TRENDEFRARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Revolt · 1913
In the Balkan War the Bulgarian army had reached Çatalca, and the London talks had stalled over Edirne and the islands. According to the TDV article on the Raid on the Sublime Porte, on 17 January 1913 the great powers demanded that Edirne be left to Bulgaria; a council held at Dolmabahçe decided to draft a reply proposing a new solution (22 January). The Unionists, eager to regain power, sought to give their coup the look of a national uprising by portraying Kâmil Pasha's cabinet as abandoning Edirne to the Bulgarians. On 23 January 1913, when the government met at the Sublime Porte, Enver Bey arrived with fellow Unionists; in the shooting the grand vizier's aide Nafiz Bey, the war minister's aide Tevfik Bey and police superintendent Celal Bey were killed, and War Minister Nazım Pasha was shot by Yakub Cemil. Enver and Talat forced Grand Vizier Kâmil Pasha to resign; Sultan Reşad appointed the Unionists' choice, Mahmud Şevket Pasha, grand vizier. The Committee of Union and Progress thus returned to power.
| Date | 23 January 1913 |
|---|---|
| Location | Sublime Porte, Istanbul |
| Result | Kâmil Pasha's government was overthrown; Mahmud Şevket Pasha became grand vizier and the Unionists returned to power |
| Belligerents | Government of Kıbrıslı Kâmil Pasha | Committee of Union and Progress |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Kıbrıslı Kâmil Pasha Nazım Pasha | Enver Bey Talat Bey Yakub Cemil |
Took place during the reign of Mehmed V (1909–1918). Mehmed V
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
By the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 1,532,000 km² in 1913; at the start of Mehmed V's reign they measured 2,996,000 km², at its end 742,000 km².
During Mehmed V (1909–1918) the atlas records 3 regions gained and 16 regions lost.
Regions gained: Kars–Ardahan–Artvin (1918), Batumi (Adjara) (1918), Akhaltsikhe (Childir) (1918).
Regions lost: Tripolitania (1912), Benghazi–Barca (1912), Fezzan (1912), Macedonia (Skopje–Bitola) (1912), Thessaloniki–Chalkidiki–Mount Athos (1912), Kosovo (1912), Southern and Central Albania (Vlorë–Berat–Elbasan) (1912), Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (1912), and 8 more.
The first Ottoman sultan whose powers were limited by the constitution; real power lay with the Committee of Union and Progress. In nine years the African and Balkan territories were lost and the empire entered the First World War.
Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BÂBIÂLİ BASKINI” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.
Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “1913 Ottoman coup d'état: Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/1913-ottoman-coup-d-etat/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections
Terms on this page: Grand vizier · Vizier · Sublime Porte · Committee of Union and Progress