab ChristiansArab ChristiansArab Christians are ethnic Arabs of Christian faith, sometimes also including those, who are identified with Arab panethnicity. They are the remnants of ancient Arab Christian clans or Arabized Christians. Many of the modern Arab Christians are descendants of pre-Islamic Christian Arabian tribes,...
(Antiochian GreeksAntiochian GreeksAntiochian Greeks are members of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch who have resided in the territory of contemporary Turkish province of Hatay, which includes the old city of Antioch or modern-day Antakya. The community has a long heritage that dates back to the establishment of Antioch in 323...
): 2,098 - ArabArabs in TurkeyThe Arabs in Turkey are a Semitic people.Arabs in Turkey are mostly Muslims living along the southeastern border with Syria in the provinces such as Batman, Bitlis, Gaziantep, Hatay, Mardin, Muş, Siirt, Şırnak and Şanlıurfa. The Arabs in this part of the border consist of many Bedouin tribes...
(Sunni): 1,845 - "Others": 359
40 seats of the sanjak assembly per qadaa
Qadaa
Kaza or caza , meaning "jurisdiction" and often translated "district," is a term for a second-level administrative division in Iraq and Lebanon and for a third-level administrative division in Jordan and the former Ottoman Empire....
were distributed as follows:
- Antakya: 14 Turks, 7 Arab Alawis, 2 Armenians, 2 Sunni Arabs, 1 Arab Orthodox Christian
- İskenderun: 3 Turks, 2 Arab Alawis, 1 Armenian, 1 Arab Orthodox Christian
- KırıkhanKirikhanKırıkhan is a town and district in the northeastern part of Hatay Province, Turkey. The name Kırıkhan means “broken inn” in the Turkish language, perhaps a reference to one of the many lodgings that once lined the road...
: 5 Turks, 2 Armenians - Total: 22 Turks, 9 Arab Alawis, 5 Armenians, 2 Sunni Arabs, 2 Arab Orthodox Christians
Despite the voter registration, no elections were held and an "approved" sanjak assembly was commissioned by Turkish and French authorities. Tayfur Sökmen
Tayfur Sökmen
Tayfur Sökmen was the president of the Republic of Hatay during its existence .-Sources:* Sökmen, Tayfur: , Ankara 1992, ISBN 975-16-0499-0...
who was appointed by Atatürk to lead the transition arrived in Antakya from Dörtyol on August 25, 1938.
Proclamation of independence
On September 6, 1938, the constitution was adopted. It resembled strongly the constitution created by the League of NationsLeague of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
for the Sanjak of Alexandretta. The constitution defined the territory as an independent state called "Hatay Devleti" (Hatay State), divided into Antakya and four districts (İskenderun, Ordu (Yayladağı
Yayladagi
Yayladağı is a town and district of Hatay Province in southern Turkey, on the border between Turkey and Syria, south of the city of Antakya. It was formerly known as Ordu-Muradiye.-History:...
), Kırıkhan, Reyhaniye (Reyhanlı
Reyhanli
Reyhanlı is a town and district of Hatay Province, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, near the country's border with Syria.- History :Formerly known as "İrtah" and "Reyhaniye", Reyhanli has been settled by Turks since the 16th century and in particular with Turkish "muhair" from the Caucasus...
). Turkish was declared the state language, while French retained a status as a secondary language. Schools teaching Arabic could continue to do so.
On September 7, 1938, the Hatay adopted a flag sketched by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
. On February 6, 1939, the Hatay legislative adopted all Turkish laws, and on March 13, 1939, made the Turkish lira the official currency.
Annexation
On June 29, 1939, the Hatay legislative voted on disestablishing the Hatay State and joining Turkey. On July 7, 1939, the Grand National Assembly approved the law establishing the Hatay Province and incorporating districts from Adana ProvinceAdana Province
Adana Province is a province of Turkey located in south-central Anatolia. With a population of 2,085,225, it is the fifth most populous province in Turkey. The administrative seat of the province is the city of Adana, home to 78% of the residents of the province...
(then Seyhan Province) and Gaziantep Province
Gaziantep Province
Gaziantep Province is a province in south-central Turkey. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep which had a population of 853,513 as of 2000. Its neighbours are Adıyaman at north, Şanlıurfa at east, Syria and Kilis at south, Hatay at southwest, Osmaniye at west and Kahramanmaraş at northwest.An...
. By July 23, 1939, last vestiges of the French Mandate authorities left Antakya and the territory was fully annexed to Turkey.
In popular culture
The State of Hatay was featured as one of the main locations in the 1989 film Indiana Jones and the Last CrusadeIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third film in the Indiana Jones franchise. Harrison Ford reprises the title role and Sean Connery plays Indiana's father, Henry...
. In the film, the Holy Grail
Holy Grail
The Holy Grail is a sacred object figuring in literature and certain Christian traditions, most often identified with the dish, plate, or cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper and said to possess miraculous powers...
is discovered in an ancient temple within Hatay, although the location used for the external shots of the temple is the Treasury of the ancient city of Petra
Petra
Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited...
, actually located in Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
.
Aside from the name and location, most of the detail of Hatay within the movie is fictionalised - the flag is incorrect, and the state is shown as a monarchy with a Sultan.
Sources
- Sökmen, Tayfur: , Ankara 1992, ISBN 975-16-0499-0