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| The Great Fire of Smyrna |
Lebanon, and Beirut in particular,
is what comes to mind when people think of the Ottoman Levant. This is due to
the French influence in the region during the Ottoman rule, and the French Mandate
in Syria. Indeed, the word levant itself means “to rise” in French, and it is
often used for the Eastern Mediterranean, from which the sun rises. However the
Ottoman Levant, as a region, covers a much larger area starting from the Aegean
coast of Turkey, moving along the Mediterranean coast all the way down to Egypt.
Over the summer, I read a book about the Levant called Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean by Philip
Mansel. In the book, Mansel talks about the three great Levantine ports without
which the Levantine identity would not have existed: Smyrna, Beirut, and
Alexandria. He separately examines the three cities, going into detail on how they
came to be the great financial centers that they were, how they all stood out
within the Ottoman Empire as beacons of co-existence, religious, political, and
personal freedom, and incredible wealth. He examined the rise of these
Levantine cities, and debated whether or not they had always been ticking time
bombs doomed for failure, as all three of them were eventually defeated by
20th century nationalism. Smyrna was “made” Turkish, and is now called
Izmir. Alexandria was also Egyptianized after the Egyptian independence from
Britain. Today, only Beirut is close to its former glory as a multicultural
center.
As
it happens, Izmir is my hometown, and I wanted to write about its days as a
Levantine port, and a tie between the Ottoman East and the European West.
Mansel explains that the rise of the three cities were based mainly on commerce
and trade with the West, which increased significantly after the declaration of
the Franco-Ottoman Alliance, and the capitulations that were granted to
European states. Smyrna (I’ll call it Smyrna instead of Izmir) is located on
the western-most point of Asia, on the Aegean coast of modern day Turkey. It is
geographically very well protected both by sea and land, to the west there is
the island of Chios and to the east, the city is surrounded by a set of
mountains that provides natural protection. The city is located around the gulf
of Smyrna, which is fed by numerous rivers that brings very fertile land from
Anatolia. It has a very temperate climate, typical for the Mediterranean region,
all year round. Cotton, and tobacco are (were) the most common agricultural
products, which are the main cause of Smyrna’s rise as the commercial capital
of the Ottoman Empire. Its location is also very significant strategically, as
it faces Greece and the Western world, yet it has a vast hinterland, that is
all of Anatolia, that most Aegean ports lacked to be successful. Smyrna,
founded by Ancient Greek colonists around 1000 BC, had been an important town
throughout the course of its history. As part of the Roman and then the
Byzantine Empire, it flourished as a Christian trade town. Its population
consisted of mainly of Orthodox Greeks, even after its conquest by Muslim
Turks. After the Ottoman conquest, the Sultan forced Muslim people to move
there in order to balance the population out. However, Smyrna always seemed to
be adorned with Orthodox churches, rather than mosques, which dominated the
skyline of the imperial capital, Constantinople. The population of Smyrna was
an indication of the power struggle between Turks and Greeks within the Ottoman
Empire. Whoever gained more power at a particular time would have the majority
of the population in Smyrna, and it would fluctuate back and forth often. The
two people co-existed in peace, for the most part, which is the main point of
the Levantine synthesis, up until the twentieth century, when Europe was
overrun by an extreme wave of nationalism. Turks and Greeks were not the only
people who lived in Smyrna, however, French, British, Italian and Dutch
residents of Smyrna made up for a big chunk of the population, around
15-20%. Smyrna was also home to a
large number of Jews, and also Armenians. After the Spanish expelled its Jewish
population from the Spanish peninsula, the Ottoman Empire received a wave of
Jewish immigrants, mainly to the cities of Salonika, Constantinople, and
Smyrna. The religious and cultural freedom in Smyrna was incredible, even by
Ottoman standards, which allowed people to practice their own religion freely.
In the 18th and 19th century, commerce in Smyrna boomed
due to its Christian traders, businessman, bankers, and investors. At its
height, Smyrna accounted for almost 70% of all Ottoman exports, which was far
greater than that of the imperial capital. Along with the boom in trade, Smyrna
experienced a huge increase in population, making it the second biggest city in
the Empire, trailing Constantinople. Wealthy businessman in Smyrna, which were
mainly Christian, were also very interested in the liberalist ideas that had
emerged in Europe, and the Enlightenment was clearly felt in Smyrna. Despite
its proximity to the capital, Smyrna enjoyed great political freedom. Due to
its wealth, it was able to defy direct orders from Constantinople. The Ottoman
Sultans, knowing the significance of Smyrna’s trade with the western world,
supported and, to some extent, protected the rights of its minorities and
allowed room for greater freedom.
The relationship
between the Ottoman Empire and the Levantine residents of Smyrna was mutually
beneficial, however, as Westerners made a fortune and lived luxurious lives in
Smyrna, they also protected Smyrna from foreign invasion when the Empire
started to lose power. The island of Chios, right off the coast of Smyrna, had
been sacked many times by pirates in the Aegean, who were mainly Venetian, and
while Smyrna was also vulnerable to attack because the Ottoman army in Smyrna
was virtually non-existent, its residents were influential enough to prevent an
attack directly on Smyrna, mainly for their own interest but also in the
interest of protecting the Levantine synthesis and the prosperity of Smyrna. 19th
century Smyrna is thought to be the first multicultural city in the world, a
global center before the age of globalization. However, even as things seemed
perfect in the 19th century, the roots of chaos were already in
place. When Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Smyrna was so
wealthy that more Greeks migrated to Smyrna than Athens, which was so poor that
people would struggle to live a healthy life. The Greek independence led to a Greek dominance in Smyrna,
it remained that way until 1923. Throughout the 19th century,
animosity between the Christian residents of Smyrna and the Muslim and Jewish
residents of Smyrna increased dramatically. While Smyrna enjoyed incredible
wealth, it was mainly in the hands of its Christian residents, and Turkish and
Jewish residents lived much poorer lives. This led to violence, sometimes so
brutal that the Sultan would have to guarantee the safety of the Christians in
Smyrna. At the start of the twentieth century, nationalism had already swept
through most of Europe, including the Ottoman Empire, and many minority groups
within the Empire had declared independence. The Empire had virtually shrunk to
Anatolia and the Middle East, and Constantinople. When the First World War
broke out, Smyrna was relieved that the Empire chose to remain neutral,
especially its Western European residents. The mood in Smyrna was too calm, in
some ways, like the silence before the storm. Yet when the Ottoman Empire
entered the war on the side of Germany, very few people could have anticipated
what was to come, that perhaps the greatest Levantine city would come to a
painful end in flames.
Even after the
Ottoman Empire declared war on Britain, France, and Russia, Smyrna’s Western
European residents chose to remain in the city and remain neutral. The governor
at the time declared neutrality, despite the fact that the Sultan had declared
war, Smyrna was using its influence, and political independence. People thought
that the war would come and go, Smyrna would remain untouched because the
Western Powers would not attack it, and the Levantine life in Smyrna would
resume once again. However, Britain and France had made secret arrangements to
carve up the Ottoman Empire once the war was over. And playing on the
increasing national tensions between the Greeks and Turks, promised Smyrna and
the surrounding region to the Greeks (and Italians at the same time). This
broke the main component of the Levantine synthesis, co-existence. No longer
did Smyrna feel cosmopolitan, Greeks wanted it to be a part of Greece, and
Turks wanted to be a part of the Ottoman Empire with a much more Turkish attitude.
Things did play out as Britain had planned, and as the Greek army invaded
Smyrna, thousands of Greeks cheered on the streets with Greek flags flying
everywhere. That was the beginning of the end for Smyrna. It did not take long
for violence to escalate. Turks claimed that the Greek authorities were
treating them unfairly, there were uprisings that were not very violent at
first, but they got much more violent. Meanwhile the Turks had gathered around
Mustafa Kemal, and had started an independence movement in the heart of
Anatolia, Ankara. Most of the Ottoman Empire was under foreign invasion,
including Constantinople. Mustafa Kemal was determined to stop the Greek march
into Anatolia, and drive them off completely. Initial attempts at halting the
Greeks proved disastrous, and the Greeks marched dangerously on Ankara,
however, Mustafa Kemal proved that his defense at Gallipoli during WWI was not just
luck. He did manage to halt the Greek army hours out of Ankara, and then went
on an offensive to drive the Greeks back. The Greek army, surprised and
panicked, burned many small towns as they retreated to Smyrna. The Greek dream
of a great Hellenic Empire came to an abrupt end as Mustafa Kemal defeated the
Greek army again, right outside of Smyrna. The Greeks were routed, and the
upcoming events proved to be disastrous for Smyrna. As the Turkish army
reentered Smyrna, hundreds of thousands of Greeks fearing their lives flooded
the waterfront trying to escape.
Even though it
is said Mustafa Kemal ordered that Smyrna was not to be sacked and the
transition back to Turkish rule was to be a peaceful one, things did not turn
out that way. The Greek and French Quarters, which were the wealthiest parts of
the city, were completely sacked. A few days after the liberation of the city,
on September 9th (a national holiday in Turkey), smoke started rising
from the Armenian quarters. There are two theories as to how the fire actually
started. The Greeks claim that it was the Turkish who had deliberately started
the fire and place barrels of oil around town so that it would spread, while
the Turks claimed that it was the fleeing Greeks that had set the city ablaze.
Regardless of who actually started the fire, the city burned for days as strong
winds made it extremely difficult to put it out. As a result the entire Greek,
French, Armenian and Christian quarters burnt down, and only the Jewish and
Turkish quarters survived. Judging from that, I believe that it is more likely
that the Turks had started the fire, but that is up for debate. Smyrna proved
to be the largest city ever to be destroyed up until that time (it was before
the bombings of entire cities in WWII), and the fire has left marks on so many
people, and its devastation is still felt today by not only Greeks or Turks but
also by Italians, the French, and the British. After the fire, Smyrna went
through huge changes. Most of its Western European residents left, leaving
everything they owned behind. The Greek and Armenian populations were forced to
leave, which significantly dropped the city’s population. Another wave of
nationalism swept through Turkey, and Smyrna (which now was called Izmir). The
capital moved from Constantinople (which now was called Istanbul) to Ankara.
However, no city in Turkey felt the negative effects of nationalism as much as
Izmir. Its foreign residents accounted for everything in the city from banking
to commerce, and to almost all of the shops and cafes around town. All the
Turks were good at, at that time, was agriculture. Slowly, yet, unfortunately,
surely, Smyrna lost its significance as a trade hub. While Izmir accounted for
37% of the trade in Turkey in the 1940’s (which is much less than 70% a century
ago), that number has dropped to 13% in our modern day. The city is nothing but
a shadow of its former glory.
While most
Europeans in the 19th century assumed that it would always be destined
for greatness and wealth, time has done its best to prove them wrong. The
Levant fell apart completely soon after that. Yet it all started, in my
opinion, with the greatest Levantine city of them all. Now, Izmir is almost
completely Turkish, with a very small Jewish minority, and a handful of
Christians scattered throughout the city. It is the third biggest city in
Turkey, with a population of somewhere between five and seven million people,
due to a recent immigration wave from within the country (mostly Kurds from the
southeast of Turkey). However, it is no where near its potential, and only time
will tell if it can live up to it, again.
