Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
Encyclopedia
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire or Ottoman Armenians were ethnic Armenian people of the Armenian Apostolic Church
, the Armenian Catholic Church
or the Armenian Protestant Church
(which was formed in the 19th century) who lived in the Ottoman Empire
. Ottoman Armenians belonged to the Armenian Millet until the 19th century.
The Ottomans developed a number of unique traits into the traditional Islamic civilization
, which did not have a separation between religious and secular matters. Ottomans visualized an idea that two separate "establishments"
shared state power. Historians often label the Ottoman sociopolitical construct the "Ottoman System," which characterized by slave government administration (military governing) and state power (civil governing) sharing between governing and religious "establishments." The Ottomans left the civic control to the civic institutions. That term, however, conveys a sense of structural rigidity that probably was nonexistent throughout the Ottoman period as Sultan is the highest power over everything, since with the state organization operating specific model in the first half of the sixteenth century under Suleyman I, also known as "Lawgiver", gained more definite organization.
The Armenian population's integration was partly due to the nonexistent structural rigidity throughout the initial period. Armenian people, related to the issues of their own internal affairs were, were administered by the civil administration. Townspeople, villagers and farmers formed a class called the reaya, including Armenian reaya. Civil and judicial administration was carried out under a separate parallel system of small municipal or rural units called kazas. The civil system was considered a check on the military system since bey
s, who represented executive authority on reaya, could not carry out punishment without a sentence from the religious leader of the person. As a dip note; Sultan was beyond the mentioned control. Ecumenical Patriarchate was the leader of the Armenian People. This whole structure named as Millet, or in 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 become religious leaders, and bureaucrats under Ottoman Empire, 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.
After Constantinople fell
to the Ottoman Turks
in 1453, the patriarchate came to care more directly for all the Orthodox living in the Ottoman Empire
. Hovagim I was at the time the Metropolitan of Bursa
. In 1461, Hovagim I was brought to Constantinople
by Sultan Mehmed II and established as the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
which the office was created solely with a political purpose. 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 Etschmiadzin, was their most important national dignitary, as part of Mehmed's wish. In the Sultan's capital, lived the largest Armenian community in the world; and his civil-ecclesiastical authority made the Sultan practically the most powerful official among the Armenians at large.
Until the promulgation of the Hatt-i Sherif of 1839, the patriarch and his clients, within limits, possessed penal authority over 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.
The spiritual condition of the Armenian church until "national awakening" was based on superstition, ceremonialism, and priestcraft. The veneration of anointed crosses, of pictures and relics of saints, the giving of alms, the observance of penances, fasts, and vigils, and the going on pilgrimages to Etschmiadzin and Jerusalem, to most Armenians constituted the sum and substance of religion. Preaching in the Armenian church was very uncommon. The parish priests never preached. Most of the preaching was done by vartabeds sent out from Etschmiadzin, Jerusalem, and other monastic centers, with whom it was partly a matter of reciting the virtues of relics and recounting the legends of saints, and largely a matter of appealing for contributions. The Bible was not generally read. The copies of Bible were not easily accessible.
At the villages, even for the ones that the population was chiefly Muslim, the Armenian quarters were settled in groups among other parts of the population. Comparatively Armenians lived in well-built and prosperous places. The houses are arranged one above the other, so that the flat roof of one house is the front yard of the one above. For safety the houses are huddled together. Armenian houses were admirably adapted to the extremes of temperature of Western Armenian Highlands (Eastern Anatolia). In summer the thick walls and earth-cowered roofs keep the rooms cool. The nature and agricultural traditions of Armenians stayed the same as same characteristics explained can also be found in Xenophon
who described many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians
.
There is always a village master (Bey
or elderly); for entertaining the town house was part of his prerogative, and his house is the best in each village. It is not uncommon to have three priests for here thirty-five families. Most of the Armenians like to travel on horseback to a neighboring villages, sometimes for religious ceremonies (like Van festival), sometimes to fetch a bride, accompanying her, with musical instruments and clapping of hands, to their own village.
-armeni_mrs.png)
Armenians
preserved their culture
, history, and language
through the course of time, largely thanks to their distinct religious identity
among the neighboring Turks and Kurds. Like the Greek Orthodox
and Jewish
minorities of the Ottoman Empire
, they constituted a distinct millet
, led by the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
. Under this system, Christians and Jews were considered religious minorities
/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. Under the Ottoman rule, Armenians formed three distinct millets: Armenian Orthodox Gregorians
, Armenian Catholics
, and Armenian Protestants
(which was formed in the 19th century).
After many centuries of Turkish
rule in Anatolia
(at first the Seljuks, then the rule of a variety of Anatolian beyliks and finally the Ottomans
), the centres with a high concentration of Armenians lost their geographic continuity (parts of Van, Bitlis
, and Kharput vilayets
). Over the centuries, tribes of Turks
and Kurds settled into Anatolia
and the historic Armenian land
, which was left severely depopulated by the a slew of devastating events such as the Byzantine-Persian Wars
, Byzantine-Arab Wars
, Turkish Invasions
, Mongol Invasions and finally the bloody campaigns of Tamerlane
. 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 Armenians
constituted, over the whole extent of their ancient homeland
, no more than a quarter of the total inhabitants. Despite this they kept and defended factual autonomy in certain isolated areas like Sassoun
, Shatakh
, and parts of Dersim. An Armenian stronghold and a symbol of factual Armenian autonomy, Zeitoun (Ulnia) was located between the Six Vilayets and Cilicia
, which also had a strong Armenian presence ever since the creation of the Principality (and then Kingdom) of Lesser Armenia
. However, the destruction of the Kingdom by Ramadanid tribe and the subsequent rule of Muslim powers such as the Dulkadirids, the Mamluks and the Ottomans
led to an ever increasing numbers of Muslims in the region until finally the genocide
removed the remaining vestiges of Armenians.
There were also significant communities in parts of Trebizond and Ankara vilayets bordering Six vilayets (like in Kayseri
). After the Ottoman conquests many Armenians also settled in Western Anatolia, in large and prosperous Ottoman
cities like Istanbul
and Izmir
.
-armenian_and_turkish_retailers.png)
The remaining Ottoman Armenia, composed of the Six vilayets (Erzurum, Van, Bitlis
, Diyarbekir, Kharput, and Sivas) till World War I, under Ottoman rule, was also referred to as Western Armenia.
Besides the learned professions with the schools opened throughout the Ottoman Empire, the chief occupations were trade and commerce, various industries, and agriculture. The peasants, for the most part, were agriculturists. In the empire Armenians were raised to higher occupations, like Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was a businessman and philanthropist. He played a major role in making the petroleum reserves of the Middle East available to Western development. The Armenian Press and literature during this period established institutions that were critical; this attitude has been invaluable in reforming abuses and introducing improvements of Armenian people in their communities. Thus their critical instinct is positive, rather than negative. Armenians organised themselves for different objects; witness their numerous societies, clubs, political parties, and other associations. Hovsep Pushman
was a painter who become very famous in the Empire. During this period Armenians would establish a church, a school, a library, and a newspaper. Sargis Mubayeajian was a prolific and multifarious Armenian writer educated in Constantinople
. Many of his works are still scattered in Armenian periodicals.
Many Armenians, who have emigrated to foreign countries become prosperous there, return to their native land because the love of the Mother Country is so intense in them. Alex Manoogian
who become a philanthropist and active member of Armenian General Benevolent Union
was from Ottoman lands (modern Izmir
), Arthur Edmund Carewe
born Trebizond become an Actor in the silent film era.
(normally dated to 1774), in European history
used in referring the diplomatic
and political
problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire
, during the 18th century, including instability in the territories ruled by the Ottoman Empire. The position of educated and privileged Christians within the Ottoman Empire improved in the 17th and 18th centuries. Empire increasingly recognized the missing skills which the larger Ottoman population lacked, as the empire became more settled, and began to feel its increasing backwardness in relation to the European powers, European powers on the other side, engaged in a power struggle to safeguard their military, strategic and commercial interests in the Empire, this gave the motivation to the powers to help people in need. The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire
, direct result of enlightenment of Christian millets through education, was the dominant theme, though Armenians, for the most part, remained passive during these years, earning them the title of millet-i sadıka or the "loyal millet."
The Eastern Question gained another dimension by the late 1820s, Greek Enlightenment and Greek War of Independence
already developed the conditions to establish the Greece, along with several countries of the Balkans
, frustrated with conditions, had, often with the help of the Powers, broken free of Ottoman rule. The Great Power Imperial Russia stood to benefit from the decline of the Ottoman Empire; on the other hand, Austria and the United Kingdom deemed the preservation of Empire to be in their best interests. The position of France changed several times over the centuries. Armenian involvement into international view would had to wait until Armenian national awakening, which the Armenian Question
as used in European history
, became common place 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.
(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 Tanzimat
reforms to improve the situation of minorities, although these would prove largely ineffective. In 1856, the Hatt-ı Hümayun
promised equality for all Ottoman citizens irrespective of their ethnicity and confession, widening the scope of the 1839 Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane
. The reformist period peaked with the Constitution, called the Kanûn-ı Esâsî
(meaning "Basic Law
" in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of the Young Ottomans
, which was promulgated on 23 November 1876. It established freedom of belief and equality of all citizens before the law. "Firman of the Reforms" gave immense privileges to the Armenians, which formed a "governance in governance" to eliminate the aristocratic dominance
of the Armenian nobles by development of the political strata in the society.
(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 (position in Ottoman Millet
) and newly formed "Armenian National Assembly
". Mikrtich, issued a decree, permitting women to have equal votes with men and asking them to take part in all elections.
Armenian National Assembly had wide ranging functions. That Muslim officials (Turks, Kurds, Arabs) did not used to 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 allowed to establish their own courts of justice for the purpose of administering justice and
conducting litigation between Armenian and Armenian, and for deciding all questions relating to marriage, divorce, estate, inheritance, etc., appertaining to themselves. Also Armenians allowed the right to establish their own prisons for the incarceration of offending Armenians, and in no case should an Armenian be imprisoned in a Ottoman prison.
The Armenian National Assembly also had the power to elect the Armenian Governor by an 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.
All Armenian education is under the direction of lay committees. During this period in Russian Armenia
the association of the schools with the Church is rather closer, but the same principle obtains. This became a problem for Russian administration, which was peaked during 1897, 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 we were organized along the explained perspective. The Armenians, in addition to paying taxes to the State, have voluntarily imposed extra burdens on themselves in order to support such philanthropic agencies. The taxes to the State did not have direct return to Armenians in such cases.
The education and philanthropic agencies made the Armenians most educated and rich section of the Ottoman population.
as used in European history
, became common place among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin
(1878); that in like Eastern Question
(normally dated to 1774), refers to powers of Europe's involvement to the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire
beginning with 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. The "Armenian question" explains the forty years of Armenian-Ottoman history in the context of English, German, Russian politics between 1877-1914.
effort to free the historic Armenian homeland of eastern Asia Minor
and Transcaucasus from Russian and Ottoman domination and re-establish the independent Armenian state
. Those Armenians who did not support national liberation aspirations or who were neutral were called chezoks.
, ruling from August 31, 1876 until he was deposed on April 27, 1909. Abdülhamid II was the last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power.
s and the Ottoman Empire on May 1889. It is named as Bashkaleh Resistance as Bashkaleh was a border town of Van Province, Ottoman Empire
. The event was important as it was reflected on main Armenian newspapers as the recovered documents on the Armenakans showed an extensive plot for an national movement. Ottoman officials believed that the men were members of a large revolutionary apparatus and the discussion was reflected on newspapers, (Eastern Express, Oriental Advertiser, Saadet, and Tarik) and the responses were on the Armenian papers. In some Armenian circles, this event was considered as a martyrdom and brought other armed conflicts. The Bashkaleh Resistance was on the Persian border, which the Armenakans were in communication with 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.
occurred at the Armenian quarter of Kum Kapu, the seat of the Armenian Patriarch, was spared through the prompt action of the commandant, Hassan Aga. On 27 July 1890, Harutiun Djangulian, Mihran Damadian
and Hambartsum Boyajian interrupted the Armenian mass to read a manifesto
and denounce the indifference of the Armenian patriarch
and Armenian National Assembly
. Harutiun Djangulian (member from Van
) tried to assassinate the Patriarch of Istanbul. The goal was to persuade the Armenian clerics to bring their policies into alignment with the national politics. They soon forced the patriarch to join the procession heading to 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. The Softas took no part in it, and many Armenians found refuge in the Muslim sections of the city.
, where nationalist ideals were proliferated by Hunchak activists, such as Mihran Damadian
, Hampartsoum Boyadjian
, and Hrayr. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
also played a significant role in arming the people of the region. The Armenians of Sassoun confronted the Ottoman army and Kurdish irregulars at Sassoun, succumbing to superior numbers. This was followed by Zeitun Rebellion (1895–1896), which between the years 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
.
In 1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover
took place, by an Armenian group armed with pistols, grenades, dynamite
and hand-held bombs. The seizure of the bank lasted for fourteen hours, resulting in the deaths of ten of the Armenian men and Turkish soldiers. Turkish reaction to takeover saw further massacres and pogroms of the several thousand Armenians living in Constantinople and also Hamid 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. The years between 1894-1896 ended, with estimates of the dead ranging from 80,000 to 300,000. The massacres are named for Abdul Hamid II
, whose efforts to reinforce the territorial integrity of the embattled Ottoman Empire.
, Armenian activists were working to arm the folk and to recruit young men by motivating them to the Armenian cause. 50,000 Turkish and Kurdish troops started the offensive in Sassoun, where 500 fedayees had to defend 20,000 unarmed people. The Armenians were headed by Andranik Ozanian along with Kevork Chavoush, Sepasdatsi Mourad, Keri
, Hrayr Tjokhk, and others.
and Sultan Abdul Hamid II's continued anti-Armenian
policies gave way for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to plan an assassination attempt on the sultan to enact vengeance. Dashnak members, led by ARF founder Christapor Mikaelian
, secretly started producing explosives and planning the operation in Sofia
, Bulgaria
.
The Second Constitutional Era of the Empire began shortly after Sultan Abdülhamid II restored the constitutional monarchy
after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution
. The period established many 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
.
On July 24, 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 Armenian Revolutionary Federation
and the Committee of Union and Progress
, a group of mostly European-educated Turks. In a general assembly meeting in 1907, the ARF acknowledged that the Armenian and Turkish
revolutionaries had the same goals. Although the Tanzimat
reforms had given Armenians more rights and seats in the parliament, the ARF hoped to gain autonomy to govern Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire as a "state within a state". The "Second congress of the Ottoman opposition" took place in Paris, France, in 1907. Opposition leaders including Ahmed Riza
(liberal), Sabahheddin Bey, and ARF member Khachatur Maloumian
attended. During the meeting, an alliance between the two parties was officially declared. 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.
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.
engaged during the Caucasus
and Persian Campaign
s, the CUP began to look on the Armenians with distrust and suspicion. This was due to the fact that the Russian army contained a contingent of Armenian volunteers
. On April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Ottoman authorities
and, with the Tehcir Law
(29 May 1915), eventually a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia
perished in what has become known as the Armenian Genocide
. There was local Armenian resistance in the region, developed against the activities of the Ottoman Empire. The events of 1915 to 1917 are regarded by Armenians and the vast majority of Western historians and even some Turkish writers and historians like e.g. Taner Akçam
and Orhan Pamuk
to have been state-sponsored and planned mass killings, or genocide.
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
, the Armenian Catholic Church
Armenian Catholic Church
|- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
or the Armenian Protestant Church
Armenian Evangelical Church
The Armenian Evangelical Church was established on July 1, 1846 by thirty-seven men and three women in Constantinople.-History:In the 19th century there was intellectual and spiritual awakening in Constantinople. This awakening and enlightenment pushed the reformists to study the Bible...
(which was formed in the 19th century) who lived in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Ottoman Armenians belonged to the Armenian Millet until the 19th century.
Background
Islamic civilization
Islamic civilization may refer to:*Islamic Golden Age*Muslim world*Caliphate...
, which did not have a separation between religious and secular matters. Ottomans visualized an idea that two separate "establishments"
Ruling institution of the Ottoman Empire
The governing of the Ottoman Empire is more than the description of its court, customs, ceremonies, and officials with catalogues of their provinces and duties....
shared state power. Historians often label the Ottoman sociopolitical construct the "Ottoman System," which characterized by slave government administration (military governing) and state power (civil governing) sharing between governing and religious "establishments." The Ottomans left the civic control to the civic institutions. That term, however, conveys a sense of structural rigidity that probably was nonexistent throughout the Ottoman period as Sultan is the highest power over everything, since with the state organization operating specific model in the first half of the sixteenth century under Suleyman I, also known as "Lawgiver", gained more definite organization.
The Armenian population's integration was partly due to the nonexistent structural rigidity throughout the initial period. Armenian people, related to the issues of their own internal affairs were, were administered by the civil administration. Townspeople, villagers and farmers formed a class called the reaya, including Armenian reaya. Civil and judicial administration was carried out under a separate parallel system of small municipal or rural units called kazas. The civil system was considered a check on the military system since bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
s, who represented executive authority on reaya, could not carry out punishment without a sentence from the religious leader of the person. As a dip note; Sultan was beyond the mentioned control. Ecumenical Patriarchate was the leader of the Armenian People. This whole structure named as Millet, or in Armenian case Armenian Millet
During the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
period, the Armenian Church was not allowed to operate in Constantinople, because the Greek Orthodox Church regarded the Armenian Church as heretical
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
. With the establishment of Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople , part of the wider Orthodox Church, is one of the fourteen autocephalous churches within the communion of Orthodox Christianity...
, Armenians become religious leaders, and bureaucrats under Ottoman Empire, 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.
Patriarchate of Constantinople
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
to the Ottoman Turks
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks were the Turkish-speaking population of the Ottoman Empire who formed the base of the state's military and ruling classes. Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks is scarce, but they take their Turkish name, Osmanlı , from the house of Osman I The Ottoman...
in 1453, the patriarchate came to care more directly for all the Orthodox living in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Hovagim I was at the time the Metropolitan of Bursa
Bursa, Turkey
Bursa is a city in northwestern Turkey and the seat of Bursa Province. The metropolitan area in the entire Bursa province had a population of 2.6 million as of 2010, making the city fourth most populous in Turkey. The city is equally one of the most industrialized metropolitan centers in the...
. In 1461, Hovagim I was brought to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
by Sultan Mehmed II and established as the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...
which the office was created solely with a political purpose. 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 Etschmiadzin, was their most important national dignitary, as part of Mehmed's wish. In the Sultan's capital, lived the largest Armenian community in the world; and his civil-ecclesiastical authority made the Sultan practically the most powerful official among the Armenians at large.
Until the promulgation of the Hatt-i Sherif of 1839, the patriarch and his clients, within limits, possessed penal authority over 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
Firman
A firman is a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in certain historical Islamic states, including the Ottoman Empire, Mughal Empire, State of Hyderabad, and Iran under Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. The word firman comes from the meaning "decree" or "order"...
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.
The spiritual condition of the Armenian church until "national awakening" was based on superstition, ceremonialism, and priestcraft. The veneration of anointed crosses, of pictures and relics of saints, the giving of alms, the observance of penances, fasts, and vigils, and the going on pilgrimages to Etschmiadzin and Jerusalem, to most Armenians constituted the sum and substance of religion. Preaching in the Armenian church was very uncommon. The parish priests never preached. Most of the preaching was done by vartabeds sent out from Etschmiadzin, Jerusalem, and other monastic centers, with whom it was partly a matter of reciting the virtues of relics and recounting the legends of saints, and largely a matter of appealing for contributions. The Bible was not generally read. The copies of Bible were not easily accessible.
Armenian village life
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
who described many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
.
There is always a village master (Bey
Bey
Bey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
or elderly); for entertaining the town house was part of his prerogative, and his house is the best in each village. It is not uncommon to have three priests for here thirty-five families. Most of the Armenians like to travel on horseback to a neighboring villages, sometimes for religious ceremonies (like Van festival), sometimes to fetch a bride, accompanying her, with musical instruments and clapping of hands, to their own village.
Ottoman Armenia 1453 to 1829
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
preserved their culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, history, and language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
through the course of time, largely thanks to their distinct religious identity
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
among the neighboring Turks and Kurds. Like the Greek Orthodox
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
and Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
minorities of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, they constituted a distinct millet
Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
, led by the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...
. Under this system, Christians and Jews were considered religious minorities
Minority religion
A minority religion is a religion held by a minority of the population of a country, state, or region. Minority religions may be subject to stigma or discrimination. An example of a stigma is using the term cult with its extremely negative connotations for certain new religious movements...
/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
Legal recourse
A legal recourse is an action that can be taken by an individual or a corporation to attempt to remedy a legal difficulty.* A lawsuit if the issue is a matter of civil law* Many contracts require mediation or arbitration before a dispute can go to court...
in the courts. Under the Ottoman rule, Armenians formed three distinct millets: Armenian Orthodox Gregorians
Armenian Apostolic Church
The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...
, Armenian Catholics
Armenian Catholic Church
|- |The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church sui juris in union with the other Eastern Rite, Oriental Rite and Latin Rite Catholics who accept the Bishop of Rome as spiritual leader of the Church. It is regulated by Eastern canon law...
, and Armenian Protestants
Armenian Evangelical Church
The Armenian Evangelical Church was established on July 1, 1846 by thirty-seven men and three women in Constantinople.-History:In the 19th century there was intellectual and spiritual awakening in Constantinople. This awakening and enlightenment pushed the reformists to study the Bible...
(which was formed in the 19th century).
After many centuries of Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
rule in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
(at first the Seljuks, then the rule of a variety of Anatolian beyliks and finally the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
), the centres with a high concentration of Armenians lost their geographic continuity (parts of Van, Bitlis
Bitlis Vilayet
Bitlis Vilayet was one of the Six vilayets of the Ottoman Empire. Before the Russo-Turkish War it had been part of the Erzurum Vilayet, it was then made a separate vilayet by the Porte....
, and Kharput vilayets
Wilayah
A wilāyah or vilâyet , or vilayat in Urdu and Turkish, is an administrative division, usually translated as "province", rarely as "governorate". The word comes from the Arabic "w-l-y", "to govern": a wāli — "governor" — governs a wilayah, "that which is governed"...
). Over the centuries, tribes of Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and Kurds settled into Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and the historic Armenian land
Armenian Highland
The Armenian Highland is the central-most and highest of three land-locked plateaus that together form the northern sector of the Middle East...
, which was left severely depopulated by the a slew of devastating events such as the Byzantine-Persian Wars
Roman-Persian Wars
The Roman–Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world and two successive Iranic empires: the Parthian and the Sassanid. Contact between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic began in 92 BC; wars began under the late Republic, and continued...
, Byzantine-Arab Wars
Byzantine-Arab Wars
The Byzantine–Arab Wars were a series of wars between the Arab Caliphates and the East Roman or Byzantine Empire between the 7th and 12th centuries AD. These started during the initial Muslim conquests under the expansionist Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs and continued in the form of an enduring...
, Turkish Invasions
Turkic migration
The Turkic migration as defined in this article was the expansion of the Turkic peoples across most of Central Asia into Europe and the Middle East between the 6th and 11th centuries AD . Tribes less certainly identified as Turkic began their expansion centuries earlier as the predominant element...
, Mongol Invasions and finally the bloody campaigns of Tamerlane
Timur
Timur , historically known as Tamerlane in English , was a 14th-century conqueror of West, South and Central Asia, and the founder of the Timurid dynasty in Central Asia, and great-great-grandfather of Babur, the founder of the Mughal Dynasty, which survived as the Mughal Empire in India until...
. 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 Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
constituted, over the whole extent of their ancient homeland
Armenian Highland
The Armenian Highland is the central-most and highest of three land-locked plateaus that together form the northern sector of the Middle East...
, no more than a quarter of the total inhabitants. Despite this they kept and defended factual autonomy in certain isolated areas like Sassoun
Sason
Sason is a district in the Batman Province of Turkey. It was formerly part of the sanjak of Siirt, which was in Diyarbakır vilayet until 1880 and in Bitlis vilayet in 1892. Later it became part of Muş sanjak in Bitlis vilayet, and remained part of Muş until 1927...
, Shatakh
Çatak
Çatak is a district of Van Province of Turkey, near the border with Iran. The mayor is Emin Babur .Two people were killed in a bomb explosion at an outdoor cafe in south-east Turkey, police stated on September 4, 2006...
, and parts of Dersim. An Armenian stronghold and a symbol of factual Armenian autonomy, Zeitoun (Ulnia) was located between the Six Vilayets and Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, which also had a strong Armenian presence ever since the creation of the Principality (and then Kingdom) of Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia , also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, refers to the Armenian populated regions, primarily to the West and North-West of the ancient Armenian Kingdom...
. However, the destruction of the Kingdom by Ramadanid tribe and the subsequent rule of Muslim powers such as the Dulkadirids, the Mamluks and the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
led to an ever increasing numbers of Muslims in the region until finally the genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
removed the remaining vestiges of Armenians.
There were also significant communities in parts of Trebizond and Ankara vilayets bordering Six vilayets (like in Kayseri
Kayseri
Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...
). After the Ottoman conquests many Armenians also settled in Western Anatolia, in large and prosperous Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
cities like Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
.
Western Armenia, 1829–1918
Bitlis Vilayet
Bitlis Vilayet was one of the Six vilayets of the Ottoman Empire. Before the Russo-Turkish War it had been part of the Erzurum Vilayet, it was then made a separate vilayet by the Porte....
, Diyarbekir, Kharput, and Sivas) till World War I, under Ottoman rule, was also referred to as Western Armenia.
Armenians during 19th Century
Hovsep Pushman
Hovsep Pushman was an American artist of Armenian background. He was known for his contemplative still lifes and sensitive portraits of women, often in exotic dress...
was a painter who become very famous in the Empire. During this period Armenians would establish a church, a school, a library, and a newspaper. Sargis Mubayeajian was a prolific and multifarious Armenian writer educated in Constantinople
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. Many of his works are still scattered in Armenian periodicals.
Many Armenians, who have emigrated to foreign countries become prosperous there, return to their native land because the love of the Mother Country is so intense in them. Alex Manoogian
Alex Manoogian
Alexander "Alex" Manoogian was an Armenian-American industrial engineer, businessman, entrepreneur and philanthropist who had most of his career in Detroit, Michigan. He and his wife Marie donated their home to the city, which uses the Manoogian Mansion as the mayoral residence...
who become a philanthropist and active member of Armenian General Benevolent Union
Armenian General Benevolent Union
The Armenian General Benevolent Union abbreviated as AGBU, is a non-profit Armenian organization. It was established in Cairo, Egypt in 1906...
was from Ottoman lands (modern Izmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
), Arthur Edmund Carewe
Arthur Edmund Carewe
Arthur Edmund Carewe , was an Armenian-American actor in the silent and early sound film era.-Early life:Born Hovsep Hovsepian in Trabzon , Ottoman Empire, Carewe was from a prosperous family in his native country...
born Trebizond become an Actor in the silent film era.
Eastern Question
The Eastern QuestionEastern Question
The "Eastern Question", in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire. The expression does not apply to any one particular problem, but instead includes a variety of issues raised during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including...
(normally dated to 1774), in European history
History of Europe
History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
used in referring the diplomatic
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
and political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, during the 18th century, including instability in the territories ruled by the Ottoman Empire. The position of educated and privileged Christians within the Ottoman Empire improved in the 17th and 18th centuries. Empire increasingly recognized the missing skills which the larger Ottoman population lacked, as the empire became more settled, and began to feel its increasing backwardness in relation to the European powers, European powers on the other side, engaged in a power struggle to safeguard their military, strategic and commercial interests in the Empire, this gave the motivation to the powers to help people in need. The rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire
Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire
The rise of the Western notion of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire eventually caused the break-down of the Ottoman millet concept...
, direct result of enlightenment of Christian millets through education, was the dominant theme, though Armenians, for the most part, remained passive during these years, earning them the title of millet-i sadıka or the "loyal millet."
The Eastern Question gained another dimension by the late 1820s, Greek Enlightenment and Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
already developed the conditions to establish the Greece, along with several countries of the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, frustrated with conditions, had, often with the help of the Powers, broken free of Ottoman rule. The Great Power Imperial Russia stood to benefit from the decline of the Ottoman Empire; on the other hand, Austria and the United Kingdom deemed the preservation of Empire to be in their best interests. The position of France changed several times over the centuries. Armenian involvement into international view would had to wait until Armenian national awakening, which the Armenian Question
Armenian Question
The term "Armenian Question" as used in European history, became common place among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin; that in like Eastern Question, refers to powers of Europe's involvement to the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire beginning with the...
as used in European history
History of Europe
History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
, became common place among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
(1878). The Armenian national ideology developed long after the Greek movement, however the factors contributing to the emergence of Armenian nationalism
Armenian nationalism
Armenian nationalism in the modern period has its roots in the romantic nationalism of Mikayel Chamchian and generally defined as the creation of a free, independent and united Armenia formulated as the Armenian Cause . Armenian national awakening developed in the 1880s in the context of the...
made the movement far more similar to that of the Greeks than those of other ethnic groups.
Reform implementation, 1860s–1880s
The three major European powers, Great Britain, France and RussiaRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(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 Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
reforms to improve the situation of minorities, although these would prove largely ineffective. In 1856, the Hatt-ı Hümayun
Hatt-i humayun
Hatt-i humayun , also known as hatt-i sharif , is the diplomatics term for a document or handwritten note of an official nature by an Ottoman Sultan. The terms come from hatt , hümayun and şerif...
promised equality for all Ottoman citizens irrespective of their ethnicity and confession, widening the scope of the 1839 Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane
Hatt-i Sharif
The Hatt-i Sharif of Gülhane or Tanzimât Fermânı was an 1839 proclamation by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I that launched the Tanzimât period of reforms and reorganization....
. The reformist period peaked with the Constitution, called the Kanûn-ı Esâsî
Kanûn-i Esâsî
The Ottoman constitution of 1876 was the first constitution of the Ottoman Empire. Written by members of the Young Ottomans, particularly Midhat Pasha, during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II , the constitution was only in effect for two years, from 1876 to 1878.A large part of the reason for the...
(meaning "Basic Law
Basic Law
The term basic law is used in some places as an alternative to "constitution", implying it is a temporary but necessary measure without formal enactment of constitution. A basic law is either a codified constitution, or in countries with uncodified constitutions, a law given to have constitution...
" in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of the Young Ottomans
Young Ottomans
The Young Ottomans were a secret organization of Ottoman nationalist intellectuals formed in 1865, influenced by such Western thinkers as Montesquieu and Rousseau and the French Revolution. They developed the concept of Ottomanism, aligned with these thinkers...
, which was promulgated on 23 November 1876. It established freedom of belief and equality of all citizens before the law. "Firman of the Reforms" gave immense privileges to the Armenians, which formed a "governance in governance" to eliminate the aristocratic dominance
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
of the Armenian nobles by development of the political strata in the society.
Armenian National Constitution, 1863
In 1863 the Armenian National ConstitutionArmenian National Constitution
Armenian National Constitution or Regulation of the Armenian Nation was Ottoman Empire approved form of the "Code of Regulations" composed of 150 articles drafted by the Armenian intelligentsia Armenian National Constitution or Regulation of the Armenian Nation (Armenian:"Հայ ազգային...
(Ottoman Turkish:"Nizâmnâme-i Millet-i Ermeniyân") was Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
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 (position in Ottoman Millet
Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
) and newly formed "Armenian National Assembly
Armenian National Assembly (Ottoman Empire)
Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian Millet established by Armenian National Constitution of 1863 under Ottoman Empire....
". Mikrtich, issued a decree, permitting women to have equal votes with men and asking them to take part in all elections.
Armenian National Assembly had wide ranging functions. That Muslim officials (Turks, Kurds, Arabs) did not used to 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 allowed to establish their own courts of justice for the purpose of administering justice and
conducting litigation between Armenian and Armenian, and for deciding all questions relating to marriage, divorce, estate, inheritance, etc., appertaining to themselves. Also Armenians allowed the right to establish their own prisons for the incarceration of offending Armenians, and in no case should an Armenian be imprisoned in a Ottoman prison.
The Armenian National Assembly also had the power to elect the Armenian Governor by an 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
Beginning in 1863, education has been offered to the whole people, and so far as funds permit is absolutely free for all.All Armenian education is under the direction of lay committees. During this period in Russian Armenia
Russian Armenia
Russian Armenia is the period of Armenia's history under Russian rule beginning from 1829, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire to the declaration of the Democratic Republic of Armenia in 1918...
the association of the schools with the Church is rather closer, but the same principle obtains. This became a problem for Russian administration, which was peaked during 1897, 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 we were organized along the explained perspective. The Armenians, in addition to paying taxes to the State, have voluntarily imposed extra burdens on themselves in order to support such philanthropic agencies. The taxes to the State did not have direct return to Armenians in such cases.
The education and philanthropic agencies made the Armenians most educated and rich section of the Ottoman population.
Armenian Question, 1877
The Armenian QuestionArmenian Question
The term "Armenian Question" as used in European history, became common place among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin; that in like Eastern Question, refers to powers of Europe's involvement to the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire beginning with the...
as used in European history
History of Europe
History of Europe describes the history of humans inhabiting the European continent since it was first populated in prehistoric times to present, with the first human settlement between 45,000 and 25,000 BC.-Overview:...
, became common place among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
(1878); that in like Eastern Question
Eastern Question
The "Eastern Question", in European history, encompasses the diplomatic and political problems posed by the decay of the Ottoman Empire. The expression does not apply to any one particular problem, but instead includes a variety of issues raised during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, including...
(normally dated to 1774), refers to powers of Europe's involvement to the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
beginning with 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. The "Armenian question" explains the forty years of Armenian-Ottoman history in the context of English, German, Russian politics between 1877-1914.
National awakening, 1880s
The national liberation movement of the Balkan peoples (see: national awakenings in Balkans) and the immediate involvement of the European powers in the Eastern question had a powerful effect on the hitherto suppressed national movement among the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire - on the development of a national liberation ideology. The Armenian national liberation movement was the Armenian nationalArmenian nationalism
Armenian nationalism in the modern period has its roots in the romantic nationalism of Mikayel Chamchian and generally defined as the creation of a free, independent and united Armenia formulated as the Armenian Cause . Armenian national awakening developed in the 1880s in the context of the...
effort to free the historic Armenian homeland of eastern Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
and Transcaucasus from Russian and Ottoman domination and re-establish the independent Armenian state
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
. Those Armenians who did not support national liberation aspirations or who were neutral were called chezoks.
Sultan Abdul Hamid, 1876 - 1909
Abdülhamid II was the 34th sultan and he oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the EmpireDecline of the Ottoman Empire
The Decline of the Ottoman Empire is the period that followed after the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire in which the empire experienced several economic and political setbacks. Directly affecting the Empire at this time was Russian imperialism...
, ruling from August 31, 1876 until he was deposed on April 27, 1909. Abdülhamid II was the last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power.
Bashkaleh Resistance, 1889
The Bashkaleh Resistance was the bloody encounter between the ArmenakanArmenakan
Armenakan may denote:*Armenian Democratic Liberal Party , historically known as the Armenakan Party from 1885 until 1921*Armenakan-Democratic Liberal Party, an Armenian Party established in 2009 as a splinter group from the Armenian Liberal Democratic Party...
s and the Ottoman Empire on May 1889. It is named as Bashkaleh Resistance as Bashkaleh was a border town of Van Province, Ottoman Empire
Van Province, Ottoman Empire
The Vilayet of Van was one of the Six vilayets of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century it reportedly had a population of about 400,000 and an area of .- History :...
. The event was important as it was reflected on main Armenian newspapers as the recovered documents on the Armenakans showed an extensive plot for an national movement. Ottoman officials believed that the men were members of a large revolutionary apparatus and the discussion was reflected on newspapers, (Eastern Express, Oriental Advertiser, Saadet, and Tarik) and the responses were on the Armenian papers. In some Armenian circles, this event was considered as a martyrdom and brought other armed conflicts. The Bashkaleh Resistance was on the Persian border, which the Armenakans were in communication with Armenians in the Persian Empire
Armenians in the Persian Empire
Persian Armenia or Persarmenia corresponds to the Persian territory in which Armenians have lived until the Arab conquest of Persia. The size of Persian Armenia varied over time. It sometimes simply referred to as Eastern Armenia. According to George A...
. The Gugunian Expedition
Gugunian Expedition
The Gugunian Expedition was an attempt by a small group of Armenian nationalists from the Russian Empire to launch an armed expedition across the border into the Ottoman Empire in 1890 in support of local Armenians.- Background :...
, which followed within the couple months, was an attempt by a small group of Armenian nationalists from the Russian Armenia
Russian Armenia
Russian Armenia is the period of Armenia's history under Russian rule beginning from 1829, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire to the declaration of the Democratic Republic of Armenia in 1918...
to launch an armed expedition across the border into the Ottoman Empire in 1890 in support of local Armenians.
Kum Kapu demonstration, 1890
The Kum Kapu demonstrationKum Kapu demonstration
The Kum Kapu demonstration occurred in the Kumkapı district of Constantinople on July 27, 1890. It ensued in skirmishing where several persons, including a police officer were killed. Many more were wounded.- Background :...
occurred at the Armenian quarter of Kum Kapu, the seat of the Armenian Patriarch, was spared through the prompt action of the commandant, Hassan Aga. On 27 July 1890, Harutiun Djangulian, Mihran Damadian
Mihran Damadian
Mihran Damadian was an Armenian freedom fighter, political activist, writer and teacher.He was educated in the Armenian Catholic Seminary at Venice, Italy. He then became a teacher in the Sassoun district. With Medzn Mourad, he led the Sassoun Resistance in 1894...
and Hambartsum Boyajian interrupted the Armenian mass to read a manifesto
Manifesto
A manifesto is a public declaration of principles and intentions, often political in nature. Manifestos relating to religious belief are generally referred to as creeds. Manifestos may also be life stance-related.-Etymology:...
and denounce the indifference of the Armenian patriarch
Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople
The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...
and Armenian National Assembly
Armenian National Assembly (Ottoman Empire)
Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian Millet established by Armenian National Constitution of 1863 under Ottoman Empire....
. Harutiun Djangulian (member from Van
Van, Turkey
Van is a city in southeastern Turkey and the seat of the Kurdish-majority Van Province, and is located on the eastern shore of Lake Van. The city's official population in 2010 was 367,419, but many estimates put this as much higher with a 1996 estimate stating 500,000 and former Mayor Burhan...
) tried to assassinate the Patriarch of Istanbul. The goal was to persuade the Armenian clerics to bring their policies into alignment with the national politics. They soon forced the patriarch to join the procession heading to the Yildiz Palace
Yildiz Palace
Yıldız Palace is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman pavilions and villas in Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the Sultan and his court in the late 19th century.- Origin :...
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. The Softas took no part in it, and many Armenians found refuge in the Muslim sections of the city.
Bloody Years, 1894–1896
The first notable battle in the Armenian resistance movement took place in SassounSason
Sason is a district in the Batman Province of Turkey. It was formerly part of the sanjak of Siirt, which was in Diyarbakır vilayet until 1880 and in Bitlis vilayet in 1892. Later it became part of Muş sanjak in Bitlis vilayet, and remained part of Muş until 1927...
, where nationalist ideals were proliferated by Hunchak activists, such as Mihran Damadian
Mihran Damadian
Mihran Damadian was an Armenian freedom fighter, political activist, writer and teacher.He was educated in the Armenian Catholic Seminary at Venice, Italy. He then became a teacher in the Sassoun district. With Medzn Mourad, he led the Sassoun Resistance in 1894...
, Hampartsoum Boyadjian
Hampartsoum Boyadjian
Hampartsoum Boyadjian also known by his noms de guerre Medzn Mourad was an Armenian national movement leader and a fedayee and political activist of Hunchakian.He was born in Hajin...
, and Hrayr. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
also played a significant role in arming the people of the region. The Armenians of Sassoun confronted the Ottoman army and Kurdish irregulars at Sassoun, succumbing to superior numbers. This was followed by Zeitun Rebellion (1895–1896), which between the years 1891 and 1895, Hunchak activists toured various regions of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
and Zeitun to encourage resistance, and established new branches of the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
Social Democrat Hunchakian Party
The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party , is the oldest of the Armenian political parties and was the first Socialist party in the Ottoman Empire and in Persia...
.
In 1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover
1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover
The 1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover was the seizing of the Ottoman Bank in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire, on 26 August 1896, by members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation...
took place, by an Armenian group armed with pistols, grenades, dynamite
Dynamite
Dynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
and hand-held bombs. The seizure of the bank lasted for fourteen hours, resulting in the deaths of ten of the Armenian men and Turkish soldiers. Turkish reaction to takeover saw further massacres and pogroms of the several thousand Armenians living in Constantinople and also Hamid 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. The years between 1894-1896 ended, with estimates of the dead ranging from 80,000 to 300,000. The massacres are named for Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
, whose efforts to reinforce the territorial integrity of the embattled Ottoman Empire.
Sasun Uprising, 1904
Ottoman Officials responsible from Sasun Uprising, who were previously defeated in the First Zeitoun Resistance, didn't want the formation of another semi-autonomous Armenian region in the "Eastern" vilayets. In SassounSason
Sason is a district in the Batman Province of Turkey. It was formerly part of the sanjak of Siirt, which was in Diyarbakır vilayet until 1880 and in Bitlis vilayet in 1892. Later it became part of Muş sanjak in Bitlis vilayet, and remained part of Muş until 1927...
, Armenian activists were working to arm the folk and to recruit young men by motivating them to the Armenian cause. 50,000 Turkish and Kurdish troops started the offensive in Sassoun, where 500 fedayees had to defend 20,000 unarmed people. The Armenians were headed by Andranik Ozanian along with Kevork Chavoush, Sepasdatsi Mourad, Keri
Keri
Keri is a Hebrew term which literally means "happenstance", "frivolity" or "contrariness" and has come to mean "seminal emission". The term is generally used in Jewish law to refer specifically to the regulations and rituals concerning the emission of semen, whether by nocturnal emission, or by...
, Hrayr Tjokhk, and others.
Yıldız Attempt, 1905
The events of the Hamidian massacresHamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres , also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, refers to the massacring of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result...
and Sultan Abdul Hamid II's continued anti-Armenian
Anti-Armenianism
Armenophobia is the fear, dislike of, hatred or aversion to the Armenians, Republic of Armenia and the Armenian culture, which can range in expression from individual hatred to institutionalized persecution...
policies gave way for the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to plan an assassination attempt on the sultan to enact vengeance. Dashnak members, led by ARF founder Christapor Mikaelian
Christapor Mikaelian
Christapor Mikaelian also known by his noms de guerre Hellen , Topal , and Edward , was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation along Stepan Zorian and Simon Zavarian, also part of Armenian national liberation movement.- Early life :Christapor Mikaelian was born in the...
, secretly started producing explosives and planning the operation in Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
.
Dissolution, 1908–1918
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
. The period established many political groups. A series of elections during this period resulted in the gradual ascendance of the Committee of Union and Progress
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
's ("CUP") domination in politics. This period also marked the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
The Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire included the watershed events of the Young Turk Revolution and the establishment of the Second Constitutional Era, and ended with the Partitioning of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious sides of World War I.- Establishment of the Second Constitutional Era, 24...
.
Young Turk revolution, 1908
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation is an Armenian political party founded in Tiflis in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian...
and the Committee of Union and Progress
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
, a group of mostly European-educated Turks. In a general assembly meeting in 1907, the ARF acknowledged that the Armenian and Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
revolutionaries had the same goals. Although the Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
reforms had given Armenians more rights and seats in the parliament, the ARF hoped to gain autonomy to govern Armenian populated areas of the Ottoman Empire as a "state within a state". The "Second congress of the Ottoman opposition" took place in Paris, France, in 1907. Opposition leaders including Ahmed Riza
Ahmed Riza
Ahmed Riza Bey was a prominent Young Turk, an activist, scientist and the minister of Education from the Liberal Union party during the second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire. In 1908, his name was among the possible Grand Viziers...
(liberal), Sabahheddin Bey, and ARF member Khachatur Maloumian
Khachatur Maloumian
Khachatur Maloumian was a Dashnak; editor of Mushak and Droshak.He was one of the leaders that organized an assembly of forces, under the umbrella name Committee of Union and Progress to oppose the Abdul Hamid II, form what is called as Young Turk Revolution with resulting in the proclamation of...
attended. During the meeting, an alliance between the two parties was officially declared. 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.
Armenian reform package, 1914
Armenian reform package
The Armenian reform package was an Ottoman Empire reform solution by which an inspector general would be appointed to oversee Armenian issues. The inspector general would be the highest position in vilayets where many Armenians lived. This project was prepared by A...
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.
World War I, 1914-1918
With onslaught of World War I, the Ottoman Empire and Russian EmpireRussian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
engaged during the Caucasus
Caucasus Campaign
The Caucasus Campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire, later including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Central Caspian Dictatorship and the UK as part of the Middle Eastern theatre or alternatively named as part of the Caucasus Campaign during World War I...
and Persian Campaign
Persian Campaign
The Persian Campaign or Invasion of Persia was a series of engagements at northern Persian Azerbaijan and western Persia between the British Empire and the Russian Empire against the Ottoman Empire, beginning in December 1914 and ending with the Armistice of Mudros on October 30, 1918 as part of...
s, the CUP began to look on the Armenians with distrust and suspicion. This was due to the fact that the Russian army contained a contingent of Armenian volunteers
Armenian volunteer units
Armenian volunteer units, also known the Armenian volunteer corps were Armenian battalions in Russian and British armies during the World War I. Majority of these units support the military activities at the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. The origin of these units were varied. Some units...
. On April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Ottoman authorities
Armenian notables deported from the Ottoman capital in 1915
The deportation of Armenian notables, also known as the Red Sunday refers to the night when leaders of the Armenian community of the Ottoman capital, Constantinople, and later other centers were arrested and moved to two holding centers near Ankara by the Minister of the Interior Mehmed Talaat Bey...
and, with the Tehcir Law
Tehcir Law
The Tehcir Law was passed by the Ottoman Parliament on May 27, 1915 and allegedly came into force on June 1, 1915, with publication in Takvim-i Vekayi, the official gazette of the Ottoman State...
(29 May 1915), eventually a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
perished in what has become known as the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. There was local Armenian resistance in the region, developed against the activities of the Ottoman Empire. The events of 1915 to 1917 are regarded by Armenians and the vast majority of Western historians and even some Turkish writers and historians like e.g. Taner Akçam
Taner Akçam
Altuğ Taner Akçam is a Turkish historian and sociologist. He is one of the first Turkish academics to acknowledge and openly discuss the Armenian Genocide, and is recognized as a "leading international authority" on the subject....
and Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk
Ferit Orhan Pamuk , generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing....
to have been state-sponsored and planned mass killings, or genocide.
See also
- History of ArmeniaHistory of ArmeniaArmenia lies in the highlands surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat. The original Armenian name for the country was Hayk, later Hayastan , translated as the land of Haik, and consisting of the name Haik and the suffix '-stan' ....
- Timeline of Armenian historyTimeline of Armenian history- Earliest :*6000-4000 BC: Neolithic cultures of the South Caucasus, such as the Shulaveri-Shomu culture.*4000 BC: The Book of Genesis identifies the land of Ararat as the resting place of Noah's Ark after the "great deluge" described there....
- Armenians in TurkeyArmenians in TurkeyArmenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000 . Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...
- Ottoman Armenian populationOttoman Armenian populationThe Ottoman Armenian population size within the Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1915 is a controversial topic. Most estimates by Western scholars range from 1.3 to 2.0 million...
- Armenian Patriarch of ConstantinopleArmenian Patriarch of ConstantinopleThe Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises...
- Armenian Sport in the Ottoman EmpireArmenian Sport in the Ottoman EmpireArmenian Sport in the Ottoman Empire is refers Armenian Sport in the Ottoman Empire.- History :Armenian sports clubs and sportsmen played an important role in the development of sport in the Ottoman Empire...