Westarmenien

Datei:Western Armenian Armenian population 1870s .jpg

The Armenian population of the eastern regions of the Ottoman Empire in 1870s, before the systematic killings of Armenians. (in Armenian)

Western Armenia (for other name see below) is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to the formerly Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire since 16th century and now are part of the Republic of Turkey.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire became the target of systematic mass killing campaigns, such as the Hamidian Massacres of 1894–1896, the Adana massacre of 1909, and the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923. Most Armenians were either massacred, escaped to Russia or deported to the Syrian Desert. Currently, mostly Kurds and Turks live in that area, with minorities being Azerbaijanis, Laz people (Muslim ethnic group related to Georgians) and Hamshenis (Muslim ethnic Armenians living on the Black Sea coast).

Names

In English, Turkish Armenia and Ottoman Armenia were used until 1920s.

In Armenian, there are few names of the region. Today, most common is Արևմտյան Հայաստան Arevmtyan Hayastan in Eastern Armenian (mostly spoken in the Republic of Armenia, Russia, Georgia, Iran) and Արեւմտեան Հայաստան Arevmdean Hayasdan in Western Armenian (spoken in the Diaspora: United States, France, Lebanon, Syria, Argentina, etc.). Archaic names (used before 1920s) include Տաճկահայաստան Tačkahayastan in Eastern, Daǰkahayasdan in Western and Թուրքահայաստան T'urk'ahayastan or Թրքահայաստան T'rk'ahayastan, both meaning Turkish Armenia.

In Turkish, the literal translation of Western Armenia is Batı Ermenistan, but currently the region is referred to as Doğu Anadolu (Eastern Anatolia).

The Kurds, refer to the region as Bakurê Kurdistanê (Northern Kurdistan).

History

The Six Armenian vilayets (provinces) of the Ottoman Empire were defined as Western Armenia.

Ottoman conquest

After Turkish-Persian wars of 1602-1639 Western Armenia became part of the Ottoman Empire. Since the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829, the term "Western Armenia" has referred to the Armenian-populated historical regions of the Ottoman Empire that remained under Ottoman rule after the eastern part of Armenia was ceded to the Russian Empire.

Western (Ottoman) Armenia consisted of six vilayets (vilâyat-ı sitte) — the vilayets of Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Kharput, and Sivas.

World War I and later years

Armenian Genocide: map of massacre locations and deportation and extermination centers

Armenian Genocide

Vorlage:Main During the collapse of Ottoman Empire Western Armenia remained under Turkish rule, and in 1894–96 and 1915 the Ottoman Empire perpetrated systematic massacres and forced deportations of Armenians resulting in the Armenian Genocide. The massive deportation and killings of Armenians began in the spring 1915. On April 24, 1915 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were deported from Comstantinople. According to different sources from 600,000 to 1,800,000 Armenians were killed during this act.

Caucasus Campaign

The area of Russian occupation of Western Armenia in summer 1916.

Vorlage:Main During the Caucasus Campaign of the World War I, Russian Empire occupied most of the Armenian-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire. A temporary provincial government was established in occupied areas 1915–1918.

The chaos caused by the Russian Revolution of 1917 put a stop to all Russian military operations and the Russian forces began to conduct withdrawals.

The western border of the Republic of Armenia as drawn by US President Woodrow Wilson's arbitral award in 1920. The territory is also known as Wilsonian Armenia.

Current situation

The modern concept of the United Armenia as used by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun).

The fate of Western Armenia — commonly referred to as "The Armenian Question" — is considered as a key issue in the modern history of the Armenian people. The first and second congresses of Western Armenians took place in Yerevan in 1917 and 1919. Since 2000, an organizing committee of congress of heirs of Western Armenians who survived the Armenian Genocide is active in diasporan communities.

Currently, the Republic of Armenia doesn't have any territorial claims to the Republic of Turkey, although, some political parties such as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, the largest Armenian party in the diaspora, claim the area given to the Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) by US President Woodrow Wilson's arbitral award in 1920, also known as Wilsonian Armenia.

See also

• History of Armenia
• Geography of Armenia
• Armenian Highland
• Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
• Ottoman Armenian population
• Treaty of Alexandropol

Further reading

• Arman J. Kirakosian, "English Policy towards Western Armenia and Public Opinion in Great Britain (1890-1900)", Yerevan, 1981, 26 p. (in Armenian and Russian).

External links

• Disappearance of Western Armenia after World War 1
• Video: Provinces of Western Armenia
• Radio Television Western Armenia