Treaty of Bucharest (1913) in the context of "Treaty of London (1913)"

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defeated it, in the process stripping the Ottomans of their European provinces, leaving only Eastern Thrace under Ottoman control. In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against the other four combatants of the first war. It also faced an attack from Romania from the north. The Ottoman Empire lost the bulk of its territory in Europe. Although not involved as a combatant, Austria-Hungary became relatively weaker as a much enlarged Serbia pushed for union of the South Slavic peoples. The war set the stage for the July crisis of 1914 and as a prelude to the First World War.

By the early 20th century, Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia had achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large elements of their ethnic populations remained under Ottoman rule. Over the course of the Macedonian Struggle these states fought for influence between themselves and the Ottoman government within Ottoman Macedonia, during which their governments came under the control of nationalists. In 1912, these countries united to formed the Balkan League. The First Balkan War began on 8 October 1912, when the League member states attacked the Ottoman Empire, and ended eight months later with the signing on 30 May 1913 of the Treaty of London negotiated together with the Great Powers. The Great Powers - particularly Italy and Austria-Hungary -- included independence for Albania in the Treaty. The Second Balkan War began on 16 June 1913, when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its allotment of territory from Macedonia, attacked its former Balkan League allies. The combined forces of the Serbian and Greek armies, with their superior numbers repelled the Bulgarian offensive and counter-attacked by invading Bulgaria from the west and the south. Romania, having taken no part in the first conflict, had intact armies to strike with and invaded Bulgaria from the north in violation of a peace treaty between the two states. The Ottoman Empire also attacked Bulgaria and advanced in Thrace, regaining Adrianople. In the resulting Treaty of Bucharest, Bulgaria managed to retain most of the territories it had gained in the First Balkan War. However, it was forced to cede the ex-Ottoman south part of Dobruja province to Romania.

Independent Albania (Albanian: Shqipëria e Pavarur) was a parliamentary state declared in Vlorë (at the time part of Ottoman Empire) on 28 November 1912 during the First Balkan War. Its assembly was constituted on the same day while its government and senate were established on 5 December 1912.

The delegation of Albania submitted a memorandum to the London Conference of 1913 requesting international recognition of independent Albania. At the beginning of the conference it was decided that the region of Albania would be under Ottoman suzerainty but with an autonomous government. The requests by the delegation for recognition based on the ethnic rights of Albanians were rejected and the treaty signed on 30 May 1913 partitioned a major part of the claimed lands between Serbia, Greece and Montenegro, leaving as independent territory only a central region, which was put under the protection of the Great Powers. The ambassadors of six Great Powers met again on 29 July 1913 and decided to constitute a new state, the Principality of Albania, as a constitutional monarchy. Finally, with the Treaty of Bucharest being signed in August 1913, this new independent state was established, leaving about 40% of the ethnic Albanian population outside its borders.

The Second Balkan War (29 June – 10 August 1913) was a conflict fought between the Kingdom of Bulgaria and its former Balkan League allies, Serbia and Greece, who were later joined by Romania and the Ottoman Empire. The war began when Bulgaria, unhappy with the division of territory after the First Balkan War, launched attacks on Serbian and Greek forces, who repelled the offensive and pushed into Bulgarian territory. With most of Bulgaria’s army committed in the south, Romania intervened from the north. The Ottoman Empire also took advantage of the situation to recover territories lost the previous year.

As Bulgaria suffered military setbacks on multiple fronts and Romanian forces advanced towards its capital, Sofia, it requested an armistice. The war ended with the Treaty of Bucharest, which compelled Bulgaria to cede significant territory: Southern Dobruja to Romania, parts of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Adrianople (Edirne) to the Ottoman Empire under the separate Treaty of Constantinople.

Southern Dobruja or South Dobruja (Bulgarian: Южна Добруджа, romanized: Yuzhna Dobrudzha or simply Добруджа, Dobrudzha; Romanian: Dobrogea de Sud or Dobrogea Nouă, lit. 'New Dobruja'), also the Quadrilateral (Romanian: Cadrilater), is an area of north-eastern Bulgaria comprising Dobrich and Silistra provinces, part of the historical region of Dobruja. It has an area of 7,412 square km and a population of 358,000.

It is historically noteworthy as a point of contention in Bulgarian-Romanian relations. Part of Bulgaria between 1878 and 1913, the region was annexed by Romania in the Treaty of Bucharest (1913), targeted by Bulgaria during World War I (1914–18), and subsequently remained Romanian until 1940, when Bulgaria regained control in the Treaty of Craiova, which went along with a compulsory population exchange. Southern Dobruja has been part of Bulgaria since 1940.

Alexandroupolis (Ἀλεξανδρούπολις, IPA: [aleks̠anˈðɾupolis̠]) or Alexandroupoli (Αλεξανδρούπολη, IPA: [aleks̠anˈðɾupoli]), also known as Alexandrople, is a port city in Greece and the capital of the Evros regional unit, in Greek Thrace. It is the largest city in Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, with a population of 71,751 and is an important port and commercial center for Northern Greece.

The city was first settled by the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century and grew into the fishing village Dedeağaç. In 1873, it became a kaza and one year later was promoted to a sanjak. The city developed into a regional trading center. Later, it became a part of Adrianople Vilayet. During the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), the area was briefly captured by the Russians. Ottoman rule ended with the First Balkan War, when the city was captured by Bulgaria in 1912. In the Second Balkan War, Greece took control of the city. With the Treaty of Bucharest (10 August 1913), the city returned to Bulgaria.