Armenian Resistance to the Hamidian Massacres

Authors

Deborah Mayersen, University of New South Wales Canberra at the Australian Defence Force AcademyFollow

Abstract

Between 1894 and 1896, the Hamidian massacres claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. This article presents an exploratory analysis of Armenian resistance to the massacres. It examines the context and contours of resistance, including the strategies employed, scope and organization of resistance efforts. Evidence indicates that resistance was widespread, and Armenians adopted a diverse range of strategies in attempting self-protection. The relative powerlessness of the Armenian minority, however, meant that most attempts at resistance were overwhelmed. Additionally, resisters were often targeted for especially violent retribution. The lack of success of resistance efforts can also be partially explained by the role of the Ottoman government in the massacres.

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the National Association for Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR) and the Knights of Vartan Fund for Armenian Studies for funding that supported the research for this article. The author is grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editors for their valuable suggestions that helped strengthen this article.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.16.2.1812

Recommended Citation

Mayersen, Deborah (2022) "Armenian Resistance to the Hamidian Massacres," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 16: Iss. 2: 68–88.
DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.16.2.1812

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License