Cilicia, once the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire since the 14th century. With the downfall of the Ottoman Empire in WW1 Cilicia was occupied, initially by the British, and was then brought under French control in December1918. The period 1918-1921 saw the repatriation of many Armenian refugees to Cilicia, but French rule ended in 1921 when an agreement between France and Turkey saw the province returned to Turkish rule.