With the imperial capital under foreign military occupation and the puppet government submitting to the demands of the victorious powers, the resistance in Anatolia faced a critical juncture. To legitimize their defiance, the resistance leaders realized they needed a political body capable of rivaling the ancient throne. This necessity birthed a parallel state, leading to a ruthless consolidation of power and the ultimate abolition of the centuries-old monarchy.
The Birth of the Grand National Assembly
In the spring of 1920, a new parliament—the Grand National Assembly—was convened in the heart of Anatolia. The assembly immediately adopted a radical posture, declaring itself the sole legitimate representative of the nation. In one of its first major acts, the assembly boldly proclaimed that it would not recognize any treaties, laws, or edicts issued by the collaborationist government or the captive monarch in the occupied capital.
The assembly claimed both legislative and executive powers. To enforce its authority and maintain discipline during a multi-front war against occupying forces, it passed a stringent Treason Law. This legislation established the “Independence Courts”—extraordinary tribunals with the power to issue immediate death sentences. Initially, these tribunals were used to combat the massive wave of desertions crippling the resistance army. The courts held the power to summarily confiscate all property belonging to deserters and execute those deemed traitors to the national cause.
The 1921 Constitution and the Illusion of Collective Rule
As the resistance formalized its statehood, the assembly drafted a new constitution in 1921. Its opening articles were revolutionary, declaring that sovereignty belonged unconditionally to the nation, rather than to a monarch or divine right. It codified that the assembly was the supreme governing body, effectively making the assembly president the de facto head of state.
However, the democratic ideals enshrined in the new constitution were soon overshadowed by military necessity and political ambition. In the summer of 1921, facing a disastrous military defeat that saw occupying armies marching dangerously close to the new capital, the assembly president demanded absolute emergency powers.
The Law of the Commander-in-Chief and Absolute Autocracy
Under the pressure of imminent collapse, the assembly passed the “Commander-in-Chief Law.” This unprecedented legislation effectively transferred the entire legislative power of the assembly to a single man for a period of three months. Under this law, the spoken word of the Commander-in-Chief was legally binding as an immediate state law, bypassing all parliamentary debate and oversight.
When the military situation stabilized following a decisive victory, the assembly expected the emergency powers to be relinquished. Instead, the Commander-in-Chief successfully demanded their extension, eventually holding this dictatorial authority for nearly a year.
To ensure absolute compliance, he executed a calculated political maneuver: he tied the dreaded Independence Courts directly to his own command. By severing the courts from the assembly’s oversight, he guaranteed that parliament could not investigate, debate, or halt the tribunals’ actions. The assembly was effectively paralyzed, terrified of challenging a leader who commanded both the military and the lethal authority of the Independence Courts.
The Muted Opposition and the Final Victory
The transition from a collective assembly to a one-man autocracy did not go unnoticed. A significant faction within the parliament formed the “Second Defense of Rights Group” to politically oppose the perpetual state of emergency and demand the restoration of parliamentary supremacy. While they fiercely debated the autocratic shift, the overarching necessity of winning the war kept their opposition mostly contained within the legislative halls.
By the autumn of 1922, the military resistance achieved total victory, driving the occupying armies into the sea. An armistice was signed, and peace negotiations were scheduled in Switzerland.
The Abolition of the Monarchy
As the date for the international peace conference approached, a final, fatal political crisis emerged. The occupying powers extended diplomatic invitations to both the victorious National Assembly and the defunct collaborationist government in the occupied capital.
Refusing to share the diplomatic stage or the legitimacy of the new state, the assembly acted swiftly and decisively. On November 1, 1922, the assembly voted to officially abolish the monarchy, severing the last political tether to the ancient empire. Days later, the puppet government collapsed, and its ministers resigned. In mid-November, the last monarch of the centuries-old dynasty, fearing for his life, boarded a British warship and fled the country forever.
The resistance had not only expelled foreign occupiers but had completely eradicated the ancient political order, leaving the path clear for the final consolidation of a new, single-party republic.