The Tophane Agreement was a treaty between the
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
signed on during an ambassadorial conference in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. The agreement was named after the Istanbul neighborhood Tophane, located in
Beyoğlu
Beyoğlu (, ota, بكاوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...
district, where the treaty was signed.
Signed by the Ottoman Grand Vizier
Mehmed Kamil Pasha
Mehmed (modern Turkish: Mehmet) is the most common Bosnian and Turkish form of the Arabic name Muhammad ( ar, محمد) (''Muhammed'' and ''Muhammet'' are also used, though considerably less) and gains its significance from being the name of Muh ...
and the Bulgarian foreign minister Iliya Tsanov, as well the ambassadors of the Great Powers, the agreement recognized the Prince of Bulgaria (
Alexander of Battenberg
Alexander Joseph ( bg, Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 185717 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince ('' knyaz'') of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bul ...
at the time) as
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
of the autonomous Ottoman Province
Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...
. In this way, the ''de facto''
Unification of Bulgaria
The Unification of Bulgaria ( bg, Съединение на България, ''Saedinenie na Balgariya'') was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated ...
which had taken place on , was ''de jure'' recognized.
As compensation, the Ottoman Empire received the area around
Kardzhali
Kardzhali ( bg, Кърджали , ''Kărdžali''; tr, Kırcaali; gr, Κάρτζαλι, ''Kártzali''), sometimes spelt Kardžali or Kurdzhali, is a town in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, centre of Kardzhali Municipality and Kardzhali Provi ...
, as well as the
Republic of Tamrash
The Republic of Tamrash ( bg, Тъмръшка република, Tǎmrǎška republika), was a short-lived self-governing administrative structure of the Pomaks, living in the Tamrash region of the Rhodope Mountains. It existed from 1878 to 1 ...
, for a total area of 1,640 km². With this treaty, the territory of the unified Bulgaria became 94,345 km².
[Magarditsch A. Hatschikjan: Tradition und Neuorientierung in der bulgarischen Außenpolitik 1944–1948. Die "nationale Außenpolitik" der Bulgarischen Arbeiterpartei (Kommunisten). Verlag Oldenburg, München 1988, , P. 20] Bulgaria later regained the lands lost in this treaty following victory in the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
(1912–13).
References
{{Ottoman treaties
Bilateral treaties of the Ottoman Empire
1886 treaties
1886 in Bulgaria
Treaties of the Principality of Bulgaria
19th century in Istanbul
1886 in the Ottoman Empire
April 1886 events