Cilicia (Twilight of a New Era)

Clicia was a state in Asia Minor. Its was bordered by Turkey. Created after World War I by the Treaty of Lucerne as homeland for the southern Armenians of the Ottoman Empire. It was a satellite state of France.

History
Clicia was recognized and had diplomatic relations with France, Italy, Greece, UK and Austria-Hungary. The Turkish republic never recognized its status of an independent state and reclaimed it as part of its territory.

Government
Cilicia was a parliamentary republic. Its constitution is based on the French one. According to it the republic is organized as follows:
 * The Head of State was the President of Republic, elected by a joint session of National Assembly for a mandate of six years. He named the President of the Council of Ministers, that acted as the Head of Government.
 * The legislative power rested in the National Assembly, a bicameral body that consisted of a Senate (with a mandate of 9 years, elected by an electoral college in thirds every three years) and Chamber of Deputies (elected for a mandate of 4 years or less if dissolved for new elections).
 * The judicature is organized in the Court of Cassation (supreme court over civil and criminal courts) and the Council of State (supreme court over administrative courts)

All men over 21 years can vote in all elections and referendums. The electoral system was based on the Ottoman millet.

French Ambassador as informal access to governmental actions and his recommendations are usually followed.

Internal administration
Cilicia was divided in sanjaks (district), kaza (canton), municipalities of district centers (belediye), and karye (village). Muhtars and their village councils (Azalar) are elected during local elections for five-year terms. All district centers have municipalities (belediye), headed by an elected mayor, who administers a defined municipality area (usually matching the urban zone) for defined municipal matters.

Politics
The main political parties were the ones organized by the Armenians. The Turkish majority boycotted or withdraw from the National Assembly, save for local government elections and bodies.

Economy
Cilicia was well known for the vast fertile land and highly productive agriculture. Mersin and İskenderun seaports provide transportation of goods manufactured in Central, South and Southeast Anatolia.

In 1920, the region was noted for its forested western region, which had little agricultural production. The Cilicia region was noted for its agricultural production, including wheat, barley, oats, rice, seeds, opium, sugarcane and cotton. Cotton production became more popular before World War I. In 1912, the region produced 110,000 bales of cotton and 35,000 tons of cottonseed. Pyrite is also mined.

In the early 20th-century, there were mills spinning thread. As of 1920, there were two factories in Smyrna dying yarn, which were owned by British companies. These companies employed over 60,000 people. During this time, there was also a French owned cotton spinning mill. The city also produced soap made of refuse olive oil. An ironworks, also owned by the British, produced tools and equipment. Those tools were used to extract tannin from valonia oak. As of 1920, the ironwork was exporting 5,000 tons of product a year. The city also produced wooden boxes, which were used for fig and raisin storage. The wood for the boxes was imported from Austria and Romania.

Armed forces
The former Legion Arménienne became the backbone of the newly created Cilician Army.