Provisional Government of Western Thrace

The Provisional Government of Western Thrace (Ottoman Turkish: غربی تراقیا حكومت موقته‌سی - Garbi Trakya Hükûmet-i Muvakkatesi, Greek: Προσωρινή Κυβέρνηση Δυτικής Θράκης, Prosorini Kyvernisi Dytikis Thrakis, Turkish: Batı Trakya Geçici Hükûmeti), later renamed to Independent Government of Western Thrace (Ottoman Turkish: غربی تراقیا حكومت مستقله‌سی - Garbi Trakya Hükûmet-i Müstakilesi, Greek: Αυτόνομη Κυβέρνηση Δυτικής Θράκης, Avtonomi Kyvernisi Dytikis Thrakis), was a small, short-lived partially recognized republic established in Western Thrace from August 31 to October 25, 1913. It encompassed the area surrounded by the rivers Maritsa (Evros) in the east, Mesta (Nestos) in the west, the Rhodope Mountains in the north and the Aegean Sea in the south. Its total territory was c. 8.600 km².

Contents

• National anthem of the provisional government of western thrace 1913 bat trakya milli mar
• Overview
• References

This administration was created after the Second Balkan War when Western Thrace was occupied by the Ottoman Empire after invitation by the local Turks, Greeks and Pomaks. Greece received a similar appeal but did not commit any forces to Thrace. The state was officially recognized by Bulgaria, Greece and the Ottoman Empire during the period.

It was founded as an autonomous state with Ottoman support, in order to avoid Bulgarian rule after the Treaty of Bucharest, in which the Ottomans had not taken part. Under British pressure, the Balkan powers and the Ottomans signed the Treaty of Constantinople, which satisfied the Turkish claims to recognition of Eastern Thrace. The Ottomans withdrew their forces and by 25 October, the area was annexed by Bulgaria. The area remained a part of Bulgaria until 1919 when it was taken under French protectorate. It was finally annexed by Greece in 1920 and has been part of that country ever since, except for the Bulgarian occupation between 1941–1944. Its capital was Gümülcine, now Komotini, in Greece.