Western Armenia
Western Armenia (for other names see below) is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to formerly Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire since the 16th century and became part of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire became the target of systematic mass killing campaigns, such as the Hamidian Massacres of 1894–1896, the Adana massacre of 1909. During the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 most Armenians were either massacred, escaped to Russia or internally displaced to the Syrian Desert.
Currently, mostly Kurds and Turks live in that area, with minorities being Azerbaijanis, Laz people and Hamshenis.
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Etymology [edit]
In English, Turkish Armenia and Ottoman Armenia were used until 1920s.
In Armenian, there are several names for the region. Today, the most common is Արևմտյան Հայաստան Arevmtyan Hayastan in Eastern Armenian (mostly spoken in Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Iran) and Արեւմտեան Հայաստան Arevmdean Hayasdan in Western Armenian (spoken in the Diaspora: US, France, Lebanon, Syria, Argentina, etc.). Archaic names (used before 1920s) include Տաճկահայաստան Tačkahayastan in Eastern and Daǰkahayasdan in Western Armenian. Also used in the same period were Թուրքահայաստան T'urk'ahayastan or Թրքահայաստան T'rk'ahayastan, both meaning Turkish Armenia.
In Turkish, the literal translation of Western Armenia is Batı Ermenistan, but the region is referred to as Doğu Anadolu (Eastern Anatolia), which is one of the 7 geographical regions of Turkey.
The Kurds, refer to the region as Bakurê Kurdistanê (Northern Kurdistan) as it lies on the north of a greater geographic region called Kurdistan.
History [edit]
Ottoman conquest [edit]
After Turkish-Persian wars of 1602-1639 Western Armenia became part of the Ottoman Empire.[1] Since the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829, the term "Western Armenia" has referred to the Armenian-populated historical regions of the Ottoman Empire that remained under Ottoman rule after the eastern part of Armenia was ceded to the Russian Empire.
Western (Ottoman) Armenia consisted of six vilayets (vilâyat-ı sitte) — the vilayets of Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Kharput, and Sivas.[2]
World War I and later years [edit]
Armenian Genocide [edit]
During the collapse of the Ottoman Empire Western Armenia remained under Turkish rule, and in 1894–96 and 1915 the Ottoman Empire perpetrated systematic massacres and forced deportations of Armenians[3] resulting in the Armenian Genocide. The massive deportation and killings of Armenians began in the spring 1915. On April 24, 1915 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were deported from Comstantinople. Depending on the sources cited, from 600,000 to 1,800,000 Armenians were killed during this act.
Caucasus Campaign [edit]
During the Caucasus Campaign of World War I, the Russian Empire occupied most of the Armenian-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire. A temporary provincial government was established in occupied areas between 1915 and 1918.
The chaos caused by the Russian Revolution of 1917 put a stop to all Russian military operations and Russian forces began to conduct withdrawals.
Current situation [edit]
The fate of Western Armenia — commonly referred to as "The Armenian Question" — is considered a key issue in the modern history of the Armenian people.[4] The first and second congresses of Western Armenians took place in Yerevan in 1917 and 1919. Since 2000, an organizing committee of the congress of heirs of Western Armenians who survived the Armenian Genocide is active in diasporan communities.[5]
Currently, the Republic of Armenia does not have any territorial claims against the Republic of Turkey, although, some political parties such as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the largest Armenian party in the diaspora, claim the area given to the Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) by US President Woodrow Wilson's arbitral award in 1920, also known as Wilsonian Armenia.
See also [edit]
- History of Armenia
- Geography of Armenia
- Armenian Highland
- Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
- Ottoman Armenian population
- Treaty of Alexandropol
References [edit]
- ^ Феодальный строй, Great Soviet Encyclopedia (Russian)
- ^ Armenia
- ^ Britannica Online: Armenia
- ^ Arman J. Kirakossian, British Diplomacy and the Armenian Question, from the 1830s to 1914
- ^ WESTERN ARMENIANS ARE PREPARING, A1plus, 16 November, 2007
Further reading [edit]
- Arman J. Kirakosian, "English Policy towards Western Armenia and Public Opinion in Great Britain (1890-1900)", Yerevan, 1981, 26 p. (in Armenian and Russian).
