Westarmenien

This article is about the historical subregion in Eurasia. See Armenian Highland for the geographical region.

Western Armenia (Turkish Armenia) is a name given to the Armenian part of the Ottoman Empire, when the eastern part of this territory was ceded to the Russian Empire following the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829. The remaining Armenian part of the empire, Western Armenia, was also referred to as Ottoman Armenia. Western Armenia was composed of Six vilayets (vilâyat-ı sitte), the vilayets of Erzurum, Van, Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Kharput, and Sivas.

Wilsonian Armenia as promised (but never fulfilled) in the Treaty of Sèvres.

The Armenian borders drawn by Woodrow Wilson at the Treaty of Sèvres incorporated parts of Erzurum, Trabzon, Bitlis, and Van vilayets, securing Armenia an outlet to the Black Sea at the port of Trabzon. Sèvres Treaty was recognized by both Armenian and Ottoman Empire, but was never put to motion. The Treaty of Lausanne imposed by Mustafa Kemal nullified the previous treaty, even though Lausanne was signed by Kemalist Turkey only, and not by Armenia. Certain Armenian nationalist organizations consider Western Armenia as being rightfully part of the Republic of Armenia for these reasons.

The distinct Western Armenian dialect of the Armenian language is spoken primarily in Turkey, the Levant and in the Armenian diaspora. In the diaspora, the Armenian schools, such as L'École Arménienne Sourp Hagop and the Armenian Sisters Academy instruct Western Armenian to the students, instead of Eastern Armenian, the official dialect of the Republic of Armenia.

See also

• Eastern Armenia
• History of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
• History of Ottoman Armenia
• Ottoman Armenia:
• Greater Armenia