This map was published by the Society of Muslim Refugees of Rumelia in 1916, three years after the end of the Balkan Wars. The map is in Turkish, although the script still used the Arabic alphabet.
Between 1912 and 1913, the Balkan Wars pitted the Ottoman Empire against the Balkan League, an alliance of small Balkan countries whose goal was to expel the Ottomans from Europe. As a result, large numbers of Muslim refugees were forced to flee the region, which was known as Rumelia within the Ottoman Empire.
The map, simply titled «Revenge», is one of the most characteristic examples of Ottoman propaganda. Multiple copies were made in different formats, with all variations retaining the large black patch showing the territory lost by the Ottoman Empire. The white dots represent the main cities in the Balkans where all the Muslims who were forced to leave their homes after the end of the war originated.
This copy is kept at the Gennadius Library in Athens.
Sources
- Gennadius Library acquires an exceedingly rare Ottoman map
- Ottoman revenge map after the Balkan wars
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