Alternative History
Alternative History
Republic of Hatay
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
Flag Coat of Arms
Flag Coat of Arms
Location of Republic of Hatay
Location of Republic of Hatay
Language Turkish
Religion Islam
Ethnic Groups
  main
 
Turkish
  others Syrian
Demonym Hatayan
Government Military Oligarchy
  Legislature Council of Generals
President-General
Established 1988

The Republic of Hatay was an independent nation that rose from the ashes of the pre-Doomsday Republic of Turkey. The Republic claims its descendant from the original Hatay Republic. It collapsed in 1998 following the Battle of Osmaniye during the Hatayan-Turkish War. All territories under its control were annexed by the Sultanate of Turkey by 2000.

Pre-Doomsday[]

Hatay (Antakya) is a province in southern Turkey, on the Mediterranean coast, with Syria to the south and east and the Turkish provinces of Adana and Osmaniye to the north. The province is part of Çukurova, a geographical, economical and cultural region that covers the provinces of Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, and Hatay. The administrative capital is Antakya (Antioch), while the largest city in the province is the port city of İskenderun (Alexandretta). There are border crossing points with Syria in the district of Yayladağı and at Cilvegözü in the district of Reyhanlı.

Hatay was annexed from, what was then, the province of Syria (part of the Ottoman Empire) by France after World War I. France became the mandatory power in Syria and Lebanon, with self governed Alexandretta succumbing to its military control as part of this mandate. Although geographically part of Syria, in 1938, the province declared its independence from French-ruled Syria changing its name to Hatay. This took place despite France's mandatory responsibility to maintain the unity of Syrian lands (article 4 of the mandate).

On June 29, 1939, the parliament of the newly declared Hatay Republic voted to join Turkey. Until Doomsday, the Syrian government does not recognize this decision, and considers Hatay to be part of Syria.[citation needed]

In 1939, following a popular referendum it became a Turkish province. The Hassa district of Gaziantep and Dörtyol district of Adana were then incorporated to the province in order to increase the Turkish proportion of the population.[citation needed] The result was a flight of many Arabs and Armenians from Hatay to other parts of Syria. France's willingness to accede to Turkish demands was at least partly influenced by its government's wariness of getting involved in a potential overseas conflict while Germany posed a clear military threat on its immediate borders.[citation needed] As World War II began just afterwards, the League of Nations didn't have time to give its opinion about this cession.[citation needed]

Doomsday[]

TurkeyProvincesNuke2

Doomsday Nuclear Strikes

As for the rest of the world, Doomsday came suddenly for Turkey and enacted a devastating toll. Due to their membership in NATO, Turkey was a target of the Soviet nuclear barrage. The capital, Ankara, and their largest city and cultural heart of Turkey, Istanbul, were both destroyed by nuclear blasts. In addition, the cities of Erzurum, Izmir, Bursa, Adana, and Alanya were also destroyed. These areas were all major military bases or command posts in Turkey. The infernos quickly subsummed the surrounding area. This destroyed much of the Turkish government and military leadership, which plunged the country into chaos. With the destruction of Istanbul, the Turkish Straits were rendered unpassable due to the intense radiation. Weather patterns pushed the radiation cloud mostly to the north and east of the country, which was devastated by the fallout. However, this left the south and west of the country still struggling and suffering from the radiation, but to a much lesser degree than other areas of the country.

The Soviets also attempted to destroy several other cities, including Bodrum, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, Antalya, Marmaris, and Konya. However, early warning was received from NATO radar sites in the northern regions of the country. With only a few hours, or less, advance warning, all NATO air forces in the country were scrambled. Several waves of bombers also set off north to attack the Soviet Union. Fighter aircraft were able to intercept many of the missiles, saving many thousands of lives. One or two warheads failed to detonate and crashed into the ground causing minimal local damage. Also, Turkish land forces were mobilzed in the east and began attacking Soviet forces in the Caucusus. However, these battles quickly dispursed due to the high concentration of firepower used in the battles, the collapse of communications, and the fear of impending radiation from the nuclear blasts. With most of the military mobilzed, much of the Turkish air force was preserved, but much of the army and navy was destroyed at their bases. Because of this, the military soon began to fracture and collapse as their communications and command centers were destroyed. As a result, the entire country was thrown into chaos. Across much of the country, the social order quickly collapsed and many Turks doubted the survival of their nation.

Post-Doomsday[]

The Province of Hatay in southern Turkey was extremely lucky. Due to the lack of strategically significant targets, the entire province avoided the nuclear holocaust. Also, due to weather patterns, most of the radioactive fallout from the Turkish nuclear strikes was blown to the north and east of the province. The fallout from the Syrian nuclear strikes originated mostly to the east, so it largely avoided the province. This allowed the continuation of local government, for a time. However, refugees fleeing from the Turkey to the north and Syria to the south threatened to overwhelm the province. Per established pre-Doomsday, military leaders located in the province quickly seized control and prepared to guide the province through the chaos of the post-Doomsday world.

Securing Control[]

Following pre-Doomsday plans, the Turkish military leadership in Hatay province flocked to the major cities to attempt to establish order. Using the military units at their disposal, this was done quickly and efficiently. Eight months after Doomsday, Hatay Province was somewhat stablized through brute military force. A series of military warlords controlled the major cities of Dortyol, Iskenderun, Antakya, and Reyhanli. The rest of the province was controlled from these four cities. On December 7, 1984, over a year after Doomsday, a meeting of all the major warlords of Hatay Province was called. Since they were all loyal Turkish nationalists, they agreed to a power-sharing arrangement between them, establishing the Republic of Hatay. The capital was chosen to be place in Iskenderun, since it was the most powerful of the warlord states and the only major coastal city. After the unification of the various militias, the Hatayan leadership decided to establish a highly centralized system that incidentally created a forced labor system. Meanwhile, the refugees from the north and south were taken in and immediately placed into the labor system. They accepted as many refugees as possible, until they could support no more. After they reached that point, they established a patrolled border around the Republic and shot any refugee who dared enter. This created small, refugee communities along the border that acted as a natural defense for the Republic. While this was highly unpopular, it did allow Hatay to provide for itself. By August 1985, the mass famines had largely ceased, the refugees were repulsed, and the new state could move forward again.

The Buffer Zone[]

The pre-Doomsday military leaders who controlled Hatay reevaluated their strategic position in November 1985. With the state now stable, they realized the need for the expansion into new territories to both secure their nation and expand their production. First, they conquered north to Osmaniye in 1986, which enabled them to control the major highway in Southern Turkey. Next, they attempted to expand to the east and south, however, they encountered a series of small states run by former Syrian military leaders. Seeing these as both a major threat and a significant advantage, most of these small states were invited to join the Republic. After being promised to retain control of their territory and seeing how the Republic was governed, most of these warlords agreed. As a result, much of northwest Syria joined the Republic. By 1988, the Hatayan buffer zone had been established. The expelled Turkish settlers from Cyrpus were settled in these borderlands to secure them for the Republic. They were all too willing to be able to claim a land of their own after their forced expulsion from Cyprus.

Expansion[]

With the addition of the northern Syrian territory, Hatay's southern border was secured. Also, the Republic of Hatay also gained much of the surviving Syrian military equipment in the north. Armed with additional weapons, the Hatayan leadership sought to advance further north and east to secure more territory. In 1990, the Hatayan military advance began. First, they marched west towards the
Aegean. They hoped to reach the Aegean within a year, but the large numbers of refugees and minor military generals who maintained control in the area considerably slowed their advance. Soon, they encountered the much larger Sultanate of Turkey. Seeing greater difficulty in continuing westward, the Sultanate, in early 1992, turned its attention eastward. They quickly advanced along the Syrian-Turkish border until they reached the borders of the Republic of Kurdistan in 1993, where they momentarily halted their advance. Next, they pushed northward and annexed everything south of the Karakaya Baraji.

Hatayan-Kurdish War[]

In February 1994, the Hatayan leadership decided to continue their eastward expansion at the cost of the new Kurdish nation and invaded the Republic of Kurdistan. Due to the element of surprise, the Hatyans were able to push almost 100 km into Kurdistan within 2 weeks. However, due to the previously unknown strength of the Kurdish military, a counteroffensive was quickly launched. By May 1994, three months after the war began, the Hatayans were driven out of Kurdish territory and a truce was signed.

Recovering from the War[]

The war wrecked a terrible cost on the Hatayan military. Nearly 30,000 soldiers had died, along with several valuable tanks and aircraft lost. Time was needed to rebuild and re-consolidate their forces for future expansion. Over the next three years, the Hatayan military led a mass industrialization effort in an attempt to strength their infrastructure to further provide for their military expansion. In a short amount of time, the Hatayan leadership believed their military would once again be ready to continue expansion.

Hatayan-Turkish War[]

The Great Rebellion[]

Defeat[]

The Insurgency[]

End of the Republic[]

Government[]

The Republic of Hatay was a military oligarchy run by various Turkish and Syrian generals who survived Doomsday. The highest organ of state is the Council of Generals, which is headed by the President-General who is the de facto leader of the country. There was a puppet parliament.. In the lower house, the military is automatically delegated 51% of the seats. In the upper house, the MPs are chosen by the various leaders of each province, which means the local ruling general. This pseudo-democratic system was implemented to provide some legitimacy to the ruling junta.

Military[]

Economy[]

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Harbour of İskenderun

The city of İskenderun hosts a fishing harbour

International Relations[]

The Republic of Hatay has chosen to remain an isolationist nation. They maintain few formal relations with other countries. They only maintain major relations with the small city-states and warlords of northern Syria and eastern Turkey, such as the State of Elazig, to secure their frontiers. They seek to manipulate these states to secure their frontiers and harass the nations that Hatayan leadership imagines as their primary opponents: the Sultanate of Turkey and the Republic of Kurdistan.