TR EN DE FR ARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties

Treaty of Athens (1913)

Treaty · 1913

After the Balkan Wars, following the Treaty of Constantinople with Bulgaria (29 September 1913), the Ottoman state also made peace with Greece. According to the TDV article on the Balkan Wars, the Ottoman–Greek treaty was signed in Athens on 14 November 1913. As in the treaty with Bulgaria, Muslims remaining in Greece were granted equal rights with the Greeks. The question of the islands was left to the great powers under Article 5 of the Treaty of London; on 16 December 1913 they left Imbros, Tenedos and Kastellorizo to Turkey and gave the other islands to Greece.

About the event

Signed	14 November 1913
Place of signing	Athens
Parties	Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Greece

Terms of the treaty

Muslims remaining in Greece were granted equal rights with the Greeks
No obstacles were to be placed in the way of their relations with muftis attached to the şeyhülislam in Istanbul
Muslims would elect their own muftis; foundations and schools would be run by Muslim community councils
The question of the islands was left to the great powers under Article 5 of the Treaty of London

Aftermath

On 16 December 1913 the great powers left Imbros, Tenedos and Kastellorizo to Turkey and the other islands to Greece.

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:

− Chios (loss, 1913)
− Northern Albania (Krujë–Shkodër) (loss, 1913)
− Ioannina (Epirus) (loss, 1913)
− Lahsa (Eastern Arabia–Qatar) (loss, 1913)

Open the reign of Mehmed V on the map

Context of the period

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.

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)
Albanian revolts (1908–1912) (1912)
Battle of Lule Burgas (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)
Battle of Bizani (1913)
1913 Ottoman coup d'état (1913)
German–Ottoman alliance (1914)
Black Sea raid (1914)
Battle of Sarikamish (1914)
Gallipoli campaign (1915)
Naval operations in the Dardanelles campaign (1915)
Raid on the Suez Canal (1915)
Siege of Kut (1916)
Arab Revolt (1916)
Battle of Jerusalem (1917)
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, “BALKAN SAVAŞLARI” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.

Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Treaty of Athens (1913): Terms, Date and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/treaty-of-athens-1913/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections