Before 1915 A Brief History of the Armenian People A Power Point Presentation by Dr. Nicole Vartanian and Sara Cohan The Genocide Education Project

From Kingdom to Catastrophe Armenian life before 1915

Armenians are an Ancient People Armenians have existed since 6th century B.C.E. Lived as part of kingdoms throughout most of existence, until modern republics formed ( , 1991-present) Past boundaries have extended from present-day Armenia through much of modern-day Turkey; now Armenia is only land-locked nation in the South Caucasus

Religious Life It is believed that Christianity was brought to Armenia by two of Jesus’ apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, in 1 st century C.E. St. Gregory the Enlightener was imprisoned for his beliefs, but King Dertad III was converted and released him Armenia accepted Christianity as its state religion in 301 C.E. The 36-letter Armenian alphabet was created in 405 C.E. by monk named Mesrob Mashtots who wanted to translate Bible into Armenian

Early Life in the Ottoman Empire Under rule of Ottoman Empire (multi-national state established in 1453), Armenians lived peacefully but with second-class citizen status Granted some freedoms, including ability to practice Christianity, but faced with extra taxes and discriminatory laws extending to their participation in justice system, government, and their civil and property rights.

The Fight for Equality Armenians saw themselves as part of Ottoman Empire, but by mid-1800s groups of intellectuals protested discriminatory laws, seeking government reform, though not an independent state At this same time, Ottoman Empire experienced period of decline and lost territories to Russia, Great Britain, and other national states This fueled suspicion regarding Russian- Armenians’ support of Armenians’ quest for human rights in Ottoman Empire

Hamidian Massacres In response to Armenians’ protests of non- ratified protective treaties, Sultan Abdul- Hamid II responded with massacres Worst violence occurred from after tax protest by Armenians Known as Hamidian Massacres, 100,000 to 300,000 Armenians were killed in towns and villages throughout Ottoman Empire

Foreshadowing Massacres foreshadowed the Genocide Thousands of Armenians found refuge in Europe and U.S.; others converted to Islam to save lives Uniqueness of massacres caught world’s attention: Armenians were unarmed and adhered to parameters set forth by Ottoman government Articles about the brutal killings were publicized in newspapers throughout the world, including The New York Times

Other Witnesses The media was aware of the Hamidian Massacres mainly because of the presence of American and European missionaries stationed throughout the Ottoman Empire. Through their efforts and with the help of activists on American shores a tremendous amount of aid spilled into the Empire for Armenians.

The American Red Cross Clara Barton traveled to Constantinople in 1896 and established the first international post for the American Red Cross. Her efforts were in response to the Hamidian Massacres.

The New Century: A Moment of Hope At the beginning of the Twentieth Century Armenians became more hopeful concerning their role in the Ottoman Empire. New organizations were forming that included both Armenians and Turks. These new groups including the Young Turks were initially idealist and worked to implement a constitutional government in Ottoman Empire which would provide equal rights regardless of ethnicity.

Misplaced Hope In 1908, Armenians, Arabs, Greeks, Jews, and Kurds continued working with the “Young Turks” to challenge Sultan’s authority Aspired to create modern state that represented Ottoman Empire more equally, and overthrew Sultan Abdul-Hamid However, advocates of liberalism lost out to group promoting authoritarian rule and radical policy of Turkification

Narrow Nationalism In April 1909, Armenian optimism was dashed as Hamidian supporters in Adana carried out another unpunished massacre in which 30,000 Armenians were killed and city nearly destroyed Policy of Pan-Turkism (“Turkey for the Turks”) continued to gain backing As Ottoman Empire’s greatest enemy, Russia’s advocacy on behalf of Armenians and presence of some Armenians in its military ranks led to blame on Armenians as scapegoats for early WWI military losses at hands of Russians

The Next Chapter After the bloody massacres in Adana, Armenians’ hope for equality status in the Ottoman Empire disappeared. A steady migration continued into the U.S. and parts of Europe. Despite the massacres and growing discrimination against them, Armenians did not expect the fate that awaited them in 1915.