This thesis is a historical study of the Ottoman Armenians in the Ottoman Empire from 1918-1923. It seeks to delineate how the Ottoman Armenians reorganised their political position against the massive socio-political crises that led to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The thesis analyses the transformation of the Armenian political position by examining the Ottoman Turkish and Armenian press. The study contends that the Ottoman Armenians struggled to reorganise their political and social life after the First World War and established alliances with the Allied Powers to create an independent 'Western Armenia', which would ultimately unite with the Armenian state in the Caucasus. The Ottoman Armenians developed a patriotic approach that sought unification with their compatriots in the Caucasus. However, after the defeat of the Greek army by the Nationalist troops in Anatolia in 1922, the collective approach among the Ottoman Armenians changed significantly. After the Nationalist victory had become inevitable, the Ottoman Armenians sought reconciliation and peace with the Turks. This reconciliation was only possible through the acceptance of 'Turkish supremacy' by the Ottoman Armenians. In other words, the Armenians who chose to remain within the boundaries of Turkey preferred to pledge loyalty to the newly established Nationalist government in Ankara. The establishment of the Türk-Ermeni Teali Cemiyeti (Turkish Armenian Ascent Association) and the reconciliation attempts of the Ottoman Armenians with the Muslim Turks is an example of the transformation of the Armenian collective position among the Ottoman Armenians. This study employs Armenian and Ottoman Turkish media sources published in Istanbul and Anatolia during the Armistice years (1918-1923) to track the post-war interrelationship of Ottoman society in general and the Armenian community in particular, the social and political reorganisations of the Armenian community and the transformation of the Armenian political position in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. By doing so, the thesis challenges both Ottoman/Turkish and Armenian historiographies, and attempts to bring these two historiographic approaches together with a new approach to understand this historical period.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:749017 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Sekeryan, Ari |
| Contributors | Van Lint, Theo Maarten ; Tchilingirian, Hratch |
| Publisher | University of Oxford |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f4b3c858-0f80-4905-b880-a3c4997e27a0 |
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