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| 1916 |
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| Death of Najib Azoury, a prominent Christian writer who articulated the idea of an Arab nation in which both Muslims and Christians stood on an equal footing. In the decade prior to the First World War, he was among a handful of activists who demanded independence for the Arabs from the Ottoman Empire. | 1 |
| Reform of marriage laws. Women were permitted to seek divorce if their husbands committed adultery, violated the terms of the marriage contract, or took an additional wife without the first wife's consent. | 2 |
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| 1918, Dec. 8 |
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| Allied military administration established in Istanbul. | 3 |
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| 1918–22 |
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| SULTAN MEHMED VI. He succeeded MEHMED V (who died July 3, 1918) and served as the last Ottoman sultan. During his brief reign he repeatedly tried to reassert the authority of his office. His government ultimately came into conflict with the rival Kemalist regime in central Anatolia, which led directly to his downfall. | 4 |
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| 1918–23 |
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| TRANSFER OF POPULATION BETWEEN GREECE AND TURKEY. Approximately 1.2 million “Greeks” (actually Turkish-speaking Christians) were forced to leave Turkey while, in an identical process, the Greek government expelled about 600,000 “Turks” (actually Greek-speaking Muslims). | 5 |
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| 1919, March 7 |
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| Formation of a new Ottoman cabinet under Damad Ferid Pasha, who agreed to cooperate with the Allies. | 6 |
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| April 29 |
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| Landing of Italian troops at Antalya. Ever since the conclusion of the secret wartime agreements among the Allies, the Italians had intended to occupy this region. The troops eventually withdrew in July 1921. | 7 |
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