Any understanding of the transformation from indirect imperial to centralized nation-state rule must consider the complex interplay between knowledge production, sovereignty, and power, as well as the historical geographies that shape them. As such, this article focuses on Middle Eastern modern-state formation through the case of Dersim, a region in contemporary Turkey's Eastern Anatolia, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It delves deeply into Dersim's intricate dynamics to examine the changing relationship between state and territory through the perspective of government authorities, Western travelers, and local inhabitants. The article argues that the Turkish state's violent transformation of nonstate Dersim in 1937–38 marked a peak in the process of creating a flattened, homogeneous territory where sovereignty would be implemented effectively and, ideally, equally. This process began in Dersim, and the larger region around it, with the implementation of the Ottoman Tanzimat Reforms in the early nineteenth century, gained momentum with the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War, and reached its culmination with genocidal operations in Dersim in the late 1930s. The state elites' instrumentalization of modern cartography, among other technological advancements, for military purposes allowed them to envision, define, and reshape Dersim as an integral part of their imagined national homeland.

任何对从间接帝国统治到中央集权民族国家统治转变的理解都必须考虑知识生产、主权和权力之间复杂的相互作用，以及塑造它们的历史地理。因此，本文通过十九世纪末二十世纪初代尔西姆（当代土耳其安纳托利亚东部地区）的案例重点讨论中东现代国家的形成。它深入研究了德西姆错综复杂的动态，通过政府当局、西方旅行者和当地居民的视角来审视国家和领地之间不断变化的关系。文章认为，1937-38 年土耳其国家对非国家德西姆的暴力转型标志着创建扁平化、在同质的领土上，主权可以有效地、理想地平等地得到执行。随着 19 世纪初奥斯曼坦吉马特改革的实施，这一过程开始于德尔西姆及其周围更大的地区，并随着 1877-78 年俄土战争而获得动力，并随着 2007 年德尔西姆的种族灭绝行动而达到顶峰。 20世纪30年代末。国家精英将现代地图学以及其他技术进步用于军事目的，这使他们能够将德西姆设想、定义和重塑为他们想象中的祖国不可分割的一部分。随着 1877-78 年俄土战争的爆发，这场战争得到了发展，并在 1930 年代末在德尔西姆的种族灭绝行动中达到了顶峰。国家精英将现代地图学以及其他技术进步用于军事目的，这使他们能够将德西姆设想、定义和重塑为他们想象中的祖国不可分割的一部分。随着 1877-78 年俄土战争的爆发，这场战争得到了发展，并在 1930 年代末在德尔西姆的种族灭绝行动中达到了顶峰。国家精英将现代地图学以及其他技术进步用于军事目的，这使他们能够将德西姆设想、定义和重塑为他们想象中的祖国不可分割的一部分。