Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics ...
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This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics and Protestants, and the Armenians of Istanbul and Izmir, were not deported. Families of soldiers were not touched, and despite it being wartime, the government opened investigations against state officials who acted badly toward the Armenians during the deportations. Another important argument added in recent years is that the organization known as the Special Organization, which in fact enjoyed an official status through its association with the War Ministry, had no connection whatsoever with the annihilation of the Armenians.Less
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics and Protestants, and the Armenians of Istanbul and Izmir, were not deported. Families of soldiers were not touched, and despite it being wartime, the government opened investigations against state officials who acted badly toward the Armenians during the deportations. Another important argument added in recent years is that the organization known as the Special Organization, which in fact enjoyed an official status through its association with the War Ministry, had no connection whatsoever with the annihilation of the Armenians.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter argues that the fear that the English were going to land somewhere in the Iskenderun region, and following this, the commencement of a great naval movement in order to seize Istanbul, ...
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This chapter argues that the fear that the English were going to land somewhere in the Iskenderun region, and following this, the commencement of a great naval movement in order to seize Istanbul, led the Unionists to believe that the end of the empire was certainly at hand. The first deportation decision was made under these circumstances. The evacuation of Armenians from certain regions due to military and political reasons presaged another important turning point. The fact that the European states were at war played an important role in these deportations, which were carried out first in Dortyol and then in Zeytun, both in the region of Cilicia. The chapter shows how the Unionists believed that the war created favorable conditions for them, but the proper time had not yet arrived.Less
This chapter argues that the fear that the English were going to land somewhere in the Iskenderun region, and following this, the commencement of a great naval movement in order to seize Istanbul, led the Unionists to believe that the end of the empire was certainly at hand. The first deportation decision was made under these circumstances. The evacuation of Armenians from certain regions due to military and political reasons presaged another important turning point. The fact that the European states were at war played an important role in these deportations, which were carried out first in Dortyol and then in Zeytun, both in the region of Cilicia. The chapter shows how the Unionists believed that the war created favorable conditions for them, but the proper time had not yet arrived.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter considers how the annihilation of the Armenians, as an outcome of a sequence of decisions, led to questions arising about the possible relationship between demographic policy and ...
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This chapter considers how the annihilation of the Armenians, as an outcome of a sequence of decisions, led to questions arising about the possible relationship between demographic policy and genocidal practice. It argues that there was such a causal relationship. Demographic anxieties shaped the Armenian deportations: the population ratios where Armenians were deported and where they remained were decisive, and the deportations were carried accordingly. Only three factors appear to have prevented the ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Greeks from escalating into genocide: the Great War had not yet begun, there was a country to which the Greeks could be expelled, and the Armenian-inhabited regions to the east were potentially subject to Russian occupation and eventual Armenian statehood.Less
This chapter considers how the annihilation of the Armenians, as an outcome of a sequence of decisions, led to questions arising about the possible relationship between demographic policy and genocidal practice. It argues that there was such a causal relationship. Demographic anxieties shaped the Armenian deportations: the population ratios where Armenians were deported and where they remained were decisive, and the deportations were carried accordingly. Only three factors appear to have prevented the ethnic cleansing of the Ottoman Greeks from escalating into genocide: the Great War had not yet begun, there was a country to which the Greeks could be expelled, and the Armenian-inhabited regions to the east were potentially subject to Russian occupation and eventual Armenian statehood.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0010
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter illustrates how the deportations left an enormous amount of abandoned Armenian property and possessions in their wake. This posed the question of what policy the government and local ...
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This chapter illustrates how the deportations left an enormous amount of abandoned Armenian property and possessions in their wake. This posed the question of what policy the government and local officials should take in regard to its preservation or liquidation. The answer of the Unionist government is highly instructive regarding the ultimate aims of their Armenian policy. On the basis of existing Interior Ministry Papers from the period, it can be asserted that the goal of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was not the resettlement of Anatolia's Armenian population and their just compensation for the property and possessions that they were forced to leave behind. Rather, the confiscation and subsequent use of Armenian property clearly demonstrated that Unionist government policy was intended to completely deprive the Armenians of all possibility of continued existence.Less
This chapter illustrates how the deportations left an enormous amount of abandoned Armenian property and possessions in their wake. This posed the question of what policy the government and local officials should take in regard to its preservation or liquidation. The answer of the Unionist government is highly instructive regarding the ultimate aims of their Armenian policy. On the basis of existing Interior Ministry Papers from the period, it can be asserted that the goal of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) was not the resettlement of Anatolia's Armenian population and their just compensation for the property and possessions that they were forced to leave behind. Rather, the confiscation and subsequent use of Armenian property clearly demonstrated that Unionist government policy was intended to completely deprive the Armenians of all possibility of continued existence.
Alden A. Mosshammer
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199543120
- eISBN:
- 9780191720062
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543120.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Early Christian Studies
Dionysius Exiguus composed a 95‐year list of Easter dates beginning in what he designates as the year 532 from Christ. His list was a continuation of an Alexandrian table that ended in the year 247 ...
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Dionysius Exiguus composed a 95‐year list of Easter dates beginning in what he designates as the year 532 from Christ. His list was a continuation of an Alexandrian table that ended in the year 247 from Diocletian. How Dionysius knew that 247 Diocletian should be followed by the year 532 of the Lord has puzzled scholars for almost 1500 years. His year AD 1 seems inconsistent with the evidence of the New Testament for the chronology of Christ. This book argues that Dionysius did not calculate a new date at all. He adopted the Christian era of Julius Africanus, which was based on a date for the crucifixion in AD 31 and the assumption that Jesus was 30 years old at that time. This date was transmitted to Dionysius Exiguus through the Easter calculations of Alexandria. About the same time, the Armenian church adopted a national era whose first year they synchronized with the year 553 from Christ. This Armenian Christian era agrees with that of Dionysius, but adjusted to the Armenian calendar. The Armenians received this numbering of the years from Christ independently from Dionysius, through the Alexandrian Easter tables.Less
Dionysius Exiguus composed a 95‐year list of Easter dates beginning in what he designates as the year 532 from Christ. His list was a continuation of an Alexandrian table that ended in the year 247 from Diocletian. How Dionysius knew that 247 Diocletian should be followed by the year 532 of the Lord has puzzled scholars for almost 1500 years. His year AD 1 seems inconsistent with the evidence of the New Testament for the chronology of Christ. This book argues that Dionysius did not calculate a new date at all. He adopted the Christian era of Julius Africanus, which was based on a date for the crucifixion in AD 31 and the assumption that Jesus was 30 years old at that time. This date was transmitted to Dionysius Exiguus through the Easter calculations of Alexandria. About the same time, the Armenian church adopted a national era whose first year they synchronized with the year 553 from Christ. This Armenian Christian era agrees with that of Dionysius, but adjusted to the Armenian calendar. The Armenians received this numbering of the years from Christ independently from Dionysius, through the Alexandrian Easter tables.
Alden A. Mosshammer
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199543120
- eISBN:
- 9780191720062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543120.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Early Christian Studies
Andreas of Byzantium drafted a 200‐year list that began with a Paschal full moon on 4 April in 353 and ended with 25 March in 552. Andreas adopted the form of the cycle that Athanasius had ...
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Andreas of Byzantium drafted a 200‐year list that began with a Paschal full moon on 4 April in 353 and ended with 25 March in 552. Andreas adopted the form of the cycle that Athanasius had promulgated at Sardica. Armenian sources say that when the list of Andreas ended, a council was held at Alexandria under the leadership of Aeas. Aeas proposed a new cycle beginning with 25 March and generated a 532‐year period beginning in the second year of a cycle with 13 April. The emperor Justinian nullified that work and made the classical form of the Alexandrian cycle official. The cycle of Aeas nevertheless remained in effect in peripheral eras such as Armenia and Georgia. The Armenian scholar Anania of Shirak generated his own 532‐year period, beginning with the Paschal full moon of 4 April in AD 562Less
Andreas of Byzantium drafted a 200‐year list that began with a Paschal full moon on 4 April in 353 and ended with 25 March in 552. Andreas adopted the form of the cycle that Athanasius had promulgated at Sardica. Armenian sources say that when the list of Andreas ended, a council was held at Alexandria under the leadership of Aeas. Aeas proposed a new cycle beginning with 25 March and generated a 532‐year period beginning in the second year of a cycle with 13 April. The emperor Justinian nullified that work and made the classical form of the Alexandrian cycle official. The cycle of Aeas nevertheless remained in effect in peripheral eras such as Armenia and Georgia. The Armenian scholar Anania of Shirak generated his own 532‐year period, beginning with the Paschal full moon of 4 April in AD 562
Alden A. Mosshammer
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199543120
- eISBN:
- 9780191720062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543120.003.0018
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Early Christian Studies
Anatolius recalibrated the system of Africanus to make its first year begin on 1 Thoth = 29 August, 5501 BC. In his preface, Anatolius told the reader how to calibrate his list with the years of the ...
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Anatolius recalibrated the system of Africanus to make its first year begin on 1 Thoth = 29 August, 5501 BC. In his preface, Anatolius told the reader how to calibrate his list with the years of the Roman emperors and several other systems. It is likely that he also stated the interval from the birth of Christ, adopting the Christian era of Africanus. The Armenian church received a version of the cycle of Anatolius, which they said ended in the year 552 from Christ, at a date corresponding to AD 552. The extant Latin version of a 95‐year table was a continuation of one that began in the 50th year of Diocletian,AD 333/4, synchronized with the year 334 from Christ., The Christian era of Dionysius Exiguus is that of Africanus, transmitted to him as to the Armenians and the author of the Latin text through the Pasehal tables of Alexandria.Less
Anatolius recalibrated the system of Africanus to make its first year begin on 1 Thoth = 29 August, 5501 BC. In his preface, Anatolius told the reader how to calibrate his list with the years of the Roman emperors and several other systems. It is likely that he also stated the interval from the birth of Christ, adopting the Christian era of Africanus. The Armenian church received a version of the cycle of Anatolius, which they said ended in the year 552 from Christ, at a date corresponding to AD 552. The extant Latin version of a 95‐year table was a continuation of one that began in the 50th year of Diocletian,AD 333/4, synchronized with the year 334 from Christ., The Christian era of Dionysius Exiguus is that of Africanus, transmitted to him as to the Armenians and the author of the Latin text through the Pasehal tables of Alexandria.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted ...
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Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. This book goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing. Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a “crime against humanity and civilization,” the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's “official history” rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that the book now uses to overturn the official narrative. The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic. By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.Less
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. This book goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing. Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a “crime against humanity and civilization,” the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's “official history” rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that the book now uses to overturn the official narrative. The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic. By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.
Davide Rodogno
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151335
- eISBN:
- 9781400840014
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151335.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter examines the European powers' nonintervention on behalf of the Ottoman Armenians during the period 1886–1909. From the 1870s to 1914, the “Armenian Question” was dragged into the ...
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This chapter examines the European powers' nonintervention on behalf of the Ottoman Armenians during the period 1886–1909. From the 1870s to 1914, the “Armenian Question” was dragged into the international debate. However, Armenian nationalist leaders wrongly thought that acts of massacre, atrocity, and extermination would convince the European powers to intervene. The chapter first considers the implementation of reforms in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire prior to the Armenian massacres before discussing the massacres that took place between 1894 and 1909, including those in Sasun and in the province of Adana. It explains why no humanitarian intervention took place after these events and goes on to explore the Third Marquess of Salisbury's last attempt to revive the Concert of Europe. Finally, it analyzes British and French public opinion regarding the Armenian Question.Less
This chapter examines the European powers' nonintervention on behalf of the Ottoman Armenians during the period 1886–1909. From the 1870s to 1914, the “Armenian Question” was dragged into the international debate. However, Armenian nationalist leaders wrongly thought that acts of massacre, atrocity, and extermination would convince the European powers to intervene. The chapter first considers the implementation of reforms in the European provinces of the Ottoman Empire prior to the Armenian massacres before discussing the massacres that took place between 1894 and 1909, including those in Sasun and in the province of Adana. It explains why no humanitarian intervention took place after these events and goes on to explore the Third Marquess of Salisbury's last attempt to revive the Concert of Europe. Finally, it analyzes British and French public opinion regarding the Armenian Question.
David Gutman
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474445245
- eISBN:
- 9781474476829
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474445245.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This book tells the story of Armenian migration to North America in the late Ottoman period, and Istanbul’s efforts to prevent it. It shows how, much like the present, migrants in the late 19th and ...
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This book tells the story of Armenian migration to North America in the late Ottoman period, and Istanbul’s efforts to prevent it. It shows how, much like the present, migrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were forced to travel through clandestine smuggling networks, frustrating the enforcement of the ban on migration. Further, migrants who attempted to return home from sojourns in North America risked debarment at the border and deportation, while the return of migrants who had naturalised as US citizens generated friction between the United States and Ottoman governments.
The author sheds light on the relationship between the imperial state and its Armenian populations in the decades leading up to the Armenian genocide. He also places the Ottoman Empire squarely in the middle of global debates on migration, border control and restriction in this period, adding to our understanding of the global historical origins of contemporary immigration politics and other issues of relevance in the Middle East region, such as borders and frontiers, migrants and refugees, and ethno-religious minorities.Less
This book tells the story of Armenian migration to North America in the late Ottoman period, and Istanbul’s efforts to prevent it. It shows how, much like the present, migrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were forced to travel through clandestine smuggling networks, frustrating the enforcement of the ban on migration. Further, migrants who attempted to return home from sojourns in North America risked debarment at the border and deportation, while the return of migrants who had naturalised as US citizens generated friction between the United States and Ottoman governments.
The author sheds light on the relationship between the imperial state and its Armenian populations in the decades leading up to the Armenian genocide. He also places the Ottoman Empire squarely in the middle of global debates on migration, border control and restriction in this period, adding to our understanding of the global historical origins of contemporary immigration politics and other issues of relevance in the Middle East region, such as borders and frontiers, migrants and refugees, and ethno-religious minorities.
J. M. Hussey
- Published in print:
- 1990
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198264569
- eISBN:
- 9780191601170
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198264569.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
An account is given of the patriarchate of the Orthodox Church in the period 925–1025, following the death of Patriarch Nicholas I Mysticus in 925, which emphasizes the predominance of Constantinople ...
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An account is given of the patriarchate of the Orthodox Church in the period 925–1025, following the death of Patriarch Nicholas I Mysticus in 925, which emphasizes the predominance of Constantinople during the period concerned. The first section of the chapter covers cooperation and criticism during the period 925–70. The second section describes the imperial advance in the East, and covers the lack of success in converting the Muslims and the ultimately disastrous consequences of encouraging the expansion of Syrian Jacobites (monophysites) and Armenian monophysites into areas presided over by the orthodox Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church. The third section discusses the rather more successful consolidating missionary work in the Caucasian and North Pontic regions of Russia, and the conflict over Bulgaria. The last section discusses Byzantium and south Italy.Less
An account is given of the patriarchate of the Orthodox Church in the period 925–1025, following the death of Patriarch Nicholas I Mysticus in 925, which emphasizes the predominance of Constantinople during the period concerned. The first section of the chapter covers cooperation and criticism during the period 925–70. The second section describes the imperial advance in the East, and covers the lack of success in converting the Muslims and the ultimately disastrous consequences of encouraging the expansion of Syrian Jacobites (monophysites) and Armenian monophysites into areas presided over by the orthodox Byzantine Greek Orthodox Church. The third section discusses the rather more successful consolidating missionary work in the Caucasian and North Pontic regions of Russia, and the conflict over Bulgaria. The last section discusses Byzantium and south Italy.
Henry Chadwick
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246953
- eISBN:
- 9780191600463
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246955.003.0057
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
Discusses missionary activity and the creation of churches outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire during the first centuries of Christianity. The subjects covered include Armenia, Persia, the ...
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Discusses missionary activity and the creation of churches outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire during the first centuries of Christianity. The subjects covered include Armenia, Persia, the Nestorian Church in Syria, the Iberian Church in Georgia, Christianity among the Arabs, the Copts of the Nile valley, and the Church of Ethiopia. All were detached from the doctrines and customs normative in the Greek churches, but not all were Monophysite.Less
Discusses missionary activity and the creation of churches outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire during the first centuries of Christianity. The subjects covered include Armenia, Persia, the Nestorian Church in Syria, the Iberian Church in Georgia, Christianity among the Arabs, the Copts of the Nile valley, and the Church of Ethiopia. All were detached from the doctrines and customs normative in the Greek churches, but not all were Monophysite.
Alexander Bitis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263273
- eISBN:
- 9780191734700
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263273.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter considers the origins and conduct of the 1826–8 Russo-Persian War. While the actions of certain individuals were responsible for the outbreak of war, more profound causes were also at ...
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This chapter considers the origins and conduct of the 1826–8 Russo-Persian War. While the actions of certain individuals were responsible for the outbreak of war, more profound causes were also at work. These were to be found in recent international history and the sudden entrance of Persia into the orbit of Great Power diplomacy. The discussion considers the Russo-Persian relations under Ermolov from 1817 to 1823; the origins of the 1826–8 Russo-Persian war; the campaign of 1826; the developments over the winter of 1826–7 and the controversy between Ermolov, Paskevich and Diebitsch; the occupation and liberation of Armenia; the 1828 Treaty of Turkomanchai; the conclusion on the war of 1826–8; and the Great Game in Asia.Less
This chapter considers the origins and conduct of the 1826–8 Russo-Persian War. While the actions of certain individuals were responsible for the outbreak of war, more profound causes were also at work. These were to be found in recent international history and the sudden entrance of Persia into the orbit of Great Power diplomacy. The discussion considers the Russo-Persian relations under Ermolov from 1817 to 1823; the origins of the 1826–8 Russo-Persian war; the campaign of 1826; the developments over the winter of 1826–7 and the controversy between Ermolov, Paskevich and Diebitsch; the occupation and liberation of Armenia; the 1828 Treaty of Turkomanchai; the conclusion on the war of 1826–8; and the Great Game in Asia.
Stephane Dufoix
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520253599
- eISBN:
- 9780520941298
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520253599.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Migration Studies (including Refugee Studies)
Coined in the third century B.C., the term diaspora has evolved into a buzzword used to describe the migrations of groups as diverse as ethnic populations, religious communities, and even engineers ...
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Coined in the third century B.C., the term diaspora has evolved into a buzzword used to describe the migrations of groups as diverse as ethnic populations, religious communities, and even engineers working abroad. This book provides a critical introduction to the concept of diaspora, bringing a fresh, synthetic perspective to virtually all aspects of this topic. The book incorporates a wealth of case studies—about the Jewish, Armenian, African, Chinese, Greek, and Indian experiences—to illustrate key concepts, give a clear overview on current thinking, and reassess the value of the term for us today.Less
Coined in the third century B.C., the term diaspora has evolved into a buzzword used to describe the migrations of groups as diverse as ethnic populations, religious communities, and even engineers working abroad. This book provides a critical introduction to the concept of diaspora, bringing a fresh, synthetic perspective to virtually all aspects of this topic. The book incorporates a wealth of case studies—about the Jewish, Armenian, African, Chinese, Greek, and Indian experiences—to illustrate key concepts, give a clear overview on current thinking, and reassess the value of the term for us today.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter examines how the policy followed against the Ottoman Greeks underwent an important change in November 1914, when the use of widespread violence against the Greeks and their forcible ...
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This chapter examines how the policy followed against the Ottoman Greeks underwent an important change in November 1914, when the use of widespread violence against the Greeks and their forcible expulsion to Greece were halted. Policies concerning the Greeks during the war years were restricted henceforth to sending some of those living in coastal areas to interior provinces for military reasons. This procedure, connected with Russian military victories at the end of 1916 and throughout 1917, was carried out in a systematic manner, particularly in the Black Sea region. In some areas, massacres of Greeks were observed, but in general the Greek population remained exempt from the policy of deportation and annihilation applied to the Armenians.Less
This chapter examines how the policy followed against the Ottoman Greeks underwent an important change in November 1914, when the use of widespread violence against the Greeks and their forcible expulsion to Greece were halted. Policies concerning the Greeks during the war years were restricted henceforth to sending some of those living in coastal areas to interior provinces for military reasons. This procedure, connected with Russian military victories at the end of 1916 and throughout 1917, was carried out in a systematic manner, particularly in the Black Sea region. In some areas, massacres of Greeks were observed, but in general the Greek population remained exempt from the policy of deportation and annihilation applied to the Armenians.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter looks at how extant Ottoman documents reveal that the Unionist government made clear distinctions in its wartime policies between the Armenians and the empire's other Christian ...
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This chapter looks at how extant Ottoman documents reveal that the Unionist government made clear distinctions in its wartime policies between the Armenians and the empire's other Christian communities. The Greeks, as has been seen, were deported and expelled with brutality, but the Armenians were targeted for outright annihilation. In the decision to exterminate them, the Unionists' overarching objective of homogenizing the population of Anatolia undoubtedly played an important role; however, it would be incorrect to infer a direct line of causation between the two. The available evidence does not indicate that the restructuring of the general population resulted automatically in the annihilation of a particular group. The central question, then, concerns the nature of the relationship between demographic policy and genocide.Less
This chapter looks at how extant Ottoman documents reveal that the Unionist government made clear distinctions in its wartime policies between the Armenians and the empire's other Christian communities. The Greeks, as has been seen, were deported and expelled with brutality, but the Armenians were targeted for outright annihilation. In the decision to exterminate them, the Unionists' overarching objective of homogenizing the population of Anatolia undoubtedly played an important role; however, it would be incorrect to infer a direct line of causation between the two. The available evidence does not indicate that the restructuring of the general population resulted automatically in the annihilation of a particular group. The central question, then, concerns the nature of the relationship between demographic policy and genocide.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter talks about how, despite all attempts to sanitize the archival record, the surviving documents in the Interior Ministry section of the Prime Ministerial Ottoman Archive are sufficient to ...
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This chapter talks about how, despite all attempts to sanitize the archival record, the surviving documents in the Interior Ministry section of the Prime Ministerial Ottoman Archive are sufficient to show the distinctive character of Ottoman wartime measures against the Armenians: having been uprooted and deported from Anatolia, they were to be denied even rudimentary living conditions. The orders to annihilate the Armenian population did not reach the regional and district officials through the usual governmental channels but instead were hand-delivered by selected Unionist operatives. Although, for this reason, the original orders are unlikely to be found in official correspondence, the mobilization of several branches and agencies of government to implement the policy against the Armenians inevitably left a paper trail within the Ottoman state archive.Less
This chapter talks about how, despite all attempts to sanitize the archival record, the surviving documents in the Interior Ministry section of the Prime Ministerial Ottoman Archive are sufficient to show the distinctive character of Ottoman wartime measures against the Armenians: having been uprooted and deported from Anatolia, they were to be denied even rudimentary living conditions. The orders to annihilate the Armenian population did not reach the regional and district officials through the usual governmental channels but instead were hand-delivered by selected Unionist operatives. Although, for this reason, the original orders are unlikely to be found in official correspondence, the mobilization of several branches and agencies of government to implement the policy against the Armenians inevitably left a paper trail within the Ottoman state archive.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of ...
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This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of the emerging field. Occupying the central place in these debates as a sine qua non, the Holocaust became the yardstick against which an event might or might not measure up as a genocide. As with other instances of mass violence, the fear that the events of 1915 would not be considered genocide if they did not resemble the Holocaust precluded serious analysis along the lines of dynamic social processes. Second, the understanding of assimilation as a process of the Armenian Genocide has been hampered by the character of available sources, mainly German and American consular reports, as well as missionary and survivor accounts.Less
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of the emerging field. Occupying the central place in these debates as a sine qua non, the Holocaust became the yardstick against which an event might or might not measure up as a genocide. As with other instances of mass violence, the fear that the events of 1915 would not be considered genocide if they did not resemble the Holocaust precluded serious analysis along the lines of dynamic social processes. Second, the understanding of assimilation as a process of the Armenian Genocide has been hampered by the character of available sources, mainly German and American consular reports, as well as missionary and survivor accounts.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the ...
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This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states. Far from an isolated campaign against a single ethnoreligious group, the annihilation of the Armenians was part of an extremely comprehensive operation that was accomplished in order to save the empire. For this reason, it is not correct to interpret the Armenian Genocide along the lines of a clash between the empire's Muslim groups, more generally expressed by the concept of “Turk,” and its Christian elements. The Armenian Genocide must be understood and interpreted as a matter between the Ottoman state and its subjects that arose as a result of specific policies pursued by the regime.Less
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states. Far from an isolated campaign against a single ethnoreligious group, the annihilation of the Armenians was part of an extremely comprehensive operation that was accomplished in order to save the empire. For this reason, it is not correct to interpret the Armenian Genocide along the lines of a clash between the empire's Muslim groups, more generally expressed by the concept of “Turk,” and its Christian elements. The Armenian Genocide must be understood and interpreted as a matter between the Ottoman state and its subjects that arose as a result of specific policies pursued by the regime.
Donald Bloxham
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199273560
- eISBN:
- 9780191699689
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199273560.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This book addresses the origins, development, and aftermath of the Armenian genocide in a reappraisal based on primary and secondary sources from all the major parties involved. Rejecting the ...
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This book addresses the origins, development, and aftermath of the Armenian genocide in a reappraisal based on primary and secondary sources from all the major parties involved. Rejecting the determinism of many influential studies, and discarding polemics on all sides, it founds its interpretation of the genocide in the interaction between the Ottoman empire in its decades of terminal decline, the self-interested policies of the European imperial powers, and the agenda of some Armenian nationalists in and beyond Ottoman territory. Particular attention is paid to the international context of the process of ethnic polarization that culminated in the massive destruction of 1912–23, and especially the obliteration of the Armenian community in 1915–16. The book examines the relationship between the great power politics of the ‘eastern question’ from 1774, the narrower politics of the ‘Armenian question’ from the mid-19th century, and the internal Ottoman questions regarding reform of the complex social and ethnic order under intense external pressure. It presents detailed case studies of the role of Imperial Germany during the First World War (reaching conclusions markedly different to the prevailing orthodoxy of German complicity in the genocide); the wartime Entente and then the uncomfortable postwar Anglo-French axis; and American political interest in the Middle East in the interwar period which led to a policy of refusing to recognize the genocide.Less
This book addresses the origins, development, and aftermath of the Armenian genocide in a reappraisal based on primary and secondary sources from all the major parties involved. Rejecting the determinism of many influential studies, and discarding polemics on all sides, it founds its interpretation of the genocide in the interaction between the Ottoman empire in its decades of terminal decline, the self-interested policies of the European imperial powers, and the agenda of some Armenian nationalists in and beyond Ottoman territory. Particular attention is paid to the international context of the process of ethnic polarization that culminated in the massive destruction of 1912–23, and especially the obliteration of the Armenian community in 1915–16. The book examines the relationship between the great power politics of the ‘eastern question’ from 1774, the narrower politics of the ‘Armenian question’ from the mid-19th century, and the internal Ottoman questions regarding reform of the complex social and ethnic order under intense external pressure. It presents detailed case studies of the role of Imperial Germany during the First World War (reaching conclusions markedly different to the prevailing orthodoxy of German complicity in the genocide); the wartime Entente and then the uncomfortable postwar Anglo-French axis; and American political interest in the Middle East in the interwar period which led to a policy of refusing to recognize the genocide.
