"small ally" in the grip of great powers: Nestorians during and after the First World War

The purpose of this thesis to examine in detail what then Nestorians, who rebelled within the framework of the promises of great powers in the process of disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, lived and what they obtained. This thesis has focused on claims asserted by Nestorians with regard to the necessity of establishing a state for the Nestorians themselves at the end of the war in return for what made during the war. First of all, it has been tried to be revealed who Nestorians are and later it has been evaluated the position of the Nestorians within the 'Millet System'. The actions of the Nestorians have also been scrutinized during the First World War after considering the effect of missionary activities on the Nestorians. Lastly, it has been handled how the Nestorians acted over the course of the Turkish Independence War. In this study, archive documents of both ATASE and the League of Nations as primary source and also secondary sources have been used. The cause effect relationship between events has been revealed transparently since the events have been examined by following chorological order. When considered the issue in the light of documents, it has been confirmed that the great powers took advantage of the Nestorians in order to achieve their political desires in this region and it is also possible to observe that the Nestorians had to migrate from the regions where they lived at the end of the war when their demands were not met. Key Words: Nestorians, Rebellion, The Ottoman Empire, First World War, Great Powers.