The Occupation of Aydın by the Greeks

The Greek occupation of Aydın began shortly after the occupation of İzmir on 27 May 1919, when Greek forces entered the city and assumed military and administrative control. The process was characterized by practices aimed at altering the region’s demographic structure and acts of violence against the civilian population.

Following the Ottoman State’s signing of the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October 1918, Western Anatolia became a target of the Allied Powers’ occupation plans. With British support at the Paris Peace Conference, Greece sought to establish dominance in İzmir and its surroundings in line with its “Megali Idea” objectives.

In accordance with this decision, İzmir was occupied by Greek forces on 15 May 1919. In the days following the occupation of İzmir, the Greek army rapidly expanded its front and targeted Aydın and its vicinity. On 27 May 1919, Aydın was occupied by Greek units and quickly came under military control. The occupation marked a process in which the Muslim Turkish population was deliberately targeted, forced migrations began, and policies aimed at altering the demographic structure were implemented.

The Strategic Importance of Aydın

At the beginning of the 20th century, Aydın was an important agricultural and commercial center located in the interior of the Aegean region and connected to the port of İzmir by railway. According to the state almanac covering the years 1917–1918, the Aydın Vilayet comprised the sanjaks of İzmir, Aydın, Kula and Denizli. As of 14 April 1919, the population of the vilayet was approximately 1,819,616.^【1】

Products such as figs, grapes and cotton produced in the fertile Büyük Menderes Valley were exported through İzmir. This economic potential rendered the region strategically significant both to the Ottoman State and to occupation plans.

For Greece, Aydın was critically important for securing the land route east of İzmir and achieving demographic superiority in Western Anatolia. After the occupation of İzmir on 15 May 1919, gaining control of Aydın was seen as a step toward advancing into the interior regions and protecting and increasing the Greek population in the area. Moreover, due to its railway lines and road networks, Aydın was one of the key logistical hubs for military supply routes extending southward to Muğla and Menteşe and eastward to Denizli and Afyon. For these reasons, Aydın became one of the priority targets in Greek occupation plans.

The Path to Occupation

The Ottoman State’s defeat in the First World War rendered its territories vulnerable to occupation by the Allied Powers, as stipulated by the Armistice of Mudros signed on 30 October 1918. Article 7 of the armistice specifically granted the Allied Powers the authority to occupy any strategic point perceived as a threat to their security, and this provision was used as the legal basis for Greek occupations in Western Anatolia.

After the armistice, disagreements emerged among Britain, France and Italy regarding the future of Western Anatolia. At the Paris Peace Conference (18 January 1919), Greek Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos advocated for Greek sovereignty over İzmir and its surroundings; British Prime Minister Lloyd George supported this demand to limit Italian influence in the region and establish a reliable ally in the Aegean.

Italy’s deployment of troops to Konya, Antalya and Marmaris in April 1919 pushed the British to accelerate the realization of Greek interests. Consequently, it was decided that Greek forces would occupy İzmir under the pretext of “protecting the local Greek population.” Even before this decision was finalized, Greece had already taken steps to alter the demographic structure of Western Anatolia. Immediately after the Mudros Armistice, Greek migrants from the islands moved to coastal areas; armed Greek bands from the islands of Lesbos, Chios and Samos, dressed in British or Greek uniforms, launched raids on coastal villages. These bands carried out severe attacks against the Muslim population, including wounding, killing, looting and rape. These incidents heightened unrest in the region and created a psychological foundation for the Greek occupation.

During the lead-up to the occupation of İzmir, British and Greek propaganda activities emphasized the claim that the Greek population was “under threat.” The arming and organization of local Greek elements intensified tensions in the pre-occupation period. The occupation of İzmir by Greek forces on 15 May 1919 inaugurated a new phase in the region. On the first day of the occupation, mass acts of violence, arrests and looting targeting civilians occurred; this demonstrated that the occupation was not merely a military operation but part of a broader plan aimed at population engineering.

After the fall of İzmir, the Greek army rapidly advanced into the interior. Following the capture of strategic points such as Menemen, Manisa and Selçuk, the focus shifted to Aydın, which dominated the Büyük Menderes Basin. In the occupation plan for Aydın, control of the railway line, agricultural wealth and access roads to the interior were decisive factors. Additionally, the capture of the region was considered a strategic step toward securing security in the direction of Muğla and Menteşe and expanding the Greek front line eastward.

The occupation of Aydın on 27 May 1919 was implemented as a key phase of this expansion strategy. However, the Greek band attacks, demographic restructuring attempts and propaganda activities that preceded the occupation had already shaped the local population’s resistance from the very beginning.

The Beginning of the Occupation

Following the occupation of İzmir, the Greek army advanced through Menemen, Manisa and Selçuk to reach Germencik. Germencik, located on the railway line to Aydın, was one of the most important stops on the route; its capture opened a direct path into Aydın. On 26 May, Greek units occupying Germencik moved toward Aydın early the next morning.

Occupation Day (27 May 1919)

On the morning of 27 May, Greek Evzones battalions and cavalry units entered Aydın from the north-west and reached the city center. Local Greek bands accompanied the military units, and during the occupation, both regular troops and civilian Greek groups engaged in looting. Upon entering the city, the railway station, telegraph office and government building were immediately seized. This move aimed to cut off communication and transportation to suppress resistance.

Events in the First Hours

From the first hours of the occupation, pressure and violence against civilians began. Greek soldiers forcibly entered Muslim homes and shops under the pretext of searching for weapons; property was damaged and belongings looted in many places. During house searches conducted under the guise of weapon collection, boundaries were exceeded; civilians were beaten and some men were arrested and sent toward İzmir.

Greek bands played an active role in attacks against the Muslim population. Under the protection provided by the occupying forces, these bands damaged Muslim homes and businesses; in some areas, cases of abuse against women and children occurred.

Immediately after the occupation, resistance preparations began in the villages around Aydın and its surroundings. Members of the Kuva-yı Milliye gathered especially in Nazilli and Çine to plan counterattacks against Aydın. As public opposition to the occupation rapidly grew, the harsh measures taken by Greek forces laid the groundwork for the violent clashes and alternating control that would follow in the coming days.

Policy of Forced Migration

The occupation of Aydın was also a deliberate attempt at population policy. As in İzmir, the goal was to remove the Muslim population from the city and replace it with Greek settlers. With the onset of the occupation, threats, intimidation and attacks against Muslims intensified; many families were forced to flee to nearby villages or to Italian-occupied areas without even taking their belongings.

Greek Atrocities and Military Practices

In the days following the Greek occupation of Aydın on 27 May 1919, the Greek occupation administration pursued a planned policy aimed at shifting the demographic balance in favor of the Greek population. This policy combined the intimidation and forced displacement of the Turkish population with the settlement of Greeks brought from Greece and the islands.

Organized Violence: Band Activities

After Mudros, the movement of the Greek population from the Aegean islands toward the coast accelerated; local Greeks and groups from the islands had already been increasing unrest in the region before the occupation. From January 1919 onward, individuals from Lesbos, Chios and Samos returned to villages dressed in British or Greek uniforms and carried out “revenge” actions. During this period, it was reported that 791 local Greeks from the Söke district had received armed training on the islands and gathered in Ahiköy and Yoran; incidents of arms smuggling and the killing of gendarmes were also documented.^【2】

Germencik

One of the areas most severely damaged during the Greek occupation was Germencik. Nearly all of the 920 homes in the district center and the railway station were burned; officials’ families were forcibly attacked and widespread looting occurred. On 26 June, the butcher M. Ağa and Hacı Mehmet were abducted and killed; Molla Osman’s son Ahmet was tortured to death; approximately 150 people in the district were lined up and shot; 30 men brought from nearby villages were executed by volley fire in front of their wives; their heads were severed and displayed as “regional warnings.” In early August, 46 people were killed at the Erikli railway station.^【3】

Söke and Surroundings

Due to its proximity to Samos, Söke became a frequent target of Greek bands. In mid-August 1919, officials and gendarmes were driven out of Domatça and its surroundings; Muslim civilians were killed; thousands of livestock were seized and shipped to the islands. During the same period, individual murders and kidnappings were publicly displayed to intensify the climate of fear.^【4】

Köşk

The Karatepe Village Massacre was a mass civilian killing carried out on the night of 18 February 1922 by Greek occupation forces in Karatepe Village, part of the Köşk district of Aydın Sanjak. After the First World War, the Greek army occupying Western Anatolia, guided by local Greeks, surrounded the village to punish communities supporting the Kuva-yı Milliye; they conducted armed attacks, arson and looting in homes.

Some villagers were killed in their homes; others were forcibly gathered in mosques and subjected to machine gun fire, bombings and bayonet attacks, after which the mosques were set on fire. In the Sarı Ahmetler Mosque, 98 of 123 people died; in the Sekiyurt Mosque, 56 people lost their lives. According to official documents and eyewitness accounts, the total death toll exceeded 200. The event is recorded as one of the largest civilian massacres during the Greek occupation.

News clipping describing the massacre in Karatepe Village (umutyolu)

Commemoration Program Held at Karatepe Martyrdom Site (Köşk Municipality)

Securing the City and Controlling the Lines

Between 24 and 27 May, Greek forces rapidly advanced along the Erbeyli axis and entered Aydın on 27 May. The advance was supported by previously consolidated units such as the 4th Infantry Battalion. Upon entering Aydın, a cautious deployment was adopted from three directions: from the north via Topyatağı, from the south via the Tellidede ridges, and along the city’s main streets; this was intended to systematically control elevated terrain and key transit routes to suppress resistance.

Forced Migration

The wave-like spread of atrocities in Germencik, Söke and surrounding areas accelerated migration in Aydın and its environs; even before the occupation was fully completed, the population began abandoning their homes. The central administration issued a circular on 4 June 1919, attempting to halt the migration of Aydın refugees and to resettle them in Muslim villages, but news of the violence and ongoing events failed to stop the exodus.

Successive acts of brutality along the Menemen, Bergama, Manisa and Aydın routes caused large crowds, mostly composed of women, children and the elderly, to flee toward the districts of Muğla, Denizli, Afyon and Dinar.

Demographic Change Plan

To legitimize its occupation, the Greek government codified policies aligning with its Paris Conference claims, facilitating the relocation and settlement of Greek immigrants from Greece and the islands into Western Anatolia. Aydın and Ayvalık regions were divided into ten zones, with designated disembarkation points planned for this purpose.

This demographic strategy had two components: reducing the Turkish population through massacres, violence, looting and rape, and bringing in Greek immigrants from Greece and the islands for resettlement. Incentives such as credit and housing renovations were offered to the newcomers, while measures were taken to prevent their return. These methods served as a planned “expulsion” policy that facilitated the mass internal migration of the Turkish population.

Migration Movements and the Condition of Refugees

Immediately after the Greek occupation of İzmir on 15 May 1919 and of Aydın on 27 May 1919, systematic violence, village burnings and population engineering practices triggered a massive wave of internal migration, particularly in the Aydın region. Efforts by local authorities and military units failed to halt the migration; large groups, mostly composed of women, children and the elderly, fled toward the interior and Italian-occupied zones for safety.

Refugees from Aydın and its surroundings concentrated along two main routes:

Northern Route: Bandırma, Balıkesir/Karesi, Burhaniye, Edremit, Soma, Kırkağaç, Akhisar

Southern Route: Karahisar/Afyonkarahisar, Sandıklı, Dinar, Uşak, Denizli, Nazilli, Yenipazar, Dalama, Koçarlı, Söke, Eşme, Bozdoğan, Çine

According to a report published in the Vakit newspaper on 24 November 1919 by the General Directorate of Tribes and Immigrants, a total of 50,884 refugees received aid.^【5】

In the southern route, Çine and its vicinity became a major reception area due to its status as an “Italian sphere of influence.” Official correspondence reflected that refugees arriving from Aydın–Nazilli moved toward Çine and Denizli, and further inland to Karahisar, often arriving in a state of extreme hunger and exhaustion.

National and International Reactions to the Occupation

The occupation of Aydın, occurring shortly after the Greek capture of İzmir on 15 May 1919, intensified the growing international outcry. While Britain, which favored Greece among the Allied Powers, supported the expansion of the occupation in Western Anatolia, France and Italy criticized Greek actions, particularly reports of violence and atrocities against civilians.

The Ottoman government presented documents, witness testimonies and photographs detailing the atrocities in Aydın and its surroundings to the delegates of the Paris Peace Conference. The prepared reports meticulously documented village burnings, the killing of Muslim civilians, rape of women and forced migration, aiming to challenge the legitimacy of the Greek occupation.

Demand letters prepared to bring the Greek practices in Aydın before the League of Nations were disseminated to the international press through Ottoman representatives and delegations from Western Anatolia. Especially French and Italian newspapers published articles sharply criticizing the Greek occupation; these publications helped Italy adopt a more confrontational stance against Greek advances in areas it considered within its sphere of influence.

The occupation of Aydın generated widespread outrage among the local population and in other regions of Anatolia. As after the occupation of İzmir, rallies and protest demonstrations were organized in Aydın. Local notables, religious leaders and intellectuals called on the people to resist the occupation. Newspapers, particularly those in Istanbul, published articles condemning the occupation; attacks by Greek bands and Greek army village burnings became front-page news.

The national committees organized in Anatolia intensified their activities after the occupation of Aydın. National organizations in Nazilli, Denizli, Muğla and surrounding areas supported the Kuva-yı Milliye by providing manpower and supplies to the front lines. Local aid committees were established to meet the food, shelter and health needs of refugees from Aydın; cooperation was established with the Red Crescent.

The local population began armed resistance from the first days of the occupation. Volunteers gathered from surrounding villages launched raids against Greek forces in Germencik and nearby areas; these actions soon evolved into organized front-line battles. Thus, Aydın became one of the most intense centers of the national resistance in Western Anatolia.