Isn't Turkey, a sovereign country, willing to trade big for small and engage in such a loss-making trade as exchanging land for land?
At the beginning of the 20th century, Turkey did such a ridiculous thing, and the object of the land exchange was Iran. However, Turkey not only changed it contentedly, but also calmed down the involution for this. Of course, this incident still has an impact today. So, why did Turkey do such a ridiculous act, and what role did Iran play in this?
1. The roots of Turkey's initiative to exchange land
Exchanging 233 square kilometers of fertile mountain basins for a mundane 100 square kilometers of land was the deal that Turkey and Iran made in 1932.
Although Turkey's leaders seem to have "brains in the water" in the eyes of everyone, in the eyes of their countrymen, they are very cost-effective.
Because the Turks are more afraid of the Kurds than they are of the country.
The Kurds, Turks, Arabs, and Persians are known as the four ancient peoples of the Middle East.
The Kurds are slightly inferior to the other three ethnic groups, and after centuries of turmoil, they have not established their own state in the chaotic Middle East, often clinging, dividing, and clinging to regional conflicts.
So, their distribution is very dispersed, with some Kurds living in the Persian (Iranian) region, some in Turkey, and some Kurds living in Iraq and Syria.
Regardless of where they are located, the Kurds are nomadic peoples who live in the mountains, so most of the Kurds settle at the foot of the peaks of the Aare Mountains in the Middle East.
Since they have not established their own state for a long time, most of them live as sojourners, usually as mercenaries for other peoples and countries, or go to another region to "do odd jobs".
After the 18th century, wars broke out between the Ottoman Empire (the predecessor of Turkey) and Persia for religious and geographical reasons, and in the cracks, the Kurds struggled to survive, and at the same time they were divided and pulled by the two regimes and states, and most of the Kurds still lived in the Ottoman Empire.
It is worth mentioning that although the Kurds share Islam like the Persians and the Ottoman Empire, they belong to different sects.
Persians are predominantly Shiites, while Kurds are mostly Sunnis.
Religion has been a stubborn disease of regional conflicts since ancient times, so the Kurds in Persia were bullied by the local rulers, while the Kurds in the Ottoman Empire lived a very privileged life, so the Kurds in the Ottoman Empire took the initiative to stand up as farmers and soldiers in the Ottoman Empire in order to repay their kindness, and fought and built for the country everywhere.
At the same time, the Kurds were Sunni, which coincided with the rulers of the Ottoman Empire, so the Ottoman Empire gave the Kurds extremely preferential treatment - allowing them to gather together to form their own autonomous regions.
After 1840, Britain and France and other powers began to intensify their invasions of the Middle East. The Ottoman Empire was in disarray, and the Kurds who lived in that land were also suppressed.
In 1847, the Kurdish powers ruthlessly stripped them of their autonomy, and at the same time, they began various uprisings against the empires.
Second, the assimilation of the Turks into the Kurds led to a revolt
In 1914, World War I broke out, and the Ottoman Empire joined the ranks of the Central Powers.
However, the war ended with the defeat of the Allies, and then the Ottoman Empire was dissolved by the great powers. The Ottoman Empire was powerful before, and the Western powers wanted to use this opportunity to stop the development of the Ottoman Empire. As a result, the Great Powers forced the Ottoman Empire to sign the extremely harsh Treaty of Sèvres.
One of the most important provisions of the treaty was to allow Kurdistan, where the Kurds live, to be temporarily designated as an autonomous region, after which the Kurds could decide whether or not to establish a state in the autonomous region.
For a stateless people, the Kurds have long dreamed of this treaty, even if it was very harsh for the Ottomans (Turkey). Therefore, the Turks opposed this treaty, and the leader Kemal took the initiative to issue a statement saying that he did not recognize the treaty, and at the same time, he actively organized an army to fight Greece and France, and went north to attack Armenia.
In 1919, Turkey, under Kemal, repelled foreign invaders, and in 1923, the Republic of Turkey was established.
The Kurds wanted independence, but Kemal did not allow it, and the contradictions between the two sides arose. When the Entente saw the strength of Turkey, they immediately changed course, and they relented to Turkey and signed a Treaty of Lausanne.
In this treaty, the Entente changed its position, saying that Kurdish-populated areas would not have autonomy and that most of the so-called Kurdistan would remain administered by Turkey.
For Kemal, it was a great victory, and for the Kurds, the frustration was infuriating.
What is even more troubling for Turks is that the Kurds are the largest minority in the Turkish population, and if Turkey is unable to assimilate them, then the Kurds will develop vigorously. In addition, the Kurds are mainly found in the southeastern region of Turkey, which is highly valued by the Ottomans as the "Land of the Dragon" and is a well-known feng shui treasure in the Middle East.
For a variety of reasons, Kemal began to crack down on the Kurds.
In 1924, the identity of the Kurds was canceled, and they could only be called "mountain Turks". A change in name means a change in identity, and as a result, many Kurds gradually forget their original identity and gradually become Turkish.
As a result, the Kurds, unwilling to endure oppression, launched an uprising, and Kemal led his own people in a struggle against the Kurds.
In 1928, a huge Kurdish uprising broke out - the Great Aalshane Uprising.
Although the movement was eventually crushed by the Turkish government, the repercussions were a major headache for Turkish leaders. The roof leak happened to rain overnight, and while the work of assimilating the Kurds was not yet complete, there was another incident outside Turkey - Persia (Iran) wanted to distance itself from him.
3. Turkey has agreed to make a loss-making deal in order to solve the national question
The Kurdish problem has not yet been resolved, and Persia is going to make trouble again. To complicate matters further, the Kurds live across the four countries of Turkey, Persia, Iraq, and Syria, and there is a Mount Aare in Turkey and Persia.
The eastern and western peaks of the Alenor Mountains were often fought guerrilla warfare against the Turks around the eastern foothills, and when they were defeated by the Turkish army, they ran into Persian territory, often throwing the Turkish army to the ground.
Since the question of the border line could not be negotiated, Persia and Turkey were not in good spirits.
The Persians found that it was also a good option to be able to consume Turkey through the Kurds. Therefore, Persia was very supportive of the Kurds entering their own territory, and even provided them with military supplies to finance their revolt back in Turkey.
Therefore, Turkey's plan to "exterminate" the Kurds has not been able to take shape, and there is no lack of Persian credit, not to mention the superior terrain of the East Aare Mountains that provides natural conditions for the Kurla people.
The Turkish government has thought about it, and they believe that if they want to suppress the Kurds, they must start from these two reasons.
The Turks invited Persia to negotiate, and at that time there was also political turmoil in Persia, and some forces in the country wanted to live in peace with Turkey in order to establish a stable external environment. Eventually, Persia accepted the Turkish proposal.
In 1931, Turkish leader Kemal put forward a bold idea: to nationalize the barren land in the eastern foothills of the Persian Al-Are, and to give southern Turkey and its fertile lands to Persia.
The exchange agreement seemed ridiculous, given the mountainous and rugged foothills of the eastern Alaret of only 100 square kilometres, and the Persians were able to get 233 square kilometres of fertile soil, so to speak.
There was no reason for Persia not to agree, so the leaders of both sides signed an agreement.
In 1932, the two sides exchanged their territories for a final exchange, and since then, the Lesser Ağareh has officially become Turkish territory, and the border between Turkey and Persia has been formalized.
With the conclusion of this agreement, Turkey has stepped up its repression and assimilation of the remaining Kurds in the Aal-Mountain region.
In 1933, the Turkish government forces basically suppressed the Kurdish uprising and rebellion, and the Kurdish settlements at the foot of the Aare Mountains were registered. Subsequently, the Turks began to drastically "de-Kurdize" to truly call them Turks.
In the process, the Kurds were re-separated and integrated, most of the landlords' resources and property were confiscated, and most of the Kurdish families were also cut off and scattered.
When this was first arranged, the Kurds were unwilling to listen, and they tried to organize a unified fight against the Turks, but the tide was gone, and without the Persian provisions, they were unable to persevere.
In this way, the voice of the Kurds gradually faded down, and the chaos within Turkey almost disappeared.
In 1935, Persia changed its name to Iran, and Iran inherited the previous border agreement, and since then, there has been no dispute over the border between the two sides.
It is worth mentioning that the Kurds have gradually moved into the right track after their assimilation. For Turkey, the deal may not be a good deal for the time being, but from today's perspective, it is a very reasonable deal – it is also a good deal to trade fertile soil for the tranquility of the country's borders. Iran got what it wanted, and it's even more of a win-win.
The only thing to sigh about is the Kurds who still have a national consciousness, and they are still fighting the Turkish government in their own way, and to this day, it never stops.