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Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

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Massacres, Reform Plans, Massacres. 1894-1896

When the Armenian was abandoned, he turned to extralegal means to attain his goals. The societies of the 1870's, weak in structure, local in character, and influencing but few, were superseded by the better organised, more extensive and popular Hntchakist and Dashnakist political parties. While the Patriarch in Constantinople continued his supplications to the Sublime Porte, the exponents of the new political mentality preached resistance and retribution. Under such influence, the rugged villagers of Sasoun in the Bitlis vilayet refused to pay the extraordinary "protection tax" to Kurdish chiefs. In 1894, when the Kurds were unable to subdue their former underlings, they appealed to the Ottoman government, accusing Sasoun of sedition. Regular Turkish units joined the irregular Hamidiye cavalry corps and, after weeks of combat, forced the Armenians to submit. Amnesty was promised, but instead the Sasounites were massacred. 10 The European consuls in the eastern provinces were joined by many Christian missionaries in crying out against these violations. The press of America and Europe once again bewailed the sufferings of the Armenians and clamoured for action. The diplomats of the Continent turned to the complex problem for the second time in one generation. A European commission of inquiry reported that the Armenians of Sasoun had acted in self-defence, while Ottoman officials maintained that they were rebels whom it was necessary to suppress. 11

The Sasoun problem revived the question of reforms, but, unlike their involvement in 1878, Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy abstained from the proceedings. The Triple Alliance had no intention of antagonising the Ottoman Sultan, and among the three remaining powers unanimity was often lacking. Nevertheless, by the spring of 1895, representatives of Britain, France, and Russia presented a plan of reforms to the Sublime Porte. The project provide that the "Armenian provinces" of the Empire would be consolidated, nomination of governors confirmed by the European powers, Armenian political prisoners granted amnesty, émigrés allowed to return, reparations accorded to victims of Sasoun and other unfortunate areas, forced converts to Islam restored to their original faith, a permanent control commission established in Constantinople, and a high commissioner appointed to execute the reform provisions. Moreover, nomadic Kurds were to adopt a sedentary mode of life. Hamidiye corps, to be disarmed and without uniforms during peacetime, would be attached to regular army units if activated. 12 Diplomatic exchanges continued throughout the summer and autumn of 1895 until at last, in October, Abdul Hamid succumbed to European pressure and promulgated reforms based on, but not as inclusive as, those proposed by the European ambassadors. On behalf of their governments, the representatives of Russia, France, and Britain expressed satisfaction and gratitude to the Sultan. 13