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<h2><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the Policies of
the Great Powers </strong></font></h2>
<hr>
<h3><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>l. The Ottoman Empire until the imperial reform edict </strong></font></h3>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The history of the Ottoman Empire can be
divided into four parts: its rise, its Golden Age, its decline and its fall. It is
generally accepted that the period of decline began in 1579, with the death of Sokullu
Mehmet Pasha, and that the fall began in 1699 with the treaty of Karlowitz. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>By the policies of the great powers we
mean the policies followed during the decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire. During the
Golden Age there was no state greater than the Ottoman Empire, and even in the period of
decline, Britain and Russia were only in the background. Even after 1699, it was another
seventy-five years before the European powers became stronger than the Ottoman Empire, and
were able to make their influence felt, when the treaty of Kuchuk Kaynarca was signed in
1774. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After this treaty, the Ottoman Empire
bade farewell to its grandeur and might, replaced by Russia and Austria on the European
scene. Initially only those two powers had a policy with regard to the Ottoman Empire, but
after the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Britain and France followed suit. In
1870, immediately after its unification, Germany came to be included in this group, and
the fate of the Ottoman Empire virtually depended on the decisions of these five powers. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Within this historical development,
although its seeds were sown earlier, the Armenian question was raised as a European issue
at the Berlin Congress (1878). </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Now we shall try to examine the condition
of the Armenians within and without the frontiers of the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have previously stated that the
Ottomans finally annexed in 1517 the area that had belonged to the old Cilicia kingdom,
that although Sultan Selim I defeated Shah Ismail in Chaldiran in 1514 and entered Tabriz,
the war having continued after his death, the truce was established only on 28 May 1555.
The occupation of Georgia occurred in 1578 under the reign of Murat III However, wars
between the Ottomans and the Safavids continued after this date until the Kasri Sirin
Treaty was signed under Murat iv in 1639. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Wars with Iran took place after 1639, in
1723-7,1730-7, and 1743-6. But ultimately the frontiers established by the Kasri Sirin
Treaty remained. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This frontier was almost the present-day
border between Turkey and Iran, with Erivan staying in Iran. In 1639, the Khanate of
Crimea was legally under Ottoman rule, as well as the Black Sea shores and Georgia. The
Russians had started to enter Caucasia towards the end of the l6th century by advancing
towards the river Terek after dissolving the khanate of Astrakhan in 1556. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Theoretically the Caspian shores of
Transcaucasia belonged to Iran, but the area of Azerbaijan was more in the sphere of
influence of the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Some of the Turco-Iranian wars took place
in the geographical area called Armenia. However, Armenians living in the area are not
mentioned, either in Ottoman or Iranian history. It is only recorded in Armenian history
that during the 1603-4 wars, Shah Abbas transferred Armenians of Erivan and Julfa to the
interior of Iran.(1) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As to the Ottoman Empire, it is known
that Mehmet II, the Conqueror, brought the Armenian bishop Hovakim from Bursa to Istanbul
and gave him the title of Armenian Patriarch. Earlier, in 1453, after the conquest of
Istanbul, Gennadius II was brought to the Orthodox Patriarchate, whereby two Patriarchates
were established in Istanbul. The Patriarchate was the sole authority in the Armenian
community, not only in religious matters, but in personal and family matters as well. The
Patriarch had the authority to inflict both ecclesiastical and civil penalties on his
people; he could imprison or exile clergy at will, and though the consent of the
government was necessary to imprison or exile laymen, such firmans (imperial decrees) were
generally easily obtained. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Those who believed in the dual nature of
Christ were under the Orthodox Patriarchate. The Monophysites, on the other hand,
comprising the Armenian, Syrian Jacobite, Coptic, and Abyssinian communities, while
retaining their own autocephalous hierarchies, were made subject to the jurisdiction of
the Armenian Patriarchate. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Although the Catholicates of Sis and
Akdamar were superior from the point of view of religious hierarchy, the Istanbul
Patriarchate had considerably more authority from a legal point of view. The Catholicate
of Etchmiadzin, in Iran, could not have its presence felt in the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians were leading a normal life
in the Ottoman Empire,without any reason to complain. `From the day that the patriarchate
and a strong Armenian colony were established at Constantinople, that city gradually
became the real center of Armenian ecclesiastical and national life. By the beginning of
the nineteenth century the Armenians of Constantinople were numbered upward of 150,000,
the largest Armenian community in the world.(2) And there was no state which was
interested in this community. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Although the frontiers of Kasri Sirin
were not changed despite the subsequent Turco-Iranian wars, and although there was no
situation of interest for the Armenians living in Caucasia, the intention of the Russians
to advance to southern Caucasia indicated that the future was ripe for new developments. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia for the first time invaded the
khanate of Kuba, to the north of Baku, by transferring soldiers from the area of the
Caspian Sea during the 1723-7 Ottoman-Iranian wars. However, the death of Peter the Great
put an end to this. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1768 a war broke out between the
Ottoman Empire and Russia, because of events in Poland. During this war, which ended with
the defeat of the Turks on the western front and with the Kuchuk Kaynarca truce in 1774,
Russians came to southern Caucasia for the first time through the Darial pass. In
collaboration with the Georgian forces, they conquered Kutaisi and besieged Poti. Another
branch of the Russian army went on to Ahiska branch of the Russian army went on to Ahiska
through the Koura pass.(3) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Kuchuk Kaynarca Truce gave the area
of Kabartay, to the south of Caucasia, to the Russians, and it also included a clause
which gave the Russians the right to protect Christians living in Turkey. (We do not
report the clauses concerning the western borders, as they are outside our topic of
discussion.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After this truce, Russia followed a
policy of invading the Ottoman Empire piece by piece, and the aim of protecting Christians
increasingly gained importance. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1783, Russia made a pact with the
Eastern Georgian princes, and thus brought them under its patronage. In 1787, Catherine
the Great and Joseph II, the Austrian Emperor, met in the city of Kerson in the Crimea,
and discussed the division of the Ottoman Empire between them. According to this plan,
known as the `Greek Scheme', an independent Orthodox state, `Dacia', would be established
in Moldavia-Wallachia and Bessarabia; the area between the Dnieper and Bug rivers would be
given to Russia; Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina would be given to Austria; the Mora
peninsula, Crete and Cyprus would be given to the Republic of Venice; in the event of the
conquest of Istanbul, the Empire of Byzantium would be restored as an independent
state.(4) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia
on 13 August 1787, because of this and similar events. Austria was allied with Russia. The
war ended on 9 January 1792, with the truce of Yash, without any frontier changes. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the Iranians attacked Tiflis in
1795, Russia invaded the southeastern Caucasus, Kuba, Baku, Derbent, Shirvan, and the
Karabagh principalities, but took its armies back after Catherine the Great died and Paul
became Tsar. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia annexed Georgia in 1801. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1806 another war broke out between the
Ottomans and the Russians, because of the Moldavia-Wallachia events. The Bucharest Pact in
1812 gave the area of Rion, to the west of Souram in the Caucasus, to the Russians. In
1813, by the Treaty of Butistan between Iran and Russia, Russia annexed the coast of the
Caspian Sea. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Abbas Mirza, Shah of Iran, wanted to
annul this treaty. The subsequent war ended on 18 February 1828 with the Turkmenchai Pact,
and Iran, in addition to the region she had lost in 1813, was forced to abandon the
khanates of Erivan and Nahjivan to Russia. Thus, the present-day RussianIranian border was
established. Armenian volunteers fought in this war with the Russians. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians living under Iranian rule
in southern Caucasus were thus brought under Russian domination. The Catholicate of
Etchmiadzin was also now part of the Russian Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1828, Russia declared war on the
Ottoman Empire, which was in difficulty because of the Greek rebellion, started with the
instigation and help of the Russians. The war, which began on 26 April, was fought on two
fronts; General Paskevitch's forces, which were freed of their engagement after the
Turkmenchai Pact, attacked from the east. During this war, the Russian armies advanced up
to Erzurum. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Truce of Adrianople, signed on 14
September 1829, gave, on the eastern frontier, all the forts (Anapa, Poti), as well as
Ahiska, Ahilkelek, and the areas of Akchur, to Russia, and the Ottoman Empire thus
recognized that Georgia was now under Russian rule. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>With this truce the entire Caucasus
became part of the Russian Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians living in the area, who
were well incited and had welcomed the Russians with open arms in their advance towards
Erzurum, opted for living under Russian rule when peace was established. The Muslims
living in the area left to the Russians in turn opted for living under the Ottomans. Thus,
about 100,000 Armenians went to Russia from Erzurum and Alashkird.(5) `. . . many
thousands of Armenians. . . were settled in the newly incorporated regions of Erevan,
Akhakkalaki and Akhaltzikhe. The Erevan province, later the core of S.S.R. Armenia, had at
this period a majority of Turkish Muslims.(6) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the truce of Turkmenchai, the Tsar
had proclaimed the khanates of Erivan and Nahjivan as an Armenian province, and the entire
population as `Russian'. At that time, the Armenians were hoping that the province would
become independent, and that the Tsar would assume the title of `King of Armenia' just as
he was `King of Poland'. These hopes did not last long. In1849 Caucasia was divided in
two, with an administrative reorganization. The province of Georgia and the Caspian
province were established. The former province of Armenia was brought under the
jurisdiction of the Georgian province. This arrangement lasted for only four years. The
Muslims of Caucasia did not want to live under Russian rule, and started a struggle under
the leadership of Sheik Shamil. After this, Prince Vorontsov was appointed regent in 1844
to Caucasia, which was reunited, to establish order in the region. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Vorontsov considered it more useful to
form small provinces in Caucasia, and formed first the provinces of Kutais, Tiflis,
Shemakh and Derbent. These provinces were further subdivided. The majority of the Armenian
community was within the province of Tiflis. After a while, Vorontsov formed the province
of Erivan, which corresponded to the former province of Armenia. In later years, the
borders and names of these provinces underwent some changes.(7) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the Pact of Adrianople, the Ottoman
Empire was struggling with the Mehmet Ali rebellion and could not contain it. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>While this struggle was continuing,
Sultan Mahmut II had died, and Abdulmejid ascended the throne on 1 July 1839. On 3
November,1839, Foreign Minister Reshid Pasha read a firman in Gulhane Park, in which
various reforms were announced: `. . . It is necessary to formulate new laws for the
satisfactory administration of our great state and country. The main points of these
necessary laws are, to ensure the right to life, honour, and property, to establish the
collecting of taxes, to fix procedures for the </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>recruiting of soldiers and the duration
of military service.' </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Constitutional Reforms envisaged were
aimed at establishing a just tax system, strongly punishing bribery, making the courts
public, abolishing unjust punishment, and reducing military service to 4-5 years. In
addition, the Sultan declared that the reorganization would be applied to all subjects </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>of the state, without distinction between
Muslims and non-Muslims. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It can be said that the first positive
result of the Constitutional Reforms became apparent in Lebanon. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lebanon, all along, was a region
administered in a manner reminiscent of the old feudal system. The population was
comprised of Muslims and Christians. The Muslims, who had very few Sunnis among them, were
</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>formed by small sects, such as the
Druses, the Mutvhalis, the Nusairiye, and ' the Ismailiye. The Christians were formed by
the Maronites, the Greek Malocites and the Greek Catholics. The main two groups were the
Druses and the Maronites. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The `mukataa' system was prevalent in
Lebanon. The `mukataa' was a system which consisted of leaving the farming of taxes to
contractors through a kind of auction. The contractor would reserve one eighth of the
collected taxes to himself, and the rest would be given to the governor of the region.
This system was practised in areas outside the `Timar' system (small military fief).
Because the contractors in Lebanon were invariably members of the local nobility, they had
been treating the local people like slaves for centuries. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>From the beginning of the l7th century,
two families became prominent, and they were the ones chosen to rule the feudality. The
most renowned of them was the Ma'n oßullari and the other was the Shihabi family. From
the beginning of the l8th century, the Shihabis ruled the feudality. Mir Beshir Omer, who
was the Governor of Lebanon during the Mehmet Ali rebellion, was dismissed from office in
1840, when the Egypt problem was solved, and his nephew, Beshir Ibni Kasim, was appointed
in his place. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Before the Egyptian events, the annual
tax paid by Lebanon to the Treasury was 2,650 purses of gold. During the invasion, Ibrahim
Pasha of Egypt had increased this sum to 6,550 purses. After Ottoman rule was established,
the new Governor appointed to Lebanon reduced this amount to 3,500 purses. Nevertheless,
the local people wanted a return to the original amount, but, the treasury being empty,
this could not be granted. This situation led to the revolt of the Muslim Druses. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>On the other hand, as Governor Mehmet
Selim Pasha abolished the `mukataa' system within the framework of the Constitutional
Reforms Edict, and instituted direct collection of taxes, the Christian collectors
rebelled, as they were convinced that this new system would diminish their influence and
authority. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Thus, in 1840, the Druses and the
Maronites rebelled, and this rebellion gave rise to conflicts between the two groups. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Under these circumstances, France, as the
protector of the Catholics, and Britain who supported France, interfered at the level of
the Babiali (the Sublime Porte, the Turkish Government), and consequently Mustapha Nuri
Pasha was sent to Lebanon in 1840 with unlimited authority to deal with the situation. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Mustapha Nuri Pasha dismissed Governor
Beshir and divided Lebanon into two districts, one Druse, the other Maronite, responsible
to the Governor of Lebanon in Saida. He also reinstituted the `mukataa' system. However,
this preventive measure was not effective because the population was not separated in a
distinct manner, and the conflicts and the interference of foreign powers continued. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1843 Mustapha Nuri Pasha was called
back, and was replaced by Admiral Halil Rifat Pasha. Rifat Pasha, too, concentrated on the
matter of demarcating the boundaries of the Druse and Maronite districts, and established
Ministries in areas where the population was heterogeneous. (The Minister was the person
who would direct the collecting of the minority's taxes, instead of its being managed by
the collectors of the majority.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>However, the preventive measures were,
once again, unsuccessful, owing to the conflicts within the population, on the one hand,
and the provocation of the Christian population by the French Consul on the other, and
1843 was marked by constant incidents. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Lebanon events have no relation to
the Armenian question, but they constitute the first occasion on which France, Britain,
Russia, and Austria interfered to promote reforms for the religious minorities. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As the Lebanon topic was being taken
temporarily off the agenda in 1846, the question of the `Holy Places' was appearing. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The `Holy Places' are the church and the
cave of Bethlehem in Jerusalem where Christ was born, Christ's tomb and its church, and
other such places. While various Christian sects had the right of worship here, the
Catholics had been given the right, during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, to keep
the keys, and to maintain the `Holy Places'. Later, this right was given in 1634 to the
Orthodox Church, as a result of some disagreements with France. From this date, the matter
became a source of disputes between the two Churches. These disputes had nothing to do
with either Muslims or the Ottoman Empire, but because Jerusalem was within the Empire,
the Empire was indirectly involved with them. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1853, Catholics had been granted a
right to repair the Bethlehem Church. This provoked an objection by the Orthodox Church
and consequently by Russia, its protector. France, too, had been requesting the return of
the rights previously belonging to Catholics. The Babiali decided, after having had a
Commission investigate the situation, to have Muslims perform the services which the two
churches could not share between them. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At this point, the Tsar sent Admiral
Prince Menchikov, Commander of the Baltic Fleet, General-Governor of Finland, Minister of
Marine, to Istanbul on a special mission. Menchikov, who arrived at Istanbul on 28
February 1853, gave an ultimatum to the Babiali, demanding that the question of the `Holy
Places' be resolved as soon as possible to the advantage of Russia, and that a sound and
irreversible guarantee be given to Russia on the privileges of the Orthodox Church. It is
known that the real intention of Russia was to divide the Ottoman Empire, which she
considered the Sick Man of Europe, and that she had proposed this scheme to Sir Hamilton
Seymour, the British Ambassador in St Petersburg. (The documents concerning this matter
were later published by the British.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Babiali refused this demand, which
would have meant the official acceptance of Russian protection of the Orthodox subjects.
On 21 May, Menchikov left Istanbul, along with the Russian Embassy staff, and declared
that diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Empire and Russia were broken off. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This incident eventually led to the
Crimean War. We do not dwell on details irrelevant to our topic, but there is a subject
which should be mentioned. It is reported in various Western sources that there were some
clauses in the agreement signed by the Ottomans, the British, and the French against
Russia on 12 March 1854, stating that Turkey would be granting certain rights to its
Christian subjects. There is no such clause in the text of the agreement. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We want to mention only the eastern front
of the war, which began with the entry of the Russians into Moldavia-Wallachia on 3 July
1853, and then moved to the Crimea. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the Ottoman Empire declared war on
4 October 1853, Abdulkerim Pasha attacked, in the east, in the direction of Ahiska and
Gumru, but, having been defeated at Gumru on 14 October, retreated to Arpachay. As he
could not take a hold in the battle of Bashgedikler on 1 February, he retreated to Kars,
which the Russians besieged. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Subsequently, the war offensives on the
eastern front were limited to the siege of Kars. Alexander Iç, who ascended the throne
after Nicholas ç died on 2 March 1855, wanted to put an end to the war, especially after
Sebastopol fell on 9 September. He declared a general attack on Kars on 29 September, in
order to have won a victory. Although the 15,000 Turks inflicted over 7,000 losses on the
40,000 Russians, Kars surrendered on 28 November 1855, because of famine. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In order to put an end to the war, a
protocol was signed on 1 February 1856. The fourth article of this protocol showed that
the sovereignty of the Sultan and his state's administrative integrity would constitute
one of the bases for peace. The Sultan would automatically confirm the guarantee he had
given with regard to the legal equality with Muslims of Christians living as Ottoman
subjects. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>A ceasefire was declared after a decision
to have the peace conference meet in Paris in three weeks. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>On 18 February 1856, the Babiali declared
the Imperial Reform Edict, which confirmed the decrees of the Gulhane Edict. The main
decrees of the Reform Edict are as follows. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1. The carrying out of reforms will
introduce a new and auspicious era, as the external situation is strengthened through the
endeavours and assistance of the allies. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2. The inviolability of the right to
life, property, and honour granted to every subject without disciminating on the basis of
religion or sect, according to the Gulhane edict, is repeated and confirmed. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>3.Privileges given since the reign of
Mehmet II, the Conqueror, to nonMuslim communities, have been retained, along with
spiritual immunities. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>4.Special assemblies will be formed by
the Patriarchates under the supervision of the government, to reconcile these privileges
and immunities with the new conditions and needs. The decisions of these assemblies will
be submitted to the Babiali, and will become definite by the approval of the government. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>5. The election procedure of the
Patriarchs will be revised, and spiritual leaders such as the patriarchs, the Catholic,
Greek, and Armenian bishops, and the rabbis to be appointed for life will take an oath of
loyalty to the State. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>6. The favours and revenues given by the
congregations to their spiritual leaders will be abolished, and they will receive salaries
instead. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>7. Congregational m?tters will be
transferred to assemblies comprised of spiritual and secular members. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>8. Although the restoration of public
places belonging to the congregations, such as schools, hospitals, cemeteries, will not be
prevented if they are in accordance with their original form, to build them anew will be
contingent on permission granted by the government. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>9. In homogeneous areas inhabited by the
congregation of one sect, outward and public worship will be permitted. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>10. All sects, regardless of their size,
will equally enjoy religious freedom. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>11. Every expression and discriminating
words, stating that a certain congregation is held in an inferior position to another
congregation because of differences of religion, language, and race, will be for ever
removed from official correspondences. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>12. The usage of such expressions by
officials and the people will be officially forbidden. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>13. No one will be forced to change his
religion. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>14. Every subject can be a government
official, regardless of his race or sect. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>15. Every individual having the necessary
legal competence and qualifications will obtain the right to enter the Military and the
Civil Servants' School, regardless of his religion. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>16. The establishment of schools for
non-Muslims will be permitted, on condition that they are supervised and inspected by an
Education Assembly, a heterogeneous body, which would also supervise and establish their
programme, and appoint their instructors. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>17. Mixed courts will be established for
commercial and murder cases occurring between Muslims and non-Muslims, or exclusively
among nonMuslims, and the trials will be public. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>18. Cases such as inheritance
disagreements occurring among nonMuslims can be transferred, by request of the interested
parties, to the Patriarchs and spiritual assemblies. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>19. Laws exclusively concerning commerce
and murder cases will be </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>codified as soon as possible, and will be
translated and published in various languages spoken in the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>20. Prisons will be reformed to reconcile
the requirements of justice with human rights. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>21. All treatments such as corporal
punishment, torment, and torture have been abolished; officials who, in spite of this,
engage in torture, or have others engage in torture, will be punished as required in
accordance with articles to be included in the Criminal Law. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>22. Legal equality being dependent on
equality of duties, non-Muslims will be obliged, like Muslims, to do their military
service. They will have the right to actively perform their duty, as well as the right to
acquit themselves of their duty by paying the necessary sum. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>23. A corollary regulation with regard to
the method of employment of non-Muslims in the army will be published as soon as possible.
(Two main possibilities have been proposed. Although there were some who suggested
establishing a battalion for every sect, it was ultimately preferred to form mixed
batallions.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>24. Regulations will be compiled to
ensure the fair election of Muslim and non-Muslim members of the province and district
assemblies, and to ensure that fraudulent elections do not occur. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>25. Subsequent to procedural arrangements
with the Powers, foreigners will be granted the right to possess property in Turkey, on
condition that they conform to the laws to which the local people are subject. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>26. The system of employing an
intermediary in collecting public revenue (iltizam) will be abolished, and taxes will be
directly collected by the State. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>27. The application of the law compiled
after the reforms, concerning the budget known as `the book of annual incomes and
expenses', will be given serious attention. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>28. Regular payment of salaries will
begin. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>29. In matters concerning all the
subjects of the State, the spiritual leader of every congregation, along with its official
appointed for one year by the government, will participate in the negotiations of `Meclisi
Valay-i Ahkam-i Adliyye', a law court established in 1837 to deal with cases of high
officials. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>30. The members of this court will speak
freely during the discussions, and the content of their speech will never be used against
them. </strong></font></p>
<ol>
<li><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Regulations concerning the prevention of bribery will be
applied without exception to all officials.(8) </strong></font></li>
</ol>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ottoman Empire wanted to prove that
the Reform Edict was prepared with her own initiative, by publishing it before the Paris
Conference. Moreover, it was explicitly stated in the Peace Agreement signed on 30 March
1856 that communicating this edict to foreign states by no means gave the right to those
states to interfere with the internal affairs of the Ottoman Empire. But this was only to
save appearances. In actuality the right to protect Christians was given to all the
powers, instead of only Russia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It cannot be stated that the Reform Edict
satisfied non-Muslims. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The most important rights given to
non-Muslims to please Europe, were their opportunity to enter civil and military schools,
and to become civil servants, the possibility to transfer their inheritance cases to
Patriarchates, the publishing of murder and commerce laws in the languages of the
minorities, contrary to the official language principle, the representation of a11
congregations with two representatives from each, at the higher court, and finally, the
extending of the right to property to foreigners. Among these, the right given to
Patriarchates to administer justice, even if limited, was an infringement of the judiciary
sovereignty of the State. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>There are many regulations in the Reform
Edict, to the advantage, as well as to the disadvantage of the non-Muslim minorities. The
obligation to do one's military service, the reexamination of religious privileges and
exemptions granted since the reign of Mehmet çç, the Conqueror, the abolition of
arbitrary fees exacted by priests all along from their congregations, and giving salaries,
instead, to priests, and the obligation of all spiritual leaders to take the oath of
devotion, were to the disadvantage of non-Muslims. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>For this reason, Muslims as well as
non-Muslims were against the Reform Edict. The ones who were affiicted the most were the
priests, who after having plundered for centuries, to use Engelhardt's term, now had their
income reduced with the abolition of the favours and revenues demanded from the
congregations. As for the common folk, who were now freed from being robbed, they were
displeased by the military service obligation. For, from the beginning of Ottoman history,
it had been the Muslims, and especially the Turks, who had shed their blood, while
non-Muslims lived comfortably by themselves. For this reason, it is even said that, after
the Babiali firman was read, and when it was being put into the satin pouch, the Bishop of
Izmir said: `Let us pray to God, that this firman is never taken out of that pouch.' The
Orthodox Church attempted to portray the reexamination of privileges as interference by
the Government in the affairs of the Patriarchate, even as its attempt to abolish them.
Undoubtedly the `favours and revenues' question had a great deal to do with the Church's
attempt to engage in negative propaganda through the newspapers, to open the way for
possible European intervention.(9) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In this manner, after the Paris Truce,
the four powers (Russia, Britain, France, Austria) began to intervene, on the pretext of
protecting religious minorities. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The first such intervention took place
because of new confiicts in Lebanon on 27 May 1860. Approximately 500 Maronites had
attacked a Druse village, and Sait Bey from the Janbulat family led the Druses and
attacked the Maronites; thus, the confiict spread. The Ottoman Empire immediately sent
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ketchejizade Fouat Bey to Lebanon to implement the necessary
measures. As France attempted military intervention, other powers intervened, and a
protocol was signed on 3 August 1860 between the Ottoman Empire, France, Britain, Austria,
and Russia, with the aim of jointly sending soldiers to help Turkey and to facilitate the
implementation of reforms. The French sent a force of 6,000 soldiers, while the others
sent warships. Thus, 5 French, 5 British, 2 Russian, and 1 Austrian ship arrived at
Beirut. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Because Ketchejizade Fouat Bey had taken
all the necessary measures before the French soldiers came, their arrival was only a show
of force. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Lebanon question was solved on 9 July
1861, with the organization of the country as a privileged and independent district. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have included this topic, irrelevant
to our subject, as an example of how the great powers understood the Reform Edict. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>These events occurring until 1856 show
that, until then, Russia and other powers were not interested in the Armenian community
within the Empire, that Russia aimed at having a say in the Empire by having the Ottoman
Orthodox minority under her absolute protection, to ensure the superiority of the Greek
Orthodox Church and consequently of the National Russian Church. French interest lay in
the Catholics. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>While these events were occurring,
various changes were happening within the Armenian community, in the order established
since 1461, and consequently some discontent was becoming apparent. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This community constitutes the very life
of Turkey, for the Turks, long accustomed to rule rather than serve, have relinquished to
them all branches of industry. Hence the Armenians are the bankers, merchants, mechanics,
and traders of all sorts in Turkey. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Besides, there exists a congeniality and
community of interest between them and the Musulmans. For, being originally from the same
region, they were alike in their habits and feelings; therefore, easily assimilating
themselves to their conquerors, they gained their confidence, and became and still are the
most influential of all the rayahs. There is not a pasha, or a grandee, who is not
indebted to them, either pecuniarily, or for his promotion, and the humblest peasant owes
them the value of the very seed he sows; so that without them the Osmanlis could not
survive a single day. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This is a fact so well attested, that
Russia, with the design of undermining Turkey, always endeavoured to gain over this part
of the population, and in 1828, when she took possession of Erzeroum, she enticed the
Armenians of that place to acts of violence and revenge against the Turks, so that when
the Russians retired, the Armenians were obliged to emigrate with them.(10) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>These statements, attesting to the fact
that the community had a certain place within Ottoman society, and that it led a normal
life, were published in 1857. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is nevertheless useful to examine in
an overview how and why this discontent came about. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have noted the attempts of the Vatican
to bring the Gregorian Church under its sphere of influence during the rule of the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, and the transferring of the Catholicate from Sis to
Etchmiadzin to avoid falling under the influence of the Catholic Church. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>While there was no organic link between
the Churches, many Gregorian Armenians were being drawn, or went, into the Catholic
religion. In the beginning, these individuals did not sever their links with the Gregorian
Church, and were using a given church for specific reasons. For example, they were going
to the Catholic Church to confess, while this practice was not accepted by the Gregorians.
But as, in the course of time, the number of Catholics increased, the Armenian Patriarch
felt it neccessary to take sides. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Mekhitarists, who played an important
role in the consciousness of Armenian nationalism, had been founded by a priest converted
to Catholicism. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Mekhitar was born towards the end of the
l7th century, in Sivas. . . . He became a monk at the early age of fifteen. . . . He
became a priest when he was twenty years old. . . . Soon he was preoccupied by an idea
which he later tried to resolve, and he began his attempt to unify the Roman Church and
the Armenian Patriarchate. In 1700 he left his native land with a few disciples, with the
aim of founding a congregation whose difficult task was to bring the education necessary
to Armenia. After he stayed for a while in Constantinople, where he published his first
books, . . . was forced to leave, and chose as a meeting place with his companians, the
city of Modon, then under Venetian rule. . . . Because of an invasion by the Turks, the
congregation was obliged to leave, and arrived in Venice in 1715. In 1717, the Senate
conceded for ever the island of St. Lazarus to Mekhitar and his companions. . . . The
conquest of Italy by general Bonaparte called in question once again the existence of the
congregation, for a decree had abolished all the convents. Saint-Lazarus escaped this
measure, by transforming itself into an Armenian Academy, which was facilitated by the
scientific direction given to the works of the order's members. Since this period, the
Armenian Academy of Saint Lazarus of Venice has continued to exist and to develop along
with the order itself. (11) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the number of Catholic Armenians
increased, despite the efforts of the Armenian Patriarch, the Armenian Catholics were
recognized as a separate community for the first time on 27 February 1830, through the
efforts of the French Ambassador, and Hagopos Chukuryan was appointed Patriarch of this
community on 22 December 1831. The Patriarchate, which was established in the beginning at
Adana, was later transferred to Istanbul. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have mentioned the activities of the
missionaries. Although missionaries claimed that they were not having anybody change their
religion or sect, the number in the Ottoman Empire who were converting to the Protestant
faith was increasing. This time, because of the insistence of the British Ambassador,
despite the objections of the Russian Embassy and the Armenian Patriarchate, the
Protestant Armenians became a separate community in 1859. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Another source of discontent of the
Armenian Patriarchate, which witnessed the gradual erosion of its community, were
developments, which appeared especially after the Constitutional Reforms, in the
organization of the Gregorian Armenian community. We will approach this subject by
summarizing an article by Migirdich B. Dadian, because, in our opinion, we can follow
these developments best through the writings of an Armenian author. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This religious leader with the title of
Patriarch is not only the spiritual leader of the community, but its secular leader as
well. He was given this religious authority, like all the bishops and archbishops of the
Armenian Church, by the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin. Approximately 50 regions were under the
jurisdiction of the Istanbul Centre. Before the reorganization in 1860, the Patriarch
could at will dismiss the Bishops he had appointed. He could annul their status as bishop,
which they were given by the Catholicos, as well as take away their right to administer
their areas. He even had the right to shave off their beards. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As the responsible chief, answerable to
the Babiali, he was responsible to ensure the collection of the land tax. Among his duties
was to resolve various disputes as a judge. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This dual authority could have produced
useful, advantageous results in the absence of opposition by an adverse power. However,
there was in Istanbul an Assembly, selected from among the Armenian aristocracy, called
the `National Council'. This assembly was a constant source of intrigues and disputes. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This situation continued until 1839,
without a major problem other than a few complaints. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1844, during the time of Patriarch
Matheos Chuhajiyan, the structure of the National Council was transformed. It was decided
that it should be comprised of 30 members,16 of whom were to be selected from among the
nobility and 14 from professional associations. The Patriarch would choose those
representing the professional associations. Another change came about in 1847. It was
decided that two councils should be formed, one dealing with religious matters, the other
with remaining matters, and that the members of the Council should be elected. These
principles became effective through a firman of the Sultan on March 9,1847. This was a
blow to the noble class. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When Matheos left the Patriarchate in
1848, Agob Serobian, who had previously been the Patriarch, replaced him despite the
opposition of the nobility. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Reform Edict of 1856 was decreed
during Serobian's rule. Upon the declaration of the firman, the Armenians wanted to
abolish oppression by the nobility, by drawing up a new `National Regulation'. In 1859, as
the Council dealing with religious matters was being reselected, the majority of nobles
were not included. The new Council formed a Commission to prepare a regulation. The
activities of this Commission severed further the relations between the nobility and the
other group. As a result of disputes, Gevorg Kerestejiyan, the Patriarch, was forced to
resign. The election of Sergis Kuyumjiyan, who replaced him, gave rise to serious
conflicts. Finally the Council accepted the draft regulation on May 24,1860, and presented
it to the Babiali. The Babiali ratified it with some minor changes, with a firman on March
17,1863, and made it effective. (12) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This information, which we have
summarized from Dadian, is in agreement with Ottoman records, and as a matter of fact was
included in the same way in all the sources relating to this subject. The conclusion of
Dadian's article is of particular interest. We shall quote it below. The point to be
emphasized is that the Armenians had no problem with the State, that they could administer
their internal affairs almost independently, without the Government intervening in the
decisions they took concerning themselves, and that all this was taking place without the
interest or the support of any foreign country. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>More than a hundred years have passed
since the article was written in 1867. Today, in various countries in the world Armenian
communities of varying size are living. Not one of these communities has freedom to this
extent. It is obvious that the privileges present in the Ottoman Empire were nothing less
than a landless autonomy. A landless nation's autonomy was a practice unheard-of in
international law, and these opportunities were officially given by the Babiali to the
Armenian community, at a time when no state was interested in them, and there was no such
subject as the Armenian Question'. As a matter of fact, these very privileges opened the
way to the emergence of this question. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Dadian's article ends with the following
statements: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have thus reported the changes
undergone by this important Armenian sector subject to the Sultan's laws. With the
approval of the Government, this community was provided with a constitution, whose main
principle was the sovereignty of the people, and favourable initiatives were taken to
revive national education. </strong></font></p>
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<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In these attempts at reform, the
cooperation of the clergy was apparent, but it was not extensive. In many cases it
remained detached from, or stranger to, the developments which were strengthening the
nation. While everything around it was in motion, it was motionless. Consequently, the
influence it previously had, without ever having to impose it, was now diminished. The new
generation is not consenting to being directed by the clergy with the same docility, and
does not go under its authority of its own accord, as previous generations had done. .
Armenians. . . along with the Christian creeds, maintained their language, customs, and
traditions, and did not lose their identity within the society they were living in, as was
the case with many other communities. . . . East Asia commerce is in their hands, they
travel continuously and have extensive contacts. They can well be an intermediary between
Asia and Europe, if the expression is appropriate, the spreaders of Western
civilization." </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Such is the opinion of an Armenian living
outside the Ottoman Empire about the situation of Armenians in the Empire, an opinion
published in 1867, in a newspaper in France. It is necessary to keep this in mind, while
evaluating subsequent events. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The statement which calls for attention
here is the observation that the Church was distant from, or stranger to, the developing
thoughts and events. It is not difficult to consider this as a polite statement, and to
recognize that the Church did not actually want these developments. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian National Regulation' made
effective in 1863 had 99 paragraphs. An Assembly of 140 members was established; 20
members were to be selected from among the Istanbul priests, 40 members from the
provinces, and 80 members from Istanbul. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The former 14-member religious assembly
and the 20-member political assembly were maintained, but the regulation that their
election be made by the national assembly was new. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The election of the Patriarch, too, had
to be performed by the national assembly. While the Religious Assembly could nominate
candidates, the National Assembly had the right to appoint a Patriarch from outside the
candidates. The appointment of the Patriarch would be definitive with a firman. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The regulation also stated that the
election of the Patriarch of Jerusalem was to be made by the National Assembly. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The `Armenian National Regulation'
constituted a change, not from the vantage point of the condition of Armenians within the
state, but concerning the authority of the Patriarch. It did not consider this authority
as absolute any more, but rather, meant the sharing of this authority between the
Patriarch and the Armenian nation. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Dadian's statements concerning the
subject of culture are also worth quoting: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The first newspaper written in Armenian
was published in 1859. After the `Armenian National Regulation' was published, the number
of newspapers increased. We should nevertheless confess that, while the press gained in
importance, it did not fulfil the duty expected of it. However, there was no obstacle to
restrain it nor outside pressure to influence it. While some newspapers chose to defend
the Church by giving priority to religious subjects, others began to shake the foundations
of national faith, and did not hide any more their inclination towards Protestant ideas. .
Between 1839 and 1866 the number of daily newspapers in Istanbul reached (14) Even in Van,
which was the most remote province, a newspaper was published. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In Istanbul Armenian books were being
printed during the l7th century. Mekhitar had printed his first books at the beginning of
the l8th century in Istanbul. When an Armenian printing office in Marseilles was closed b
Louis XIV (13) Armenians had no complaint about the freedom˘of press in the Ottoman
Empire, and this freedom was increasing. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>These developments were laying the
foundations of a serious problem for the Gregorian Church. On the one hand, the Armenian
nation was converting to other churches, and Catholic and Protestant `Armenian nations'
were emerging within the Empire, and on the other hand, part of the authority of the
Gregorian Church was being transferred from the Patriarch to the Armenian nation. The
Patriarch had no power to turn over to someone else the authority and privileges given to
him through firmans. While the Babiali did not object to this situation, if the climate of
freedom developing in the country were to bring about a situation which would not require
having different status because of belonging to different religions, then these rights
transferred to the people would be abolished, and the Patriarch would remain only as a
religious leader. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In addition, the ambition of Russia to
destroy the Ottoman Empire, to restore Byzantium by taking Istanbul, had become apparent.
If this possibility were to be realized, then the independent character and existence of
the Gregorian Church might be abolished, and Russia, which was much more powerful than
Byzantium, might achieve what Byzantium was unable to do, namely, to incorporate the
Gregorian Church. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Under these circumstances, something had
to be done for the Church to be able to exist, to maintain its influence, and to regain
the privileges it had lost. Pastermadjian commented: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As far as the Armenian nation is
concerned, its aspirations, as they were expressed by the national movement in the second
half of the l9th century, could aim at neither the establishment of an independent
Armenia, nor the annexation of Turkish Armenia by the Empire of the Czars. It was in fact
evident that Czarist Russia was opposed to the creation of an Armenian State, because such
a State would have been an inevitable attraction for the Armenian subjects of the Empire,
and would have reinforced, by its very existence, the aspirations of the peoples of
Transcaucasia for greater autonomy. As for the annexation of Turkish Armenia by Russia,
its result would have been the extending to this region of the policy of gradual
russification of the allogeneous peoples, which was the policy of the czarist government.
Such an annexation would have therefore constituted a serious danger for preserving the
Armenian cultural patrimony. (14) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The only hope for the survival of the
Church was the establishment of an autonomous Armenia bound to the Ottoman Empire. The
constitution of this autonomous Armenia was ready anyway. The only thing that remained to
be done was to demarcate the borders of an area. From 1856 on, this idea became more and
more expressed. Patriarch Hrimyan was its most outspoken advocate. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Undoubtedly this idea was shared by the
Church of Etchmiadzin, and was even spread by it. For, after the Turkmenchai Truce was
signed, the Catholicos, who was hoping to become the ruler of an independent Armenia, had
been disillusioned. To examine the developments in Russia wil( be useful in comparing the
condition of Armenians in these two countries. We quote M. Varandian and E. Aknouni: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The secular yoke of Muslims (Turks and
Persians) was a terrible burden for the Armenian populations. Nevertheless, these
populations were not losing their hope of a future resurrection. And, besides, the whole
of Armenia was not enslaved and condemned to a dismal and eternal silence. There were some
mountainous regions, - Zeitoun, Sassoun, Karabagh, etc. - which had been able to keep a
semi-independence and where the spirit of rebellion was manifesting itself from time to
time through audacious unexpected attacks against the foreign despots. At the beginning of
the l8th century, some insurrections broke out in the vast region of Karabagh, in Persian
Armenia. An Armenian Prince endowed with rare fighting abilities, David-Bek, led the
movement and won brilliant victories. The struggle continued for many years. It was a
perpetual guerrilla-type action with the aim of driving the Muslims out of the country. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>An important fact was encouraging the
Armenians and was pushing them to the most brutal adventures. To the North, the great
Christian Power, Russia, had expressed its project of descending towards Caucasia, and was
assuming the role of protecting the small Christian communities. The despots of Turkey and
Persia were beginning to tremble in front of the new colossus and Armenian expectations
were growing. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is only at the beginning of the l9th
century that the armies of the Czar arrived at Transcaucasian Armenia, and little by
little conquered vast regions there. In 182(r27, after a bloody war, Russia took two large
Armenian provinces, Erivan and Nahjivan, from Persia. The entire Armenian population,
headed by the Patriarch Nerses Ashtarak, participated actively in this liberation war. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>A Russian Armenia was created. There is
no need to dwell on the regime instituted by Czarist Russia. For approximately a century,
Russian Armenians complained on many occasions of the crimes of this regime. Nevertheless,
the changing of the yoke brought some relief to the Armenian populations, who, under the
new regime, enjoyed a relative guarantee of their life and property. This minimum security
was sufficient for the Armenians to engage in first-rate activity in Caucasia, to give
free scope to their aptitudes in the field of commerce, industry, and intellectual life in
the main centres: Tiflis, Baku, as well as in the provinces. Schools are being established
here and there, books and periodicals are published. (15) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>. . . . And when, at the beginning of the
l9th century, the gigantic struggle against very powerful Mohammedanism began, the
Armenian Church, although it had suffered so much, rushed into the conflict, relying upon
Etchmiadzin. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>And it is then that the Russian army,
representing the Russian people's anger against Muslim domination, went towards Caucasia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians took upon themselves to
guide [them) in this country bathed with their sweat and which was unknown to the ruler of
the future. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In Georgia, it was the nobility,
bellicose by nature, which created the movement; in Armenia, it was the clergy. And it was
the most valiant Armenian fighter of the time, Nerses Ashtarak, who was at the same time
the most capable politican, who headed the movement. Regiments of Armenian volunteers
appeared. Nerses, enraptured, made the following speech to his troops, in 1826: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>`Armenians! </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>`The hour of the deliverance of the
country of Ararat and of the Armenian people has come; Etchmiadzin can recover its former
independence. Rise and rebel brave Armenians! Shake off the Persian yoke, have old Ararat
leap for joy, bathe your fatherland with blood, and you shall live for ever free and
independent! </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>`The time has come! </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>`Forward! Now or never!' </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Nerses was enraptured by promises, either
official, or secret, coming from Petersburg in regard to the independence of the Armenian
provinces of Ararat, which were filling up with Armenian refugees coming from the
neighbouring regions belonging to Persia. Independent Armenian provinces, a free Church,
Etchmiadzin saved from the Mohammedan yoke, how glorious all this appeared, how
captivating was this delusion! </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>But as their domination was solidly
established, when the monarchical government no more needed either the Armenian clergy or
the popular forces to crush the Mohammedans, the wind changed and one started to hear
completely different speeches, and soon even threats.(16) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is mainly after 1863, after the
insurrection of Poland, which was so audacious but so little successful - a new attempt of
liberation by the generation which grew up after the movement of 1830 - that the policy of
russification of the enslaved nations was born. . . . 500 Armenian schools in Caucasia
were closed, and thus, 200,000 children from both sexes who were being educated, were
thrown into the street. . . . Acts of an inconceivable tyranny happened then: threats, the
whip and the bastinado were begun. (17) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>On page 72 of Aknouni's book, the
following statement is made: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The obligatory study of the Armenian
language had been for a long time abolished from Gymnasiums and state schools, for,
according to Russian statesmen, an Armenian has only two obligations in this world: 1) to
learn the Russian language; 2) to hate his mother tongue. And these two obligations are
considered equally indispensable. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have quoted above from two different
books. The authors of these two books are Armenian. There is a difference of twelve years
between their dates of publication. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In Russia, by the decree of the Tsar
dated 11 March 1836, a regulation known as Polijenia, concerning the administration of the
Catholicate was accepted. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Through this law, the Catholicos could
have authority only in spiritual matters, this authority would be checked by a Synod
Assembly, a representative of the Government would be present in this Assembly, and no
decision could be taken without the approval of this representative. The Catholicos could
correspond with churches in other countries only through the intermediary of the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The election of the Catholicos would be made in Etchmiadzin
by choosing between two candidates selected by representatives coming from other countries
too. This choice would be made by the Tsar himself. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>There was no question of the Catholicos
or the other bishops having any kind of authority or privilege in secular matters. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is possible that Etchmiadzin, facing
an increasing russification policy, and very severe measures against the Armenian
nationalistic movement, was convinced, as we have stated above, that one day it would be
altogether abolished, and thus attempted to persuade the Istanbul Patriarchate to
establish an autonomous Armenia in the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Such a thought was not in opposition to
the interests of Russia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have thus brought the subject to the
policies of the great powers. </strong></font></p>
<h3><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2. The policies of the great powers </strong></font></h3>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The policies of the great powers have not
been established on a day-to-day basis, and they have not followed a fixed and uniform
direction. Because it is impossible to set down in writing these policies one by one
within the chronological development of historical events, we will attempt to summarize
them as a whole, by looking at the period until the establishment of the Republic in
Turkey. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We stated previously that the decline and
fall of the Ottoman Empire coincided with the Karlowitz Pact of 1699. This pact opened the
way for dispossessing the Ottoman Empire, for the first time, of large areas of land.
Moreover, it was during this period that Russia began to make its presence felt in Europe.
</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At the beginning of the l8th century, the
main power in Europe was, of course, the Austrian Empire. After the second siege of
Vienna, Austria, who had not been able to achieve much with regard to the Ottomans for
over two centuries, and had been dispossessed of many lands, now followed the policy of
regaining the countries she had lost, which either belonged to her or were subject to her.
Hungary, Bosnia, Herzegovina, and Serbia were among these countries. Whenever it was
possible, Austria allied herself with Russia, in order to reach this goal. Russia took
part in the war which ended with Karlowitz in 1699. Austria expanded her Empire following
the 1716-18 war. As the Ottoman State declared war on Russia in 1736, Austria entered the
conflict in 1737 to gain more lands through this war. However, Russia and Austria having
lost the war, she had to return the lands she had gained by the Pasarovcha Pact of 1718. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Austria did not take part in the Russian
War of 1768-74. But as Russia started descending towards the Balkans, she became concerned
and felt the need to intervene to bring the war to an end. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Because Russia, too, felt that she would
not be left alone in the Balkans, she decided to ally with Austria, and Austria then
entered the OttomanRussian war of 1787. Austria was not successful in this war, either,
and gained nothing when peace was declared in 1792 with the Zishtovi Treaty. This was the
last war between the two countries, until both empires came to an end after the First
World War. From this date on, Austria was concerned by Russia's expansion in the Balkans,
and engaged in alliances with France, Britain, and Prussia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the German Empire was founded in
1870, Austria followed a policy parallel to Germany's, and Germany was the spokesman of
this group. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At the beginning of the l8th century,
Britain was busy attempting to destroy the French and Spanish hegemonies, and to establish
its independent empire at the expense of these states. For Britain, struggling with
France, Russia was a state which could put pressure on France and its ally, Prussia. For
this reason, Britain made various pacts with Russia. The most significant was signed in
1755. `With this pact, Russia would give 55,000 soldiers to Britain. When the troops were
to go outside the Russian borders, Britain would pay ú500,000 sterling per year to
Russia, and when they stayed in Russia, she would pay ú100,000 sterling per year. . . .
The two states signed a non-aggression pact in 1776; when Catherine the Great was sending
the Baltic Fleet to Turkish waters during the 1768-74 war, she was renting boats from
Britain, and the British Admiral Samuel Greigh was the commandant of the fleet which
destroyed the Ottoman Fleet in the Tcheshme harbour.(18) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Britain became interested in the Ottoman
Empire after the Kuchuk Kaynarja Treaty of 1774. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the Ottoman-Russian War started in
1787, William Pitt, who headed the British Government, realized for the first time that
the continuous advance of Russia towards the south would enable Russia to become a strong
power in the Black Sea, and constitute a danger to Britain. He thus felt the need to
support the Ottoman Empire against Russia. This policy, started by Pitt in 1783, continued
without change for a century, until Gladstone became Prime Minister. Pitt succeeded in
persuading Austria to leave the alliance with Russia during the Ottoman-Russian War of
1787-92, and began to put pressure on Russia, with the help of Prussia after the French
Revolution, and went so far as to decide to enter the war in order to end it and to ensure
the return of Odessa. In the event, Britain did not enter the war, owing to disagreements
within the government, and Russia was forced to end the war. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>From this time until 1814 there was
almost continuous war between Britain and France. Because of this, Britain supported
Russia in the Russian-Ottoman war of 1806, and even sent its fleet into the Marmara Sea,
despite its policy, in order not to remain alone against France. But when Russia and
France made an agreement at Tilsit in 1807, the Ottoman-British friendship was restored.
When the Congress of Vienna met in 1814, Britain attempted to have the Ottoman borders
guaranteed by the Congress, but despite the support of the Austrian Chancellor Metternich,
who was beginning to be concerned by the Russian danger, Tsar Alexander did not accede. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>During the Greek rebellion, Britain
supported Greece. Nevertheless, it would be an error to see this attitude of the British
Prime Minister Canning as an alliance with Russia. Canning was convinced that Greece would
sooner or later win her independence, and it would be preferable that Greece owe this to
Britain, instead of to Russia, for Britain would then acquire a friendly country in the
Mediterranean. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Britain remained a spectator of the
1828-30 Ottoman-Russian war which started during this rebellion. However, Britain and
Austria were seriously worried when Moldavia-Wallachia became subject to Russian rule.
Britain became even more concerned when Russia began to settle in Caucasia, for this might
mean a preparation to advance towards India. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is for this reason that Britain did
not accept the suggestion made by Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia, to the British Ambassador in
1853: `Well, we have here a sick man, a very sick man; it would be, I tell you frankly, a
great misfortune if, one of these days, we were to lose him, especially before the
necessary arrangements had been made. (19) Britain was on the side of the Ottoman Empire
during the Crimean War. It is known that Russia offered Crete and Egypt to Britain, and
wanted for herself Moldavia-Wallachia, Serbia, and Bulgaria. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia, who came defeated out of the
Crimean War, felt the necessity to turn now to the east, to Asia, and after having
completed the conquest of Siberia by taking Vladivostock, began to conquer Turkistan.
These conquests in Asia, especially the occupation of Turkistan, naturally constituted a
danger for Britain's Empire of India. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The 1860s were the years of unificatiori
of Italy and Germany in Europe, and the years when Russia increased its policy of
Pan-Slavism, which was begun after Russia invaded Poland in 1863. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ottoman Empire was alone in the
1877-8 war, and signed the Ayastefanos (San Stefano) Pact, whose stipulations were hard on
the Ottomans. However, both Austria and Britain objected to this pact. As Bismarck joined
them, the Berlin Congress was held and the Berlin Treaty was signed. As a result of this
agreement, most of Russia's gains were taken away. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the Berlin Congress, there was a
major change in British policy. Gladstone, who became Prime Minister for the second time
in 1880, changed the policy which had been followed for a century, which Pitt had
initiated, and put an end to protecting the administrative integrity of the Ottoman
Empire. We have mentioned that the religious factors and Gladstone's conformist point of
view as well as his hostility towards Muslims played an important role in this change of
policy. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia, who turned once more towards the
Far East after the Berlin Congress, started again to compete with Britain in Asia, and
returned to a friendly policy concerning the Ottoman Empire. But this did not last very
long either. When Russia was defeated in the Russo-Japanese war of 1905, Britain and
Russia made an agreement in 1907, about their spheres of influence in Asia. Subsequently
Britain began scheming to divide the Ottoman Empire with France and Russia, and this aim
was achieved during the First World War. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The close relations of the Ottoman Empire
with France began, except for the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, under the reign of
Napoleon. After Napoleon's unsuccessful Egyptian campaign, France had helped the Ottomans
against Russia; however, after the Vienna Congress, Erance for some time was no longer in
a position to play a significant role in European politics. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>France began her policy of expanding in
Africa by invading Algeria in 1830. After this date, she began to attribute more
importance to the subject of protecting Catholics within the Ottoman Empire, and played
the main role in the incident of the `Holy Places' which eventually led to the Crimean
War. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Napoleon III, who acted with the Ottoman
Empire during the Crimean War, had been unable after 1856 to concentrate on other matters,
because he had been struggling unsuccessfully with Germany and Italy, who were attempting
to achieve unification after 1856, and he suffered a blow following his defeat by Germany
in 1870. While France participated in the Berlin Congress, she did not play a significant
role. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>France, who was the cradle of
philosophies of freedom and independence after the Revolution, had been closed to such
thoughts in the period starting with Napoleon until 1870. She assumed this role once again
after the Third Republic was proclaimed, and became a refuge for various classes in
various countries, and those struggling against the State in the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>France, who did not forget the defeat by
Germany, began to get close to Russia, who had left the 1878 Berlin Congress offended at
Germany. She also resolved her conflicts with Britain. After the `Entente Cordiale' had
been established, and the relations between Russia and Britain were also improved, these
three powers shared the same opinion concerning the Ottoman Empire, and France played an
active role in the projects about dividing the Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Germany entered the European scene with
the Versailles Treaty in 1870. Although Prussia had played an active role until then in
various matters, it had never possessed the weight of a unified Germany, and had often
remained in Austria's shadow. After 1870, Germany became the strongest and most feared
country of Europe. After the alliance with Austria and Italy, when Europe was divided into
two groups, the Triple Alliance and the Triple Entente, there was no subject left in which
Germany did not have a say. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Germany, who started her colonization
drive after this date, saw the Ottoman Empire as a country which she could easily
influence. The reason why she supported the Ottoman State during the Berlin Congress, and
offended her ally Russia, was because she did not want the Empire to disintegrate before
she could obtain some rights. As a matter of fact Ottoman-German relations became closer.
Nevertheless, Germany was to take part in the projects carried out by Russia, France and
England to divide the Ottoman Empire into spheres of influence, and to claim her share. It
is certain that the Ottoman Empire, which entered the First World War as Germany's ally,
would have come under the absolute authority of Germany, if Germany had come victorious
out of the war. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We come finally to Russia. We stated
previously that Russia made her presence felt, starting with Peter the Great (1682-1725).
It is recognized that Peter the Great fixed three goals for Russia: to expand to the
Baltic shores and to the Black Sea, and to take Poland. When Peter died, only one of these
goals had been attained: the Baltic shores had been taken from Sweden through the Nishtad
treaty. Although Russia took possession of the Azak castle in 1699, she had to return it
to the Ottomans in 1714. The culmination of this policy established by Peter, fell to the
lot of Catherine the Great (1762-96). Under her rule, Poland was divided between Austria
and Prussia, and was wiped out from the European map; after the Kuchuk Kaynaria Treaty of
1774, the Ottoman-Russian border was pushed up to the Dniester river, the khanate of
Crimea came under Russian jurisdiction to be annexed shortly after, and Russia settled on
the northern shores of the Black Sea, ready to descend towards the south, from Caucasia on
one side, from the Balkans on the other. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The goal of Russia to descend to the warm
seas is a subject recognized by all, but it is less well known that two directions were
chosen to achieve this goal. The first was to reach the Mediterranean through the Straits,
the other was to reach India by taking advantage of water routes. Projects and plans of
this second direction were accepted during the reign of Tsarina Anna (1730-40) in 1734,
and Krillov was entrusted with the realization of the plan. After this plan was put into
effect, Russia decided to advance in the two directions, and chose as a principle to focus
on one direction temporarily, if there proved to be difficulties in the other direction.
This plan, which was made in 1734, projected taking the regions of Bukhara, Samarkand, and
Badakhshan. Badakhshan is an area within the borders of Afghanistan, and Russia had to
wait until the 1980s to obtain this region. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is possible to summarize the policy of
Russia, since the reign of Peter the Great, concerning the Ottoman Empire: to expand
Russia, at the expense of the Ottoman Empire, to restore Byzantium by taking Istanbul, and
to make the Tsar the undisputed leader of the Orthodox world. After Peter the Great, the
Tsars never forgot this policy; the more successful included Catherine II (1762-96),
Nicholas I (1825-55) and Alexander II (1855-81). </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia, until the reign of Catherine the
Great, was far from having the power to struggle alone with the Ottoman Empire. However,
the Kuchuk Kaynarca Treaty of 1774 demonstrated that Russia was now able to cause the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire without the help of another country. But, from this date
on, the other European countries made it apparent that they would not allow the Ottoman
Empire to be absorbed by Russia, thus enabling Russia to become an uncontrollable power.
It is for this reason that Russia began to make preliminary projects for distribution with
the other powers, as she was getting ready for another attack. The offer made to Austria
in the 1787 war, and to Britain in the 1853 war, are examples of this. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The main opportunity Russia had to attack
the Ottoman Empire was to provoke and support the various Orthodox communities within the
Empire to rebel, and then to declare war on the pretext of protecting them. The Serbian
rebellion of 1806 was the source of the Russian war which started that year. The Greek
rebellion gave rise to the 1828 war. The `Holy Places' issue started the 1853 Crimean War.
The 1877 war started with the Herzegovina revolt. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>From 1774 on, Russia considered herself
as the sole representative of the Orthodox and Slav subjects of the Ottoman Empire, and in
the case of an insurrection or rebellion, considered immediate intervention as natural.
However, Austria, who had lost some areas to Italy as the unification of Italy was being
realized, wanted, from 1870 on, to invade Bosnia-Herzegovina, and became interested in
Slavs because of the existence of a substantial Slav element within her Empire. Russia,
keeping this in mind, succeeded, as the three emperors (Alexander çç, Kaiser Wilhelm and
Franz-Josef) met in 1875, in having the non-intervention principle accepted in the event
of a possible rebellion of Christian elements of the Ottoman Empire. The aim of
`non-intervention' is to avoid helping the Ottoman Empire to crush the rebellion. However,
when the rebellion which started in Herzegovina in 1875 and spread to Bulgaria and Serbia
in 1876 was crushed by the Ottomans, Russia intervened on the side of the rebels, and the
1877 war started. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia obtained from the Ottoman Empire,
through the Berlin Treaty, the maximum of what the other powers would accept. Rumania,
Bulgaria, and Serbia obtained autonomy and later independence. It was obvious that after
this Russia would have no opportunity to obtain more land. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have thus summarized the policies
followed by the Powers concerning the Ottoman Empire. It is now necessary to examine the
place of the Armenians within this framework. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In the 1870s the Armenians were not yet
included in the policies of either Russia or the other powers. Even the Armenian authors
of that time do not mention the existence of any dispute between the Armenian community
and the Ottoman government. </strong></font></p>
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<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The interest of Russia, which was closely
following the rebellion of the non-Muslim subjects in the Ottoman Empire, and of Austria,
which adopted the same policy after 1870, lay mainly in the Slavic elements. No one was
interested in the Armenians, who were living in their country without any complaint. These
years coincide in Russia with the period when Pan-Slavism was at its strongest, when
liberation movements were brutally crushed, and when the rights of the Armenians in
Russian Armenia were taken away from them. The clearest proof of this is that when the
Patriarch asked to be allowed to take part in the Conference of Ambassadors gathered in
Tophane to discuss the subject of the 1876 Balkan rebellions, he was told that the meeting
had nothing to do with the Armenians. We shall return to this subject later. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Until this date, the interest of Russia
in the Armenians had been limited to taking advantage of them on the eastern front during
the wars with the Ottomans. This cooperation started during the Iran war which ended with
the Turkmenchai truce, and continued in the 1828 Ottoman war, and to some extent in the
1853-6 war. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>From the 1870s on, the Armenians began to
seek the aid of the European powers, for the reasons we have stated above. These attempts
were made by the Patriarchate (and Etchmiadzin) and the clergy. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It must be accepted that they were
successful, and the `Armenian question' appeared at the Berlin Congress. However, the
factor which played a role in the emergence of this question, rather than the Armenians'
attempts, was the fact that the political conjuncture necessitated taking advantage of
them. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As a matter of fact, after the Berlin
Congress, almost the entire Balkans (except for Rumelia, which would be lost in the Balkan
war), were separated from the Ottoman Empire, and these regions could no longer be used as
an excuse to declare war on the Ottoman Empire. Besides, Russia realized that the Balkans
would not constitute a passage for her advance to the Mediterranean, and later saw that
these countries, whom she actively helped to gain their independence, did not remain
grateful to her. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Then she recognized that in the East only
the Erzurum-Iskenderun axis remained to permit her descent to the south, and thought of
taking advantage of the Armenians to obtain this axis. For this reason, she was to turn to
the Armenian question especially after the Berlin Congress. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>With this intention, Russia, just as she
did in the Balkans, attempted to create incidents in Armenia, so that she could then
interfere. She not only took advantage of the Armenian Church, but supported the
revolutionary committees which were formed. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Liberal Party and its leader
Gladstone, who came to power in Britain after the Berlin Congress, were the main
supporters of Russia in this matter, and appeared as the sole custodian of the Armenian
question and almost as the tool of Russia's foreign policy. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>However, as Russia realized that Britain
had the aim of actually granting independence to Armenia, and she engaged once again in a
power struggle with Britain in Asia, she ceased being interested in the Armenians, even
started to oppose their ideas of independence, and followed the same policy with the
Ottomans. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As was the case with Greek independence,
the British were hoping that if an independent Armenia was established, they would have
first of all a country grateful to them, and thus create a buffer state which would
prevent the descent of Russia to the south. While Russia abandoned its support of the
revolutionary committees, this time, France and Britain continued this support. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia, after being defeated by Japan in
1905, and having made an agreement with Britain concerning Asia, completely put aside the
question of Armenian independence, and started its policy of dividing the Ottoman Empire
into spheres of infiuence, which would later result in the dismemberment of the Empire.
During the First World War which started in this climate, she went to the distribution
agreement with the Sykes-Picot treaty. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Within these political developments, the
Armenians would be nothing more than a tool, a means, and independence and autonomy would
remain only as their wishes and dreams. The only ones who did not see this truth were the
Armenians and especially the Armenian Church. </strong></font></p>
<h3><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>3. From the reform edict to the Berlin Congress </strong></font></h3>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Now we can examine events in the Ottoman
Empire until 1878. The struggle, from the 1856 Reform Edict on, among the Armenians and
with which the Patriarchate too was involved, continued after the Armenian nation's
regulation was accepted in 1863. However, this internal strife was confined to Istanbul,
and there was no apparent discontent in Anatolia. Moreover, there were no known complaints
to foreign countries in these matters. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Actually there was a revolt in Zeitun in
1862. But this, as we shall explain later, had entirely different causes, involving
non-Armenian elements and being due to the feudal system which prevailed in various
regions in the east of the country. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This situation started to change after
Migirdich Hrimyan was elected Patriarch in 1869. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Pasdermadjian states that `On the eve of
the 1877-78 Russian-Ottoman War, the situation of Armenians in Turkish Armenia was as
difficult and even worse than that of Serbians in Bosnia, or that of Bulgarians in
Roumelia and Macedonia.' Later he writes: `Until 1876, the Turkish policy, although it
favored the Kurds in Armenia, did not have a real anti-Armenian character. The often
tragic situation of Armenians came from their position as subject people, and the general
conditions of the Empire, rather than from a concerted action of the government. In fact,
the interventions of Constantinople in Armenian matters during the last decades were
chiefly characterized by the concern to protect the independence of the Armenian Church
over against the attempts of assimilation coming from the Catholic or the Orthodox
side.(20) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Pasdermadjian, just as he does not deem
it necessary to state the extent of the influence of the Ottoman Empire in the 1870s in
Bosnia-Herzegovina and even in Bulgaria, does not mention whether the condition of the
Muslims, either in Europe or in Anatolia, was better than the condition of the Armenians. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>During this period, the fall of the
Empire was almost declared by the government with the Reform Edict, and the necessity of
implementing definite measures as soon as possible was created. The sufferings were the
same for every subject, and were even worse for the Muslims who could not benefit from the
protection of a foreign country, and who did not have anyone to whom they could voice
their complaints. It was a fact that banditry was prevalent in the east. But were the
victims of the brigands only nonMuslim and especially Armenians? It must be remembered
that Armenians and Greeks, too, had their own bands of brigands, and these would only
attack Muslims. Consequently, Muslims were being attacked from two sides, by Muslim and
non-Muslim brigands. Moreover, one must not forget that the Armenians, who were
complaining so much of these conditions were the richest sector of the population, having
the largest opportunities. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>According to the well-known book of
Marcel Leart (21) if the numbers are correct,141 of 166 exporters in Anatolia were
Armenian,12 were of other origin, and only 13 were Turks; 6,800 of 9,800 shop-owners and
craftsmen were Armenians, 2,550 were Turks; out of 150 exporters, 127 were Armenians and
23 were Turks; of 153 industrialists, 130 were Armenians and 20 were Turks; of 37 bankers,
32 were Armenians. In the region which they call Turkish Armenia, they had in total 803
schools, 2,088 teachers, and 81,226 students. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian Church began to portray the
Armenians, after Hrimyan became Patriarch, as a society moaning under continuous cruelty
and torture, when the Armenians should be having at most as much right to complain as the
Muslim majority, about the general administration of the country and the lack of order. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At this point it may be useful to examine
Hrimyan's personality. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the Gulhane reforms of 1839, and
especially the Reform Edict, the main concern of the Patriarchate was the decline in its
rights and privileges. Patriarch Matheos Chuhajiyan had resigned in 1848 for this reason.
In 1858, he was elected the Etchmiadzin Catholicos. In the same year, Gevorg Kerestejiyan
was brought to the Istanbul Patriarchate. Kerestejiyan resigned in 1860 because of the
disagreements which appeared when the Armenian nation's regulation was being prepared.
Armenian newspapers of the period reported that his resignation was due to his opposition
to the regulation. (22) In 1866, Kerestejiyan succeeded Chuhajiyan and became Catholicos
of Etchmiadzin. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In 1869, Hrimyan became the Istanbul
Patriarch. In 1885, he was to become the Catholicos of Etchmiadzin. As Hrimyan resigned,
and left the Patriarchate, Nerses Varjabetyan replaced him. To a large extent, this
Patriarch was under the influence of Hrimyan; it is even claimed that some of his actions
were due to Hrimyan's pressure. Nerses Varjabetyan was a candidate in the election of the
Catholicos in Etchmiadzin in 1884, but the Tsar did not approve his election and
consequently he did not become Catholicos. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In contrast, the candidacies of
Chuhajiyan, Kerestejiyan, and Hrimyan were approved by the Tsar, who also approved the
candidacy of Matheos Izmirliyan to the Catholicate. Izmirliyan had been the Istanbul
Patriarch between 1894 and 1896, and was brought once again to the Patriarchate in 1908.
Consequently, he left the Patriarchate in the same year and went to Etchmiadzin where he
became the Catholicos after Hrimyan. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is obvious that the Tsar acted only in
the direction which was most beneficial to Russian interests in his approval of the
Catholicos. It is therefore necessary to assume that those who could transfer to
Etchmiadzin from Istanbul were serving the interests of the Tsar and Russian national
interests. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Although the interests of the Armenian
Church did not always coincide with those of Russia, at times they did coincide. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>While Russia maintained the influence of
Etchmiadzin within Russia at a minimum, she saw the continuation of this influence outside
Russia as advantageous. At this point there was understanding with the Church. The
Istanbul Patriarchate, .especially, was far from satisfied at the decline of its
authority. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian Church was aware that Russia
did not want an independent Armenia. The Russians were also aware that the Armenian Church
knew this, and that they wanted autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. Russia had realized
that the other powers would not allow the invasion of the area called Armenia, and for
this reason saw advantage in giving autonomy to this region, which inevitably would come
under her jurisdiction. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian Church and Russia were
concious that if conditions were to improve in the Empire after the attempted reforms, the
complaints which the Armenians made in the 1870s about administrative malfunctions could
not be made any longer. After the declaration of the Constitutional Government, when the
Armenians were included in the Constitutional Assembly, there would be even less excuse
for complaint. Under these circumstances there was a sense of urgency; something had to be
done as soon as possible. (The abolition of the Constitutional Government was a source of
joy for the Armenian Church.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The authority of the Patriarchate had to
be strengthened, the interest of the great powers had to be secured in order to gain
independence, and their intervention had to be obtained. And this necessitated above all a
continuous voicing of complaints. In all these matters, the interest of the Armenian
Church coincided with that of Russia. Hrimyan was the individual who made the most
significant contribution. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Hrimyan was born in 1820 in Van, and
visited Etchmiadzin and Ararat in 1841. Later he came to Istanbul and became a teacher.
The years in which he started teaching coincided with the period when Chuhajiyan was the
Patriarch. In 1854 Hrimyan joined the Church. During the time he was in Istanbul, he
undoubtedly observed the problems of the Patriarchate. After he joined the Church he was
appointed to Van. Later, he was sent to Mush. It is useful to remember that during this
time, first Chuhajiyan, then Kerestejiyan was Catholicos in Etchmiadzin, and both of them
resigned because the authority of the Patriarchate was declining. Hrimyan started printing
two newspapers in Van and Mush, entitled <i>The Eagle of Van</i> and <i>The Eagle of Mush,</i>
and began to focus on the theme of the Armenians' plight in eastern Anatolia. In 1869 he
was elected Patriarch when he was only forty-nine years old, and had joined the Church
only fifteen years earlier. It is not difficult to accept that he was elected because he
knew of the problems of the Church, and tried to solve them. The Catholicos Kerestejiyan
might also have used his influence in this election. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As soon as he became Patriarch, Hrimyan
brought the condition of the eastern provinces to the agenda of the National Patriarchate
Assembly. He demanded in circulars he sent to all the bishops that they inform him of
matters which could constitute a complaint. A memorandum based on these reports was
submitted to the Grand Vizier in February 1872. The government formed a Commission, which
had an equal number of Muslim and Christian members, to investigate these complaints. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Hrimyan had also brought the subject of
changing the Armenian National Regulation to the National Assembly; his aim was to expand
the jurisdiction of the Patriarchy, to reduce the number of representatives in the
National Assembly from 140 to 50 and to have the members who were not of the clergy
elected in equal numbers from Istanbul and the provinces.23 But all his efforts met the
opposition of the political assembly. The representatives from Istanbul and the provinces
in the National Assembly began to quarrel. Hrimyan resigned in 1873, as he realized that
the Assemblies did not follow him, and that he could not impose on them what he wanted. He
was replaced by Nerses Varjabedyan. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Although the new Patriarch was not of the
same opinion as Hrimyan, Hrimyan and his supporters continued their activities. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the 1875 rebellion in Herzegovina
spread, and the great powers intervened, demanding the implementation of reforms in this
area, the Armenian Church became convinced that, by taking advantage of the situation, it
could obtain autonomy for the eastern provinces. A group headed by Hrimyan, and including
Izmirliyan who later was to become Patriarch, increased their pressure on Nerses. Finally,
Nerses felt the obligation to act with them. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When it became known that a conference
was to be held in Istanbul to discuss the events in Herzegovina and Bulgaria, a memorandum
prepared by Izmirliyan, requesting that the problems of Armenians, too, be included in
this conference, was sent to all the great powers in September 1876. Etchmiadzin supported
these complaints by doing its share at the level of the Tsar. Actually the complaints were
about isolated incidents, and the requests consisted of matters which the Babiali was
already attempting to put into effect, such as the implementation of the decisions taken
by the Babiali and the specially formed commission concerning the land administration,
exempting the properties of the Church from taxation, the establishment of a commission in
the Babiali in which representatives of the Patriarchate would take part, and which would
prosecute cases of injustice and investigate matters communicated by the Patriarchate. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch Nerses was also contacting
the Embassies in Istanbul and trying to attract their attention to the Armenian question.
A meeting he had with the British Ambassador is of great significance. Henry Elliot, the
British Ambassador, wrote as follows in the report he sent on 7 December 1876 to the
Foreign Office: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Yesterday the Armenian Patriarch paid me
a visit. He expressed the hope, in the name of the large Christian community of which he
is the leader, that the Conference would put pressure on the Babiali, that the privileges
that are to be granted to the provinces which have revolted against the Empire also be
granted to the provinces which remained calm, but which deserve equal treatment. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>I replied with caution. I told him that
the object of the Conference was to ensure order in provinces which have rebelled, and
which endanger the overall peace, and that I did not think that it would handle the topic
of the overall administration of the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch replied that his nation was
very upset, and that if a rebellion was necessary to attract the interest of the European
powers, then there was no difficulty in starting such an action.(24) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Tophane Conference met in such an
atmosphere, on 23 December 1876, to discuss the Herzegovina and Bulgaria events. On the
same day the First Constitutional Government was proclaimed in the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Despite all these efforts the Tophane
Conference did not deal with the Armenian question. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The proclamation of the constitutional
government was very well received inside as well as outside the country. All the
non-Muslims expressed their joy in an honest fashion. But, after a while, the Armenian
Church came to the conclusion that the constitutional government would work to its
disadvantage, that if the situation and the administration of the country were to improve,
then it would have to abandon its hope for autonomy. It set its hopes on a Russo-Ottoman
War. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire
on 24 April 1877, as no decision was taken either during the Tophane Conference or in the
diplomatic contacts initiated after the Conference was over. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>An interesting point which showed the
attitude of the Armenian community and Church was that, as the proclamation of war was
being read in the Constitutional Assembly, the Armenian delegates applauded it
enthusiastically.(25) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Moreover, when the Sultan asked that the
non-Muslim subjects, too, do their patriotic duty, on 7 December 1877, the Armenian
National Assembly took the decision, as requested by the Patriarch, that the Armenian
nation be enlisted and participate in the war.26 However, after Plevne fell on 10
December, the National Assembly met again on 18 December, and, in spite of the Patriarch,
annulled the previous decision.(27) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It thus becomes apparent that the Russian
Tsar had good reason for not approving of Nerses, and refusing his candidacy to the
Catholicate. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Another point that becomes apparent is
that the Armenians were not willing to become subject to Russian rule, and that they were
willing to fight along with the Ottomans to prevent this. But, as Plevne fell, and it
became clear that the Ottoman Empire was going to lose the war, and that some of the
eastern provinces would then be relinquished to Russia, the Patriarch got closer to
Russia, with the thought that the only way of gaining anything would be through Russia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Thus, as the 1877-8 war was ending, the
Armenian question was becoming a European question. Before studying this development,
however, it is necessary to deal with the subject of the Armenian population in the
Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
</body>
</html>
<body bgcolor="#000000">
<h3><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>4. The population question </strong></font></h3>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian population is not really
part of our subject. During the periods that we are studying, the Armenian population in
the entire world was only 3 million. Naturally, the numbers living in the Ottoman Empire
were fewer-especially if, as Armenian sources indicate, there was a massive and continuous
emigration of Armenians from the eastern regions to Russia after the 1829 Edirne Truce. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>However, the Armenians who came to the
Berlin Congress with the hope of establishing an autonomous Armenia in the eastern
provinces felt the necessity to prove that the Armenian population of the region was more
than the Muslim population so that their request could be considered justifiable. Thus
they gave figures, knowing no limit to exaggeration, just as they have done in every
matter. Their version of the Armenian population, which did not coincide with the records
of the Ottoman Empire, or those of other states, was not taken seriously at the Berlin
Congress or later. All the powers were in a position to be informed of the actual Armenian
population through their own means. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is obvious that the figures sent by
the Patriarchate to Berlin were not taken seriously even by the Armenians themselves. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>However, later, when it was a question of
engaging in propaganda against the Ottoman Empire, the great powers, and especially
Britain, saw no inconvenience in accepting these figures which they knew to be erroneous,
and stating that the difference from the actual figures corresponded to the population
massacred by the Turks. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is necessary, for this reason, to
examine the subject of the Armenian population. Let us look at Armenian, Western, and
Ottoman records in turn. We shall draw conclusions later. </strong></font></p>
<h3><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(a) Armenian sources </strong></font></h3>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Generally, Armenian sources give the
figures provided by the Patriarchate. Contemporary Armenian authors prefer to give the
figures reported by others, instead of submitting a figure themselves. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Hovannisian reports that the Armenian
population in Turkey before 1914 was less than 2 million but more than 1.5 million.(28) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Pasdermadjian states that, in 1914, there
were 4,100,000 Armenians in the world, 2,100,000 in the Ottoman Empire,1,700,000 in
Russia.(29) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Jacques de Morgan (we include him among
the Armenian authors as he obtained his figures from Chobandjian) reports that in 1914
there were , 2,380,000 Armenians in Turke, that in the world there were 4,160,000, and
that even if the population had declined as a result of recent events, it would still be
around 3 million.(30) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Marcel Leart's book was published in
1913. (31) One would assume that he is French, but he was in fact an Armenian. We learn
this from the letter sent by M. N. Moditchian to Toynbee on 17 February 1916. This
correspondence coincides with the period when Toynbee was looking for documents for the
Blue Book. 3z The real name of Leart was Krikor Zohrap. On pp. 59-60 of his book, Leart
gives the Armenian population of Turkey for the years 1882 and 1912, and states that these
figures were provided by the Patriarchate. The figures for 1882 are as follows: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" width="86%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>Van
</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>
400,000 </strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Bitlis
</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> <font size="2">
250,000 </font></strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>Diyarbekir</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
150,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Erzurum
</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
280,000 </strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>Elaziz
</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>
270,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>Sivas<font size="2">
</font></strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>
280,000 </strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#dfdfdf" width="1%"><strong><font color="#FFFF00"> </font><font
color="#FF0000"> <font size="2">1,630,000</font></font></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>Adana
</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font size="2" color="#FF0000"><strong>
280,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Aleppo (Antep, Urfa, Kilis, Marash)</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
100,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> </strong></font><p><font
color="#FFFF00"><strong> </strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#dfdfdf" width="1%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
380,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>Trabzon</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
120,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Bursa</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
60,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>Aydin</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
50,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ankara, Kastamonu,Konya</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
120,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>Syria, Beirut,Musul,
Baghdad and Basra</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong><br>
40,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>District of ›zmir</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
65,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#dfdfdf" width="1%"><strong><font color="#FFFF00">
</font><font color="#FF0000">455,000</font></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>›stanbul and it's
surroundings</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
135,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Edirne</strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
50,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>The rest of European
Turkey</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f4f4f4" width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
10,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#dfdfdf" width="1%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>
195,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="23%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong>Total for Turkey</strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="1%"><strong><font color="#FFFF00">
</font><font color="#FF0000">2,660,000</font></strong></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="51%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="1%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
The population figures for six provinces in 1912, given by Leart and again attributed to
the Patriarchate, are as follows: <br>
</strong></font></p>
<table border="0" width="75%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="25%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<th width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong> Total </strong></font></th>
<th width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
Turks </strong></font></th>
<th width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong> Armenians</strong></font></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>Erzurum
</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>630,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>240,000
</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>215,000
</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Van</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>350,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>47,000 </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>185,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>Bitlis</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>382,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>40,000
</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>180,000
</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Harput</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>450,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>102,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>168,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>Diyarbekir</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>296,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>45,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>
105,000 </strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Sivas</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>507,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>192,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>165,000 </strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="25%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>2,615,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>666,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="25%"><font size="2" color="#800040"><strong>1,018,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have been unable to find the documents
in which the Patriarchate gave these statistics, but we have found the statistics it gave
to the British Ambassador in 1880 and 1881. In these statistics, the Patriarch gave the
total Armenian population in 1880 in the eastern provinces as 658,000. Later, the
Patriarch rectified the figure he gave for Sivas, and this total increased to 805,745. If
one is to pay attention to Leart's list, this figure increases for the same date to
1,630,000; it is hard to imagine that the Patriarch could have thought of increasing these
figures more than two-fold two years later, when even the 1880 figures were doubted by the
British. Moreover, we have the figures submitted by the Patriarch in 1881. We shall give
them below. For this reason, it is possible that the above list was a statistic prepared
by Leart in 1913, at the suggestion of the Patriarch, in order to spread confusion. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Leart, or rather, Zohrap, tried to prove
that the Patriarchate reports were even less, and with this intention translated the
chapter on `The tax levied on non-Muslim subjects in lieu of military service `on pp. 413
and 414 of the yearbook of the Ottoman Empire for the year 1298 (1882). His translation
(p. 64) is as follows: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When we reexamine the net returns of this
tax for the years 1292,1293,1294, we obtain the following figures: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" width="42%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#800040"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="80%"><font color="#800040"><strong> Year 1292
(1876) 416,720 T.L.</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="80%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Year 1293 (1877) 542,200 T.L.</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td bgColor="#f5f5f5" width="80%"><font color="#FF0000"><strong> Year 1294
(1878) 542,390 T.L. </strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>By taking into account the fact that in
the past three years, the return of this tax had been more than the average of the other
years, due to the circulation of paper-money we had to accept, as the eventual return for
this year, the sum of 462 870 T.L. [Turkish liras]. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>If we evaluate the male non-Muslim
population of the Ottoman Empire at a minimum of 4,000,000, the return of this tax should
be at least double what it produces today. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When we look at the original text, we see
that, first of all, it mentions, not the circulation of paper-money, but the rumour that
it will be removed from the market, and it is stated that the taxes which were not paid
because of these rumours had been paid. While this <i>passage</i> was erroneously
translated, the statement `if the non-Muslim male population was at least 4,000,000, the
military conscription tax to be collected from them, would be the amount shown above', was
translated in a way to give it a totally different meaning. As Marcel Leart came from
Istanbul, it is difficult to accept that he had a limited knowledge of Turkish. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>A similar point can be found on p.10 of
his book. It is stated in a footnote that Lynch gives the Armenian population of Aleppo,
Adana, Trabzon, Erzerum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Elaziz and Sivas as 1,058,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>However, the figures given by Lynch are
as follows: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" width="51%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The six provinces </strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 387,746</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The rest of Asian Turkey </strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 751,500 </strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>European Turkey</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 186,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,325,246 </strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch gives the figure for the whole of
Asian Turkey as 1,139,246. Among the non-Armenian foreign authors, Cuinet gives the
highest figure for Asian Turkey. The figure he gives for Aleppo, Adana and Trabzon is
193,999. When we add this to the figures Lynch gave for the six provinces, we come up with
581,745. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Because we were unable to determine
whether the statistics in this book attributed to the Patriarchate were in fact provided
by the Patriarchate, we do not include them in our analysis below. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As for the figures that were given by the
Patriarchate, we have determined them in the following way. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The figure given by the Patriarchate at
the Berlin Congress for the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire was 3,000,000 (33)
the figure given for the Armenian population in the provinces of Erzerum, Van, Bitlis,
Sivas and Diyarbekir was 2,000,000, and for the Turkish population it was 1,000,000.(34) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>An Armenian clerical writer (Vahan
Vardapet in an Armenian newspaper published in Constantinople, the <i>Djeridei Sharkieh,</i>
dated 3/15 December 1886), who appears not to err on the side of exaggeration, has placed
the entire Gregorian population, that is the great bulk of his countrymen in Turkey, at
1,263,900 souls. It is reasonable to suppose that the Armenian subjects of the Sultan
number upwards of one and a half millions. (35) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch sent some statistics to the
British Ambassador about the population in the eastern provinces, for the first time, on
24 June 1880. (36) Later, he rectified the Sivas figures, and sent another letter on 10
September 1880.(37) Meanwhile, Odian Efendi from the Patriarchate gave a note containing
some statistics to Sir Charles Dilke from the Foreign Office in London, in the month of
July of the same year.(38) On 20 October 1881, the Patriarch sent new statistics to the
British Ambassador.(39) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We shall now show these statistics in
tabulated form. But let us first report some observations made by the British Embassy
concerning these statistics. Major Trotter wrote as follows in a memorandum he prepared
for the British Ambassador on 7 September 1880: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>I would, however beg to call your
Excellency's special attention to the discordant results of (3), (4), and (5), all of
which have been supplied at various times, directly or indirectly, from the Armenian
Patriarchate. When such large discrepancies are apparent in these three Armenian estimates
of the Armenian population, it is perfectly evident that still less reliance can be placed
on the corresponding estimates of the Mahommedan population (vide (15) and (18), Tables C
and D).(40) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The numbers in parentheses refer to the
columns in the statistics lists. We shall give them as we examine the provinces. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>More significant than this is the
memorandum presented by Major Trotter to his Ambassador on 15 February 1882: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At a meeting last autumn of the Armenian
Assemble Nationale, M. Sdepan Papazian, the reputed author of the statistical Tables
presented to the Berlin Conference, made a violent attack on the Patriarch for having
communicated statistical Tables to the Embassies without having previously consulted the
National Assembly, in consequence of which the enormous divergence between the Berlin and
the more recent Patriarchal figures had attracted attention, and called forth remarks
tending to show the untrustworthiness of both sets of figures. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Berlin compilation, by a glaringly
unfair manipulation of official figures, tried to prove that, according to the said
figures, the Armenian population of Erzerum and Van (including Bitlis and Hekkari)
amounted to 1,150,000 souls. I have subsequently shown that, in all probÉbxlity, the real
number does not exceed 450,000: while the Patriarchal figures supplied to the Embassy in
1880 gave 373,500 Armenians, plus 85,000 Nestorians.(41) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is my belief that the discrepancy
between the figures given at various times, as well as the two observations made by Major
Trotter, the expert on population in the British Embassy, show to what extent the figures
submitted by the Patriarchate should be taken seriously. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Now we shall present the figures
submitted by the Patriarchate, adding to these the figures given by Marcel Leart, in one
table. During that period, the object was to prove that the Armenians were in a majority
in relation to the Turks, and for this reason the statistics included figures for the
Turkish population. In the list below we shall give only the figures for the Armenian
population; the Turkish figures will be given later, under the provinces. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian population in six provinces
(including Catholics and Protestants), according to the Patriarchate, was: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="0" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td colSpan="2" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1878(a)</strong></font></td>
<td colSpan="2" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880(b)</strong></font></td>
<td width="18%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880(c)</strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881(d)</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1882(e) </strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1921(f)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="8%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Erzurum</strong></font></td>
<td rowSpan="3" width="4%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>}</strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td colSpan="2" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>215,177</strong></font></td>
<td width="18%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>111,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>128,478</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>280,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>215,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="8%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Van</strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,150,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="7%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>184,000 </strong></font></td>
<td rowSpan="2" width="3%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><big><big><big><big>}</big></big></big></big></strong></font></td>
<td rowSpan="2" width="18%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>252,500 </strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>133,859</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>400,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>185,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="8%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Bitlis</strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="7%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>164,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>130,460</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>250,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>180,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colSpan="2" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Diyarbekir</strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td colSpan="2" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="18%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 88,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>150,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>105,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colSpan="2" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Elaziz </strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td colSpan="2" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="18%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>155,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>107,059</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>270,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>168,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colSpan="2" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Sivas</strong></font></td>
<td width="16%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td colSpan="2" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="18%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>199,245</strong></font></td>
<td width="14%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>243,515</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>280,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>165,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(a) In the statistics submitted to the
Berlin Congress.<br>
(b) The figures given to Sir Charles Dilke (F.O. 424/106/200)<br>
(c) The Patriarch's list 424/106/273, with the Sivas correction (424/107/135).<br>
(d) The Patriarch's list (FO.424/132/46).<br>
(e) and (f) Marcel LÈart's lists.</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is apparent that there is no
possibility of taking these lists seriously. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(b) Foreign sources </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ludovic de Constenson gives the 1913
Armenian population in the world as 3,100,000, in Turkey as 1,400,000, in Russia as
1,550,000.(42) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Viconte de Coursons states in his book
that he has used Cuinet's figures, which we give below.(43) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Christopher Walker states that before the
First World War there were 1,500,00?z,000,000 Armenians in Turkey. (44) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Tozer, quoting Ravenstein, writes that in
1877 there were 700 000 Armenians in Asian Turkey.(45) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Clair Price reports the Armenian
population in Turkey prior to the war as 1,000,000.(46) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Alexander Powell asserts that the
Armenian population in the world does not exceed 3,000,000 that in Turkey there were
1,500,000 Armenians, and in Russia 1,000,000. (47) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch examined the question of the
Armenian population in a detailed manner. We shall see the figures he gives for the
provinces when we come to stud the provinces. He gives the general Armenian population in
the following table. (48) </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armeniean plateau<br>
(Russian and Turkish Provinces)</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
906,984</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Caucasia and the rest of Transcaucasia</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 450,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Astrakhan, Bessarabia</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 75,600</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The rest of Turkish Asia</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 751,500</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>European Turkey</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 186,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Iranian Azerbaidjan</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 28,890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Colony of Julfa and the rest of Iran</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 14,110</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Bulgaria, Eastern Roumelia</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
5,010</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Roumania</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
8,070</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Austria</strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
1,230</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="50%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2,427,394</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch states on p. II/409 of his book
that the population of the Armenian plateau in Turkey is 387,746 and the Armenian
population of the Empire1,325,246. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Among foreign sources, the one who has
researched the population of the Ottoman Empire most thoroughly is, without any doubt,
Vital Cuinet. In the foreword to his book he writes: `The work which we present today, to
the public in general, is a compilation of statistic notes gathered on the spot, during
various trips of exploration we have undertaken in the last twelve years. (49) It is known
that Cuinet undertook these travels in the name and on behalf of the Debt Commission. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Leaving the detailed figures Cuinet gives
for the provinces to be examined later, we shall now look at the figures he gives for the
population of Anatolian Turkey: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim
14,856,118<br>
Armenian
1,475,011
<br>
Other Christians 1,285,853 <br>
Jewish
123,947
<br>
Other foreigners 170,822 <br>
<u>
</u><br>
17,911,751
</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Gregorian, Protestant, and Catholic
Armenians are included in the Armenian population. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet's figures appear in the French
Yellow Book, and this shows the extent to which the French recognize these figures as
official.(50) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In the 1910 edition of the <i>Encyclopaedia
Britannica,</i> the world Armenian population is given as 2,900,000, and the Armenian
population in Turkey as 1,500,000. (In the 1953 edition of the same work, the population
of Armenians in Turkey is given as 2,500,550 for the same year. The article in the 1910
edition was written by a Briton, and the article in the 1953 edition was written by an
Armenian.) </strong></font></p>
</body>
</html>
<body bgcolor="#000000">
<h3><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(c) Ottoman sources </strong></font></h3>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It was repeatedly claimed that no census,
in the modern sense, had been taken in the Ottoman Empire, and therefore the figures given
by the Babiali were erroneous and imaginary. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Actually, this was not the case. When
Sultan Abdulhamid received the new American Ambassador in 1886, the Ambassador mentioned
the last census taken in America, and its advantages. The Sultan expressed his interest in
the subject, and asked the Ambassador whether he would help to establish such an
organization in Turkey. As the Ambassador gave a positive answer, the preparations for a
census were undertaken with the Ambassador's help. Details of this subject will be found
in Kemal Karpat's article. (50) The results of this census were published in 1893. It is
recognized that the results of the census are reliable, because everybody was given
identity papers during the census, and from that date on it was impossible to engage in
any occupation without these papers. However, the census was not taken as it is taken
today, by requiring everybody to stay at home and going from one house to the next, but by
asking the head of every household and by filling in a card for every member of the
household. When these cards were being filled in, the muhtars (headmen of a quarter or a
village) were present. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The first president of the Statistics
Bureau, founded in 1892, and which published the census results, was a Jew named Fethi
Franko, and he was replaced by an Armenian named Migirdich Shinabyan. Shinabyan held this
position between 1897 and 1903, and he was replaced by an American named Robert, who held
the post until 1908. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the census was taken, the new
births and deaths were recorded through the census offices established in every district,
and thus the recording of population changes became possible. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We give below the figures given by the
Ottoman authorities concerning the distribution of the population, as recorded by Prof.
Kemal Karpat: <br>
<br>
</strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="70%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
1893 </strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
1905</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="31%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
1914</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>12,587,137</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>15,508,753</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>15,044,846
</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Greek</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
2,332,191</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
2,823,063</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
1,729,738</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Gregorian Armenian </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,001,465</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,031,708</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,161,169</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Catholic Armenian0</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
----</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
89,040</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
67,838</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Protestant</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>36,268</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>52,485</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>65,844</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Greek Catholic </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>29,749</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>62,468</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Jewish</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>184,106</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>253,435</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>187,073</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Latin</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>18,240</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>20,496</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>24,845</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Syriac</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>36,985</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>54,750</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ancient Syriac </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>4,133</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Chaldean</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2,371</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>13,211</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Jacobite</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,024</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>6,932</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Maronite</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>28,738</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>47,406</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Samaritan</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>262</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>164</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Nestorian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>8,091</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Yazidi</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2,927</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>6,957</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Gypsy</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>3,153</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>16,470</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>11,169</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Druse</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>7,385</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cossack</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,792</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,006</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Bulgarian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>817,835</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>761,530</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>14,908</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Serbian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Wallachian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>26,042</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>82</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Foreigner</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>235,983</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>197,760</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Roman Catholic </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>149,786</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>Monophysite</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
32,598 </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="28%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>17,388,562
</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="23%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>
20,884,630 </strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="31%"><font size="2" color="#FFFF00"><strong>18,520,016</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is apparent that the Greek, as well as
the Catholic Armenians are included in the 1893 Catholic population figures. It can be
accepted that all the Protestants were Armenian. Consequently, the Armenian community in
the Ottoman Empire is: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>in 1893 1,157,519 (30,000
Catholics- have been considered Greek.) <br>
in 1905 1,173,233 <br>
in 1914 1,294,851 </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>If we are to summarize the figures we
have given above from three different groups of sources, the Armenian population in Turkey
is, according to: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarchate
1,780,000-3,000,000
<br>
Jacques de Morgan 2,380,000 <br>
Pasdermadjian 2,100,000 <br>
Hovannisian
1,500,000-2,000,000
<br>
Vahan Vardapet 1,263,000 <br>
Constenson
1,400,000 <br>
Walker
1,500,000-2,000,000
<br>
Ravenstein
760,000
(Asian Turkey) <br>
Clair Price
1,500,000
<br>
A,Powell
1,500,000
<br>
Lynch
1,325,000
<br>
Coinet
1,475,000
(Asian Turkey) <br>
(<i>Encyclopaedia Brittannica)</i> 1,500,000 <br>
Ottoman Empire 1,160,000-1,300,000 </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The fact that the Patriarchate did not
repeat the 3,000,000 figure it gave to the Berlin Congress, but reduced it to 1,780,000,
is significant. It is understood that the Patriarch spoke without reflection, thinking
that autonomy was going to be obtained anyway, but that he did not repeat this figure, and
even gave a figure under 2,000,000, when he saw that autonomy was not going to
materialize, and he thought of the subject of taxes. Nevertheless, we shall see below that
the figures given by the Patriarch for the six provinces too are quite exaggerated. It is
also useful to remember that the Patriarch, who said he was basing his figures on the
records of the Patriarchate, never revealed these records. Moreover, it is obvious that
Catholic and Protestant Armenians would not be included in the Patriarchate records. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarchate figures being what they
are, we can leave aside the Armenian sources who follow the Patriarchate, and Walker, who
is obviously the standard-bearer of the Armenians. Besides, the fi ures given by Vahan
Vardapet, member of the Patriarchate, clearly contr dict them. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Western sources give figures between
1,300,000 and 1500,000. However among themLynch to some extent, and Cuinet hava done
serious research. Cuinet's figure, when Istanbul is included, can be accepted as
1,500,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ottoman statistics give, for the same
date of 1896, the figure of 1,160,000. As the census was not taken by requiring
individuals to stay at home, and by going from one house to the next, if we are to accept
the number of Armenians who were not included in the census, for tax evasion reasons, as
around 150,000, the Ottoman figure for 1896 is approximately 1,300,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>If we are to take into account the fact
that Cuinet's research was based on information obtained from local Churches, that these
Churches continually tended to exaggerate, and if we remember that Vahan Varda et ave the
figure 1,300,000, then we can assume that this exaggerati n was also reflected in Cuinet's
computations. Moreover, Cuinet's statistics were before the 1894-( revolts. Armenian
authors are agreed that, following these revolts, hundreds of thousands of Armenians emi
rated from the Ottoman Empire. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Under these circumstances, we can accept
that the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire in 1896 was approximately 1,300,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>What is important for the Armenian
question is, not so much the total, population, but rather, the Armenian population in the
eastern provinces where the Armenians wanted to establish an autonomous Armenia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At the Berlin Congress, the Armenians had
shown the borders of the country which would be administered by them as bounded by the
RussiaIran border in the east; in the west, by a line extending from Tirebolou on the
Black Sea coast to the point where the Kizil Chubuk stream joins the Euphrates; and in the
south by a line extending from the Euphrates to the Bitlis stream from the south of lake
Van to the Iran border.(52) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>According to the .administrative division
of the eriod Tirebolou was a district centre. The six provinces, again accordi ß to the
administrative division of the period, are Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Di arbekir, Elaziz, and
Sivas. These provinces, according to the present-day administrative division, correspond
to the provisinces of Erzurum, Erzincan, Agri, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Elaziz, and Sivas.
These provinces, according to the present-day administrative division, correspond to the
provinces of Erzurum, Erzincan, Agri, Van,Hakkari, Bingol, Sivas, Amasya and Tokat, and to
the region of Shebin Karahisar to the south of Giresoun. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarchate, in the statistics it
prepared for the purpose of proving that Armenians were in a majority in the provinces,
counted all the Christians as Armenians, but when it came to countin the, </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>counted only the Turks g Muslims it .
Moreover, it did not adhere to the provincial borders, and in some cases drew a border in
the districts. Althou h it attempted in this way to confuse the foreign powers, it did not
obtain any result, not because of the inaccuracy of the statistics, but because of the
policies of the great powers that we have mentioned previously. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>However, because these figures which were
asserted then are also used today, it is necessary to examine them in detail. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Let us take a look at the letter sent by
the Patriarch Nerses, on 24 June 1880, to the British Ambassador: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>At a time when the question of reforms
concerning Armenia, subject of the third collective note submitted to the Sublime Porte,
is being discussed, I thought that your Excellency would be pleased to have at your
disposal serious statistical documents. The previous censuses of the population have been
done on the basis of number of houses; this method is absolutely erroneous, as the number
of inhabitants of every household are by no means identical, and depend on whether the
houses are occupied by Christians or Muslims. According to Muslim traditions, different
families cannot live in the same house; in Armenian customs, however, children and
brott?ers, after as well as before their marriage, continue to live together. As a result,
whlle one must count at most three to eight inhabitants in a Muslim house, we can coant
t?velve to sixty in an Armenian house. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Only a census ba?Sed on the number of
individuals can produce a reliable result. The enclosed table, which includes only the
censuses of the six Armenian provinces, properly so cafled, (there are besides, one
million Armenians in the rest of Asian Turkey), has been prepared in such a way as to put
the Christian population not above the actual figures, but below them. This will enable
your Excellency to get a clgar idea of the actual situation and of the proportion of the
various elements which it is necessary to protect. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>If we admit that we can, which is in fact
erroneous, consider all the nomads as Muslims, the Christian population is still by far
the largest; as for the Muslim population, properly so called, it does not even constitute
one third of the total. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>I consider it unnecessary to call the
attention of your Excellency to the reflections which the study of these statistics calls
forth; I realize how much your Excellency is already inclined in favour of the </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian cause, which is the one of
humanity and justice. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>I beg you Excellency to accept my thanks
for the past, and for the future, my respect, etc. (53) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This letter, which explains Turkish and
Armenian customs and practices, and which claims that an Armenian household may contain as
many as sixty people, is a document which must be viewed from beginning to end with
extreme caution. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>But the following reply given by the
Patriarch on 10 September 1880 to the Ambassador, as he pointed out the discrepancies in
the figures, especially concerning the Sivas province, is even more significant: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>I hasten to reply to the legitimate
observations in your letter dated the sixth of this month, concerning the Table of the
mixed population of the Sivas province which I had the honour of presenting to your
Excellency. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>While drawing up this Table, your
Excellency, I only considered the Armenian part of this province, such as Sivas Divrik and
the vicinity; I omitted, in consequence, all the south-eastern districts (sanjaks), which
are not part of Armenia, such as for example, Tokat (Armenian Gomana), Derende, Gurun,
Tonous, Azizie; the latter has recently been included in the Sivas province. . (54) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ambassador had this answer examined
in the registry office of the Embassy, and a memorandum prepared by Lieutenant-Colonel C.
W. Wilson for the Ambassador is enclosed in the same document in the British archives.
Wilson wrote: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The letter of the Armenian Patriarch
shows a great lack of knowled e concerning the local realities of the population of the
province of Sivas and the Christian population. Foç' example, Darende, Gurun, Tonous, and
Azizie are stated to be sanjaks (subdivisions of a province). Whereas, three of them are
kazas (sub-divisions <i>of a sanjak)</i> and one of them is only <i>a nahiye</i>
(subdivision of a kaza. Moreover, it is also stated that Azizie has recently been included
with Sivas, whi h is totally inaccurate. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After these documents, quoted here to
show the manner in which the Patriarchate worked and its intentions, let us now turn to
the population distribution in the six provinces, by looking at the information in our
sources. <br>
<br>
(d) The province of Erzurum </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch writes that the population of
Erzurum in 1827 was 130,000, and that 24,000 were Armenian; that after the 1829 Russian
occupation, Armenians too, left as the Russians were withdrawing; that the 1835 population
of Erzurum fell to 15,000, that there were 120 Armenian families left amon them, and that
at the time of his visit to Erzurum (after 1896), the population was 40,000, of which
10,500 were Armenian.(55) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is obvious that the subject is the
central kaza of Erzurum. He gives the population of the province as 544,502 on p. II/412
of his book, the Armenian population as 106,768. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenian Patriarch, in his letter
dated 24 June 1880, gives the population of the province as 270,000, and the Armenians as
111,000. In 1881, he increases this figure to 128,478. The figure given in Britain is
215,177. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet records the Armenian population as
134,967 in a total population of 645,702. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It was shown in an estimate of
theOttomans in 1890 that the total population was 555,159, the non-Muslim population being
113,488, and that the British Consul C.Lloyd agreed with this estimate. (56) As it is
known that according to the Ottomans there were 3,356, according to Cuinet 3,725,
according to the Patriarch 5,000 insignificant non-Muslim elements, excluding the
Armenians, then if we count their average total as 4,000, the Armenian population was
109,488. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ottomans made another estimate in
1895, through a control commission sent to the region as part of the reform programme. We
also find this estimate in the same British document. It gives the population of the
province as 669,717 and the non-Muslim population as 123,935. When we exclude, as in the
above, 4,000 from these figures, we obtain 119,935 as the Armenian population. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Among the British documents, there are
other estimates made by Major Trotter. (57) However, these were given cumulatively for the
provinces of Erzurum, Van and Bitlis (excluding Siirt). Consequently, we shall examine
these estimates cumulatively, after having recorded the separate estimates for the Van and
Bitlis provinces. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We can now tabulate the various estimates
made for Erzurum between 1880 and 1893: (Other elements are also included in the totals
besides the Turkish and Armenian figures.) </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>351,990</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>215,177</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>582,879</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880 Britain</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>120,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>111,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>270,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>196,269</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>128,478</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>337,767</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>441,671</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>109,488</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>555,159</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>444,548</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>109,838</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>559,055</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>500,782</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>134,967</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>645,702</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>545,782</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>121,935</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>669,717</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>428,495</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>106,768</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>554,502</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(e) The province of Van </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch gives the general population as
197,873, and the Armenian population as 75,644 at the time of his travels, in 1896. (58) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The figure given by the Patriarch for
1880 is cumulative with the province of Bitlis. In 1881 he gave the 133,859 figure. The
figure given in Britain was 184,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Among a total population of 430,000,
Cuinet gives the Muslim population as 241,000 and the Armenian population as 79,998. The
1890 Ottoman estimate is 282,582 Muslims and 135,912 non-Muslims. As there were
approximately 80,000 Nestorians in this province, the Armenian population was, then,
55,912. The estimate of Consul Lloyd was 115,000 Muslims and 155,988 non-Muslims. If we
subtract from this figure the 80,000 Nestorians, then the Armenian population was 75,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>According to the 1893 Ottoman census, the
population of the province was 119,860. There were 59,412 Muslims and 60,448 Armenians.
The Nestorians seem to have been excluded from this census. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Ottomans' 1895 estimate was 207,028
Muslims, and 101,204 non-Muslims. When we subtract the Nestorian population, there were
then 11,204 Armenians. It is apparent that in this estimate there was a confusion between
Nestorians and Muslims. For this reason, it will be better not to include this last
estimate in our list. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The summary of the Van province is then </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>120,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>184,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>384,363</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880 Britain</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>113,586</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>133,859</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>337,611</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>282,582</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>55,912</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>418,494</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Consul Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>115,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>75,988</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>270,988</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>241,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>79,988</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>430,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>119,860</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>60,448</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>180,308</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 52,229</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>75,644</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>127,873</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(f) The province of Bitlis </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch writes that the population of the
province in 1814 was 12,000, half of which was Armenian; that in 1838 it was between 15
and 18,000, one third of which was Armenian; that in 1868 there were 4,000 families,1,500
of which were Christian; and during his travels there were 27,673 Muslims, 16,089
Armenians, and 342 Assyrians.(59) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch gives a cumulative figure
for Van and Bitlis in 1880. The figure he gives in 1881 for Bitlis only is 130,460
Armenians. The figure given in Britian is 164,508. According to the Patriarch, there are
no non-Muslims other than Armenians. However, there were in Bitlis approximately 10,000
non-Muslims other than Armenians. We have subtracted 10 000 from the Ottomans' 1890 and
1895 estimates and Consul Lloyd's 1890 estimate in preparing the figures below: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 88,388</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>164,508</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>253,226</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880 Britain</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 21,121</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>130,460</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>151,581</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>167,054</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 99,944</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>276,998</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>166,794</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>111,082</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>287,876</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>254,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>131,390</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>398,625</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>167,054</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>102,856</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>276,998</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>352,713</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>116,874</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>479,587</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>145,454</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> 97,184</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>242,980</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Although the sanjak of Siirt was
previously within Diyarbekir, in 1880 it became part of Bitlis,Siirt is not included in
the Bitlis figures of the Patriarch's estimate. <br>
<br>
Major Trotter has included Siirt in Diyarbekir in the cumulative comparisons. </strong></font></p>
</body>
</html>
<body bgcolor="#000000">
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The figures accepted by Major Trotter for
Siirt are: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim
47,098 <br>
Christian 23,678<br>
(Armenian) (22,450) <br>
Total
70,776
</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>If we subtract these figures from the
Bitlis totals, and add them to the Diyarbekir figures, the general totals will not change,
but the comparison will be easier. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We obtain the following table for Bitlis
after the subtraction. We can include the figures given by the Patriarch and Lynch, as
they give their figures excluding Siirt. </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>88,388</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>164,508</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>253,226</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880 Britain</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>21,121</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>130,460</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>151,581</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>119,956</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>77,494</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>206,222</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>119,696</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>88,632</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>217,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>206,902</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>108,940</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>327,849</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>119,956</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>80,406</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>206,222</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>305,615</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>94,424</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>408,811</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>145,454</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>97,184</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>242,980</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We mentioned above that the Patriarch
gave a cumulative figure for Van and Bitlis in 1880. Now, as we have established the other
figures for Van and Bitlis, we can add these, and make a cumulative table including the
1880 figures of the Patriarch. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cumulative population for the Van and
Bitlis provinces: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>208,388</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>348,508</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>537,589</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880 Britain</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>151,500</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>252,500</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>489,000</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>134,407</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>264,319</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>489,192</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>402,538</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>133,406</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>624,716</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>234,696</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>164,620</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>488,088</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>447,902</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>168,938</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>757,849</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>239,816</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>140,854</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>386,530</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>197,683</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>172,828</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>370,853</strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We mentioned above that Major Trotter had
given some other figures, but that these were cumulative for the provinces of Erzurum, Van
and Bitlis (excluding Siirt). Now, by counting cumulatively also the figures which we have
given for these three provinces, and including Major Trotter's cumulative figures, we can
arrive at the table below. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cumulative population for Erzurum, Van
and Bitlis (excluding Siirt) provinces: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Consul Taylor</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>724,700</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>290,500</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,130,400</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1896 (a)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Berlin Project</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>528,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,150,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,700,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1878 (b)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarchate</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>560,378</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>563,685</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,120,468</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880 (c)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarchate</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>280,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>363,500</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>758,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881 (d)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarchate</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>330,676</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>392,797</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>862,959</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881 (d)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Vahan Vardabet</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>440,500</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1879 (e)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>844,209</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>242,894</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,179,875</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1879 (e)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Consul Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>676,367</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>274,108</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,043,247</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>948,684</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>323,905</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,403,551</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>734,364</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>250,692</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>945,585</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottomans</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>--</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>626,178</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>279,596</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>915,355</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is necessary to give some information
about the other figures provided by the British. (a) Taylor was Consul in Erzurum and
Diyarbekir, and the figures he obtained were taken from the Blue Book Turkey 15 (1877).
(b) Distributed by the Patriarchate at the Berlin Congress. (c) Given to Sir Charles Dilke
in July 1880. (d) Given by the Patriarch to the British Consul in 1880 and 1881, and
included above. Major Trotter excluded the Alawis and the Poschas from the Erzurum
figures. (e) Given by Vahan Vardabet, an agent in the services of the Patriarchate, to
Major Trotter. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The differences in the four sets of
figures which are given sequentially by the Patriarchate, together with the differences
between these figures and the other estimates, speak for themselves. Above, the numbers
(3,4,5) which Major Trotter refers to in his letter to the British Ambassador are the
three separate estimates of the Patriarchate. </strong></font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(g) The province of Diyarbekir </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We have compiled the list below by adding
the figures we have subtracted from Bitlis (to be able to compare them with the figures of
the Patriarch and Major Trotter) to the figures for Diyarbekir. The additions have been
made to the figures given by Cuinet and Consul Lloyd, to the Ottomans' 1890 and 1895
estimates, and to the 1893 census. The others were already given with the additions. Lynch
did not give the population of Diyarbekir as a province. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Diyarbekir is not included in the list
given by the Patriarchate in England and in its 1881 list. </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>145,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>88,800</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>293,800</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>328,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>76,958</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>416,082</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>287,672</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>79,320</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>383,220</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>351,682</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>90,034</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>541,580</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>384,742</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>101,579</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>542,238</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>336,689</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>83,047</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>438,740</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>452,351</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>86,202</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>532,781</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(h) The province of Elaziz </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We present below the corresponding
figures: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>125,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>158,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>300,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>172,584</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>170,059</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>280,163</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>300,194</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>74,158</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>374,352</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Llyod</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>205,353</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>81,155</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>286,508</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>505,446</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>69,718</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>575,314</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>300,188</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>79,974</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>381,346</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>494,881</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>84,422</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>579,303</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lynch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>182,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>93,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>276,756</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>c.1896</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(i) The province of Sivas </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The figures we have are as follows: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>388,218</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>199,245</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>605,063</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>694,425</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>243,515</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>945,081</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1881</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>735,489</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>116,712</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>892,201</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>859,514</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>170,433</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,086,015</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>766,558</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>118,191</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>926,671</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>801,630</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>131,361</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>971,981</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1895</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>(j) Total Armenian population</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>These are the six provinces. However, the
Patriarch also included Halep, for some reason. Therefore we give the figures for the
province of Halep: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Estimate made by</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Muslim</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Year of
estimate</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>135,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>90,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>342,500</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1880</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Cuinet</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>792,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>37,999</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>995,758</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1892</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1893 census</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>684,599</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>61,489</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>787,714</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1890s</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Now, if we summarize the Armenian population of the six
provinces, we obtain the following table. (We have taken the highest of the estimates made
by the Patriarch and the Ottomans. In the other estimates, we have shown both the highest
and the lowest figures.) </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="100%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td colSpan="2" width="40%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
Other</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Patriarch</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Ottoman</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Highest</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Lowest</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Erzurum</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>215,177</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>121,935</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>134,967(Cuinet)</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>106,768(Lynch)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Van,Bitlis</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>348,500</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>140,854</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>168,938(Cuinet)</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>164,620(Llyod)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Diyarbekir</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>88,800</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>86,202</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>101,579(Cuinet)</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>90,034(Llyod)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Elaziz</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>158,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>84,422</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>93,000(Lynch)</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>69,718(Cuinet)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Sivas</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>243,515</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>131,361</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>170,433(Cuinet)</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>170,433(Cuinet)</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Total</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1,053,992</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>564,774</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>668,917</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" vAlign="center" width="20%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>601,573</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The mean of the highest and the lowest
figures from the other sources is 635,245. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In view of the explanation given above
about the figures of the Patriarchate, we can conclude that the Armenian population of the
six provinces for the years 1895-6 was between 565,000 and 635,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As we can compute the general Armenian
population of Turkey as 1,300,000, we can accept the Armenian population outside the six
provinces as between 665,000 and 735,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>If this population we have given for the
years 1895-6 had been able to increase at a normal rate, it would naturally have attained
a higher figure. However, owing to the emigration which occurred after the 1895-6 revolts,
upon which all Armenian writers agree, the fact that this emigration increased after the
Balkan wars, and the population living in the areas which Turkey lost between 1896 and
1914, the population in 1914 remained around 1,300,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>We present below the provinces and
independent <i>sanjaks</i> which, according to the official Ottoman statistics, had an
Armenian population of at least l,000 in 1914: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Province of Istanbul 84,093 <br>
Province of Edirne 19,888 <br>
Province of Adana 57,686 <br>
Province of Aydin 20,766 <br>
Province of Halep 49,486 <br>
Province of Ankara 53,957 <br>
Province of Beirut 5,288 <br>
Province of Bitlis 119,132 <br>
Province of Bursa 61,191 <br>
Province of Katamonu 8,959 <br>
Province of Diyarbekir 73,226 <br>
Province of Erzurum 136,618 <br>
Province of Konya 13,225 <br>
Province of Elaziz 87,864 <br>
Province of Sivas 151,674 <br>
Province of Syria 2,533 <br>
Province of Trabzon 40,237 <br>
Province of Van 67,792 <br>
Sanjak of Bolou 2,972 <br>
Sanjak of Janik 28,576 <br>
Sanjak of Eskishehir 8,807 <br>
Sanjak of Izmit 57,789 <br>
Sanjak of Jerusalem 3,043 <br>
Sanjak of Kayseri 52,192 <br>
Sanjak of Kalei Sultaniye (Chanakkale) 2,541 <br>
Sanjak of Kara Hisari Sahip 7,448 <br>
Sanjak of Karasi (Balikesir) 8,704 <br>
Sanjak of Kutahya 4,548 <br>
Sanjak of Marash 38,433 <br>
Sanjak of Nigde 5,705 <br>
Sanjak of Urfa 18,370 </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Places having a population less than
1,000 are the Sanjaks of Antalya (630), Ichili (341), Menteshe (12), Chatalja (842), and
Zor (283). When these are added to the above figures, we obtain a total Armenian
population of 1,294,851, which is 6.9 per cent of the total population of the State of
18,520,016. </strong></font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>5. The 1877-8 Russian war and the Berlin Congress<br>
</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This war that began on 24 April was the
shortest war between Ottomans and Russians, and the one with the hardest consequences. It
is for this reason that it was recorded in Ottoman history as the 93 disaster, using the
Muslim calendar. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>With the declaration of war, Russian
armies attacked under the command of Loris Melikof, of Armenian origin, on the eastern
front. Before the commander of the eastern front, Ghazi Ahmet Mukhtar Pasha, had made the
necessary military arrangements, Bayazit, which was defenceless, was invaded by the
Russians on 30 April and Ardakhan fell on 17 May. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Russian forces engaged in the first
battle with the forces of Ahmet Mukhtar Pasha on 21 June, and retreated. The battle in
Zivin, too, was won by Ahmet Mukhtar Pasha. After a short waiting period, on 24 August
Ahmet Mukhtar Pasha attacked the Russian forces, who were attempting to block the road
between Kars and Erzurum, won the battle of Gedikler, and forced the Russians to retreat.
The battle of Yahniler, which started with a counter-attack by the Russians on 2 October,
ended with the victory of the Turks after three days. However, Russian forces who attacked
again on 15 November from Alajadagh could not be stopped this time. Ahmet Mukhtar Pasha
was forced to retreat to Erzurum, and Kars fell on l8th November. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Russians advanced up to Erzurum, but
Erzurum resisted until the end of the war, and the Russian soldiers entered the city only
eight days after the truce. Likewise, Batum was opened to the Russians only after the
truce, according to the stipulation of the truce. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>On the western front, the war ended on 31
January 1878 with the truce made in Edirne, as the Ottomans requested peace after Plevne
fell and the road to Istanbul was opened to the Russians. The terms of peace were
established in Ayastefanos (Yeshilkeuy). There was no clause in the truce concerning
Armenians. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Whatever happened, happened between 31
January, when the Edirne Truce was signed, and 3 March, when the Ayastefanos (San Stefano)
Treaty was signed. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is known that Armenians engaged in
extensive activities after the 18 December meeting where they annulled the decision to
take part in the war. We can summarize the activities they engaged in as follows. (60) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is understood that the Istanbul
Patriarchate sent a letter of complaint to the Foreign Minister of each of the great
powers before the end of the war, and that the Russian Armenians asked the Russian
government to help the Armenians in Turkey. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the war ended with the Edirne Truce,
it was decided in a secret meeting held by the Armenian National Assembly that a
memorandum should be sent to the Etchmiadzin Catholicate, to be submitted to the Tsar.
According to Esat Uras, who cites an Armenian author named Saruhan, a request based on
three possibilities was made to the Tsar: (1) that the regions up to the Euphrates be
united with Ararat, and that they be part of Russia; (2) if no land annexation is to take
place, then the privileges to be given to the Bulgarian nation be given also to the
Armenian nation; (3) that the occupied lands be not vacated until the reform to be made is
completed. (We have not found such information in the sources we have obtained. Because
the annexation of the eastern provinces to Russia was not in the interest of the
Armenians, we can assume that it was aimed at strengthening the second and third requests
which were essential.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It was also decided in the Armenian
Assembly that a delegation should be sent to the Edirne Pact talks, and that a petition
should be given to the Tsar and the Russian Prime Minister. It was requested in this
petition, dated 1/13 February 1878, which is said to be included in Leo's book entitled <i>Documents
of the Armenian question</i> (Tiflis,1916), that the rights granted to the Christians in
Roumelia be also given to them. It is apparent that the Catholicos did not approve of the
subject of annexing the eastern provinces to Russia, and even of the request made to the
Russians; this is reasonable because of the general conduct of the Armenian Church. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Despite all these efforts, an article
about the Armenians could not be obtained in the Edirne Truce agreement. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the peace talks started in
Ayastefanos, the Patriarch, again not to be left out, went to the Russian headquarters and
personally requested from Archduke Nicholas that a paragraph concerning Armenians be
included in the pact. (Although it is recorded in all Armenian sources that it was
requested that the headquarters of Archduke Nicholas intervene, it is not mentioned that
the Patriarch himself went to the headquarters to make the request.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This time the Armenian Church was
successful in its efforts, since the l6th paragraph provided that improvements and reforms
required by local needs should be implemented in areas inhabited by the Armenians, that
their security should be guaranteed, and that the evacuation by the Russian army of the
territories which it occupied in Armenia, and which were to be returned to Turkey, should
not begin until these measures had been put into </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>effect. (61) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians did not obtain autonomy
through this article. If the article that stipulated that the evacuation of the provinces
was dependent upon reforms had not been changed in the Berlin Congress, then maybe it
would not have been possible to take back, besides Batum, Kars, and Ardakhan, the areas up
to Erzurum which were under Russian occupation, and then the Armenians living in those
provinces might have fallen under Russian rule. Whether they would have been pleased with
such a situation is another matter. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Even Russia did not think that the
Ayastefanos Treaty would remain as it was signed. Actually, the signed document was called
`Mukaddemat-I Sulhiyye', a preliminary peace agreement. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As soon as the terms of this agreement
were made public, Austria and ' Britain objected to it, with France naturally joining
them. Finally, it was decided on Bismarck's initiative that a new congress should meet in
Berlin. The Congress met on 13 June, and the Berlin Treaty was signed on 13 July. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Armenians did not remain idle between
3 March, when the Ayastefanos Treaty was signed, and 13 June, when the Berlin Congress
met. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>On 17 March, the Patriarch paid a visit
to the British Consul in Istanbul. We summarize below the telegram sent by the British
Consul Layard, which reports the statements made by the Patriarch during this visit, and
his request that the Ottoman authorities should not hear of it. (62) </strong></font></p>
</body>
</html>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch stated that last year they
had had nothing to complain of in the Turkish administration, that they had preferred to
remain under Ottoman rule instead of becoming part of Russia, and that they had even
decided to go to war. However, after the Russian victory became certain and moreover, it
became known that some of the eastern provinces would be given to Russia, the situation
changed. He stated that now the Armenians were very angry towards him, because he had
previously adopted an antiRussian stand, and that they might even stone him. (This report
of Layard is sufficient to destroy all the Armenian claims, and the statements of the
Patriarch must constitute a sufficient confession.) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch, continuing his remarks,
stated that the Armenians were determined to pursue their rights, that they demanded the
same laws as the other Christian communities, that if they could not obtain these demands
through the intervention of Europe, then they would turn to Russia, and that they would
continue their agitation until their annexation by Russia, and he requested patronage for
the establishment of an autonomous Armenia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>During this meeting, Layard asked the
Patriarch what he meant by `Armenia'. According to the Patriarch, `Armenia' would include
the pashaliks of Van and Sivas, most of Diyarbekir, and the old kingdom of Cilicia. As
Layard stated that the overwhelming majority of the population of the region was Muslim,
the Patriarch agreed, but stated that the Muslims too, were not pleased with the present
administration, and for this reason they would prefer a Christian government. As Layard
expressed his doubt about the feasibility of such a project, the Patriarch asserted that
if the rightful demands of Armenians went unheeded, then the whole area in question would
rebel against the Turkish administration, and would be annexed by Russia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This very important document clearly
reveals Armenian intentions. Obviously, in view of these declarations made by Patriarch
Nerses, it is unnecessary to look for other explanations for the Armenian rebellions that
started later. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In his report, which we have summarized,
Layard also mentioned the existence of serious intrigues which drove the Armenians to
adopt such a stance, that an autonomous Armenia would sooner or later fall into the hands
of Russia, and that if Russia were to have borders with S ria this would not be in
England's interest. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In his second report, (63) Layard stated
that an Armenian who had held an important position in the Babiali had told him
confidentially that the prominent leaders of the Armenian community were preparing a
constitution for an autonomous Armenian province which they would present at Berlin, and
that if their demands were not accepted, then they were determined to continue their
agitation until they were accepted. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>As a matter of fact, the Armenians did
bring such a document to the Congress. Consequently, there is no reason to doubt that the
second part of the warning, that is the rebellions, which cost many lives, were already
being planned at that time. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarchate did not undertake these
initiatives only in Istanbul. It also made efforts at the level of the great powers which
were to participate in the Berlin Congress. The former Patriarch Hrimyan and Archbishop
Horen Narbey were sent with the same intention to Paris and London, and Horen Narbey went
to Russia and was received by the Tsar. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The former representative of the
khedivate of Egypt, Noubar Pasha (the father of Noubar Pasha who presided over the
Armenian delegations during the Sevres and Lausanne talks), was also a member of this
delegation at least during the meetings in France, for he paid a visit to the British
Consul in Paris, Lord Lyons, with the delegation. (64) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>When the Berlin Congress met, the
Patriarch, too, wanted to go to Berlin. When he was not allowed to go, Hrimyan and Narbey,
who were still in Europe, went to Berlin on 13 June. This delegation submitted to the
Congress the proposals which they had prepared for the establishment in Turkey of an
Armenia. The text of these proposals has been included in various sources.65 We present
here the text as translated into Turkish by Esat Uras: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The organization proposals for the
Armenia of Turkey submitted to the Berlin Congress by the delegation of Armenian
representatives. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>I </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>According to the enclosed map, Ottoman
Armenia includes the provinces of Erzerum and Van, the northern part of Diyarbekir, that
is the northern part of the <i>sanjak</i> of Harput, and in the west by taking the
Euphrates as the border, the sanjak of Ergani, the northern parts of SÅrt - which form
the Turkish part of Great Armenia - and the harbour of Rize which lies between Trabzon and
Batum, and which is necessary for commerce and export. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenia shall be administered by an
Armenian vali (governor of a province? appointed by fhe Babiali, on condition that this
appointment be approved by the guarantor countries, and the Vali shall reside in Erzurum. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The governor shall possess all the
authority of the executive powers, shall be responsible for keeping order within the
entire province, shall ensure the collection of taxes, and shall appoint the
administration officers under his responsibility. He shall select and appoint the judges,
shall convene the general assembly and preside over it, and shall look after the
administrative branches of the province. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The governor-general, who shall be
appointed for a period of five years, may be removed from his position during these five
years only by agreement with the guarantor countries. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The province shall have a central
administrative assembly which shall be presided over by the governor-general. Its members
shall include:1) Director of Finances, 2) Director of Public Works, 3) a judicial
consultant, 4) Commander of Public Security, 5) Inspector of Christian schools, b) Muslim
Inspector. This latter shall be appointed by the governor-general with the approval of the
Cadi. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The province shall be divided into
sanjaks, which shall be further divided into kazas. The governors of the sanjaks and the <i>kaymakams</i>
(the head officials of the kazas] shall be appointed by the governor-general. They shall
represent the governor-general in the administrative divisions of the province. Advisors
who shall be appointed by the governor-general shall help them in administrative matters. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>II </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Because the maintenance of order and
public security shall be the responsibility of the province, only 20 per cent of the
general revenues of the province shall be given every year to the State Treasury. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>After the necessary allowance has been
reserved from the remaining income of the province, for the civil service, the judicial
organization, the gendarmerie, and the militia, the remaining sum shall be allocated in
the following way: 80 per cent for the building and maintenance of roads and public
utility works; 20 per cent for the construction, repair, and maintenance of schools; after
the allowance has been reserved for institutions of higher education, the remaining
portion shall be distributed to Christian and Muslim schools, in proportion to the number
of members of every sect in every city. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>III </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>A religious court leader shall be
appointed by the Sultan, to inspect all the religious courts within the province.
Canonical law courts shall only deal with cases among Muslims. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>All legal commerce, and murder cases
shall be dealt with in regular courts, whether they have occurred among Christians, or
between Muslims and Christians. These courts shall be formed of three judges one of which
shall be president. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The governor-general shall appoint the
judges and the president of these courts. Petty offences shall be handled by the head
officials of the counties and the advisors. The organization of regular and religious
courts, their jurisprudence and authority, shall be established by special statutes and
regulations. Legal codes and criminal law shall be established according to the most
recent legal principles in Europe. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>IV </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Absolute freedom shall be granted for
religions and sects. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The administration of religious
institutions and the employment of priests shall be the responsibility of every
subdistrict. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>V </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The provincial public security force
shall be formed by:1) the gendarmerie, 2) the volunteer body. The volunteer soldiers shall
be Armenians and individuals who have lived in the province for at least five years.
Kurds, Circassians, and other nomadic tribes shall be excluded from this organization. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The gendarmerie shall be responsible for
keeping order and maintaining it within the entire province. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The gendarmerie shall be headed by a
commander appointed by the governorgeneral with the approval of the commander of the
provincial military forces and the gendarmerie shall immediately be brought under his
orders. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The volunteer soldiers shall be under the
command of the commander of the provincial military forces and shall have the duty of
helping the gendarmerie. The police force shall be composed of four thousand armed
soldiers, and the Ottoman government shall not have the authority to send them, as in the
case of other soldiers, to fortified areas of the province. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>VI </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The general assembly shall be formed in
the following way: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Each county shall have two
representatives, from each community, chosen by the Christian and Muslim inhabitants.
These representatives shall meet in the centre of the sanjak and shall elect two
representatives from each community, one representing the Muslim, and the other
representing the Armenian community. They shall elect and be elected in an equal manner: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>1. Those who are at least 25 years old,
and have an income, or those inhabitants of the province who pay any amount of direct
taxes. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2. Spiritual leaders and priests
belonging to various creeds. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>3. Teachers and lecturers. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Each leader of congregations belonging to
recognized religions (one from each sect) shall be members of the assembly. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The assembly shall meet once a year in
the provincial capital and shall examine the budget of the province, and establish the
setting and distribution of taxes. The governor-general shall submit each year a report
about the fiscal matters of the province to the assembly. The procedure for the setting
and distribution of taxes shall be altered with the aim of increasing the wealth of the
inhabitants of the province. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Every five years, the governor-general
and the assembly shall fix together the amount of money to be given to the Babiali, in
accordance with the above articles. </strong></font></p>
<p><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>VII </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Within three months of signing the
Protocol, an international commission shall be formed by the guarantor countries to
supervise the paragraphs of this regulation which will be put into effect. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>[A schedule was added, showing the
population:] </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The provinces of Erzurum and Van are
excluded from the areas which were decided to be given to Russia in the Ayastefanos Pact.
The densely populated centres of these provinces are: Baybourt, Erzinjan, Malazgirt, Mush,
Bitlis, and Van. The population has been reported as 2,066,000. When we subtract from this
figure the population of areas which have been relinquished to Russia, which is 366,000,
we obtain the figure of 1,700,000. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The distribution of this population in
various communities is: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian
1,150,000 <br>
Turk
400,000 <br>
Nomadic Kurd
80,000 <br>
Zazas or Dimbiliks having their own dialects
35,000 <br>
The Yazidis who worship the sun, who have <br>
their own dialects, and who are for the most<br>
part nomads
13,000 <br>
Nomadic Gypsies
3,000 <br>
Greeks and Jews
5,000 <br>
Assyrians
14,000<br>
1,7000,000</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>There are 109 churches in these two
provinces. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The densely populated centres of the
northern part of Diyarbekir, that is the eastern part of the san jak of Harput (the
beginning of the border is the west bank of the Euphrates), the sanjak of Ergani, and the
northern part of the sanjak of SÅrt, are: Harput, Eghin, Chimishkezek, Palu, and SÅrt.
The population of this region is: </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>According to the official yearbook
664,300 <br>
Less the number to remain in the province
302,000<br>
362,300</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Its distribution according to the various
communities: </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="27%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>180,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Turk</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>130,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Nomadic Kurds</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>40,0000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Zazas</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2,300</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Yazidis</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>2,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Assyrians,<br>
Chaldonians</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
8,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="57%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong></strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="43%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>362,300</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>There are 48 churches in this province. </strong></font></p>
<table border="0" cellPadding="0" cellSpacing="1" width="96%">
<TBODY>
<tr>
<td colSpan="8" width="100%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
General List</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Provinces</strong></font></td>
<td width="13%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Armenian</strong></font></td>
<td width="11%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Turk</strong></font></td>
<td width="11%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Kurd</strong></font></td>
<td width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Greek</strong></font></td>
<td width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Assyrian</strong></font></td>
<td width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Zaza</strong></font></td>
<td width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> Yazidi</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Erzurum, Van</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="13%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
1,150,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="11%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
400,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="11%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
80,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
5,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
14,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
35,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
13,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Northern part of Diyarbekir</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="13%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
180,000<br>
1,330,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="11%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
130,000<br>
530,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="11%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
40,000<br>
120,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="10%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
<br>
5,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
8,000<br>
22,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="right" width="12%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
2,000<br>
37,000</strong></font></td>
<td align="middle" width="15%"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong><br>
<br>
2,000<br>
15,000</strong></font></td>
</tr>
</TBODY>
</table>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>There are 3,000 Gypsies in Erzurum and
Van. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>
Total<br>
Armenian
1,330,000 <br>
Turk
530,000<br>
Kurd
120,000<br>
Other
82,000<br>
2,062,000</strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong> </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch visited the British Consul
in Istanbul again on 30 July. After having stated that they had submitted their proposals
to the Congress, he asked for British support.(66) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The fact that the request of the
Armenians was not handled at the Berlin Congress in the way and to the extent that they
had wished was due to the attitude of the British. On 4 June 1878, an agreement of two
paragraphs had been made between the British Consul Mr Layard and the Ottoman Foreign
Minister Saffet Pasha. According to the first article of this agreement, in the event of a
Russian attempt to invade some areas of Anatolia other than the sanjaks of Batum, Kars,
and Ardakhan, Britain would provide the Turks with military aid, and the Turks would
engage in reforms in the eastern provinces. Meanwhile, Cyprus was left to be occupied by
the British, to facilitate the military aid which Britain would be providing. According to
the second article, the ratifications of the agreement would be exchanged in a month. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Through this agreement, Britain took on
the responsibility of guaranteeing the implementation of reforms that would benefit the
Armenians. Because of this agreement, Russia followed a policy of not advocating reforms,
and even of hindering them, with the aim that the Armenians would be disappointed in the
British, and would then turn towards Russia. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The request of the Armenians was examined
at the Berlin Congress for the first time on 4 July 1878. (The Conference lasted for
thirty-one days, and during this time twenty sessions were held. ) However, the discussion
did not start with the Armenian request, but with a proposal by the British delegate Lord
Salisbury asking that the l6th article of Ayastefanos be modified, and that the
stipulation that the evacuation be dependent upon the reforms be annulled. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>More discussions took place on 6 July,
and on 8 July a new text replacing the l6th article of Ayastefanos was accepted. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>This new text, which was the 6lst article
of the Berlin Congress, stated: `The Babiali engages itself to put into effect, without
delay, the reforms and reorganization needed by the Armenians, due to the local conditions
of the provinces which they inhabit, and to protect their security and peace against the
Kurds and the Circassians. It shall report the preventive measures it will be taking on
this subject to the powers, as the need arises, and the powers shall supervise the
application of these measures. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>According to the Berlin Treaty, Russia
would keep, in the east, the <i>sanjaks</i> of Batum, Kars, and Ardakhan, but would return
the sanjak of Bayazit; moreover, it was decreed that the fortifications of Batum, which
was to become a free harbour, would be demolished. In addition the area of Kotur was
relinquished to Iran. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The 62nd paragraph of the Berlin Treaty
is worth remembering. This paragraph decreed that freedom to worship and to belong to a
sect would continue absolutely, that changing one's religion or sect would not entail a
change in other rights, that anyone, regardless of his religion or sect, could be a
witness in court, and that the Consuls in the Ottoman Empire would have the right to
officially protect religious institutions and charities. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>It is clear that the Armenians would also
take advantage of this decree. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>The Patriarch paid another visit to the
British Consul on 10 July. We do not think he was aware of the situation in Berlin,
considering the limited means of communication of that time. During his visit, the
Patriarch stated that the Armenians had been unable to persuade the Congress to accept
their proposals, and requested that, at least, an article should be included in the
agreement, that they would benefit from the protection of foreign powers when the need
arose. (67) </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>In spite of all their efforts, the
Armenians left the Berlin Congress without having obtained the autonomy of Armenia.
According to a rumour, as the delegation left Berlin it made a protest, and stated that
its request had gone unheeded because the Armenians were a peaceful nation, that this was
a good lesson for them, and that they would return having learned their lesson. </strong></font></p>
<p align="justify"><font color="#FFFF00"><strong>Armenian autonomy was not obtained at
Berlin. However, the Armenian question was established in international politics as the
last question concerning non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire and while the Congress was
still continuing, a Russian wing was formed among the Istanbul Armenians. </strong></font></p>
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