The Armenian Genocide: A Historic Tragedy

In Turkey, in the spring of 1915, what had started as disorganized killings rooted in religious intolerance, escalated into the wholesale genocide of the Armenian people, sanctioned by policies created by the government of the Young Turks. By the time the Ottoman Empire had fallen in 1923, nearly seventy five percent of Armenians had been killed or forcibly relocated. The result was the near extermination of a race of people with a history extending back nearly 3,000 years.

Overview of Armenian History Historical tradition holds that the Ottoman Empire was founded in 1299 CE, the year that aligns with the years 699-700 in the Islamic calendar. The first sultan, Osman, was being housed by a holy man named Edebali when he was visited

However, long before the Ottomans had become prominent, there had been Turcoman raiding tribes for centuries before. The Seljuk Turks were perhaps the most notable, and most successful, tribe of early Turcomans. Starting in 1071 CE, they gradually migrated from Central Asia into the Middle East and Anatolia. It was here that they first overpowered a Byzantine army commanded by Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes in what was known as the battle of Malazgirt. Because of this victory they were able to move into Anatolia virtually unhindered and establish their settlement near Constantinople. Due to the First Crusade in 1097, however, they were forced to relocate to Konya in central Anatolia. Armenians, however, had been settled in the Anatolia valley as early as the 6th century BC. At its zenith under the rule of Tigranes the Great, Armenian rule extended from Caucasus into present day Turkey, Lebanon, and Iran. Despite being a large and powerful nation, Armenia still faced discrimination when they adopted Christianity as the national religion in 301 CE. This stigma dissipated slowly as Christianity was adopted by more and more surrounding nations. By the time the Turcomans arrived in the Anatolia valley in 1071 CE, they were the Muslim minority in a region comprised mainly of

European products of poor quality were being sold on the market at astronomically high prices, and due to protective tariffs, many Mid-Eastern merchants were forced to charge extremely low tariffs. The arrival of American cotton on the market also caused Egyptian cotton costs to plummet, and Egypt continuously borrowed money from Great Britain. By 1876 Egypt had a debt of almost 90 million British pounds, and Egypt was forced to declare bankruptcy. The last factor contributing to the economic recession of the Middle East pre-World War I was the Western dependence on Mid-Eastern oil. After discovering that the Arab world had the largest reserves of easily accessible oil, American companies were quick to make their moves and dominate the