Seeing the Blue Homeland from Navarin

194 years ago today, on October 20, 1827, one of the greatest war defeats of the Ottoman Empire, the Navarino War took place. At the end of the naval war, which started in the morning hours at the port of Navarin in the south of the Peloponnese and lasted for about 3.5 hours, the French, British and Russian navies destroyed almost all of the Ottoman and Egyptian navies with a sudden raid-style attack, and the Ottoman Empire and Egypt's defenses in the Aegean and Mediterranean sea ​​power was destroyed.

Focusing on the causes and consequences of the war rather than the current style will provide a good perspective for the future for Turkey, which is currently struggling for sovereignty in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The political and military event associated with the Navarino raid is the Greek uprising that started in the Peloponnese in 1821. Under the influence of the nationalist movements that emerged with the effect of the French Revolution, the Serbs, who were Ottoman subjects, revolted in 1804, but the uprising was suppressed because the Serbs could not get enough support from the European states dealing with internal affairs due to the Napoleonic wars. Subsequently, the Greeks in Wallachia and Moldavia revolted, but this uprising was suppressed due to the inability to receive sufficient support from the people and the effective intervention of the Ottoman State. Finally, in 1821, the Greeks rebelled, this time in the Peloponnese. This revolt, unlike the others, was handled as a European problem by the European states and virtually created a basis for European states to intervene in the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire. The uprising was successful in a short time, and political support was provided to the rebels with agreements and protocols such as London, Petersburg and Akkerman, as well as the support given by the European states to the rebellion carried out in the Peloponnese.

Let's put the sides first. On the one hand, there were the Greek rebels, France, England and Russia, and on the other, the Ottoman state, which tried to suppress the rebellion, and its political and military ally, Egypt. Considering the parties; The European states' interest in the problem included the desire to prevent a strong Ottoman-Egyptian solidarity in the Mediterranean, on a different dimension from the idea of ​​just establishing an independent Greece.

In 1827, at the head of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan II. Mahmut, at the head of Egypt, was the Khedive of Egypt, Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Pasha, who wanted to become a new power in the Mediterranean. The Peloponnese rebellion was suppressed with the power provided by the alliance of the Ottoman Empire with Egypt and the smart, quick and harsh military measures taken. With the smart military moves of the Ottoman and Egyptian military forces, control in the Peloponnese was achieved and Athens was taken back from the rebels. However, almost all of the Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces were stationed in the port of Navarin in order to ensure the security of the supply routes in the Aegean Sea and to suppress the uprisings in the Aegean islands. Concerned that this navy might change the balance of power in the Aegean and Mediterranean, France, England and Russia decided to destroy the navy in the port of Navarin with a secret agreement between them. In this way, the Ottoman Empire, whose supply and shipping routes were cut off and would lose the opportunity to intervene in the region by sea, would not be able to prevent the establishment of an independent Greece, and Egypt's growing influence on the Mediterranean would be destroyed.

The thing to know here is; Egypt has a strong state structure and army with the administrative and military reforms made during the reign of Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Pasha and wants to be an effective actor in the region with the strategy it carries out. Do not be misled by the geography of states today. At that time, the Ottoman Empire and Egypt were neighbors on the line to the south of today's Syria, through Palestine and Israel. Egypt also controlled parts of present-day Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Libya. It is clearly seen from the geography that the area of ​​influence and struggle is the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

The fact that the Greek uprising, which started in the Peloponnese, became a European political problem in a short time, was already an effort of the European states, which constantly sought the opportunity to intervene in the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire, using the rights of the Christian minorities living in the Ottoman Empire as an excuse. The alliance with France and England in the Peloponnese issue was also a great opportunity for Russia to show its navy a flag in the Mediterranean.

As a result; In line with the secret agreement between France, England and Russia, using the Peloponnese uprising as an excuse, the Ottoman and Egyptian navies, which anchored in the port of Navarin in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula on October 20, 1827, ignored the international law rules of that period and carried out a raid-style attack without any declaration of war. destroyed by attack.

The results of the Navarino raid were extremely devastating for the Ottoman Empire. Sultan II. Mahmut described this raid as "banditry/piracy", no war was waged against the aggressor states, but harsh notes were given to these countries. The result was that the Ottoman Empire was deprived of a navy that could protect its maritime borders. 1829 years later After the Prut war with Russia and the declaration of independent Greece in 1831, Kavalalı Mehmet Ali Pasha's march with his army as an excuse for the annexation of Syria to Kütahya, the Russian navy settled in the Bosphorus and anchored in Istanbul with the Hünkar İskelesi agreement, With the London Agreement, the process of England and France taking on the role of the protector of the Ottoman Empire again led to the Tanzimat Edict of 1839, when the Ottoman Empire accepted the Western states system.

Today, the struggle for sovereignty continues for the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. The detection of rich oil and natural gas deposits has increased the geostrategic importance of the region. Turkey declared its sovereign rights with the Blue Homeland strategy. However, as in history, it is very difficult to implement this strategy without taking Egypt with us. The fact that Turkey has a strong and technologically superior navy and a fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea and displaying a flag is the guarantee of its sovereign rights. The history of Turkish naval wars is not only the history of victories like Preveza, but also the history of unexpected raids and defeats such as the raids of Navarin, Inebahti and Çeşme. We should not overlook this point.

I wonder, parallel to the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, each of which is a threat to our sovereignty;

- The indefinite defense and security cooperation agreement between the US bases in Crete and Alexandroupoli and the US and Greece,

- Russia's deployment in Syria with its ground power and its navy in Latakia and Tartus

- The weakening of the air power that will support the Turkish navy in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, on the pretext of political problems, and the development of the balance in favor of Greece,

- France's arms sales to Greece

- Can we see the cooperation agreements between Egypt, Greek Cypriot Administration and Greece from Navarin?