Administration The easternmost sancak of the Ottoman Empire included the five kazas Beyazıt (Bayazet; Armenian: Payazat), Diyadin, Karakilise, Eleşkirt (Armenian: Alashkert), and Ayntap (Armenian: Aynt’ap’). Population According to the census carried out in 1914, a total of 13,412 Ottoman Armenians, 11,972 of whom were Armenian Apostolic, 1,411 Catholics, and 29 Protestants, lived in the sancak of Beyazıt. Of these, more than 2,000 Armenians lived in the homonymous administrative seat Beyazıt, which had a total population of 7,000. In the Abdigor neighborhood, where the Surb Karapet and Surb Vardan Churches were located in the center of Beyazıt town, there were two Armenian schools and [...]
Archives: Regions
Our CPT for the regions
Kaza Tortum – Թորթում
Administration Tortum (Turtum) was a sancak in Erzurum Eyalet. The main church of the Georgian Orthodox monastery of Khakhuli (Trk.: Haho, Hahuli; 10th/11th c.) near the village of Bağbaşı, located in a tributary valley of the Tortum River, was the most important sacral building of the Georgian branch of the Bagratids in Tao-Klarjeti. It was converted into a mosque. (Source: “Globus” magazine, 1876) Population Georgians and Armenians made up the vast majority of the population in Tortum. During Georgian rule, half of the ethnic Armenian population became Chalcedonians and joined the Georgian Orthodox church, while the rest of the Armenians remained part of the [...]
Kaza Ispir / Սպեր – Sper
The historical region of Ispir/Speri, also known as Sper (Georgian: სპერი Speri), was centered in the upper reaches of the valley of the Çoruh River. Its probable capital was the town of İspir, or Syspiritus. The region originally extended as far west as the town of Bayburt and the Bayburt plains. There are rich gold and other metal mines in the region, which were exploited in ancient times. Speri is mentioned in Greco-Roman, Armenian, Byzantine, Assyrian, Armenian, Georgian and Turkish sources. Toponym Ancient authors referred to Sper(i) as Cispiritis, Syspirites, Hesperitis and other names, deriving from the ethnonym Saspeires. According to the [...]
Kaza Refahiye / Կերճանիս Kerjanis / Gerjanis / Gercanis
Armenian Population On the eve of WW1 1,570 Armenians lived in three localities of the kaza, maintaining three churches, two monasteries and three (?) schools.[1] In 1909, the administrative seat Hasanova had 225 Armenians (38 families).[2] Armenian settlements Refahiye (Kerjanis, Kerchanis), Karsaga, Horopul, Melik (Melik Sherif/Şerif).[3] Destruction “In the kaza of Refahiye/Gerjanis, the eradication of the Armenians began on 3 June 1915. Three Armenian villages in the district – Gerjanis, Horopel, and Melik Sherif (…) were surrounded by çetes, who killed the inhabitants on the spot.”[4]
Kaza Kuruçay
Armenian Population The 2,898 Armenians lived in six localities, maintaining six churches and five (?) schools.[1] Armenian settlements: Apushta, Darsaki, Toghut (Teghut), Kharakhaya (Gharaghaya), Hasanova (administrative center), Mets Armtan, Pokr Armtan.[2] Destruction “The inhabitants of the six towns and villages of the kaza Kuruçay (…) – Greater Armdan, Lesser Armdan, Apshda, Hasanova, Tughud, and Dantsi – as well as those in the six towns and villages of the district of Koziçan [nahiye; Armenian: Գուզուջան – Guzujan, Գուզիջան – Guzijan], which had an Armenian population of 4,700, were not massacred in their villages, but deported. Most of the men were exterminated at Lecki Bridge, while the [...]