English » CIVIS » 70745, History of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

70745, History of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire

Department of Turkish Studies and Modern Asian Studies

Course 70745, History of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire,  5 ECTS, 8th  semester (NOT OFFERED DURING ACADEMIC YEAR 2023 - 24)

Tutor: H. Georgelin, Assistant Professor 

Herve Georgelin <hgeorgelin[at]turkmas.uoa[dot]gr>

Aims and Objectives

Essential population on the territory of what has become Modern Turkey for centuries, the Armenians had almost disappeared there in 1923. Aim of this class is the students’ learning of knowledge about the history of the Armenians from their mythical origins to the abolition of the Ottoman monarchy. Where were they located in their majority? What were their professional skills? How is characterized their version of Christianity, how did it develop? Are all Armenians members of the same denomination? How were they culturally and politically influenced by the Ottoman sovereignty? Were there forms of symbiosis? Did the Armenians contribute to the Ottoman civilization? What is the Armenian awakening? (Zartonk)? Who were the amiras? How did the “National Constitution” of 1863 change the situation? Wat is Armenian nationalism? Which organizations defined it?  How was it expressed? Was the ultimate disappearance of Ottoman Armenians unescapable? How and why did Ottoman Armenians disappear from these places? What is The Great Crime (Medz Yeghern)? What is the connection between the coining of the word “genocide” with the Armenian historical experience? What is the heritage of this historical phase for Armenians today, for the Republic of Turkey, for the rest of the world?

Course outline

  1. Before the Turks’ invasion of Byzantine territory, before the incorporation of Armenians in the Ottoman empire: who were the Armenians?
  2. Armenian Ancient Classical Times and Armenian Middle Ages (Armenian Cilicia).
  3. After the demise of the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia (1375): deportations and destructions.
  4. How did the Armenian variation of Christianity appear? (What are or were the main differences with Orthodoxy and Catholicism?) Were/Are all Armenians members of one Armenian denomination
  5. Excursion (Museum of Nea Smyrna, Armenian church on Koumoundourou square, Armenian school in Nikaia)
  6. Consequences of the Qasr-e Shirin treaty of 1639: peace in Western Armenia and the integration of Armenians in the Ottoman imperial frame. The dispersion of Armenians within and outside of the Ottoman empire.
  7. The Ottoman cultural and political influence on Armenians. Were there forms of symbiosis? Did Armenians contribute to Ottoman culture?
  8. The Armenian awakening (Zartonk); Who were the amiras?
  9. Was the Askayin Sahmanatroutioun of 1863 a national constitution or internal regulations? How did it affect the inner politics of the Armenian group?
  10. Armenian nationalism: projects, organizations and methods.
  11. The genocide of the Armenians by the Committee Union and Progress (1915-1916). How does this crime qualify for the label “genocide”?
  12. What is the heritage of the Armenian history for today’s Turkey?
  13. Conclusion of the term and preparation for the final exam.

Bibliography

George A. Bournoutian, A Concise History of the Armenian People (Costa Mesa, Ca: Mazda Pub., 2002)

Benjamin Braude & Bernard Lewis (ed.), Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire: The Functioning of a Plural Society, Vol. 1 (New York: Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1982)

Vahakn Dadrian, The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus (Providence, RI & Oxford: Berghahn Books, 1995)

Raymond Kévorkian & Paul Paboudjian, Les Arméniens dans l'Empire ottoman à la veille du génocide(Paris: ARHIS, 1992)

Razmik Panossian, The Armenians: From Kings and Priests to Merchants and Commissars (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006)