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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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The Armenian Mission to Constantinople

The Armenian representatives in Constantinople and Berlin followed the sapid course of events with near incredulity. The hopelessness of the summer months gave way to new horizons for a rewarding future. Cautiously, the suppliants first anticipated the restoration to their republic of the entire Yerevan guberniia and then believed that Kars and Ardahan, too, might be retrieved. By October, 1918, it was even possible to think once again in terms of Western Armenia. Fortunately, the reports of the Constantinople delegation are extant as a record of the day-today activities of Aharonian's mission. 47 A review of the labours of the Armenian envoys during their four-moth stay in the Ottoman capital indicates the great relief that must have overwhelmed them as they finally sailed for home on November 1, 1918.

Having left Tiflis on June 14, the Armenian delegation, together with a Georgian mission led by Gegechkori, arrived in Constantinople four days later. Soon they were joined by North Caucasus and Azerbaijani representatives who had also come to participate in the conference to revise the Batum treaties. Aharonian was in quandary during the first days after arrival, because Article XV of the Batum treaty had stipulated that ratifications were to be exchanged within a month. If the Armenians did not ratify by the July 4 deadline, the Turks could, by declaring the treaty void, use the opportunity to obliterate the infant republic. If, on the other hand, the treaty were confirmed, the Ottomans could assert that, since relations with Armenia had been determined, there was no need for a revised settlement. 48 The Armenians feared both alternatives but, as events developed, the treaty remained ungratified. The prevailing impression on Constantinople was that the conference was to be a continuation of the proceedings in Batum and, as such, the clause pertaining to ratifications was not to be enforced.

With that understanding, the Armenian delegation waited week after week for the opening session. Various excuses were offered for the postponement. Enver and Talaat repeatedly blamed Berlin for the delay but on several occasions promised that the meeting would start in a day or two. Ambassador Bernstorff cited Turkish intransigence as the chief cause for the impasse, though he admitted that his government condoned deferring the sessions until a basic understanding had been reached among the four Central Powers. At the Austrian Embassy, military attaché Pomiankowski noted that the divergence between German and Turkish interest was so great that there was little likelihood a conference would take place. 49 His appraisal proved correct. As the delegates from Transcaucasia waited the entire summer for the opening of the never-to-be-convened Constantinople conference, each group worked feverishly to strengthen its own position. Khatisian reported his deep concern that the Armenians would be severely handicapped when the meetings began, for the Georgians were assured of German support and the Azerbaijanis could naturally depend on Turkish patronage, while Armenian attempts to gain the protection of Austria-Hungary had been unsuccessful. Even the Bulgarians were approached, but the diplomats of Sofia, while happy to receive memorandums from Khatisian and Aharonian, pointed out that they were themselves at odds with the Turks over possession of the Balkan province, Dobrudja, and could be of little assistance. 50 Thus the Armenian strategy was altered to deal directly with the source of affliction – the Ottoman Empire. The Ittihadist rulers controlled the means to mitigate the ordeals of the Republic. Therefore, the Armenian mission strove


  1. to impress favourably the men in government and influential positions;
  2. to effect Turkish withdrawal from Pambak-Lori;
  3. to gain permission for refugees to return to areas ceded Turkey by the Batum Treaty;
  4. to convince the Ittihadist leaders that, without a viable Armenia, there would be neither peace nor justice in Transcaucasia and that, therefore, certain lands disputed with Azerbaijan and Georgia should, with Ottoman support, be awarded to Armenia;
  5. to win German recognition of the Republic through the intercession of the Sublime Porte.