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162-695: After the Hamidian massacres , The Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia) forced Hamid to sign a new reform package designed to curtail the powers of the Hamidiye in October 1895 which, like the Berlin treaty, was never implemented. On October 1, 1895, two thousand Armenians assembled in Constantinople (now Istanbul ) to petition for the implementation of the reforms, but Ottoman police units converged on

324-508: A church in this city where there had never been a massacre, preached revenge for the martyrs of 1895? Constitution or none, it was all the same to him. 'Revenge,' he said, 'murder for murder. Buy arms. An Ottoman Muslim for every Armenian of 1895.' Stephan Astourian has meanwhile highlighted other causes, including growing resentment among Muslims as a result of increasing Armenian Christian immigration into Adana, Armenian landholders' introduction of new technological machinery that would displace

486-534: A close by the disastrous Treaty of Adrianople . While the reforms in question were mainly implemented to improve the military, the most notable development that arose out of these efforts was a series of schools teaching everything from math to medicine to train new officers. Later in his reign, Mahmud became involved in disputes with the Wāli of Egypt and Sudan , Muhammad Ali , who was technically Mahmud's vassal. The Sultan had asked for Muhammad Ali's help in suppressing

648-535: A few Turkish towns… I'd keel-haul every blithering mother's son of a Turk that wears hair." Americans on the mainland, such as Julia Ward Howe , David Josiah Brewer , and John D. Rockefeller , donated and raised large amounts of money and organized relief aid that was channeled to the Armenians via the newly established American Red Cross . Other humanitarian groups and the Red Cross helped by sending aid to

810-402: A fresh outburst of smoke near the girls' school showed that we were threatened by fire...Mr. Maurer and I took a crowbar and an axe to the destroy the wooden porches, shutters and stairways of the houses between the fires and the girls' school...When I first climbed to the roofs near the flames armed Moslems appeared...When they understood that I was not firing on them, but had come to work against

972-427: A great many Turkish artisans and craftsmen, and a popular rumor that a well-known Armenian landowner was to be crowned the ruler of an Armenian kingdom of Cilicia. Nearly 4,437 Armenian dwellings were torched which meant nearly half the town was razed, which led in turn to descriptions of the incidents as a "holocaust". The tension erupted into riots on April 1, 1909, which soon escalated into organized violence against

1134-517: A million pillaged and plundered. A similar figure is cited by the French diplomatic historian Pierre Renouvin who claimed that 250,000 Armenians died based on authenticated documents while serving his duty. Besides Armenians, some 25,000 Assyrians also lost their lives during the Diyarbekir massacres . In addition to the death toll many Armenians converted to Islam in an attempt to escape

1296-647: A one-word telegram: 'No'. Despite the great public sympathy that was felt for the Armenians in Europe, none of the European powers took concrete action to alleviate their plight. Frustrated with their indifference and failure to take action, Armenians from the ARF seized the European-managed Ottoman Bank on August 26, 1896 to bring the massacres to their full attention. The action resulted in

1458-567: A pain which they do not feel; they are an effeminate and cowardly people who hide behind the clothes of the great powers and raise an outcry for the smallest of causes." The provisions for reform in the Armenian provinces embodied in Article 61 of the Treaty of Berlin (1878) were ultimately not enforced and were followed instead by further repression. On January 2, 1881, collective notes sent by

1620-515: A peace: Adana is terrorized by 4,000 soldiers, who are looting, shooting, and burning. No respect is paid to foreign properties. Both French schools have been destroyed, and it is feared that the American school, commercial, and missionary interests in Adana are totally ruined. The new Governor has not as yet inspired confidence. There is reason to believe that the authorities still intend to permit

1782-552: A rebellion in Greece, but had not paid the promised price for his services. In 1831, Muhammad Ali declared war and managed to take control of Syria and Arabia by the war's end in 1833. In 1839, Mahmud resumed the war, hoping to recover his losses, but he died at the time news was on its way to Constantinople that the Empire's army had been defeated at Nezib by an Egyptian army led by Muhammad Ali's son, Ibrahim Pasha . In his time

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1944-423: A result. In his August 1909 report on the massacre, Charles Doughty-Wylie asserts that "The theory of an armed revolution on the part of the Armenians is now generally discredited with the more intelligent people." Doughty-Wylie explained that an uprising could not be said to be taking place without some concentration of forces, or without any effort to make use of the various available strongholds, and in any case

2106-481: A second time... and yet it is from an official document which the future historian will read when he wishes to compile the facts concerning those massacres. Official Ottoman sources downplayed or misrepresented the death toll numbers. The attempt of deliberately misrepresenting the numbers were noted by British Ambassador Phillip Currie in a letter to Prime Minister Lord Salisbury : The Sultan lately sent to me, in common with my colleagues, an urgent message inviting

2268-512: A soldier, my interpreter, and a photographer (Armenian) to the Gregorian [i.e., Armenian Apostolic ] Cemetery ....Along the wall on the north, in a row 20 ft (6 m) wide and 150 ft (46 m) long, lay 321 dead bodies of the massacred Armenians. Many were fearfully mangled and mutilated. I saw one with his face completely smashed in with a blow of some heavy weapon after he was killed. I saw some with their own necks almost severed by

2430-513: A sword cut. One I saw whose whole chest had been skinned, his fore-arms were cut off, while the upper arm was skinned of flesh. I asked if the dogs had done this. "No, the Turks did it with their knives." A dozen bodies were half burned. All the corpses had been rifled of all their clothes except a cotton undergarment or two....To be killed in battle by brave men is one thing; to be butchered by cowardly armed soldiers in cold blood and utterly defenseless

2592-552: A train at Adana and compelled the engineer to convey them to Tarsus , where they took part in the complete destruction of the Armenian quarter of that town, which is the best part of Tarsus. Their work of looting was thorough and rapid. The Ottoman government sent in the Army to keep peace, but it was alleged to have either tolerated the violence or participated in it. An unsigned newspaper report of 3 May 1909 indicated that Ottoman soldiery had arrived, but did not seem intent upon effecting

2754-469: Is another thing. The French vice consul of Diyarbakır , Gustave Meyrier, recounted to Ambassador Paul Cambon stories of Armenian women and children being assaulted and killed and described the attackers "as cowardly as they were cruel. They refused to attack where people defended themselves and instead concentrated on defenseless districts." The worst atrocity took place in Urfa , where Ottoman troops burned

2916-419: Is impossible to ascertain how many Armenians were killed, although the figures cited by historians have ranged from 80,000 to 300,000. The German pastor Johannes Lepsius meticulously collected data on the destruction and in his calculations, counted the deaths of 88,243 Armenians, the destitution of 546,000, the destruction of 2,493 villages, the residents of 646 of which were forcibly converted to Islam, and

3078-467: Is recorded in many sources as having worked strenuously to stop the massacres, at great personal risk. He was shot in the arm during the conflagration. Three orphanages were built after the massacres; in Adana, Hadjin and Dörtyol. Adana Dârüleytâm accommodated around 500 orphans. Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres , were massacres of Armenians in

3240-646: The Kanûn-ı Esâsî . After Abdülaziz's dethronement, Murat was enthroned. It was hoped that he would sign the constitution. However, due to health problems, Murat was also dethroned after 93 days; he was the shortest reigning sultan of the Empire. The First Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Kanûn-ı Esâsî (meaning " Basic Law " in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of

3402-639: The April Uprising of 1876 in several Bulgarian districts in Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. The suppression of the uprising and the atrocities committed by Ottoman soldiers against the civilian population increased the Bulgarian desire for independence. Because of the religious ties of the Albanian majority of the population with the ruling Ottomans and the lack of an Albanian state in past, nationalism

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3564-488: The Ayans , or municipal chiefs of Rayas in each district. Many other financial improvements were affected. By another important series of measures, the administrative government was simplified and strengthened, and a large number of sinecure offices were abolished. Sultan Mahmud II gave a valuable personal example of good sense and economy, organized the imperial household, suppressed all titles without duties, and eliminated all

3726-744: The Danubian Principalities and the Principality of Serbia , which had been semi-independent for almost six decades. In 1875, the tributary principalities of Serbia and Montenegro , and the United Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia , unilaterally declared their independence from the empire. Following the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) , the empire granted independence to all three belligerent nations. Bulgaria also achieved virtual independence (as

3888-495: The Diyarbekir massacres , where, at least according to one contemporary source, up to 25,000 Assyrians were also killed. The massacres began in the Ottoman interior in 1894, before they became more widespread in the following years. The majority of the murders took place between 1894 and 1896. The massacres began to taper off in 1897, following international condemnation of Abdul Hamid. The harshest measures were directed against

4050-626: The Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane in 1839 and the Hatt-ı Hümayun in 1856. Over the course of the 19th century, the Ottoman state became increasingly powerful and rationalized, exercising a greater degree of influence over its population than in any previous era. Despite these attempts at revitalisation, the empire could not stem the rising tide of nationalism , especially among the ethnic minorities in its Balkan provinces. Numerous revolts and wars of independence, together with repeated incursions by Russia in

4212-704: The Porte in 1829, after the end of the Greek War of Independence . In 1814, a secret organization called the Filiki Eteria was founded with the aim of liberating Greece. The Filiki Eteria planned to launch revolts in the Peloponnese , the Danubian Principalities , and capital with its surrounding areas. The first of these revolts began on 6 March 1821 in the Danubian Principalities which

4374-470: The Principality of Bulgaria ); its volunteers had participated in the Russo-Turkish War on the side of the rebelling nations. The government's series of constitutional reforms led to a fairly modern conscripted army, banking system reforms, the decriminalization of homosexuality, the replacement of religious law with secular law and guilds with modern factories. The Ottoman Ministry of Post

4536-655: The Serbesti-i Kürşad Nizamnamesi (1857); establishment of the School of Economical and Political Sciences ( Mekteb-i Mülkiye , 1859). In 1855 the Ottoman telegraph network became operational and the Telegraph Administration was established. The Crimean War (1853–1856) was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining Ottoman Empire. Britain and France successfully defended

4698-733: The Serbian Revolution against Ottoman rule erupted in the Balkans , running in parallel with the Napoleonic invasion . By 1817, when the revolution ended, Serbia was raised to the status of self-governing monarchy under nominal Ottoman suzerainty . In 1821 the First Hellenic Republic became the first Balkan country to achieve its independence from the Ottoman Empire. It was officially recognized by

4860-805: The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchak; founded in Switzerland in 1887) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (the ARF or Dashnaktsutiun, founded in 1890 in Tiflis ). Clashes ensued and unrest occurred in 1892 at Merzifon and in 1893 at Tokat . In 1894 the sultan began to target the Armenian people in a precursor to the Hamidian massacres. This persecution strengthened nationalistic sentiment among Armenians. The first notable battle in

5022-723: The Tauride Province , about 200,000 Crimean Tatars moved to the Ottoman Empire in continuing waves of emigration. Toward the end of the Caucasian Wars , 90% of the Circassians were exiled from their homelands in the Caucasus and settled in the Ottoman Empire. During the 19th century, there was an exodus to present-day Turkey by a large portion of Muslim peoples from the Balkans, Caucasus, Crimea and Crete . By

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5184-635: The Young Ottomans , on 23 November 1876 until 13 February 1878. The era ended with the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Abdülhamid II . The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in a rise in nationalism in the Balkans as well as in the Russian goal of recovering territorial losses it had suffered during the Crimean War , reestablishing itself in the Black Sea and following

5346-582: The Young Turk government came to power in a bloodless revolution . Within a year, the Turkish Empire 's Armenian population, empowered by the dismissal of Abdul Hamid II , began organizing politically in support of the new government, which promised to place them on equal legal footing with their Muslim counterparts. Having long endured so-called dhimmi status, and having suffered the brutality and oppression of Hamidian leadership since 1876,

5508-517: The capitulations of the Ottoman Empire , dating back to the first commercial treaties signed with France in 1536 and taken further with capitulations in 1673 and 1740, which lowered duties to 3% for imports and exports. The liberal Ottoman policies were praised by British economists such as John Ramsay McCulloch in his Dictionary of Commerce (1834), but later criticized by British politicians such as Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli , who cited

5670-408: The next period rose dramatically. Uprisings in Ottoman territory had many far-reaching consequences during the 19th century and determined much of the Ottoman policy during the early 20th century. Much of the Ottoman ruling elite questioned whether the policies of the state were to blame: some felt that the sources of ethnic conflict were external and unrelated to issues of governance. While this era

5832-514: The 112 in the Stamboul [old city of Constantinople] prison were represented as being Muslims, and it was only discovered by accident that 109 were Christians. Some scholars, such as the Soviet historians Mkrtich G. Nersisyan, Ruben Sahakyan , John Kirakosyan , and Yehuda Bauer , and most recently Benny Morris and Dror Ze'evi in their book The Thirty-Year Genocide , subscribe to the view that

5994-438: The 19th century, and it affected territories within the Ottoman Empire. A burgeoning national consciousness , together with a growing sense of ethnic nationalism , made nationalistic thought one of the most significant ideas imported to the Ottoman Empire. The empire was forced to deal with nationalism from both within and beyond its borders. The number of revolutionary, secret societies which turned into political parties during

6156-615: The Acting British Vice-Consul at Konieh and Mersina , Major Charles Doughty-Wylie considers "The Causes of the Massacre". From this document the historian Vahakn Dadrian culls the text: The Turks, masters for centuries, found their great stumbling block in equality with the Christians... Among the fiercer professors of Islam resentment grew. Were God's adversaries to be the equals of Islam? In every cafe

6318-577: The Age of Enlightenment and the rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire, the Armenian national liberation movement developed in the early 1860s. The factors contributing to its emergence made the movement similar to that of the Balkan nations, especially the Greeks. The Armenian élite and various militant groups sought to improve and defend the mostly rural Armenian population of the eastern Ottoman Empire from

6480-444: The Armenian cathedral, in which 3,000 Armenians had taken refuge, and shot at anyone who tried to escape. Abdul Hamid's private first secretary wrote in his memoirs about Abdul Hamid that he "decided to pursue a policy of severity and terror against the Armenians, and in order to succeed in this respect he elected the method of dealing them an economic blow... he ordered that they absolutely avoid negotiating or discussing anything with

6642-610: The Armenian population of Adana and in several surrounding cities. By April 18, over 1,000 people were reported dead at Adana alone, with additional unknown casualties in Tarsus and Alexandretta . Thousands of refugees filled the American embassy in Alexandretta, and a British warship was dispatched to its shores; three French warships were dispatched to Mersin , where the situation was "desperate", and many Western consulates were overwhelmed by Armenian refugees. The Ottoman military

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6804-498: The Armenian resistance took place in Sasun . Hunchak activists, such as Mihran Damadian , Hampartsoum Boyadjian , and Hrayr Dzhoghk , encouraged resistance against double taxation and Ottoman persecution. The ARF armed the people of the region. The Armenians confronted the Ottoman army and Kurdish irregulars at Sasun, finally succumbing to superior numbers and to Turkish assurances of amnesty, which never materialized. In response to

6966-428: The Armenian towns in the Ottoman Empire. The Great Powers (Britain, France, Russia) forced Hamid to sign a new reform package designed to curtail the powers of the Hamidiye in October 1895 which, like the Berlin treaty, was never implemented. On October 1, 1895, two thousand Armenians assembled in Constantinople (now Istanbul ) to petition for the implementation of the reforms, but Ottoman police units converged on

7128-483: The Armenians and that they inflict upon them a decisive strike to settle scores." The killings continued until 1897. In that last year, Sultan Hamid declared the Armenian Question closed. Many Armenian revolutionaries had either been killed or escaped to Russia. The Ottoman government closed Armenian societies and restricted Armenian political movements. Some non-Armenian groups were also attacked during

7290-648: The Armenians and to remove, "if not by political action then by resort to the knife... the fever spot of the Turkish Empire." King Leopold II of Belgium told British Prime Minister Salisbury that he was prepared to send his Congolese Force Publique to "invade and occupy" Armenia. The massacres were an important item on the agenda of the United States President Grover Cleveland , and in his presidential platform for 1896, Republican candidate William McKinley listed

7452-511: The Armenians in Cilicia perceived the nascent Young Turk government as a godsend. With Christians now being granted the right to arm themselves and form politically significant groups, it was not long before Abdul Hamid loyalists, themselves acculturated into the system that had perpetrated the Hamidian massacres of the 1890s, came to view the empowerment of the Christians as coming at their expense. The countercoup of 1909 wrested control of

7614-430: The Armenians. He declared that we were powerless to save the Armenians. It seems that after we left the school, Miss Wallace, Mr. Chambers, and a young Armenian preacher attempted to cross the street from Miss Wallace's to the school. Just at this time a mob rushed around the corner. The infuriated Turks recognized the preacher as an Armenian, and although Mr. Chambers threw his arms about him and did all in his power to save

7776-454: The Armenians." 8,000 refugees filled the missions of Tarsus, where order had been restored under martial law, the dead numbering approximately 50. An April 22 message from an American missionary in Hadjin indicated that the town was taking fire intermittently, that surrounding Armenian properties had been burned, and that siege was inevitable. The entirety of the Armenian population of Kırıkhan

7938-528: The Christians of the Empire, the Armenian population "look(ed) to the Young Turks for future protection." An American missionary stationed in Tarsus but visiting Adana during the period, Reverend Herbert Adams Gibbons of Hartford , described the scene in the days leading up to the 27th of April: Adana is in a pitiable condition. The town has been pillaged and destroyed ... It is impossible to estimate

8100-477: The Christians' expense and to satisfy their men's whims." One headline in a September 1895 article by The New York Times ran "Armenian Holocaust," while the Catholic World declared, "Not all the perfume of Arabia can wash the hand of Turkey clean enough to be suffered any longer to hold the reins of power over one inch of Christian territory." The rest of the American press called for action to help

8262-541: The Congress, undertook to adjust boundaries to minimize the risks of major war, while recognizing the reduced power of the Ottomans, and balance the distinct interests of the great powers. As a result, Ottoman holdings in Europe declined sharply; Bulgaria was established as an independent principality inside the Ottoman Empire, but was not allowed to keep all its previous territory. Bulgaria lost Eastern Rumelia , which

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8424-523: The Constitution, and unity." Both parties declared that rumor of Armenian efforts toward independence were false. The Unionists took care to have an Armenian minister present in the governments formed after 6 August 1909, which could also be interpreted as an attempt to demonstrate the CUP's distance from the Adana events. The government of Turkey , as well as some Turkish writers and nationalists , deny

8586-511: The Divan had been introduced two centuries prior, during the reign of Suleiman I , and was considered to be one of the causes of the decline of the Empire. Mahmud II also addressed some of the worst abuses connected with the Vakifs , by placing their revenues under state administration. However, he did not venture to apply this vast mass of property to the general purposes of the government. In 1804

8748-460: The European powers reminding the sultan of the promises of reform failed to prod him into action. The eastern provinces of the Ottoman Empire were historically insecure; the Kurdish rebels attacked the inhabitants of towns and villages with impunity. In 1890–91, at a time when the empire was either too weak and disorganized or reluctant to halt them, Sultan Abdul Hamid gave semi-official status to

8910-513: The Greek island of Hydra , the allied fleet intercepted the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet in the battle of Navarino . Following a week-long standoff, a battle began which resulted in the destruction of the Ottoman–Egyptian fleet. With the help of a French expeditionary force proceeded to the captured part of Central Greece by 1828. The Greek War of Independence saw the beginning of the spread of

9072-453: The Janissaries and removed them altogether during the 1826 Auspicious Incident . Efforts for a new system (1826–1858) began following the Auspicious Incident. Economic historian Paul Bairoch argues that free trade contributed to deindustrialization in the Ottoman Empire . In contrast to the protectionism of China, Japan, and Spain , the Ottoman Empire had a liberal trade policy, open to foreign imports. This policy had its origins in

9234-503: The Kurdish bandits. Made up mainly of Kurdish tribes, but also of Turks, Yörüks , Arabs, Turkmens and Circassians, and armed by the state, they came to be called the Hamidiye Alaylari (" Hamidian Regiments"). The Hamidiye and Kurdish brigands were given free rein to attack Armenians, confiscating stores of grain, foodstuffs, and driving off livestock, confident of escaping punishment as they were subjects of military courts only. Armenians established revolutionary organizations, namely

9396-434: The Ministry of Education ( Mekatib-i Umumiye Nezareti , 1847, which later became the Maarif Nezareti , 1857); the abolition of slavery and slave trade (1847); the establishment of the first modern universities ( darülfünun , 1848), academies (1848) and teacher schools ( darülmuallimin , 1848). Samuel Morse received his first ever patent for the telegraph in 1847, at the old Beylerbeyi Palace (the present Beylerbeyi Palace

9558-535: The Moslems when the Armenians on the other end of the street commenced firing on the houses where the looters were at work. Suddenly two shots rang out not more than eight yards from where we were working. Mr. Rogers...was mortally wounded...The other bullet hit Mr. Maurer...Immediately after these two shots several other bullets from the Moslems, who had fired them, whizzed past me...Both men passed peacefully away. They died as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. The missionaries found themselves pinned down in their school amidst

9720-434: The Muslim population of an imminent Armenian insurrection. By April 14 the Armenian quarter was attacked by a Muslim mob, and many thousands of Armenians were killed in the ensuing weeks. Other reports emphasize that a "skirmish between Armenians and Turks on April 13 set off a riot that resulted in the pillaging of the bazaars and attacks upon the Armenian quarters." Two days later, more than 2,000 Armenians had been killed as

9882-415: The Muslims, but the ultimate goal was the creation of an Armenian state in the Armenian-populated areas controlled at the time by the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. Abdülaziz continued the Tanzimat and Islahat reforms. New administrative districts ( vilayets ) were set up in 1864 and a Council of State was established in 1868. Public education was organized on the French model and Istanbul University

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10044-413: The Netherlands, as well as internal Ottoman bondholders. The Ottoman debt would prove to be a heavy weight on the Empire and only added to the other crises that emerged in the 1870s. The reformist period peaked with the Constitution, called the Kanûn-u Esâsî (meaning " Basic Law " in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of the Young Ottomans , which was promulgated on 23 November 1876. It established

10206-467: The Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, resulting in 50,000 orphaned children. The massacres are named after Sultan Abdul Hamid II , who, in his efforts to maintain the imperial domain of the declining Ottoman Empire , reasserted pan-Islamism as a state ideology. Although the massacres were aimed mainly at the Armenians, in some cases they turned into indiscriminate anti-Christian pogroms , including

10368-490: The Ottoman Empire (1683–1827) ended with the dismemberment of Ottoman Classical Army . The issue during the decline and modernization of the Ottoman Empire (1828–1908) was to create a military (a security apparatus) that could win wars and bring security to its subjects. That goal took multiple Sultans with multiple reorganizations during this period. At the end of this period, with the Second Constitutional Era in 1908, Ottoman military became modernized and professionalized in

10530-415: The Ottoman Empire against Russia. Most of the fighting took place when the allies landed on Russia's Crimean Peninsula to gain control of the Black Sea. There were smaller campaigns in western Anatolia , the Caucasus , the Baltic Sea , the Pacific Ocean and the White Sea . It was one of the first "modern" wars, as it introduced new technologies to warfare, such as the first tactical use of railways and

10692-421: The Ottoman Empire and bolstering British ties to Russia. The French ambassador described Turkey as "literally in flames," with "massacres everywhere" and all Christians being murdered "without distinction." A French vice consul declared that the Ottoman Empire was "gradually annihilating the Christian element" by "giving the Kurdish chieftains carte blanche to do whatever they please, to enrich themselves at

10854-411: The Ottoman Empire as "an instance of the injury done by unrestrained competition" in the 1846 Corn Laws debate: There has been free trade in Turkey, and what has it produced? It has destroyed some of the finest manufactures in the world. As late as 1812 these manufactures existed, but they have been destroyed. That was the consequence of competition in Turkey, and its effects have been as pernicious as

11016-460: The Ottoman Empire suffered greatly from the Panic of 1873 ), territorial (mentioned above), and the hope among some Armenians that one day all of the Armenian territory might be ruled by Russia, led to a new restiveness among Armenians who were living inside the Ottoman Empire. The Armenians sent a delegation which was led by Mkrtich Khrimian to the 1878 Congress of Berlin to lobby the European powers to include proper safeguards for their kinsmen in

11178-410: The Ottoman Empire. After the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate on 28 February 1870, a large-scale armed struggle started to develop as late as the beginning of the 1870s with the establishment of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation and the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee , as well as the active involvement of Vasil Levski in both organizations. The struggle reached its peak with

11340-505: The Ottoman subjects perfect security for their lives, honor and property; Establishment of the Ministry of Healthcare ( Tıbbiye Nezareti , 1850); the Commerce and Trade Code (1850); establishment of the Academy of Sciences ( Encümen-i Daniş , 1851); establishment of the Şirket-i Hayriye which operated the first steam-powered commuter ferries (1851); the first European style courts ( Meclis-i Ahkam-ı Adliye , 1853) and supreme judiciary council ( Meclis-i Ali-yi Tanzimat , 1853); establishment of

11502-439: The Soğukçeşme quarter and the Postahane-i Amire in the Yenicami quarter. On 23 May 1909, the first manual telephone exchange with a 50 line capacity entered service in the Büyük Postane (Grand Post Office) in Sirkeci . The rise of national awakening of Bulgaria led to the Bulgarian revival movement. Unlike Greece and Serbia , the nationalist movement in Bulgaria did not concentrate initially on armed resistance against

11664-663: The Sultan and Armenian party activists in France, Britain, Austria and elsewhere. "Under no circumstances," he wrote to Max Nordau , "are the Armenians to learn that we want to use them in order to erect a Jewish state." Herzl's courting the Sultan's favor was protested by other Zionists. Bernard Lazare published an open letter critical of Herzl and resigned from the Zionist Action Committee in 1899. The one fellow leader Herzl sought to enlist, Max Nordau, replied with

11826-538: The Sultan has any means of knowing about it. It is a most remarkable story, and the discrepancies are as thick as leaves in Valambrosa. On the face of it, it cannot be true, and before a jury it would hardly have any weight as evidence. It is extremely important, however, because it is probably a fair representation of the occurrences of the last few years. That it is a misrepresentation, so much so that it can fairly be called fabrication, becomes clear when you look at it

11988-493: The Turkish mind, the Armenians had tried to overstep these limits by appealing to foreign powers, especially England. They, therefore, considered it their religious duty and a righteous thing to destroy and seize the lives and property of the Armenians." The combination of Russian military success in the recent Russo-Turkish War , the clear weakening of the Ottoman Empire in various spheres including financial spheres (from 1873,

12150-517: The Western notion of nationalism, stimulated the rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire , and eventually caused the breakdown of the Ottoman millet concept. Unquestionably, the concept of nationhood prevalent in the Ottoman Empire was different from the current one as it was centered on religion. Mahmud II's most notable achievements include the abolition of the Janissary corps in 1826,

12312-468: The act was lauded by the European and American press, which vilified Hamid and painted him as the "great assassin" and "bloody Sultan." The Great Powers vowed to take action and enforce new reforms, although these never came to fruition due to conflicting political and economic interests. After George Hepworth , a preeminent journalist of the late 19th century, traveled through Ottoman Armenia in 1897, he wrote Through Armenia on Horseback , which discusses

12474-536: The ages, occupation, and property of the male family members only were counted. The first nationwide Ottoman census was in 1844. The first national identity cards which officially named the Mecidiye identity papers, or informally kafa kağıdı ( head paper ) documents. In 1856, the Hatt-ı Hümayun promised equality for all Ottoman citizens regardless of their ethnicity and religious confession; which thus widened

12636-506: The ancient rights of Turkish governors to condemn men to instant death at will; the Paşas , the Ağas , and other officers were enjoined that "they should not presume to inflict, themselves, the punishment of death on any man, whether Raya or Turk, unless authorized by a legal sentence pronounced by the kadi , and regularly signed by the judge." The Tanzimat reforms did not halt the rise of nationalism in

12798-425: The arm-bearing Armenian and his ready tongue irritated the ignorant Ottoman Muslims. Threats and insults passed on both sides. Certain Armenian leaders, delegates from Constantinople, and priests (an Armenian priest is in his way an autocrat) urged their congregations to buy arms. It was done openly, indiscreetly, and, in some cases, it might be said wickedly. What can be thought of a preacher, a Russian Armenian, who in

12960-451: The beginning of modernization and had immediate effects such as introducing European-style clothing, architecture, legislation, institutional organization, and land reform. The Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829 did not give him time to organize a new army, and the Sultan was forced to use these young and undisciplined recruits in the fight against the veterans of the Tsar. The war was brought to

13122-468: The causes and effects of the recent massacres. In one chapter Hepworth describes the disparity between the reality of the Massacre in Bitlis and the official reports that were sent to the Porte . After retelling the Ottoman version of events, which places the blame solely on the Armenians of Bitlis, Hepworth writes: …That is the account of the affair which was sent to Yildiz, and that story contains all that

13284-456: The central government. When a nascent form of nationalism spread among the Armenians of Anatolia, including demands for equal rights and a push for autonomy, the Ottoman leadership believed that the empire's Islamic character and even its very existence were threatened. The chief dragoman (Turkish interpreter) of the British embassy wrote that the reason the Ottomans committed these atrocities

13446-526: The cold winter of 1895–96. William Sachtleben , an American journalist who happened to be in Erzurum after the massacre there in 1895, recounted the grisly scene he came across in a lengthy letter to The Times : What I myself saw this Friday afternoon [November 1] is forever engraven on my mind as the most horrible sight a man can see. I went with one of the cavasses of the English Legation,

13608-582: The deaths of ten of the Armenian militants, Ottoman soldiers and the massacre of 6,000 Armenian civilians living in Constantinople by Ottomans. According to the foreign diplomats in Constantinople, Ottoman central authorities instructed the mob "to start killing Armenians, irrespective of age and gender, for the duration of 48 hours." The killings stopped only when the mob was ordered to desist from such activity by Sultan Hamid. Though their demands were rejected and new massacres broke out in Constantinople,

13770-651: The debts were owed. The concerted efforts of the United Kingdom and France, whose citizens were the chief bondholders on the Ottoman debt, would lead to the creation of the Ottoman Public Debt Administration in 1881. It would function as an independent arm of the Ottoman Bureaucracy, whose goal was to secure tax revenue to send back home to its citizen bondholders. Other represented nations were Germany, Italy, Austria,

13932-520: The desecration of 645 churches and monasteries, of which 328 were converted into mosques. He also estimated the additional deaths of 100,000 Armenians due to famine and disease totalling a number of approximately 200,000. In contrast the ambassador of Britain estimated 100,000 were killed up until early December 1895. However, the period of massacres spread well into 1896. German foreign ministry operative and Turkologist Ernst Jäckh claimed that 200,000 Armenians were killed and 50,000 were expelled and

14094-690: The dogs... Mother, I am safe and sound. Father, 20 days ago we made war on the Armenian unbelievers. Through God's grace no harm befell us... .There is a rumour afoot that our Batallion will be ordered to your part of the world—if so, we will kill all the Armenians there. Besides, 511 Armenians were wounded, one or two perish every day. If you ask after the soldiers and bashi bozouks [wild irregulars], not one of their noses has bled... May God bless you.... Another letter from December 23, 1895 says: I killed [the Armenians] like dogs... .If you ask news in this manner, we slew 2,500 Armenians and looted their goods It

14256-501: The early 19th century, as many as 45% of the islanders may have been Muslim, who had a great influence in molding the country's fundamental features. These people were called Muhacir under a general definition. By the time the Ottoman Empire came to an end in 1922, half of the urban population of Turkey was descended from Muslim refugees from Russia. Crimean Tatar refugees in the late 19th century played an especially notable role in seeking to modernize Turkish education. Influenced by

14418-503: The effects of the contrary principle in Spain. The Ottoman public debt loomed large during this period. The Empire had previously not taken foreign loans. But with the demands of the Crimean War , the Empire took its first loans in 1854. The public debt quickly ballooned, becoming larger than any other European nation's. The Panic of 1873 depressed the economy, and was followed by poor harvests. The Ottomans found themselves unable to repay

14580-507: The empire, owing to their higher educational levels, started to pull ahead of the Muslim majority, leading to much resentment on the part of the latter. In 1861, there were 571 primary and 94 secondary schools for Ottoman Christians with 140,000 pupils in total, a figure that vastly exceeded the number of Muslim children in school at the same time, who were further hindered by the amount of time spent learning Arabic and Islamic theology. In turn,

14742-471: The empire, who were always considered second-class citizens, had begun to ask for civil reforms and better treatment by the government in the mid-1860s and early 1870s. They pressed for an end to the usurpation of their land, "the looting and murder in Armenian towns by Kurds and Circassians , improprieties during tax collection, criminal behavior by government officials and the refusal to accept Christians as witnesses in trial." These requests went unheeded by

14904-576: The end of the century, from the Russian perspective, Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro and the autonomy of Bulgaria were achieved. That alarmed the Great Powers. After the Congress of Berlin, the Russian expansion was controlled by stopping the expansion of Bulgaria. The Russian public felt that at the end of Congress of Berlin thousands of Russian soldiers had died for nothing. The military of the Ottoman Empire remained an effective fighting force until

15066-586: The establishment of a modern Ottoman army, and the preparation of the Tanzimat reforms in 1839. By 1826, the sultan was ready to move against the Janissary in favor of a more modern military. Mahmud II incited them to revolt on purpose, describing it as the sultan's "coup against the Janissaries". The sultan informed them, through a fatwa , that he was forming a new army, organized and trained along modern European lines. As predicted, they mutinied, advancing on

15228-561: The establishment of the Meclis-i Maarif-i Umumiye (1841) which was the prototype of the First Ottoman Parliament (1876); the reorganisation of the army and a regular method of recruiting, levying the army and fixing the duration of military service (1843–44); the adoption of an Ottoman national anthem and Ottoman national flag (1844); the institution of a Council of Public Instruction (1845) and

15390-802: The establishment of the first telegraph networks (1847–1855) and railways (1856); the replacement of guilds with factories; the establishment of the Ottoman Central Bank (originally established as the Bank-ı Osmanî in 1856, and later reorganised as the Bank-ı Osmanî-i Şahane in 1863) and the Ottoman Stock Exchange ( Dersaadet Tahvilat Borsası , established in 1866); the Land Code ( Arazi Kanunnamesi , 1857); permission for private sector publishers and printing firms with

15552-619: The eventual peace agreement. But the sultan was not prepared to relinquish any of his power. Abdul Hamid believed that the woes of the Ottoman Empire stemmed from "the endless persecutions and hostilities of the Christian world." He perceived that the Ottoman Armenians were an extension of foreign hostility, a means by which Europe could "get at our most vital places and tear out our very guts." Turkish historian and Abdul Hamid biographer Osman Nuri observed, "The mere mention of

15714-568: The expanding West. The period of these reforms is known as the Tanzimat , and led to the end of the Old Regime period . Despite the Ottoman empire's precarious international position, the central state was significantly strengthened. The process of reforming and modernization in the empire began with the declaration of the Nizam-I Cedid (New Order) during the reign of Sultan Selim III and was punctuated by several reform decrees, such as

15876-466: The extermination of all Christians . According to the official Ottoman data, there were a total of 3,521 casualties in Adana city. Of these, 2,093 were Armenians, 782 Muslims, 613 Assyrians and 33 Greeks. Government figures are based on records of the registry office, and lists compiled by Mukhtars and priests of certain localities. Grand Vizier Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha indicated that the massacre

16038-481: The financial situation of the Empire was dire, and certain social classes had long been oppressed by burdensome taxes. In dealing with the complicated questions that arose, Mahmud II is considered to have demonstrated the best spirit of the best of the Köprülüs . A Firman of 22 February 1834 abolished the vexatious charges which public functionaries when traversing the provinces, had long been accustomed to taking from

16200-477: The flames, they lowered their rifles and assured me with many pledges that I might go unmolested...we repeatedly begged some Armenian young men who were lurking around the street corners shielded from the Moslem fire to put away their arms and come and save the school building... we came back to the school and asked for volunteers, Mr. Rogers came at once... We had thus worked a considerable time without being harmed by

16362-570: The form of European Armies. Mahmud II had to deal with multiple issues inherited from generations past. These issues lasted all through his reign. Shortly, the Eastern Question with Russia, England, and France, and military problems arising from mutinous Janissaries and factious Ulemas. He also faced numerous internal conflicts with Egyptians, Wahabbis, Serbians, Albanians, Greeks, and Syrians, and had administrative problems from rebellious Pashas, who would fain have founded new kingdoms on

16524-558: The freedom of belief and equality of all citizens before the law. The empire's First Constitutional era , was short-lived. But the idea of Ottomanism proved influential. A group of reformers known as the Young Ottomans , primarily educated in Western universities, believed that a constitutional monarchy would give an answer to the empire's growing social unrest. Through a military coup in 1876, they forced Sultan Abdülaziz (1861–1876) to abdicate in favour of Murad V . However, Murad V

16686-464: The government from the secularist Young Turks , and Abdul Hamid II briefly recovered his dictatorial powers. Appealing to the reactionary Muslim population with populist rhetoric calling for the re-institution of Islamic law under the banner of a pan-Islamic caliphate , the Sultan mobilized popular support against the Young Turks by identifying himself with the historically Islamic character of

16848-496: The heathen were speaking great mouthing words of some godless and detested change... Abdul Hamid became celebrated, in this context, according to Doughty-Wylie, because he "had set the fashion of massacres". From the same document, the Turkish political scientist Kamuran Gurun emphasizes that the right to bear arms had caused a popular fashion of arms-bearing. But, "worse followed", in Doughty-Wylie's words: The swagger of

17010-535: The higher educational levels of the Christians allowed them to play a large role in the economy. In 1911, of the 654 wholesale companies in Istanbul, 528 were owned by ethnic Greeks. In 1871 the Ministry of Post and the Telegraph Administration were merged, becoming the Ministry of Post and Telegraph. In July 1881 the first telephone circuit in Istanbul was established between the Ministry of Post and Telegraph in

17172-428: The hostility towards the Armenians lay in the increasingly precarious position in which the Ottoman Empire found itself in the last quarter of the 19th century. The end of Ottoman domination of the Balkans was ushered in by an era of European nationalism and an insistence on self-determination by the inhabitants of many territories which had been ruled by the Ottomans for an extremely long period of time. The Armenians of

17334-451: The inhabitants. By the same edict all collection of money, except for the two regular half-yearly periods, was denounced as an abuse. "No one is ignorant," said Sultan Mahmud II in this document, "that I am bound to afford support to all my subjects against vexatious proceedings; to endeavor unceasingly to lighten, instead of increasing their burdens, and to ensure peace and tranquility. Therefore, those acts of oppression are at once contrary to

17496-399: The killings was later contradicted by an eyewitness, American priest Stephen Trowbridge of Brooklyn . Trowbridge indicated that the men were killed by "Moslems" as they attempted to extinguish a fire that threatened to consume their mission . Firing and fighting began April 14 between Moslems and Armenians, which resulted in a number of casualties on both sides... the next morning April 15,

17658-687: The land between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains (except Northern Dobrudja which was given to Romania) and the region of Sofia , which became the new state's capital. The Congress of Berlin also allowed Austria-Hungary to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina and Great Britain to take over Cyprus , while the Russian Empire annexed Southern Bessarabia and the Kars region. The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878)

17820-463: The loans, and so defaulted on their debt in 1875. The Ottomans owed their loans to various European countries and their citizens, who were deeply upset at the failure of their investment and lobbied their governments to intervene. This effort became the Ottoman Public Debt Administration , which grew to become a major and independent arm of the Ottoman bureaucracy, whose sole goal was providing returns to European creditors. The stagnation and reform of

17982-478: The long persecuted Armenian community as its calls for civil reform and better treatment were ignored by the government. The Ottomans made no allowances for the victims on account of their age or gender, and as a result, they massacred all of the victims with brutal force. The telegraph spread news of the massacres around the world, leading to a significant amount of coverage of them in the media of Western Europe, Russian Empire and North America. The origins of

18144-465: The man's life, they shot him dead. Not a single Armenian would they leave alive, the assassins shouted, as Mr. Chambers dragged the murdered preacher into the building. British war correspondent Francis McCullagh wrote a year later in his book on Abdul Hamid II that 20,000 Armenians in Adana had been "massacred amid circumstances of such unspeakable brutality that the whole world was shocked." The British Vice-Consul, Charles Hotham Montagu Doughty-Wylie ,

18306-519: The mass killings of 1894–1896 marked the first phase of the Armenian genocide . Most scholars, however, limit this definition strictly to the years 1915–1923. Decline of the Ottoman Empire In the late 18th century, the Ottoman Empire faced threats on numerous frontiers from multiple industrialised European powers. In response, the empire initiated a period of internal reform, attempting to bring itself into competition with

18468-534: The massacre happened, claiming that the events of April 1909 were in fact an Armenian "rampage of pillaging and death" targeting the Muslim population that "ended up with about 17,000 Armenian and 1,850 Turkish deaths." Historians question the factuality of the Turkish claims of an "Armenian rampage" due to the simple fact that if the Armenians had been the aggressors, significantly higher number of Turks would have been killed. In contrast to Turkey's official position, foreign eyewitnesses clearly stated that Armenians were

18630-522: The massacres. The French diplomatic correspondence shows that the Hamidiye carried out massacres not only of Armenians but also of Assyrians living in Diyarbakir, Hasankeyf , Sivas and other parts of Anatolia. A letter sent by an Ottoman soldier to his brother and parents in November 23, 1895 says: My brother, if you want news from here we have killed 1,200 Armenians, all of them as food for

18792-478: The modern Municipality of Istanbul ( Şehremaneti , 1854) and the City Planning Council ( İntizam-ı Şehir Komisyonu , 1855); the abolition of the capitation (Jizya) tax on non-Muslims, with a regular method of establishing and collecting taxes (1856); non-Muslims were allowed to become soldiers (1856); various provisions for the better administration of the public service and advancement of commerce;

18954-552: The northeast and France (and later Britain) in the North African eyalets , resulted in a steady loss of territories throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. By 1908, the Ottoman military became modernized and professionalized along the lines of Western European armies. The period was followed by the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922). The rise of nationalism swept through many countries during

19116-404: The number of Armenians would be "an easy match for the regular Ottoman army." "They would not have left their sons and brothers scattered widely through the province for harvest without arms, without any hope of escape." During the decline of the Ottoman Empire , the Armenians were also believed to be a target owing to their relative wealth, and their quarrels with imperial taxation. A report by

19278-433: The number of killed. The corpses lie scattered through the streets. Friday, when I went out, I had to pick my way between the dead to avoid stepping on them. Saturday morning I counted a dozen cartloads of Armenian bodies in one-half hour being carried to the river and thrown into the water. In the Turkish cemeteries, graves are being dug wholesale. ... On Friday afternoon 250 so-called Turkish reserves, without officers, seized

19440-441: The pogrom. According to Elizabeth S. Webb, a missionary attached to the school, "It was a terrible situation, women and girls practically alone in the building, a murderous bloodthirsty mob outside, with knife and bullet for the Armenians and the torch for their homes." Mr. Trowbridge returned from the school to say that the only hope for safety to any Americans seemed to be to return to the school, staying there alone, separated from

19602-425: The political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire . As a result of the war, the principalities of Romania , Serbia and Montenegro , each of which had de facto sovereignty for some time, formally proclaimed independence from the Ottoman Empire . After almost half a millennium of Ottoman rule (1396–1878), the Bulgarian state was reestablished as the Principality of Bulgaria , covering

19764-537: The positions of salaried officials without functions. In 1839, the Hatt-i Sharif proclamation launched the Tanzimat (from Arabic: تنظيم tanẓīm , meaning "organisation") (1839–76), period. Previous to the first of the firmans , the property of all persons banished or condemned to death was forfeited to the Caliph, which kept a motive for acts of cruelty, besides encouraging delators . The second firman removed

19926-566: The post offices and the first cargo services became operational. In 1868 homosexuality was decriminalised The Christian millets gained privileges, such as in the Armenian National Constitution of 1863. This Divan -approved form of the Code of Regulations consisted of 150 articles drafted by the Armenian intelligentsia. Another institution was the newly formed Armenian National Assembly . The Christian population of

20088-472: The press alike. British print and illustrated newspapers regularly covered the massacres, with the popular weekly Punch publishing dozens of cartoons depicting the carnage. Further, historian Leslie Rogne Schumacher notes that the massacres "reflected and impacted the changing world of European international relations" in the years before the First World War , weakening Britain's relationship with

20250-538: The rally and violently broke it up. Upon receiving the reform package, the sultan is said to have remarked, "This business will end in blood." Soon massacres of Armenians broke out in Constantinople and then engulfed the rest of the Armenian-populated vilayets of Bitlis , Diyarbekir , Erzurum , Mamuret-ul-Aziz , Sivas , Trebizond and Van . Thousands were killed at the hands of their Muslim neighbours and government soldiers, and many more died during

20412-549: The rally and violently broke it up. Upon receiving the reform package, the sultan is said to have remarked, "This business will end in blood." After revolutionary groups had secured the deposition of Sultan Abdul Hamid II and the restoration of the Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire) in 1908, a military revolt directed against the Committee of Union and Progress seized Constantinople . While

20574-497: The remaining survivors who were dying of disease and hunger. At the height of the massacres, in 1896, Abdul Hamid tried to limit the flow of information coming out of Turkey ( Harper's Weekly was banned by Ottoman censors for its extensive coverage of the massacres) and counteract the negative press by enlisting the help of sympathetic Western activists and journalists. Theodor Herzl responded enthusiastically to Abdul Hamid's personal request to harness "Jewish power" to undermine

20736-436: The resistance at Sasun, the governor of Mush responded by inciting the local Muslims against the Armenians. Historian Lord Kinross wrote that massacres of this kind were often achieved by gathering Muslims in a local mosque and claiming the Armenians had the aim of "striking at Islam". Sultan Abdul Hamid sent the Ottoman army into the area and also armed groups of Kurdish irregulars. The violence spread and affected most of

20898-587: The revolt in return for territorial gain. By the end of 1825, most of the Peloponnese was under Egyptian control, and the city of Missolonghi was put under siege and fell in April 1826. Ibrahim had succeeded in suppressing most of the revolt in the Peloponnese and Athens had been retaken. Russia , Britain and France decided to intervene in the conflict and each nation sent a navy to Greece. Following news that combined Ottoman–Egyptian fleets were going to attack

21060-495: The revolt lasted only ten days, it reignited anti-Armenian sentiment in the region and precipitated the mass destruction of Armenian businesses and farms, public hangings, sexual violence, and executions rooted in political, economic, and religious prejudice . These massacres continued for more than one month. The Armenian quarter of Adana was described as the "richest and most prosperous"; the violence included destruction of "tractors and other kinds of mechanized equipment." In 1908,

21222-494: The rise of Albanian nationalism. After the taking of its first loans, the Empire had taken further loans out in 1858, 1860, 1862, 1863, 1865, and every year between 1869 and 1874. But economic trouble loomed. The Panic of 1873 depressed the economy, and poor harvests followed. Palace intrigues diverted political attention from the debt crisis. Finally, on October 6, 1875, the Empire suspended interest payments on its loans, and formally defaulted on October 30. The amount defaulted on

21384-621: The ruins of the House of Osman. Mahmud understood the growing problems of the state and the approaching overthrow of the monarchy and began to deal with the problems as he saw them. For example, he closed the Court of Confiscations, and took away much of the power of the Pashas. He personally set an example of reform by regularly attending the Divan , or state council. The practice of the sultan's avoiding

21546-663: The saving of the Armenians as one of his top priorities in foreign policy. Americans in the Ottoman Empire, such as George Washburn, then-president of the Constantinople-based Robert College , pressured their government to take concrete action. In December 1900, the battleship USS Kentucky called at the port of Smyrna , where its captain, "Red Bill" Kirkland, delivered the following warning, somewhat softened by his translator, to its governor: "If these massacres continue I'll be swuzzled if I won't someday forget my order… and find some pretext to hammer

21708-587: The scope of the 1839 Hatt-ı Şerif of Gülhane . Overall, the Tanzimat reforms had far-reaching effects. Those educated in the schools established during the Tanzimat period included Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other progressive leaders and thinkers of the Republic of Turkey and of many other former Ottoman states in the Balkans , the Middle East and North Africa. These reforms included guarantees to ensure

21870-416: The second half of the 18th century when it suffered a catastrophic defeat against Russia in the 1768-74 war . Selim III came to the throne with an ambitious effort for military reforms in 1789. He failed and was replaced by Mahmud II in 1808 who established martial law through Alemdar Mustafa Pasha . At first, he allied with the Janissaries to break the power of the provincial governors and then turned on

22032-453: The six Representatives to visit the military and municipal hospitals to see for themselves the number of Turkish soldiers and civilians who had been wounded during the recent disturbances. I accordingly requested Surgeon Tomlinson, of Her Majesty's ship "Imogene" , to make the round of the hospitals in company with Mr. Blech, of Her Majesty's Embassy... The hospital authorities made attempts to pass off wounded Christians as Mussulmans. Thus,

22194-485: The slaughter." Some order was restored by April 20, as the disturbance in Mersina had abated, and the British cruiser HMS Swiftsure was able to deliver "provisions and medicines intended for Adana." A "threatening" report from Hadjin indicated that well-armed Armenians were held up in the town, "beleaguered by Moslem tribesmen who are only awaiting sufficient numerical strength to rush the improvised defenses erected by

22356-613: The state. Many of the Christian Armenians were hopeful of more equality after the coup against Sultan Abdul Hamid II , which removed the Islamic head of state from power. However, the rise of Turkish nationalism and a popular perception of the Armenians as a separatist, European-controlled entity contributed to the malevolence of their attackers. According to one source, when news of a mutiny in Constantinople (now Istanbul ) arrived in Adana, speculation circulated among

22518-631: The sultan's palace. In the ensuing fight, the Janissary barracks were set in flames by artillery fire resulting in 4,000 Janissary fatalities. The survivors were either exiled or executed, and their possessions were confiscated by the Sultan. This event is now called the Auspicious Incident . The last of the Janissaries were then put to death by decapitation in what was later called the Blood Tower , in Thessaloniki . These marked

22680-607: The telegraph. The subsequent Treaty of Paris (1856) secured Ottoman control over the Balkan Peninsula and the Black Sea basin. That lasted until defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 . The Ottoman Empire took its first foreign loans on 4 August 1854, shortly after the beginning of the Crimean War. The war caused an exodus of the Crimean Tatars . From the total Tatar population of 300,000 in

22842-421: The total figure of 15,000 when accounting for non-registered and migrant workers, including Muslims. Ottoman authorities denied responsibility in the shooting deaths of two American missionaries in the city of Adana, indicating instead that "the Armenians" killed Protestant missionaries D.M. Rogers and Henry Maurer while they "were helping to put out a fire in the house of a Turkish widow." The Ottoman account of

23004-472: The trials of various government and military officials, for "being implicated in the Armenian massacres". In the ensuing courts-martial, 124 Muslims and seven Armenians were executed for their involvement in the violence. In response to the counterrevolution and the Armenian massacres in Adana, the CUP and Dashnak concluded an agreement in September 1909 whereby they promised to "work together for progress,

23166-541: The victims. The Sublime Porte claimed that the loss of the Muslims was greater than the loss of Armenians, 1,900 Muslims as compared to 1,500 Armenians. Another Ottoman commission was composed of Faik Bey, Mosdijian Efendi and Esad Rauf Bey, the Governor of Mersin . Using local registers, they calculated the number of deaths as at least 4,196 non-Muslims and 1,487 Muslims, including gendarmes and soldiers, and proposed

23328-523: The violence ended – some Armenian women who were tracked down following the violence indicated that they preferred to remain with their Muslim husbands, many of whom had captured them during the raids and violence, rather than return and face shame within their communities. News of the Armenian massacres in the empire were widely reported in Europe and the United States and drew strong responses from foreign governments, humanitarian organizations, and

23490-545: The violence. While Ottoman officials claimed that these conversions were voluntary modern scholars, including Selim Deringil, have argued that the conversions were either directly forced or acts of desperation. Deringil notes that many Armenian men shifted swiftly from Christianity to Islam, seeking out circumcision and becoming prominent attendees of their local mosques, attending prayer multiple times each day. Women converted as well, and many chose to remain within Islam even after

23652-479: The widespread sympathy felt for Armenians in Europe. Herzl viewed the arrangement with the Abdul Hamid as temporary, and his services were in exchange for bringing about a more favorable Ottoman attitude toward Zionism . Through his contacts, he supported the publication of favorable impressions of the Ottoman Empire in European newspapers and magazines, while himself attempting (unsuccessfully) to mediate between

23814-472: The will of God, and to my imperial orders." The haraç , or capitation tax, though moderate and exempting those who paid it from military service, had long been made an engine of gross tyranny through the insolence and misconduct of government collectors. The Firman of 1834 abolished the old mode of levying it and ordained that it should be raised by a commission composed of the Kadı , the Muslim governors, and

23976-430: The word 'reform' irritated him [Abdul Hamid], inciting his criminal instincts." Upon hearing of the Armenian delegation's visit to Berlin in 1878, he bitterly remarked, "Such great impudence ... Such great treachery toward religion and state ... May they be cursed upon by God." While he admitted that some of their complaints were well-founded, he likened the Armenians to "hired female mourners [ pleureuses ] who simulate

24138-489: Was a "political, not a religious question ... Before the Armenian political committees began to organize in Asia Minor there was peace. I will leave you to judge the cause of the bloodshed." While conceding that his predecessor, Abdul Hamid II , had ordered the "extermination of the Armenians", he did articulate his confidence that "there will never be another massacre." In July 1909, the Young Turk government announced

24300-425: Was a meeting of the leading statesmen of Europe's Great Powers and the Ottoman Empire. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that ended with a decisive victory for Russia and her Orthodox Christian allies (subjects of the Ottoman Empire before the war) in the Balkan Peninsula , the urgent need was to stabilize and reorganize the Balkans, and set up new nations. German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , who led

24462-474: Was because they were "guided in their general action by the prescriptions of Sheri [Sharia] Law. That law prescribes that if the 'rayah' [subject] Christian attempts, by having recourse to foreign powers, to overstep the limits of privileges allowed to them by their Mussulman masters, and free themselves from their bondage, their lives and property are to be forfeited, and are at the mercy of the Mussulmans. To

24624-496: Was built in 1861–1865 on the same location) in Istanbul, which was issued by Sultan Abdülmecid who personally tested the new invention. Following this successful test, installation works of the first telegraph line (Istanbul- Adrianople – Şumnu ) began on 9 August 1847. While the Ottoman Empire had population records prior to the 1830s, it was only in 1831 that the Office of Population Registers fund (Ceride-i Nüfus Nezareti)

24786-597: Was established in Istanbul on 23 October 1840. The first post office was the Postahane-i Amire near the courtyard of the Yeni Mosque . The introduction of the first Ottoman paper banknotes (1840) and opening of the first post offices (1840); the reorganization of the finance system according to the French model (1840); the reorganization of the Civil and Criminal Code according to the French model (1840);

24948-406: Was estimated at 224.5 million British Pounds (equivalent to £26,142,463,918 in 2023). But the entire income of the Empire had been a mere 21.7 million British pounds (equivalent to £2,644,715,464 in 2023), a ratio of 10.3. For comparison, the modern debt to income ratio of the United States was around 7.8 in 2022. The default on the Ottoman debt was met by outrage in European nations, to whom

25110-426: Was founded. The Office decentralized in 1839 to draw more accurate data. Registrars, inspectors, and population officials were appointed to the provinces and smaller administrative districts. They recorded births and deaths periodically and compared lists indicating the population in each district. These records were not a total count of the population. Rather, they were based on what is known as “head of household”. Only

25272-585: Was less developed among Albanians in the 19th century than among other southeast European nations. Only from the 1870s and onwards did a movement of ‘national awakening‘ evolve among them - greatly delayed, compared to the Greeks and the Serbs. The 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War dealt a decisive blow to Ottoman power in the Balkan Peninsula. The Albanians' fear that the lands they inhabited would be partitioned among Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece fueled

25434-411: Was mentally ill and was deposed within a few months. His heir-apparent, Abdülhamid II (1876–1909), was invited to assume power on the condition that he would declare a constitutional monarchy, which he did on 23 November 1876. The parliament survived for only two years before the sultan suspended it. When forced to reconvene it, he abolished the representative body instead. This ended the effectiveness of

25596-450: Was not without some successes, the ability of the Ottoman state to have any effect on ethnic uprisings was seriously called into question. The Russian extension in this century developed with the main theme of supporting the independence of the Ottomans' former provinces, and then bringing all of the Slav peoples of the Balkans under Bulgaria or using Armenians in the east to set the stage. At

25758-482: Was put down by the Ottomans. On 17 March 1821, the Maniots declared war which was the start of revolutionary actions from other controlled states. In October 1821, Theodoros Kolokotronis had captured Tripolitsa , followed by other revolts in Crete , Macedonia , and Central Greece . Tensions soon developed among different Greek factions, leading to two consecutive civil wars. Mehmet Ali of Egypt agreed to send his son Ibrahim Pasha to Greece with an army to suppress

25920-435: Was reorganized as a modern institution in 1861. Abdülaziz was also the first sultan who traveled outside his empire. His 1867 trip included a visit to the United Kingdom. The Press and Journalism Regulation Code ( Matbuat Nizamnamesi , 1864); among others. 1876 the first international mailing network between Istanbul and the lands beyond the vast Ottoman Empire was established. In 1901 the first money transfers were made through

26082-458: Was reported to have been "slaughtered"; the Armenian village of Dörtyol was burning and surrounded; additional bloodshed flared up in Tarsus; massacres were reported in Antioch , and rioting in Birejik . At least one report praised the "Turkish Government officials at Mersina" for doing "everything possible to check the trouble", though "the result of their efforts has been very limited". As Ottoman authorities worked to contain violence directed at

26244-507: Was struggling to subdue the violence. Similar violence consumed Marash and Hadjin , and the estimates of the death toll soon grew to exceed 5,000. Rose Lambert , an American missionary at Hadjin, wrote in her book how many sought refuge in the missionary compound for safety. The British cruiser HMS Diana was hoped would provide a "tranquilizing" effect at the port of Alexandretta, where violence still raged. Reports surfaced that imperial "authorities are either indifferent or conniving in

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