Toponym Located in the upper valley of the Halys (Trk.: Kızılırmak), the Ottoman kaza bears the name of its main seat, Koçhisar (‘Ram Castle’; renamed Hafik in 1926). Armenian Population In 1914, 13,055 Armenians lived in 30 Armenian localities of this kaza, maintaining 30 churches, two monasteries and 28 schools with a total enrolment of 2,483.[1] The administrative seat of the kaza, Koçhisar, “had barely 3,000 inhabitants, 2,037 of whom were Armenians.”[2] Destruction The first arrests took place in early April 1915, both in the principal town and in the villages. “Some of those arrested were put to death in Seyfe Gorge or [...]
Archives: Regions
Our CPT for the regions
Kaza Gürün / Կյուրին – Kyurin
The administrative seat of the kaza Gürün, the town of same name, is situated in the fertile, tree-lined and steep valley of the Tohma (Melas) River, a right tributary of the Euphrates. Gürün, 1900: Group of apprentices from the Armenian orphanage (Photographer: Adjemian, Smyrna. Source: Photographies arméniennes: Scènes et Portraits 1880-1930, réunies et commentées par Pierre Ter-Sarkissian, Jean-Claude Kebabdjian et Michel Pazoumian. Paris 1983, p. 60) Population “With its five exclusively Armenian villages and a handful of dispersed communities, the kaza of Gürün had a total Armenian population of 13,874 in 1914. The seat of the kaza (…) had 12,168 inhabitants, 8,406 of [...]
Kaza Şarkışla / Şehirkışka / Şeyhkeşla / Tenus / Թոնուս – Tonus
Toponym The kaza’s administrative seat, the village of Şehirkışka (renamed Şarkışla in 1928) was populated since Roman times, when it was known as Lanadara (Marandara). A historical high castle still exists in the center of the town. Other names of the Şarkışla kaza are: Tenos, Tonos, Tonra, Tonuz, Shargishla, Sharkshla Population The total population of the kaza before the First World War was 40,000. Its main occupations were cattle breeding, agriculture, gardening, crafts and trade. After the kaza Sivas, the agricultural kaza Şarkışla, traversed by the river Halys (Trk.: Kızılırmak) had the largest Armenian population in the Sivas sancak: In 1914, there lived 21,063 Armenians [...]
Kaza Sivas / Σεβάστεια – Sebastaia / Սեբաստիա – Sebastia / Սվաս – Svas / Սրվազ – Srvaz
Ecumenical Genocide Memorial, Berlin: Commemorative Plate for Sivas / Sebastia Armenian Population According to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, there lived 31,185 Armenians in the kaza Sivas, maintaining 13 churches, four monasteries, and 19 schools for 1,980 children.[1] Nearly two thirds , i.e. 20,000 of the Armenian population of this kaza, lived in the regional capital, Sivas city.[2] Destruction In early April 1915 the authorities took all the measures required to completely cut off relations and correspondence between Sivas and the neighboring villages: “No one knew what was going on, even in a village just an hour away.”[3] Sivas City Population According to S. Ioannidis, around [...]
Sancak Sivas / Σεβάστεια – Sebastaia / Սեբաստիա – Sebastia / Սվաս – Svas / Սրվազ – Srvaz
Ecumenical Genocide Memorial, Berlin: Commemorative Plate for Sivas / Sebastia Administration The sancak of Sivas comprised the eleven kazas of Sivas, Bünyan, Şarkışla (Tonus), Darende, Divriği (Divrik), Aziziye, Kangal, Koçgiri/Zara, Koçhisar, Gürün, and Yenihan. Armenian Population In 1914, the Armenian population of the sancak of Sivas alone was 116,817. The Armenians lived in 46 towns and villages.[1] Armenian Celebrities from the Sebastia sancak Ukhtanes Sebastatsi (935-1000): prelate; historian St. Barsegh: Bishop of Sebastia and Asia Minor, canonized in Christian churches Hovasap Sebastatsi (1510-1564): poet, chronicler Mkhitar Sebastatsi (1676-1749): Armenian Catholic monk, as well as prominent scholar and theologian who founded the Mekhitarist Congregation, which has been based on San [...]