The Armenians

1
The Armenians

• Genocide In the Shadow of War

2
Armenia Nation In Flux

• Ancient Armenia
• Crossroads
• Buffer State
• Christian in 301 CE
• Unique alphabet
• Medieval Armenia
• Byzantine 1045
• Turkish conquest 1370s
• Ottoman Turks 1400s

• Ottoman Armenia
• Armenian Millet
• Armenian Church leads
• Autonomy
• High taxes, but loyal

3
Armenia Geopolitical Issues

• Napoleonic War (Egypt) gtTanzimat Era Reform
• Greeks Balkans fight for independence
• Crimean War realities
• Ottoman retrenchment survival mindset
• Reform or repress? OE chooses repression

4
Armenian Response to Repression

• Armenian Self-Defense Movement
• Union of Salvation 1872
• Black Cross Society 1878
• Armenakan Party 1885
• OE views these as threats to OE rule

5
OE gtgt Young Turk Rule

• Hamidian Massacres 1890s Xenophobia
• Young Turks 1889 gtgt CUP gtgt 1908 Coup
• Liberalism v. Nationalism
• Adana Massacres 1909
• Balkan Wars (1912-13) gt Enver Pasha Coup
• Young Turk Dictatorship
• Pan-Turkism Turkification
• gtgt Anti-Armenianism

6
WWI gtgt Genocide

• Armenian leaders appeal for OE neutrality
• OE joins Central Powers geopolitics!
• Armenians join OE army
• OE fails in Sarkamish Campaign 12/1914
• Scapegoat? Armenian collusion w/ R?
• Special Organization formed
• Armenian soldiers disarmed. 2/1915

7
Genocide Systematic Intentional Extermination

• Armenian removed from civil service 3/1915
• Special Organization battalions kill civilians
• Deportation, Starvation, Murder 3/1915
• Intellectuals, leaders arrested, imprisoned,
  murdered 4/1915
• Deportation Committee gt Death marches Mass
  executions 5/1915
• Failed resistance in Van, etc 5-10/1915

8
Genocide Q

• Genocide intentional and systematic plan to
  execute and eliminate an entire people group
• Geopolitics Jingoism Xenophobia
• Recipe for genocide
• Given the news and situation
• What, if any, global response should have
  occurred? Justify.