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The anti-Hamidian currents were spurred on by army officers who revived the opposition within the Empire during the first years of the twentieth century. In 1907 these groups, whose strength was concentrated in the headquarters of the Ottoman Macedonian Army, merged with Ahmed Riza's "Young Turks" faction to found Ittihad ve Terakki ("Committee of Union and Progress"). As the party's chief representative, Riza then attended the second congress of Ottoman liberals, convoked primarily on the initiative of Dashnaktsoutiun. The congress, meeting in Paris, pledged to overthrow Abdul Hamid's regime by swiftest means, not barring revolution. 23 Already events within the Empire were leading toward mutiny. When Ittihadist conspirators in the Macedonian Army were in danger of being exposed, they marched on Constantinople and demanded that the constitution be restored. With little alternative, Abdul Hamid yielded on July 24, 1908, and agreed to play the role of a constitutional monarch. A cabinet dominated by Ittihadists assumed the helm of government. 24
The Armenians had not participated in the actual coup, but they rejoiced at the victory of the army and its Ittihadist commanders. Yet, with the Empire immediately beset by foreign threats, these patriotic officers subordinated liberation to nationalism. Austrian annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgarian declaration of complete independence, Cretan proclamation of union with Greece, Italian invasion of Tripolitania (Libya), and, finally the Balkan wars drove the Ittihadist leaders toward extremism. During those trying years Dashnaktsoutiun remained loyal, urging the populace to support the government and exhorting the Armenian units in the Imperial Army to fight bravely in defence of the Empire. 25
The Counterrevolution and the Ascendancy of the Ittihadist Triumvirate, 1909-1913
The setbacks during the first months of Ittihadist rule provided impetus to the forces of reaction. In 1909, conservative Turkish elements, inspired by the supporters of Abdul Hamid, attempted to overthrow the new government. The constitution again was endangered, but Ittihad ve Terakki was saved by the "Army of Deliverance," which moved into Constantinople and crushed the counterrevolution. Abdul Hamid was dethroned and exiled. 26 Meanwhile, the interlude of the Hamidian reaction brought tragedy for the Armenians. Traditionalist Moslem elements, joined by Turks imbued with new nationalism, massacred between fifteen and twenty thousands Armenians in Cilicia. 27 Though partisans of Ittihad ve Terakki were implicated with the carnage, that party moved to soothe the raging passions by condemning the incident, ascribing it to Hamidian henchmen, and conducting a public memorial service for both Turkish and Armenian citizens who had sacrificed their livers "in defence of the revolution". Enver Bey, the future Minister of War, delivered the eulogy. 28
The attempted coup prompted Ittihad ve Terakki to declare a state of siege in Constantinople. The normal guarantees of the constitution were suspended until 1912. During the intervening years, Talaat Bey, later an influential cabinet member, came to the conviction that there could be no equality in the Empire until all citizens were "Ottomanised". To Talaat, Ottomanisation signified Turkification. 29 By 1911, dissension within the Ittihad party resulted in the formation of a splinter group, the Liberal Union, which the following year succeeded in establishing a cabinet of moderates, pledged to the principles of the original revolution. Unfortunately, continued military failures on the Balkan front and the demands by the victors for territorial concessions, especially Adrinople, contributed to the Ittihadist countercoup of 1913, which culminated in the ascendancy of the dictatorial nationalist elements of Ittihad ve Terakki. The actual functions of government were seized by the triumvirate of Enver, Minister of War; Talaat, Minister of Interior and later, in 1916, Grand Vizier; and Jemal, Military Governor of Constantinople and subsequently Minister of the Marine. The party and the government were theirs until the end of 1918. 30
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23) Ernest Edmondson Ramsaur, "The Young Turks: Prelude to the Revolution of 1908" (Princeton, 1957), pp. 122-128; Abraham Galanté, "Turcs et Juifs: Étude historique, politique" (Istanbul, 1932), pp. 38-39; Leo [A. Babakhanian], "Tiurkahai heghapokhoutian gaghaparabanoutyoune" [The Ideology of the Turkish Armenian Revolution], II (Paris, 1935), p. 54. By 1907, joint Armeno-Turkish demonstrations against the regime of Abdul Hamid II had occurred in Erzurum, Van, and Bitlis. At the 1907 Vienna Congress of Dashnaktsoutyoun, the party affirmed its program of active collaboration with other opposition societies as well as its dedication to the principle of federative government and an inviolable Ottoman Empire. Consult Mikael Varandian, "Le conflict arméno-géorgien et la guerre du Caucase" (Paris, 1919), II (Cairo, 1950), 5.
24) For accounts of the "Young Turk" revolution, consult Alma Wittlin, "Abdul Hamid, the Shadow of God", trans. by Norman Denny (London, [1940]), pp. 261-284; Ernest Edmondson Ramsaur, "The Young Turks: Prelude to the Revolution of 1908" (Princeton, 1957), pp. 130-137; Charles Roden Buxton, "Turkey in Revolution" (London, 1909), pp. 55-73; Great Britain, Foreign Office, "British Documents on the Origins of the War 1894-1914", ed. By G. P. Gooch and Harold Temperley, V (London, 1928), nos. 196-217.
25) Mikael Varandian, "Le conflict arméno-géorgien et la guerre du Caucase" (Paris, 1919), II, 18-24, cites several such publications of Dashnaktsoutyoun. Also consult Leo [A. Babakhanian], "Tiurkahai heghapokhoutian gaghaparabanoutyoune" [The Ideology of the Turkish Armenian Revolution], II (Paris, 1935), pp. 61-65
26) Bernard Lewis, "The Emergence of Modern Turkey" (London, 1961), pp. 211-212; A. Sarrou, "La Jeune-Turquie et la Révolution" (Paris, and Nancy, 1912), pp. 77-90, 99-162; W. M. Ramsay, "The Revolution in Constantinople and Turkey" (London, 1909), pp. 94-134; Sir Edwin Pears, "Life of Abdul Hamid" (New York, 1917), pp. 311-322; Great Britain, Foreign Office, "British Documents on the Origins of the War 1894-1914", ed. By G. P. Gooch and Harold Temperley, V (London, 1928), V, nos. 218-219.
27) The "Adana Massacre" was followed by a governmental inquiry, the findings of which were presented to the Ottoman Parliament and subsequently published in Armenian and French. In the report of Hakob Papikian, member of Parliament and the Inquiry, the number of victims given is 21,000, of whom 19,479 were Armenian, 850 Syrian, 422 Chaldean, and 250 Greek. Consult his "Adanayi yegherne" [The Atrocity of Adana] (Constantinople, 1919), p. 48. Details of the massacres and inquiry are found also in Hakob H. Terzian, "Kilikio aghete" [The Calamity of Cilicia] (Constantinople, 1912); M. Seropian, "Les Vêpres ciliciennes: Les responsibilities, faits et documents" (Alexandria, 1909). For invectives against the Turks by foreigners, consult Duckett Z. Ferriman, "The Young Turks and the Truth about the Holocaust at Adana in Asia Minor, during April, 1909" (London, 1913); Georges Brézol, "Les Turcs ont passé là: Recueil de documents…sur les massacres d'Adana en 1909" (Paris, 1911); René Pinon, "L'Europe et la Jeune Turquie" (Paris, 1911).
28) Bernard Lewis, "The Emergence of Modern Turkey" (London, 1961), pp. 212-213. Dashnaktsoutyoun was criticised by many Armenians for continuing to collaborate with the "Young Turks" even after the affair of Adana. The Fifth General Congress of Dashnaktsoutyoun, meeting in 1909, pledged continued support to the Ittihad government and again rejected all moves toward separatism. A proclamation to that effect was issued. Consult Mikael Varandian, "Le conflict arméno-géorgien et la guerre du Caucase" (Paris, 1919), II, 19-21
29) Bernard Lewis, "The Emergence of Modern Turkey" (London, 1961), p. 214; René Pinon, "L'Europe et la Jeune Turquie" (Paris, 1911), pp. 92-102. In 1911, Ittihad ve Terakki adopted a resolution to forbid the existence of separate, non-Turkish political societies. Consult Vahan Papazian, "Im houshere" [My Memoirs], II (Beirut, 1952), 151-152; and X., "Les courants politiques dans la Turquie contemporaine," Revue du monde musulman, XXI (September, 1912), 198. For the development of "Turkism," consult Uriel Heyd, "Foundations of Turkish Nationalism: The Life and Teachings of Ziya Gökalp" (London, 1950), especially pp. 71-81, 104-148. For the negative aspects of this movement and for the growth of Ittihadist intolerance, consult Victor Bérard, "La mort de Stambol: Considérations sur le government des Jeunes-Turcs" (Paris, 1913), pp. 259-398; and A. J. Toynbee, "Turkey: A Pas and a Future" (New York, 1917), pp. 15-40.
30) Geoffrey Lewis, "Turkey" (London, [1960]), pp. 44-45; André Mandelstam, "Le sort de l'empire Ottoman" (Paris, 1917), pp. 35-42; Bérard, "La mort…", pp. 342-351; Wilhelm Feldmann, "Kriegstage in Konstantinopel (Strasburg, 1913), pp. 106-117, 167-171.
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