Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

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Ethnic map of six Armenian Vilayets in the Ottoman Empire according to available information.

The

Armenian Genocide
.

Background

See also:
State organisation of the Ottoman Empire
civil administration
.

The Ottomans introduced a number of unique approaches to governing into the traditions of

Ottoman System
" conveys a sense of structural rigidity that probably was nonexistent throughout the Ottoman period.

The Armenian population's integration was partly due to the nonexistent structural rigidity throughout the initial period.

kazas. The civil system was considered a check on the military system since beys, who represented executive authority on reaya, could not carry out punishment without a sentence from the religious leader of the person. Also, the Sultan was beyond the mentioned control. The Ecumenical Patriarchate was the leader of the Armenian People. This whole structure was named in the Armenian case Armenian Millet
.

During the Byzantine period, the Armenian Church was not allowed to operate in Constantinople, because the Greek Orthodox Church regarded the Armenian Church as heretical. With the establishment of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, Armenians became religious leaders, and bureaucrats under the Ottoman Empire became more influential than just their own community. The idea that two separate "establishments" shared state power gave people a chance to occupy important positions, administrative, the religious-legal, and the social-economic.

Armenians occupied important posts within the Ottoman Empire, Artin Dadyan Pasha, who served as minister of foreign affairs from 1876 to 1901, is one of many examples of Armenian citizens who played a fundamental role in the sociopolitical sphere of the Ottoman Empire.

Role of Armenians in the Ottoman economy

Certain elite Armenian families in the Ottoman Empire gained the trust of the Sultans and were able to achieve important positions in the Ottoman government and the Ottoman economy. Even though their numbers were small compared to the whole Ottoman Armenian population, this caused some resentment among Ottoman nationalists. The life of the rest of the common Armenians was a very difficult existence because they were treated as second class citizens. Those elite Armenians that did achieve great success were individuals such as

Gabriel Noradunkyan who became secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. The Dadian family controlled the entire munitions industry in the Ottoman Empire. Calouste Gulbenkian became one of the main advisors of the National Bank of Turkey
and the Turkish Petroleum Corporation, which later became the Iraqi Oil Corporation. Historian A. Tchamkerten writes "Armenian achievements in the Empire was not only in trade, however. They were involved in almost all economic sectors and held the highest levels of responsibility. In the 19th century, various Armenian families became the Sultan's goldsmiths, Sultan's architects and took over the currency reserves and the reserves of gold and silver, including customs duty. Sixteen of the eighteen most important bankers in the Ottoman Empire were Armenian". (Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian: The man and his work. Lisbon: Gulbenkian Foundation Press.2010) Ottoman Armenians were overrepresented in commerce.
middleman minorities, despite the wealth of some Armenians,[1]
their overall political power was low, making them especially vulnerable.

Patriarchate of Constantinople

See also: Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople
Süleyman the Magnificent
.

After

Sultan Mehmed II wanted Armenian-Greek separation. Constantinople become the real center of their ecclesiastical and national life. The Armenian patriarch and not the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, was their most important national dignitary, as part of Mehmed's wish. The largest Armenian community in the world lived in the Sultan's capital and his civil-ecclesiastical authority made the Sultan the most powerful official for Armenians in practice. Probably, before the Ottoman conquest in 1453 there had been no Armenian churches in Constantinople. After 1453, 55 Armenian churches were built in Istanbul.[2]

Until the promulgation of the

Hatt-i Sherif of 1839, the patriarch and his clients, within limits, possessed penal authority over the Armenian people. At the capital the patriarch had his own jail, and maintained a small police force. His authority over his clergy being absolute, he could imprison or exile them at will; and while he was compelled to secure the consent of the Sultan to imprison or exile laymen of his community, the necessary firman
was very easily obtained. The patriarchal system of government, in placing civil powers in the hands of high ecclesiastics, was an outcome of the fact that the Sultan made no distinction between church and community, and often lent the weight of its authority to maintain the integrity of the church.

Armenian village life

In villages, including those of which the population was chiefly Muslim, the Armenian quarters were settled in groups among other parts of the population. Compared to others, Armenians lived in well-built homes. The houses were arranged one above the other, so that the flat roof of the lower house serves as the front yard of the one above it. For safety, the houses were huddled together. Armenian dwellings were adapted to the extremes of temperature in the highlands of

Persians.[4]

The

elder
was something of a leader for the village, and his house was typically the most luxurious dwelling in a village. It was not uncommon to have three priests for thirty-five families. Most Armenians travelled on horseback to neighbouring villages, sometimes for religious ceremonies (like the Van festival), sometimes to fetch a bride, accompanying her, with musical instruments and clapping of hands, to their own village.

Ottoman Armenia, 1453–1829

Western Armenia in the first half of the 18th century. Herman Moll's map, 1736
Western Armenia on the Ottoman Empire map. John Pinkerton, 1818

second-class citizens; they were subjected to elevated taxation, but in return they were granted autonomy within their own religious communities and were exempted from military service. Growing religious and political influence from neighboring communities necessitated implementation of security measures that often required a longer waiting period for minorities to seek legal recourse in the courts.[5] Under Ottoman rule, Armenians formed three distinct millets: Armenian Orthodox Gregorians, Armenian Catholics, and Armenian Protestants (in the 19th century).[6]

After many centuries of

Mongol Invasions and finally the bloody campaigns of Tamerlane.[7]

In addition, there were the century-long

Ottoman-Persian Wars between the rival empires, the battlegrounds of which ranged over Western Armenia (therefore large parts of the native lands of the Armenians), causing the region and its peoples to be passed between the Ottomans and Persians numerous times. The wars between the arch-rivals started from the early 16th century and lasted till well into the 19th century, having disastrous effects for the native inhabitants of these regions, including the Armenians of Western Armenia
.

Owing to these events, the composition of the population had undergone (ever since the second half of the medieval period) a transformation so profound that the

Mamluks and the Ottomans led to ever increasing numbers of Muslims in the region until finally the genocide
removed the remaining vestiges of the Armenian people.

There were also significant communities in parts of

Six vilayets (such as in Kayseri). After the Ottoman conquests many Armenians also moved west and settled in Anatolia, in large and prosperous Ottoman cities like Constantinople and Smyrna
.

Western Armenia, 1829–1918

See also: Russian Armenia
Armenian & Turkish Retailers.

The remaining Ottoman Armenia, composed of the

Sivas[12]
) up to World War I, under Ottoman rule, was also referred to as Western Armenia.

Armenians during the 19th century

Calouste Gulbenkian, internationally known businessman and philanthropist born in 1869 at Üsküdar

Aside from the learned professions taught at the schools that had

Sargis Mubayeajian was a prolific and multifarious writer educated in Constantinople
. Many of his works are still scattered in Armenian periodicals.

Many Armenians, who after having emigrated to foreign countries and becoming prosperous there, returned to their native land.[13] Alex Manoogian who became a philanthropist and active member of the Armenian General Benevolent Union was from Ottoman lands (modern İzmir), Arthur Edmund Carewe, born Trebizond, become an actor in the silent film era.

Armenians occupied important posts within the Ottoman Empire, Artin Dadyan Pasha served as Minister of foreign affairs of the Ottoman Empire from 1876 to 1901 and is an example that Armenian citizens served the Ottoman Empire.

See also: Balyan family, Vartan Pasha, Güllü Agop, Hampartsoum Limondjian, and Kemani Tatyos Ekserciyan

Eastern Question

See also:
Eastern Question

The

rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire as a direct result of enlightenment of Christian millets through education, was the dominant theme. Armenians, However, for the most part, remained passive during these years, earning them the title of millet-i sadıka or the "loyal millet".[14]

The Eastern Question gained even more traction by the late 1820s, due to the

Armenian Question as used in European history, became commonplace among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin (1878). The Armenian national ideology developed long after the Greek movement. However, the factors contributing to the emergence of Armenian nationalism made the movement far more similar to that of the Greeks than those of other ethnic groups.[15]

Reform implementation, 1860s–1880s

See also: Tanzimat and Armenian question

The three major European powers – Great Britain, France and Russia (known as the Great Powers) – took issue with the Empire's treatment of its Christian minorities and increasingly pressured the Ottoman government (also known as the Sublime Porte) to extend equal rights to all its citizens.

Beginning in 1839, the Ottoman government implemented the

nobles by development of the political strata in the society.[16]

Armenian National Constitution, 1863

See also: Armenian National Assembly

In 1863, the Armenian National Constitution (Ottoman Turkish:"Nizâmnâme-i Millet-i Ermeniyân") was Ottoman Empire approved. It was a form of the "Code of Regulations" composed of 150 articles drafted by the "Armenian intelligentsia", which defined the powers of Patriarch (a position in the Ottoman Millet) and newly formed "Armenian National Assembly".[17] Mikrtich issued a decree permitting women to have equal votes with men and asking them to take part in all elections.

The Armenian National Assembly had wide-ranging functions. Muslim officials were not employed to collect taxes in Armenian villages, but the taxes in all the Armenian villages collected by Armenian tax-gatherers appointed by the Armenian National Assembly. Armenians were allowed to establish their own courts of justice for the purpose of administering justice and conducting litigation between Armenians, and for deciding all questions relating to marriage, divorce, estate, inheritance, etc., appertaining to themselves. Also Armenians were allowed the right to establish their own prisons for the incarceration of offending Armenians, and in no case should an Armenian be imprisoned in an Ottoman prison.

The Armenian National Assembly also had the power to elect the Armenian Governor by a local Armenian legislative council. The councils later will be part of elections during second constitutional era. Local Armenian legislative councils were composed of six Armenians elected by the Armenian National Assembly.

Education and social work

Main article: Armenian education in the Ottoman Empire

Beginning in 1863, education was available to all subjects, as far as funds permitted it. Such education was under the direction of lay committees. During this period in Russian Armenia, the association of the schools with the Church was close, but the same principle obtains. This became a problem for the Russian administration, which peaked during 1897 when Tsar Nicholas appointed the Armenophobic Grigory Sergeyevich Golitsin as governor of Transcaucasia, and Armenian schools, cultural associations, newspapers and libraries were closed.

The Armenian charitable works, hospitals, and provident institutions were organized along the explained perspective. The Armenians, in addition to paying taxes to the State, voluntarily imposed extra burdens on themselves in order to support these philanthropic agencies. The taxes to the State did not have direct return to Armenians in such cases.

Armenian Question, 1877

Main article: Armenian question

The

Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. However, in specific terms, the Armenian question refers to the protection and the freedoms of Armenians from their neighboring communities.[18]
The "Armenian question" explains the forty years of Armenian-Ottoman history in the context of English, German, Russian politics between 1877 and 1914.

Armenians in Western Armenia,1896

National awakening, 1880s

See also: Armenian national awakening

The national liberation movement of the Balkan peoples (see:

Transcaucasus from Russian and Ottoman rule and re-establish the independent Armenian state
. Those Armenians who did not support national liberation aspirations or who were neutral were called chezoks.

Sultan Abdul Hamid II, 1876–1909

1896, Armenian-populated regions.

Abdul Hamid II was the 34th Sultan and oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, ruling from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed on 27 April 1909. He was the last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power.

Bashkaleh clash, 1889

Main article: 1889 Bashkale clash

The Bashkaleh clash was the bloody encounter between the

Armenians in the Persian Empire. The Gugunian Expedition, which followed within the couple months, was an attempt by a small group of Armenian nationalists from the Russian Armenia
to launch an armed expedition across the border into the Ottoman Empire in 1890 in support of local Armenians.

Kum Kapu demonstration, 1890

The

Yildiz Palace to demand implementation of Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin. It is significant that this massacre, in which 6000 Armenians are said to have perished, was not the result of a general rising of the Muslim population.[22] The Softas took no part in it, and many Armenians found refuge in the Muslim sections of the city.[22]

Bloody years, 1894–96

See also: Hamidian massacres, 1894 Sasun rebellion, Zeitun rebellion (1895–96), Occupation of the Ottoman Bank, Defense of Van (1896), and Khanasor Expedition

The first notable battle in the Armenian resistance movement took place in

Zeitun Rebellion (1895–96), which took place between 1891 and 1895, Hunchak activists toured various regions of Cilicia and Zeitun to encourage resistance, and established new branches of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
.

The

grenades, dynamite and hand-held bombs against the Ottoman Bank in Istanbul. The seizure of the bank lasted 14 hours, resulting in the deaths of 10 of the Armenian men and Ottoman soldiers. The Ottoman reaction to takeover saw further massacres and pogroms of the several thousand Armenians living in Constantinople and Sultan Abdul Hamid II threatening to level the entire building itself. However, intervention on part of the European diplomats in the city managed to persuade the men to give, assigning safe passage to the survivors to France. Despite the level of violence the incident had wrought, the takeover was reported positively in the European press, praising the men for their courage and the objectives they attempted to accomplish.[24] The years between 1894 and 1896 ended, with estimates of the dead ranging from 80,000 to 300,000.[25] The Hamidian massacres
are named for Sultan Abdul Hamid II, whose efforts to reinforce the territorial integrity of the embattled Ottoman Empire resulted in the massacres.

Sasun Uprising, 1904

Main article: 1904 Sasun uprising

Ottoman officials involved in the

Hrayr Tjokhk, and others.[26]

Assassination attempt on Sultan Abdul Hamid II, 1905

Main article:
Yıldız assassination attempt

The events of the

assassination attempt
was unsuccessful in killing Abdul Hamid II, although it resulted in the death of 26 people and a further 58 wounded.

Dissolution, 1908–18

See also: Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
6 Armenian provinces of Western Armenia. Patten, William and J.E. Homas, Turkey in Asia, 1903.
political groups. A series of elections during this period resulted in the gradual ascendance of the Committee of Union and Progress's ("CUP") domination in politics. This period also marked the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
.

Young Turk Revolution, 1908

Main articles:
Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)
Armenia
to the United States.

On 24 July 1908, Armenians' hopes for equality in the empire brightened with the removal of Hamid II from power and restored the country back to a constitutional monarchy. Two of the largest revolutionary groups trying to overthrow Sultan Abdul Hamid II had been the

Khachatur Maloumian attended. During the meeting, an alliance between the two parties was officially declared.[28][29]
The ARF decided to cooperate with the Committee of Union and Progress, hoping that if the Young Turks came to power, autonomy would be granted to the Armenians.

Balkan Wars

Andranik Ozanian participated in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 alongside general Garegin Nzhdeh as a commander of Armenian auxiliary troops. Andranik met revolutionist Boris Sarafov and the two pledged to work jointly for the oppressed peoples of Armenia and Macedonia. Andranik participated in the First Balkan War alongside Nzhdeh as a Chief Commander of 12th Battalion of Lozengrad Third Brigade of the Macedonian-Adrianopolitan militia under the command of Colonel Aleksandar Protogerov. His detachment consisted of 273 Armenian volunteers. On 5 May 1912, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation officially severed the relations with the Ottoman government; a public declaration of the Western Bureau printed in the official announcement was directed to "Ottoman Citizens". The June issue of Droshak ran an editorial about it.[30]: 35  There were overwhelming numbers of Armenians who served the Empire units with distinction during Balkan wars.

Armenian reform package, 1914

Armenian reform package declared that the vilayets which Armenians living were to be under an inspectors general, (the map is an archive document of 1914 population statistics).[31]

The

Armenian reform package
was an arrangement negotiated with Russia, acting on behalf of the Great Powers, and the Ottoman Empire. It aimed to introduce reforms to the Armenian citizens of the empire. This agreement, which was solidified in February 1914 was based on the arrangements nominally made in 1878. According to this arrangement the inspectors general, whose powers and duties constituted the key to the question, were to be named for a period of ten years, and their engagement was not to be revocable during that period.

Population

Distribution of Ottoman Armenians and locales in 1914 according to Raymond Kévorkian[32]
Vilayet Localities Armenians Churches Monasteries Schools Pupils
Constantinople 49 163,670 53 64
Thrace 9 30,316 14 15 2,438
Sanjak of Ismet 42 61,675 51 53 7,480
Hüdavendigâr 58 118,992 54 50 6,699
Aidin
 16 21,145 26 1 27 2,935
Konya 15 20,738 14 1 26 4,585
Kastamonu 18 13,461 17 18 2,500
Trebizond 118 73,395 106 31 90 9,254
Angora 88 135,869 105 11 126 21,298
Sivas 241 204,472 198 21 204 20,599
Adana 70 119,414 44 5 63 5,834
Aleppo 117 189,565 93 16 113 8,451
Mamuret-ul-Aziz 279 124,289 242 65 204 15,632
Diyarbakir 249 106,867 148 10 122 9,660
Erzurum 425 202,391 406 76 322 21,348
Bitlis 681 218,404 510 161 207 9,309
Van 450 110,897 457 80 192
TOTAL 2,925 1,914,620 2,538 451 1,996 173,022

World War I, 1914–18

Main article: Armenian genocide
Six Armenian provinces of Western Armenia and boundaries between countries before World War I

During World War I, the

Armenian resistance in the region, developed against the activities of the Ottoman Empire. The events of 1915 to 1917 are regarded by Armenians, Western historians, and even some Turkish writers and historians like Taner Akçam and Orhan Pamuk, to have been state-sponsored and planned mass killings, or genocide
.

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-927356-0
    .
  2. ISBN 978-1-84854-647-9
    .
  3. ^ Minasyan, Smbat (21 June 2008). "Armenia as Xenophon saw it". Archived from the original on 27 August 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  4. ^ Anabasis (Xenophon), IV.v.2–9.[verification needed]
  5. ^ We and They: Armenians in the Ottoman Empire Archived 21 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ISBN 975-263-490-7
    (the book is in Turkish)
  7. ^ Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Volker Höhfeld. Türkei, Darmstadt 2002. pp. 128–132.
  8. ^ M. Canard: "Armīniya" in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Leiden 1993.
  9. ^ G. L. Selenoy and N. von Seidlitz: "Die Verbreitung der Armenier in der asiatischen Türkei und in Trans-Kaukassien", in: Petermanns Mitteilungen, Gotha 1896.
  10. ^ McCarthy, Justin: The Ottoman Peoples and the end of Empire; London, 1981; p.86
  11. ISBN 9781412807753
    .
  12. ^ Cahoon, Ben (2000). "Armenia". WorldStatesmen.org..
  13. ^ Johansson, Alice (January 2008). "Return Migration to Armenia" (PDF). Radboud Universiteit.[permanent dead link]
  14. ISBN 1-57181-666-6
  15. ^ Hovannisian, Richard, The Armenian Genocide: History, Politics, Ethics, pg.129
  16. Ortayli, Ilber
    , Tanzimattan Cumhuriyete Yerel Yönetim Gelenegi, Istanbul 1985, pp. 73
  17. ^ Hovannisian, Richard "The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times" pg.198
  18. ^ Armenian Studies: Études Arméniennes by Lebanese Association of Armenian University Graduates, pp. 4–6
  19. ^ Kirakossian, Arman J. British Diplomacy and the Armenian Question: From the 1830s to 1914, page 58
  20. ^ Ter-Minasian, Ruben. Hai Heghapokhakani Me Hishataknere [Memoirs of an Armenian Revolutionary] (Los Angeles, 1952), II, 268–269.
  21. ^ Darbinian, op. cit., p. 123; Adjemian, op. cit., p. 7; Varandian, Dashnaktsuthian Patmuthiun, I, 30; Great Britain, Turkey No. 1 (1889), op. cit., Inclosure in no. 95. Extract from the "Eastern Express" of 25 June 1889, pp. 83–84; ibid., no. 102. Sir W. White to the Marquis of Salisbury-(Received 15 July), p. 89; Great Britain, Turkey No. 1 (1890), op. cit., no. 4. Sir W. White to the Marquis of Salisbury-(Received 9 August), p. 4; ibid., Inclosure 1 in no. 4, Colonel Chermside to Sir W. White, p. 4; ibid., Inclosure 2 in no. 4. Vice-Consul Devey to Colonel Chermside, pp. 4–7; ibid., Inclosure 3 in no. 4. M. Patiguian to M. Koulaksizian, pp. 7–9; ibid., Inclosure 4 in no.
  22. ^ a b c Creasy, Edward Shepherd. Turkey, pg.500.
  23. ^ Kurdoghlian, Mihran (1996). Hayots Badmoutioun, Volume III (in Armenian). Athens, Greece: Hradaragoutioun Azkayin Ousoumnagan Khorhourti. pp. 42–44.
  24. ^ Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: Perennial, 2003. pp. 107–108
  25. Akcam, Taner. A Shameful Act
    . 2006, pg.42.
  26. ^ Kurdoghlian, Mihran (1996). Hayots Badmoutioun, Volume III (in Armenian). Athens, Greece: Hradaragoutioun Azkayin Ousoumnagan Khorhourti. p. 47.
  27. ^ Kirakosian, Arman Dzhonovich. The Armenian Massacres, 1894–1896: 1894–1896 : U.S. media testimony, Page 33.
  28. ^
    ISBN 90-04-10283-3
    .
  29. ^ Kurdoghlian, Mihran (1996). Hayots Badmoutioun (Armenian History) (in Armenian). Athens, Greece: Hradaragutiun Azkayin Oosoomnagan Khorhoortee. pp. 52–53.
  30. ISBN 978-1137362209
    .
  31. ^ Kirakosian, J. S., ed. Hayastane michazkayin divanakitut'yan ew sovetakan artakin kaghakakanut'yan pastateghterum, 1828–1923 (Armenia in the documents of international diplomacy and Soviet foreign policy, 1828–1923). Erevan, 1972. p.149-358
  32. OCLC 742353455
    .

Further reading

External links
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