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50-710: By 1911, the Army had been moved to Erzincan in northeastern Anatolia , and with the onset of World War I , it was moved to Erzurum . During the war, it fought against the Russian Caucasus Army , Armenian volunteer units and behind the lines dealt with the Armenian Resistance within its designated area. During this period, the Battle of Sarikamish , Battle of Koprukoy and the Battle of Erzurum were significant engagements. The army's headquarters

100-772: A staff captain and joined the Fourth Army , which was then stationed in Yemen . In 1909, after the 31 March Incident , Vehib was called to Constantinople, where he began to work at the Ministry of War. Shortly afterwards Mahmud Shevket Pasha appointed Vehib as the Commander of the Cadet School (Military high school, Askerî İdadi ). He reached the rank of Major. During the First Balkan War , Vehib defended

150-566: A few thousand Kurdish irregular. When the Russians launched their surprise offensive in January 1916, culminating in the Battle of Koprukoy the army numbered 65,000 men and 100 guns. The army lost nearly 15,000 killed, wounded, for frozen, and about 5,000 prisoners. There were also about an estimated 5,000 deserters. About 20-30 guns were lost. The XI Corps took the heaviest losses, about 70% of its effective strength. The army fell back on

200-457: A little further to the north. In the 13th century, Marco Polo noted that the city's population was Armenian . In 1830, the Armenian population reached 15,000. In 1880, Erzincan had 6,000 houses: 4,000 Muslim and 1,800 Armenian. In the 1890s, Vital Cuinet reported that Erzincan had 23,000 inhabitants: 15,000 Muslims, 7,500 Armenians, and the rest Greeks and others. According to data from

250-606: A major reorganization at the winter of 1916. At the turn of 1917, it was reorganized as follows: Over the winter of 1916–17, the Russian Revolution effectively stopped the Russian Army in its tracks, and eventually caused the Russian Army in the Caucasus to melt away. The Third Army later advanced and recaptured in 1917 and 1918 all that it had lost, and even advanced to and captured Kars, which had been lost to

300-732: A manner entirely unbecoming to humanity, civilization, and government. The massacre and annihilation of the Armenians, and the looting and plunder of their properties were the result of the decision of the Central Committee of Ittihad and Terakki. The butchers of human beings, who operated in the command zone of the Third Army, were procured and engaged by Dr. Bahaeddin Şakir . The high ranking governmental officials did submit to his directives and order ... He stopped by at all major centers where he orally transmitted his instructions to

350-846: A military advisor to the Ethiopian Army against Fascist Italy during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War . He served as the chief of staff to Nasibu Zeamanuel , the Ethiopian Commander-in-Chief on the southern front. Vehib was born in 1877 in Yanya, Janina Vilayet (present day: Ioannina , Greece ), then part of the Ottoman Empire . Coming from a prominent family of the city his father, Mehmet Emin Efendi, had served as its mayor. He

400-421: A program that was determined upon and involved a definite case of premeditation. It was [also] ascertained that these atrocities and crimes were encouraged by the district attorneys whose dereliction of judicial duties in face of their occurrence and especially their remaining indifferent renders them accessories to these crimes." "In summary, here are my convictions. The Armenian deportations were carried out in

450-634: A series of transit camps were set up to control the flow of victims to the concentration camp and killing site at the nearby Kemah gorge. J.M. Winter's work state that between 1915 and 1917, the Central Hospital of Erzincan was the primary site of medical experiments conducted by Turkish army physicians on Armenian civilians involving typhus and other lethal infectious agents. As of 2019, few traces of Armenian presence or civilization remain in Erzincan. The Battle of Erzincan took place during

500-660: Is hard to tell when Acilisene became a bishopric . The first whose name is known is of the mid-5th century: Ioannes, who in 459 signed the decree of Patriarch Gennadius I of Constantinople against the simoniacs . Georgius or Gregorius (both forms are found) was one of the Fathers of the Second Council of Constantinople (553), appearing as "bishop of Justinianopolis". Theodorus was at the Third Council of Constantinople in 681, signing as "bishop of Justinianopolis or

550-572: Is majority Sunni Turkish with an Alevi Kurdish minority. The city had a population of 150,714 in 2022, an increase from 86,779 in 2007. Acilisene , the ancient region that is now Erzincan, was the site of the Peace of Acilisene by which in AD 387 Armenia was divided into two vassal states, a smaller one dependent on the Byzantine Empire and a larger one dependent on Persia . This

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600-508: Is the name (Ἀκιλισηνή in Greek ) by which it is called by Strabo in his Geography , 11.4.14. The etymological origin of the word is disputed, but it is agreed that the city was once called Erez. For a while it was called Justinianopolis in honour of Emperor Justinian . In more recent Greek it has been called as Κελτζηνή ( Keltzene ) and Κελεζηνή ( Kelezene ). In the Armenian language ,

650-1255: Is the wettest season whilst summer is the driest. The lowest temperature recorded was −31.2 °C (−24.2 °F) on 15 January 1950. The highest temperature recorded was 40.6 °C (105.1 °F) on 30 July 2000. The highest snow thickness recorded was 74 cm (29.1 inches) in February 1950. Erzincan is divided into the neighborhoods of Akşemsettin, Aktoprak, Akyazı, Aslancak, Arslanlı, Atatürk, Aziz Baba, Bahçelievler, Barbaros, Barış, Başbağlar, Başpınar, Bayrak, Bozyazı, Buğdaylı, Bulutlu, Büyük Çakırman, Cemal Gürsel, Cumhuriyet, Çarşı, Çukurkuyu, Davarlı, Demetevler, Demirkent, Dereyurt, Ergenekon, Ersevenler, Ertuğrul Gazi, Esentepe, Fatih, Gazi, Gölcük, Gülalibey, Güllüce, H.Ahmet Yesevi, Halitpaşa, Hamidiye, Hancı, Hocabey, Hürrempalangası, Işıkpınar, İnönu, İzzetpaşa, Karaağaç, Kavakyolu, Kazımkarabekir, Keklikkayası, Kızılay, Kurutilek, Menderes, Mengüceli, Mimarsinan, Munzur, Mustafa Kemal Paşa, Osman Gazi, Osmanlı, Özgürlük, Paşa, Sancak, Sarıgöl, Selçuklu, Şehit Cengiz Topel, Şehit Serhat, Şehit Serhat Yurtbaşı, Taksim, Terzibaba, Ulalar, Üçkonak, Yalnızbağ, Yavuzselim, Yeni, Yenidoğan and Yunusemre. Mulberry tree plantations were found in Erzincan in

700-402: The 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake . The first stage of the earthquake killed about 8,000 people. The next day, it was reported that the death toll had risen to 20,000. An emergency relief operation began. By the end of the year, 32,962 had died due to more earthquakes and several floods. So extensive was the damage to Erzincan city that its old site was entirely abandoned, and a new town was founded

750-673: The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople , Erzincan harboured 24,000 inhabitants on the eve of World War I ; 13,109 (2021 families) of whom were Armenians . Armenians were deported and massacred by the Special Organization during the Armenian genocide . Greeks were deported from Erzincan to Germir in 1919 as part of the Greek genocide . Erzincan has a continental climate ( Köppen climate classification : Dsa or Trewartha climate classification : Dca ) with cold, snowy winters and hot, dry summers. Spring

800-717: The Armistice of Mudros , Vehib returned to Constantinople . Vehib Pasha repeatedly condemned the Armenian genocide and gave testimony confirming its existence. He gave evidence to the Mazhar Commission for the Istanbul trials . "The massacre and destruction of the Armenians and the plunder and pillage of their goods were the results of decision reached by Ittihad's [the Young Turks] Central Committee ... The atrocities were carried out under

850-667: The Caucasus Campaign of the First World War. In 1916 Erzincan was the headquarters for the Turkish Third Army commanded by Abdul Kerim Pasha . The Russian General Nikolai Yudenich led the Russian Caucasus Army who captured Mama Hatun on 12 July 1916. They then gained the heights of Naglika and took a Turkish position on the banks of the Durum Durasi river, with their cavalry breaking through

900-635: The Fortress of Yanya with his brother Esad Pasha who was the commander of the Yanya Corps , until 20 February 1913. The Ottoman forces eventually surrendered to the Greeks under Crown Prince Constantine . After his release as a prisoner of war , Vehib was made a Colonel in the 22nd Infantry Division. He was sent to Hejaz in Arabia . The Ottoman Empire entered World War I and Vehib participated in

950-725: The Gallipoli Campaign , commanding the XV Army Corps , and later the Second Army . His successes led to his being made commander of the Third Army during the Caucasus Campaign . His army defended against attacks by the Russians but was defeated in the battle of Erzinjan . In 1918, Vehib's Third Army regained the offensive and took back Trabzon on 24 February, Hopa in March, as well as Batumi on 26 March. With

1000-591: The Seljuk Sulëiman Kutalmish . Marco Polo , who wrote about his visit to Erzincan, said that the "people of the country are Armenians" and that Erzincan was the "noblest of cities" which contained the see of an archbishop. In 1243 it was destroyed in fighting between the Seljuks under Kaykhusraw II and the Mongols . However, by 1254 its population had recovered enough that William of Rubruck

1050-448: The 5th-century Life of Mashtots called it Yekeghiats . In the more recent past, it was known in Armenian as Երզնկա ( Yerznka ). In the settlement of Erez, at a yet unidentified site, there was a pre-Christian shrine dedicated to the Armenian goddess Anahit . A text of Agathangelos reports that during the first year of his reign, King Trdat of Armenia went to Erez and visited Anahit's temple to offer sacrifice. He ordered Gregory

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1100-400: The Armenians in the centre of Erzincan were more than double the census data. Of the pre-World War I population of 37,000 Armenians in Erzincan and suburbs, most were killed in the Armenian genocide . During this period, at least 150,000 Armenian men, women and children from Erzincan and surrounding areas were transported by Turkish forces between 1915 and 1916 through Erzincan proper, where

1150-512: The Army consisted of 118,660 troops in the following units and commanders: Following the battle of Sarikamish, it was reduced to some 20,000 men with loss of all guns and heavy equipment. The acting commander Hafiz Hakki Pasha (January 12 – February 1915) died of typhus in Erzerum in 1915. Mahmut Kamil Paşa (February 1915 – February 1916) took the command. In 1915 the 3rd Army was slowly brought back up to strength. In July of that year, it

1200-603: The Boz-Tapa-Meretkli line. They then advanced on Erzincan arriving by 25 July and taking the city in two days. The city was relatively untouched by battle and Yudenich seized large quantities of supplies. Despite the strategic advantages gained from this victory, Yudenich made no more significant advances and his forces were reduced due to Russian reverses further north. A short-lived soviet council had been at Erzincan between 1916 and 1918. Mainly today's Erzincan and Tunceli provinces were under Russian occupation. After

1250-598: The Ethiopian Commander-in-Chief on the southern front. In an interview with The New York Times , he remarked "Out there will be the grave of Italian Fascism. When the Italian native troops hear of ME they will desert." Vehib designed a strong defensive line for the Ethiopians which was known as the "Hindenburg Wall", in reference to the famous German defensive line of World War I , the Hindenburg Line . However,

1300-578: The First Caucasian Army Corps Kâzım Karabekir regained control over Erzincan on the 13 February 1918. This event is celebrated annually by its inhabitants. The capture was carried out by Kâzım Karabekir . The city witnessed a state of "indescribable panic" as Armenian soldiers evacuated Erzincan towards Erzurum. Both civilian and military troops were attacked by Kurdish tribes, all during brutal snowstorms. Meanwhile, Armenian fedayeen fought "ferociously" in rearguard actions, while

1350-566: The Illuminator , who was secretly a Christian, to make an offering at its altar. When Gregory refused, he was taken captive and tortured, starting the events that would end with Trdat's conversion to Christianity some 14 years later. After that conversion, during the Christianisation of Armenia, the temple at Erez was destroyed and its property and lands were given to Gregory. It later became known for its extensive monasteries. It

1400-685: The Russians in 1877. These actions achieved what the Ottomans had wanted at Brest-Litovsk by regaining the Ottoman Empire's prewar boundaries under the Treaty of Batum . Erzincan Erzincan ( pronounced [æɾˈzindʒan] ; Kurdish : Erzîngan ), historically Yerznka ( Armenian : Երզնկա ), is the capital of Erzincan Province in eastern Turkey . Nearby cities include Erzurum , Sivas , Tunceli , Bingöl , Elazığ , Malatya , Gümüşhane , Bayburt , and Giresun . The city

1450-528: The Russians launched another series of attacks on the 3rd Army, costing the army about 30% of its strength and leaving its morale badly shaken. By September 1916 the army was very weak and desertions were a major problem. By October there were an estimated 50,000 deserters in the rear of the army. The 3rd Army could not play any role in the Ottoman offensives planned for that fall. The acting commander Vehib Pasha (February 1916–June 1918). The army underwent

1500-417: The army from Abdul Kerim. The Russians stormed the city, penetrating its outer defenses, forcing Mahmut Kamil to abandon the city and retreat to the west. The army numbered perhaps 25,000 men and 30 or 40 guns. Morale was very poor. Mahmut Kamil was replaced by Vehip Pasa. The army continued to retreat, losing Trebizond on the coast. A counterattack by the army was unable to retake the city. In July 1916

1550-400: The brigand chief who carried out the killings. Vehib had both men court-martialed and hanged for the massacre, and warned his troops not to commit atrocities. Vehib also attempted to have Bahaeddin Şakir and Provincial Governor Ahmed Muammer Bey, who had issued the orders to carry out the massacre, court-martialed. However, Şakir fled and Muammer was transferred out of Vehib's jurisdiction. Şakir

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1600-532: The central kaza . In the other kazas of Erzincan there were 67,271 Muslims, 11,135 Armenian Gregorians and 144 Protestants in Kemah . According to the 1914 Ottoman census , which undercounted religious minority groups such as Armenians, there were 16,144 Armenian Gregorians and 147 Protestants in the central kaza . In the other kazas of Erzincan there were 11,135 Armenian Gregorians and 144 Protestants in Kemah . However, Miller and Kévorkian's research state that

1650-411: The centre of Erzincan of which 15,000 were Muslims and 7,500 were Armenian. In the same research he states that the entire sanjak had 171,472 Muslims, 34,588 Armenians (incl. Catholic & Protestan) and 2,710 Greeks . According to the 1914 Ottoman census , which undercounted religious minority groups such as Armenians , there were 53,898 Muslims and 16,144 Armenian Gregorians and 147 Protestants in

1700-709: The decisive defeat of the Byzantines by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. After the 13th century, there is no mention of diocesan bishops of Acilisene and the see no longer appears in Notitiae Episcopatuum . No longer a residential bishopric, Acilisene is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see . In 1071 Erzincan was absorbed into the Mengüçoğlu under

1750-773: The declaration of the Democratic Republic of Armenia . During this period, the Third Army engaged the Armenian forces at Sardarapat , Abaran , and Karakilisa . After the Young Turk Revolution and the establishment of the Second Constitutional Era on July 3, 1908, the new government initiated a major military reform. Army headquarters were modernized. Its operational area was Western Rumelia , and it had units in Europe (Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia) and Minor Asia (Aydın). It commanded

1800-624: The early 20th century, which were used in sericulture . Mehmet Vehib Ka%C3%A7%C4%B1 Balkan Wars World War I Second Italo-Abyssinian War Wehib Pasha also known as Vehip Pasha , Mehmed Wehib Pasha , Mehmet Vehip Pasha (modern Turkish: Kaçı Vehip Paşa or Mehmet Vehip (Kaçı) , 1877–1940), was an Albanian general in the Ottoman Army . He fought in the Balkan Wars and in several theatres of World War I . In his later years, Vehib Pasha volunteered to serve as

1850-598: The following active divisions: The Third Army also had inspectorate functions for twelve Redif (reserve) divisions: With further reorganizations of the Ottoman Army, to include the creation of corps level headquarters, by 1911 the Army was headquartered in Erzincan . The Army before the First Balkan War in 1911 was structured as such: The acting commander Hasan Izzet Pasha (October–December 1914) and Enver Pasha (December 1914 – January 1915). Prior to Sarikamish,

1900-440: The fortified city of Erzurum, its base. The army could expect reinforcements from the 1st and 2nd Armies after their victory at Gallipoli, but due to the poor nature of the Ottoman railroad it was going to take time for them to reach the 3rd Army. The army numbered about 50,000 troops. The army was also short machine guns and needed more artillery to properly defend the city. Mahmut Kamil returned from leave and resumed command of

1950-429: The invitation of Ismail I , who would aid in him establishing his dynasty. After entering the Ottoman administration, Erzincan developed physically and in terms of population. According to the census made in 1516–1518 right after the conquest, there were twenty neighbourhoods in the city, seven of which belonged to Muslims and 13 to Christians. The number of neighbourhoods did not change in the 1530 and 1591 censuses but

2000-403: The party's local bodies and to the governmental authorities." In 1916, Vehib noticed that a labor battalion of 2,000 Turco-Armenian soldiers had gone missing. He later discovered that the entire battalion had been executed, with the men being tied together in fours and shot. Outraged, he ordered the arrests of Kör Nuri, the gendarmerie commander in charge of the labor battalions, and Çerkez Kadir,

2050-711: The population increased. Evliya Çelebi , who came to Erzincan in 1647, wrote that the castle was built on a flat field, and that there were 200 houses inside this place while 1800 houses were located outside the castle. It had 48 neighbourhoods, seven mosques, seven lodges, and 11 hamams . According to the General Census of 1881/82, the sanjak of Erzincan within the Erzurum vilayet had a total population of 107,090, consisting of 85,943 Muslims and 19,026 Armenians, 1,887 Greeks and 234 Protestants. Vital Cuinet 's research dating to 1893 show that there were 23,000 people in

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2100-554: The region of Ecclenzine". Georgius was at the Photian Council of Constantinople (879) . Until the 10th century, the diocese itself appears in none of the Notitiae Episcopatuum . At the end of that century, they present it as an autocephalous archdiocese, and those of the 11th century present it as a metropolitan see with 21 suffragans . This was the time of greatest splendour of Acilisene, which ended with

2150-403: The revolution, Bolshevik soldiers took control of the officer corps. Arshak Djamalian who was a Bolshevik soldier, called Kurdish, Turkish, and Armenian representatives to take charge of the administration of Erzincan Soviet. Ottoman victory [REDACTED]   Ottoman Empire [REDACTED] Armenian volunteer units Following the withdrawal of the Russian Army, the commander of

2200-542: The under-equipped and famished Ottoman army found sustenance and weaponry in abandoned Russian arsenals and reserves. The events at Erzincan repeated on a larger scale in Erzurum and Kars. The city was completely destroyed by a major earthquake on December 27, 1939. The sequence of seven violent shocks, the biggest measuring 7.8 on the moment magnitude scale, was the joint most-powerful earthquake recorded in Turkey, tied with

2250-531: Was able to say an earthquake had killed more than 10,000 people. During this period, the city reached a level of semi-independence under the rule of Armenian princes. Erzincan was one of the most pivotal towns in Safavid history. It was there, in the summer of 1500, that about 7,000 Qizilbash forces, consisting of the Ustaclu, Shamlu , Rumlu, Tekelu, Zhulkadir, Afshar , Qajar and Varsak tribes, responded to

2300-690: Was an Albanian . His elder brother Esad Pasha defended Gallipoli in 1915. His younger brother Mehmet Nakyettin Bey was the father of Kâzım Taşkent the founder of Yapı Kredi , the first nationwide private bank in Turkey . Vehib himself graduated from the Imperial School of Military Engineering ( Mühendishane-i Berrî-i Hümâyûn ) in 1899, then from the Ottoman Military College (Staff College, Mekteb-i Erkân-ı Harbiye-i Şâhâne ) as

2350-622: Was later assassinated by Armenian vigilantes as part of Operation Nemesis . Vehib did not participate in the Turkish War of Independence . After his return to Constantinople at the end of World War I, he was prosecuted for misuse of his office and jailed in Bekirağa prison. He escaped to Italy. His citizenship was revoked by the new government of Turkey. He spent some time in Italy, Germany, Romania, Greece and Egypt. His dislike of Mustafa Kemal

2400-609: Was moved to Susehir (a town near Sivas ) after the disastrous Battle of Erzurum, and by late 1916 the army lacked any offensive capability. After the Russian Revolution , the Russian Caucasus Army disintegrated. Between 1917 and 1918 it advanced against forces of the Armenian national liberation movement established by Armenian Congress of Eastern Armenians which became the Armenian Army with

2450-413: Was strong enough to win a victory against the Russians at Malazgirt. Later in the year the losses the Ottomans took at Gallipoli diverted manpower away from the 3rd Army, and it would never again reach its normal strength, and numbered 60,000 in the fall of 1915. The acting commander Vehip Pasha (February 1916–June 1918). also: 2nd Cavalry Division, 15-20 battalions of frontier guards and gendarmes, and

2500-402: Was well known and he never hid his contempt for the new leader of Turkey who had once fought under his command at Gallipoli . He did not return to Istanbul until 1940. When the Italians invaded Ethiopia in Second Italo-Ethiopian War in the mid-1930s, Vehib volunteered to fight for the Ethiopians. In Ethiopia, he was known as Wehib Pasha , and served as the Chief-of-Staff to Ras Nasibu ,

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