Hamidian massacres
Encyclopedia
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. The massacres are named after Sultan
Abdul Hamid II
, whose efforts to reinforce the territorial integrity of the embattled Ottoman Empire reasserted Pan-Islamism
as a state ideology. Abdul Hamid believed that the woes of the Ottoman Empire stemmed from "the endless persecutions and hostilities of the Christian world." He perceived the Ottoman Armenians
to be an extension of foreign hostility, a means by which Europe could "get at our most vital places and tear out our very guts."
One of the most serious incidents occurred in Armenian
-populated parts of the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia
. Although the Ottomans had prevented other revolts in the past, the harshest measures were directed against the Armenian community. They observed no distinction between the nationalist dissidents and the Armenian population at large, and massacred them with brutal force. This occurred at a time when the telegraph could spread news around the world and the massacres were extensively covered in the media in Western Europe and the United States
.
The combination of Russian military success in Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878
, clear weakening of the Ottoman Empire from various angles, including financial (1873 and on Ottoman Empire suffered greatly from Panic of 1873
, territorial (mentioned above), and hope that one day all of the Armenian territory might be ruled by Russia led to a new restiveness by Armenians living inside the Ottoman Empire. Starting around 1890, the Armenians began protesting to gain the protections promised them at Berlin
. Unrest occurred in 1892 at Marsovan and in 1893 at Tokat
. Armenians wanted civil reforms to be implemented in the Ottoman Empire and an end to discrimination; they demanded the right to vote and the right to establish a constitutional government. The Sultan, however, was not prepared to relinquish any power. Turkish historian Osman Nuri observed, "The mere mention of the word 'reform' irritated him [Abdul Hamid], inciting his criminal instincts."
Another reason for the massacres was the channeling of Kurdish bandits upon Armenians instead of just anybody in the area. The eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire were historically insecure; the Kurdish rebels ransacked neighboring towns and villages with impunity. When the empire was too weak and disorganized to halt them, Sultan Abdul Hamid gave a semi-official status to the Kurdish bandits. They were known as the Hamidiye Alaylari
("belonging to Hamid"). The formation of Armenian revolutionary groups began roughly around the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1878 and intensified with the first introduction of Article 166 of the Ottoman Penal code 166, and the raid of Erzerum Cathedral. Article 166 was meant to control the possession of arms, but it was used to target Armenians by restricting their possession of arms.
. Hunchak activists, such as Mihran Damadian
, Hampartsoum Boyadjian
, and Hrayr, encouraged resistance against double taxation and Ottoman persecution. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation
armed the people of the region. The Armenians confronted the Ottoman army and Kurdish irregulars at Sassoun, finally succumbing to superior numbers and to Turkish assurances of amnesty (which was never granted).
In response to the Sasun Resistance, the governor of Mush responded by inciting the local Muslim
s against the Armenians. Historian Lord Kinross claims that massacres of this kind were often achieved by gathering Muslims in a local mosque and claiming that the Armenians had the aim of "striking at Islam." Sultan Abdul Hamid sent the Ottoman army into the area and also armed groups of Kurdish irregulars. The violence spread and affected most of the Armenian towns in the Ottoman empire.
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The Powers forced Hamid to sign a new reform package designed to curtail the powers of the Hamidiye in October 1895 which, like the Berlin treaty, was never implemented. On October 1, 1895, two thousand Armenians assembled in Constantinople
to petition for the implementation of the reforms but Ottoman police units converged towards the rally and violently broke it up. Soon, massacres of Armenians broke out in Constantinople and then engulfed the rest of the Armenian-populated provinces of Bitlis
, Diyarbekir, Erzerum, Harput, Sivas, Trabzon
and Van
. Thousands were killed and many more died during the cold winter of 1895–96. The worst atrocity took place in Urfa, where Ottoman troops burned the Armenian cathedral, in which 3,000 Armenians had taken refuge, and shot at anyone who tried to escape.
Abdul Hamid's Private First Secretary wrote in his memoirs about Abdul Hamid that he "decided to pursue a policy of severity and terror against the Armenians, and in order to succeed in this respect he elected the method of dealing them an economic blow... he ordered that they absolutely avoid negotiating or discussing anything with the Armenians and that they inflict upon them a decisive strike to settle scores."
The French ambassador described Turkey as "literally in flames," with "massacres everywhere" and all Christians being murdered "without distinction." A French vice-consul declared that the Ottoman Empire was "gradually annihilating the Christian element" by "giving the Kurdish chieftains carte blanche
to do whatever they please, to enrich themselves at the Christians' expense and to satisfy their men’s whims."
The killings occurred from 1895 until 1897. In that last year, Sultan Hamid declared that the Armenian Question
was closed. All the Armenian revolutionaries had either been killed or had escaped to Russia. The Ottoman government closed Armenian societies and restricted Armenian political movements. It is impossible to ascertain how many Armenians were killed, although the figures cited by historians have ranged from 100,000 to 300,000. The German pastor Johannes Lepsius
meticulously collected data on the destruction and, in his calculations, counted the deaths of 88,243 Armenians, the destitution of 546,000 of them, the destruction of 2,493 villages, 456 of which were forcibly converted to Islam, the desecration of 649 churches and monasteries, of which 328 were converted into mosques. Some non-Armenian groups were also attacked during the massacres. The French diplomatic correspondence shows that the Hamidiye carried out massacres not only of Armenians but also of Assyrians
living in Diyarbakir, Hasankeyef, Sivas and other parts of Anatolia. The Jewish community in Constantinople hid many Armenians in their homes during the riots and the local synagogue
was therefore attacked by Muslims on Yom Kipur in September the same year.
News of the Armenian massacres in the empire were widely reported in Europe and the United States and drew strong responses from foreign governments and humanitarian organizations alike.
One headline in a September 1895 article by the New York Times ran "Armenian Holocaust," while the Catholic World
declared, "Not all the perfume of Arabia can wash the hand of Turkey clean enough to be suffered any longer to hold the reins of power over one inch of Christian territory." The rest of the American press called for action to help the Armenians and to remove, "if not by political action than by resort to the knife... the fever spot of the Turkish Empire." King Leopold II of Belgium
told British Prime Minister Salisbury
that he was prepared to send his Congolese
Force Publique
to "invad[e] and occupy" Armenia. In his presidential platform for 1896, Republican candidate William McKinley
listed the saving of the Armenians as one of his top priorities in foreign policy. Americans in the Ottoman Empire, such as George Washburn, the then president of the Constantinople-based Robert College
, pressured their government to take some concerted action. In December 1900 the USS Kentucky
called at the port of Smyrna
, where its captain, "Red Bill" Kirkland, delivered the following warning, somewhat softened by his translator, to its governor: "If these massacres continue I'll be swuzzled if I won't someday forget my orders... and find some pretext to hammer a few Turkish towns... I'd keel-haul every blithering mother's son of a Turk that wears hair." Americans in the mainland, such as Julia Ward Howe
, David Josiah Brewer
, and John D. Rockefeller
, donated and raised large amounts of money and organized relief aid that was channeled to the Armenians via the newly-established American Red Cross
.
Despite the great public sympathy that was felt for the Armenians in Europe, none of the Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia) took concrete action to alleviate their plight. Frustrated with their indifference, Armenians from the Dashnaktsutiun political party seized
the European-managed Ottoman Bank
on August 26, 1896 in order to bring the massacres to their full attention. This incident brought further sympathy for Armenians and was lauded by the European and American press, which vilified Hamid and painted him as the "great assassin" and "bloody Sultan." The Great Powers vowed to take action and enforce new reforms, although these never came into fruition due to conflicting political and economic interests.
and Yehuda Bauer
, subscribe to the view that the mass killings of 1894–96 to be the first phase of the Armenian Genocide
. Most scholars, however, limit this definition strictly to the years 1915–23.
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...
, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result. The massacres are named after Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
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 reasserted Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism
Pan-Islamism is a political movement advocating the unity of Muslims under one Islamic state — often a Caliphate. As a form of religious nationalism, Pan-Islamism differentiates itself from other pan-nationalistic ideologies, for example Pan-Arabism, by excluding culture and ethnicity as primary...
as a state ideology. Abdul Hamid believed that the woes of the Ottoman Empire stemmed from "the endless persecutions and hostilities of the Christian world." He perceived the Ottoman 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....
to be an extension of foreign hostility, a means by which Europe could "get at our most vital places and tear out our very guts."
One of the most serious incidents occurred in Armenian
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....
-populated parts of the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. Although the Ottomans had prevented other revolts in the past, the harshest measures were directed against the Armenian community. They observed no distinction between the nationalist dissidents and the Armenian population at large, and massacred them with brutal force. This occurred at a time when the telegraph could spread news around the world and the massacres were extensively covered in the media in Western Europe and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Background
The origins of the hostility toward Armenians lay in their status as a wealthy religious minority, in the days of the waning power of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman loss of dominion over various Christian regions was ushered in by an era of European nationalism, and the insistence of self-determination by many territories which had long been held under Ottoman authority. When nationalism spread into Anatolia, with Armenians' demanding equal rights and pushing for autonomy, the Ottoman leadership believed that the Empire's Islamic character and even its very existence were threatened.The combination of Russian military success in Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878
Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878
The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Eastern Orthodox coalition led by the Russian Empire and composed of numerous Balkan...
, clear weakening of the Ottoman Empire from various angles, including financial (1873 and on Ottoman Empire suffered greatly from Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
, territorial (mentioned above), and hope that one day all of the Armenian territory might be ruled by Russia led to a new restiveness by Armenians living inside the Ottoman Empire. Starting around 1890, the Armenians began protesting to gain the protections promised them at Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Unrest occurred in 1892 at Marsovan and in 1893 at Tokat
Tokat
Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....
. Armenians wanted civil reforms to be implemented in the Ottoman Empire and an end to discrimination; they demanded the right to vote and the right to establish a constitutional government. The Sultan, however, was not prepared to relinquish any power. Turkish historian Osman Nuri observed, "The mere mention of the word 'reform' irritated him [Abdul Hamid], inciting his criminal instincts."
Another reason for the massacres was the channeling of Kurdish bandits upon Armenians instead of just anybody in the area. The eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire were historically insecure; the Kurdish rebels ransacked neighboring towns and villages with impunity. When the empire was too weak and disorganized to halt them, Sultan Abdul Hamid gave a semi-official status to the Kurdish bandits. They were known as the Hamidiye Alaylari
Hamidiye (cavalry)
The Hamidiye corps were well-armed, irregular Sunni Kurdish, Turkish, Turkmenand Yörük cavalry formations that operated in the eastern regions of the Ottoman Empire...
("belonging to Hamid"). The formation of Armenian revolutionary groups began roughly around the end of the Russo-Turkish War of 1878 and intensified with the first introduction of Article 166 of the Ottoman Penal code 166, and the raid of Erzerum Cathedral. Article 166 was meant to control the possession of arms, but it was used to target Armenians by restricting their possession of arms.
Disturbances in Sasun
In 1894, the Sultan began to target the Armenian people in a precursor to the Hamidian massacres. This persecution strengthened nationalistic sentiment among Armenians. The first notable battle in the Armenian resistance took place in SasunSasun Resistance (1894)
The Sassoun resistance of 1894 or also known as First Sassoun resistance was the conflict between Ottoman Empire's forces and the Armenian militia belong to Armenian national movement's Hunchak party at the Sassoun region.- Background :...
. 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, encouraged resistance against double taxation and Ottoman persecution. 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...
armed the people of the region. The Armenians confronted the Ottoman army and Kurdish irregulars at Sassoun, finally succumbing to superior numbers and to Turkish assurances of amnesty (which was never granted).
In response to the Sasun Resistance, the governor of Mush responded by inciting the local Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s against the Armenians. Historian Lord Kinross claims that massacres of this kind were often achieved by gathering Muslims in a local mosque and claiming that the Armenians had the aim of "striking at Islam." Sultan Abdul Hamid sent the Ottoman army into the area and also armed groups of Kurdish irregulars. The violence spread and affected most of the Armenian towns in the Ottoman empire.
Massacres
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:...
to petition for the implementation of the reforms but Ottoman police units converged towards the rally and violently broke it up. Soon, massacres of Armenians broke out in Constantinople and then engulfed the rest of the Armenian-populated provinces of Bitlis
Bitlis
Bitlis is a town in eastern Turkey and the capital of Bitlis Province. The town is located at an elevation of 1,400 metres, 15 km from Lake Van, in the steep-sided valley of the Bitlis River, a tributary of the Tigris. The local economy is mainly based on agricultural products which include...
, Diyarbekir, Erzerum, Harput, Sivas, Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
and 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...
. Thousands were killed and many more died during the cold winter of 1895–96. The worst atrocity took place in Urfa, where Ottoman troops burned the Armenian cathedral, in which 3,000 Armenians had taken refuge, and shot at anyone who tried to escape.
Abdul Hamid's Private First Secretary wrote in his memoirs about Abdul Hamid that he "decided to pursue a policy of severity and terror against the Armenians, and in order to succeed in this respect he elected the method of dealing them an economic blow... he ordered that they absolutely avoid negotiating or discussing anything with the Armenians and that they inflict upon them a decisive strike to settle scores."
The French ambassador described Turkey as "literally in flames," with "massacres everywhere" and all Christians being murdered "without distinction." A French vice-consul declared that the Ottoman Empire was "gradually annihilating the Christian element" by "giving the Kurdish chieftains carte blanche
Full Powers
Full Powers is a term in international law and is the authority of a person to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign state. Persons other than the head of state, head of government or foreign minister of the state must produce Full Powers in order to sign a treaty binding their...
to do whatever they please, to enrich themselves at the Christians' expense and to satisfy their men’s whims."
The killings occurred from 1895 until 1897. In that last year, Sultan Hamid declared that 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...
was closed. All the Armenian revolutionaries had either been killed or had escaped to Russia. The Ottoman government closed Armenian societies and restricted Armenian political movements. It is impossible to ascertain how many Armenians were killed, although the figures cited by historians have ranged from 100,000 to 300,000. The German pastor Johannes Lepsius
Johannes Lepsius
Johannes Lepsius was a German Protestant missionary, Orientalist, and humanist with a special interest in trying to prevent the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. He initially studied mathematics and philosophy in Munich and a PhD in 1180 with an already award-winning work...
meticulously collected data on the destruction and, in his calculations, counted the deaths of 88,243 Armenians, the destitution of 546,000 of them, the destruction of 2,493 villages, 456 of which were forcibly converted to Islam, the desecration of 649 churches and monasteries, of which 328 were converted into mosques. Some non-Armenian groups were also attacked during the massacres. The French diplomatic correspondence shows that the Hamidiye carried out massacres not only of Armenians but also of Assyrians
Assyrian people
The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...
living in Diyarbakir, Hasankeyef, Sivas and other parts of Anatolia. The Jewish community in Constantinople hid many Armenians in their homes during the riots and the local synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
was therefore attacked by Muslims on Yom Kipur in September the same year.
International reaction
One headline in a September 1895 article by the New York Times ran "Armenian Holocaust," while the Catholic World
Catholic World
Catholic World was a periodical founded by Paulist Father Isaac Thomas Hecker in April 1865. It featured many articles by Orestes Brownson, including the May 1870 essay "Church and State", which described Brownson's understanding of the proper relationship between the Church and the state.-...
declared, "Not all the perfume of Arabia can wash the hand of Turkey clean enough to be suffered any longer to hold the reins of power over one inch of Christian territory." The rest of the American press called for action to help the Armenians and to remove, "if not by political action than by resort to the knife... the fever spot of the Turkish Empire." King Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II of Belgium
Leopold II was the second king of the Belgians. Born in Brussels the second son of Leopold I and Louise-Marie of Orléans, he succeeded his father to the throne on 17 December 1865 and remained king until his death.Leopold is chiefly remembered as the founder and sole owner of the Congo Free...
told British Prime Minister Salisbury
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
that he was prepared to send his Congolese
Congo Free State
The Congo Free State was a large area in Central Africa which was privately controlled by Leopold II, King of the Belgians. Its origins lay in Leopold's attracting scientific, and humanitarian backing for a non-governmental organization, the Association internationale africaine...
Force Publique
Force Publique
The Force Publique , French for "Public Force", was both a gendarmerie and a military force in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1885, , through the period of direct Belgian colonial rule...
to "invad[e] and occupy" Armenia. In his presidential platform for 1896, Republican candidate William McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
listed the saving of the Armenians as one of his top priorities in foreign policy. Americans in the Ottoman Empire, such as George Washburn, the then president of the Constantinople-based Robert College
Robert College
Robert College of Istanbul , is one of the most selective independent private high schools in Turkey. Robert College is a co-educational, boarding school with a wooded campus on the European side of Istanbul between the two bridges on the Bosphorus, with the Arnavutköy district to the east, and...
, pressured their government to take some concerted action. In December 1900 the USS Kentucky
USS Kentucky (BB-6)
USS Kentucky , a Kearsarge-class battleship, was launched on 24 March 1898 by Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Company of Newport News, Virginia, sponsored by Miss Christine Bradley, daughter of Governor William O'Connell Bradley of Kentucky, and commissioned on 15 May 1900, Captain Colby M...
called at the port of Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, where its captain, "Red Bill" Kirkland, delivered the following warning, somewhat softened by his translator, to its governor: "If these massacres continue I'll be swuzzled if I won't someday forget my orders... and find some pretext to hammer a few Turkish towns... I'd keel-haul every blithering mother's son of a Turk that wears hair." Americans in the mainland, such as Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe
Julia Ward Howe was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet, most famous as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".-Biography:...
, David Josiah Brewer
David Josiah Brewer
David Josiah Brewer was an American jurist and an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for 20 years.-Early life:...
, and John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
, donated and raised large amounts of money and organized relief aid that was channeled to the Armenians via the newly-established American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
.
Despite the great public sympathy that was felt for the Armenians in Europe, none of the Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia) took concrete action to alleviate their plight. Frustrated with their indifference, Armenians from the Dashnaktsutiun political party seized
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...
the European-managed Ottoman Bank
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank was founded in 1856 in the Galata business section of İstanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, as a joint venture between British interests, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas of France, and the Ottoman government.The opening capital of the Bank consisted of 135,000 shares,...
on August 26, 1896 in order to bring the massacres to their full attention. This incident brought further sympathy for Armenians and was lauded by the European and American press, which vilified Hamid and painted him as the "great assassin" and "bloody Sultan." The Great Powers vowed to take action and enforce new reforms, although these never came into fruition due to conflicting political and economic interests.
Inaccurate reportage by the Ottoman government
After George Hepworth, a preeminent journalist of the late nineteenth century, traveled through Ottoman Armenia in 1897, he wrote Through Armenia on Horseback, which discusses the causes and effects of the recent massacres. In one chapter Hepworth describes the disparity between the reality of the Massacre in Bitlis and the official reports that were sent to the Porte. After retelling the Turkish version of events, which places the blame solely on the Armenians of Bitlis, Hepworth writes:Study
Some scholars, such as Mkrtich G. Nersisyan, Ruben Sahakyan, John KirakosyanJohn Kirakosyan
John Kirakosyan was an Armenian historian and political scientist. He was a Doctor of Historical Sciences and a Professor at Yerevan State University, where he headed the Faculty of Oriental Studies.- Biography :...
and Yehuda Bauer
Yehuda Bauer
Yehuda Bauer is a historian and scholar of the Holocaust. He is a Professor of Holocaust Studies at the Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-Biography:...
, subscribe to the view that the mass killings of 1894–96 to be the first phase of 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...
. Most scholars, however, limit this definition strictly to the years 1915–23.
See also
- Yıldız AttemptYildiz AttemptYıldız assassination attempt was an assassination attempted on Sultan Abdul Hamid II by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation at Yıldız Mosque on July 21, 1905 in the Ottoman capital Constantinople .- Background :...
- Adana massacreAdana massacreThe Adana massacre occurred in Adana Province, in the Ottoman Empire, in April 1909. An massacre of Armenian Christians in the city of Adana amidst governmental upheaval resulted in a series of anti-Armenian pogroms throughout the district...
- Armenian GenocideArmenian GenocideThe 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...
- Anti-ArmenianismAnti-ArmenianismArmenophobia 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...
- List of massacres in Turkey
- List of conflicts in the Middle East
Further reading
- Balakian, PeterPeter BalakianPeter Balakian is a poet, writer and academic, the Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of Humanities at Colgate University.- Life :...
(2003). The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-0605-5870-9. - Campbell, George Douglas (8th Duke of Argyll)George Campbell, 8th Duke of ArgyllGeorge John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll KG, KT, PC, FRS, FRSE , styled Marquess of Lorne until 1847, was a Scottish peer, Liberal politician as well as a writer on science, religion, and the politics of the 19th century.-Background:Argyll was born at Ardencaple Castle, Dunbartonshire, the...
. Our Responsibilities for Turkey: Facts and Memories of Forty Years. London: J. Murray, 1896. - Lepsius, JohannesJohannes LepsiusJohannes Lepsius was a German Protestant missionary, Orientalist, and humanist with a special interest in trying to prevent the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. He initially studied mathematics and philosophy in Munich and a PhD in 1180 with an already award-winning work...
. Armenia and Europe, An Indictment. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1897. - Nalbandian, Louise. The Armenian Revolutionary Movement: The Development of Armenian Political Parties through the Nineteenth Century. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1963. Nersisyan, Mkrtich G. "Զեյթունցիների 1895–1896 թթ. Ինքնապաշտպանական Հերոսամարտը" ("The Heroic Self-Defense of the People of Zeitun in 1895–96"). Patma-Banasirakan Handes. № 1–2 (143–44), 1996, pp. 7–16. With Russian abstract.