TR EN DEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties

Albanian revolts (1908–1912)

Revolt · 1912

After the Young Turk Revolution, revolt broke out in 1908 among Albanian highlanders opposed to the collection of their weapons. The policies of the Unionists provoked uprisings from Albania to Yemen; the harsh suppression of the Albanian revolt only increased the unrest. Finally the new government that came to power on 4 September 1912 had to accept Albania's demands for autonomy. The Balkan War, however, changed everything; soon after it began, on 28 November 1912, İsmail Qemali proclaimed the independence of Albania at Vlorë.

About the event

Date	1908 – 4 September 1912
Location	Albania and Kosovo
Result	The Ottoman government accepted Albania's demands for autonomy (4 September 1912); after the Balkan War began, İsmail Qemali proclaimed independence at Vlorë (28 November 1912)

Belligerents	Ottoman Empire (Mehmed V)	Albanian insurgents
Commanders		İsmail Qemali (proclamation of independence at Vlorë)

This event in the atlas

Took place during the reign of Mehmed V (1909–1918). Mehmed V

The atlas records this territorial change for the year:

− Tripolitania (loss, 1912)
− Benghazi–Barca (loss, 1912)
− Fezzan (loss, 1912)
− Macedonia (Skopje–Bitola) (loss, 1912)
− Thessaloniki–Chalkidiki–Mount Athos (loss, 1912)
− Kosovo (loss, 1912)
− Southern and Central Albania (Vlorë–Berat–Elbasan) (loss, 1912)
− Aegean Islands (Lesbos–Lemnos–Samos) (loss, 1912)
− Western Thrace (Komotini–Kavala) (loss, 1912)
− Rhodes and the Dodecanese (loss, 1912)

Open the reign of Mehmed V on the map

Context of the period

By the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 1,679,000 km² in 1912; 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.

Mehmed V in brief

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.

Other battles and treaties of Mehmed V

Yemeni revolt (Imam Yahya) (1911)
Treaty of Ouchy (1912)
Battle of Kumanovo (1912)
Battle of Kunfuda Bay (1912)
Battle of Elli (1912)
Siege of Adrianople (1913) (1913)
Treaty of London (1913) (1913)
Treaty of Bucharest (1913) (1913)
Treaty of Constantinople (1913) (1913)
Battle of Lemnos (1913) (1913)
German–Ottoman alliance (1914)
Black Sea raid (1914)
Gallipoli campaign (1915)
Naval operations in the Dardanelles campaign (1915)
Siege of Kut (1916)
Arab Revolt (1916)
Battle of Imbros (1918)

In nearby years (1909–1920), under other sultans

Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.

Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “Arnavutluk” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.