Turkey and Iran, 1918–1939

The Ottoman Empire was defeated in the First World War, and the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 envisaged partitioning Turkey’s territory. The national resistance led by Mustafa Kemal defeated the Greek forces in 1919–1922, the sultanate was abolished on 1 November 1922, the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923 recognised Turkey’s independence and borders, and the republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923. The reforms included separating state and religion (the caliphate was abolished in 1924), switching to the Latin alphabet in 1928, remodelling laws on European lines, widening women’s rights (the vote in 1934) and introducing surnames in 1934; Kemal was given the name “Atatürk” and he died on 10 November 1938. In Iran, Reza Khan staged a coup in 1921 and became shah of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1925; he developed the army, schools, the University of Tehran (1934), roads and industry, from 1935 asked other countries to use the name “Iran”, and carried out strict measures on European dress and the unveiling of women. In August 1941 Soviet and British troops entered Iran, Reza Shah abdicated and his son Mohammad Reza became shah.