Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean After the War

Italy joined the Allies in sending troops to occupy the defeated Ottoman Empire; a detachment went to Constantinople while a larger Expeditionary Force, commanded from the Dodecanese islands, moved into Antalya and the surrounding region where Italy hoped to create a lasting Eastern Mediterranean sphere of influence or even perhaps a League of Nations Mandate. Ultimately, the Treaty of Sèvres was a disappointment, offering no guarantees in Asia Minor; since Italy was both unwilling and unable to fight against Atatürk’s forces to secure its goals in Turkey, it was forced to withdraw altogether by 1923, though it kept hold of the Dodecanese. In Libya, having lost functional control of the interior, Italy had few options but to concede considerable power to Sanussiya brotherhood and others. It also granted local constitutions in 1919, creating a new form of colonial citizenship there. Far from expanding it, the war had left Italy’s empire weakened.