Tracing Ottoman Documents: A Letter Delivered 95 Years Late…
Garabet K Moumdjian
I- Introduction
Researching Ottoman archival material is important, since it doesn’t negate the historical veracity of the Armenian Genocide, while elucidating obscure points. As a matter of fact, it only adds to our knowledge of key events, which further confirm the truth. A small “jewel” of a document, which is presented in translation here,[1] is a good example in this regard. [2] We had known that throughout April and May 1915 several Armenian leaders were apprehended and exiled into the depths of Anatolia . Many were stationed in Ayash and Chankere.[3] Very few of these wretched people were able to survive to tell their stories. Figures in several partial lists estimate their numbers to be anywhere between 244 and 1680. Although historians had heard about such cases, we had never had the chance to hear from one of them, let alone to feel the psychological conditions to which they were subjected during their exile. Haig/Hrach Tiriakian’s letter, whose original follows this note, illustrates their plight.
At this point, it is critical to raise a few general questions. First, were all those exiled important leaders within the Armenian community of Constantinople ? It seems that this was not the case, for in its abrupt move to rid itself of the Armenian intelligentsia of the capital, the Ottoman government apprehended and exiled hundreds of people who were neither Armenian leaders, nor displayed any contention for being considered as such. How do we know this? Haig Tiriakian clarifies the matter well.
At the beginning of the 1990’s, the directorate of the Ottoman Archives opened its doors to researchers for a short period of time. After 2005, another effort was made, which allowed several scholars to visit the archives in Istanbul Ankara
II- The Letter
A- Translator’s Notes:
- Haig Tiriakian[7], AKA Hrach Tiriakian, was a member of the group that took over the Ottoman Bank in 1896. In April of 1915 he was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s [8] Central Organ of Constantinople and was arrested late at night on April 24, 1915.[9]
- Vartkes Serengulian was a long-time ARF member and, at the time, the Armenian deputy from Erzerum in the Ottoman Parliament. Although considered a “close” friend of Talaat Pasha, then Minister of Interior of the Ottoman Empire, he too was killed in 1915, together with the Armenian writer Krikor Zohrab.
- Agnuni is the name de plume of Khachadur Malumyan, who was the chairman of the Central Organ of of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of Constantinople. He was also killed in 1915.
- There are other notes in the translation itself, which elucidate events and persons, as indicated further below.
- A final cautionary note must be recorded here. Although the information in the letter belong to Tiriakian, it is impossible to know the author’s knowledge of the Ottoman language. Hence, it is indeed possible that the letter was written by someone else, on behalf of Tiriakian, which would not be out of character. Key events and persons mentioned in the letter could only be known by Tiriakian. There is also Tiriakian’s Armenian signature (beside his Ottoman signature) at the end of the letter.
Directorate of Ottoman Archives
Document No.: DH.EUM. [Dahiliyye Evrak Umumi] 2 Sb, 7-56
(Dahiliyye, Evrak Umumi, General Documents of Interior Ministry of the Ottoman Empire)
B- Body of Letter
[A seperate official identifying correspondance written by the Ottoman officer handling the letter. Notice that its dated May 1, 1917][10]
Province of Kastamonu[11]
Official Letter of the provincial office
Serial Number: 2876-231
To the Ministry of Internal Affairs:
Summary: Relating to a letter written by Haig Tiriakian while being in Chankere.
Your Excellency, Minister of the Interior,
This letter, which belongs to Haig Tiriakian, a member of the Armenian group that was deported to Chankere, and baring the address in Dar Saadat[12] of Vartkes Effendi,[13] the Armenian deputy of the Ottoman Parliament from Erzerum, had nort been send through the post for some time as a consequence of our uncertainty. Thus, it has remaind here at the Mutasarrifate’s[14] office. Therefore, we are sending it to you so that you can take the neccessary action regarding it, especially in terms of handing it to the mentioned addressee.
April 18, 1917[15]
Note: The letter was surrendered to us on May 19, 1915.[16]
[Official seal of the governer of Kastamonu Province]
[Page 1 of 4, corresponding to page 2/1 in original Ottoman letter]
May 16, 1915[17]
Beloved Vartkes:
What was to happen did happen! The situation which we thought was impossible to happen happened! We were exiled in a group. The exile is but only a drop in our disappointment. Even for those of us who are used to this kind of treatment, the exile was really hard. The real reason for my disappointment is this: The biggest injustice was done to us.
They exiled us.
It so appears that only a few of them[18] think that we are suspicious people. Even though they don’t know the reason for such neglect towards us, the Ottoman government apprehended us as suspicious people and exiled us to places far away from Constantinople .
What I want to say is that my presence in Constantinople is banned as of yet. Aside from those belonging to our group,[19] there are a lot of people with no political color or orientation with us. There are doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, businessmen, mariners, fishermen, and even dellals[20] and people who work in khans.[21] All are exiled. That all kinds of people are exiled with us means that we are unable to identify all of them. There are young and very old people among us. There are even people who carry the same full name. Vertanes Papzian, the famous Armenian writer is with us too.[22] His eyes hurt and his vision is very poor. He is almost blind. They have exiled the zavallu[23] guy all the way here. Vartkes, I implore you to tell his Excellency[24] that Haig Tiriakian is in Ayash[25] by mistake. Please submit a special petition to correct this mistake. Whatever explanation or elucidations I make here for this reason is not working.
[Page 2 of 4, corresponding to page 2/A in original Ottoman letter]
I still can’t understand what the reason is for dumping me, all these wretched poor souls, and those who are destined to be deported to Tarsus
It seems that although the central government deported us here, it hadn’t taken any steps towards that beforehand. It had deported us here for one reason only: It thought that all of us here are members of ARF.
Beloved Vartkes:
I am writing about my whereabouts to you. I don’t know why I am doing that. I just want that my situation and feelings to be known to whom it may concern. I am doing this knowing very well that your character won’t allow you to be indifferent. You are the liaison between the central government and our organization. Please inform the government that we haven’t taken any wrong steps towards it. Not even for a brief moment! Let the government be content with us. It doesn’t have to worry. Whatever happens, a single organization can’t be blamed for everything. It follows, that the members of that organization are not worthy of being apprehended. Ours is an organization that has a documented twenty-five year old history within this state for its fight for equality to all. It had given martyrs on that road. After the proclamation of the constitution and the sad events in Adana
Why are they acting as such, dear Vartkes? Why are they regarding this organization as one that is weaving a cobweb against the government? None of us had thought anything like that! As a matter of fact this is what makes me really angry. Are we to be blamed for what happened on the Caucasian front? We are never [should this be not rater than never?] responsible for those events. Whatever and however they try they can’t make us responsible for those events. They can’t prove this by their fiery speeches. Simply put, the party remained loyal to the government. At no time did we get involved in such movements.[26] Even when the central government was opposed to such movements our organization remained loyal to it. Our organization remained loyal to that movement through it’s deputies in the parliament.
[Page 3 of 4, corresponding to continuation of page 2/A in original Ottoman letter]
We can still announce our stance even from such places and situations that I am in. We still continue to be honest and loyal to them regardless of their abusive and angering stance towards us. We can still be calm and show courage while at the same time totally rebutting their false allegations against us. They can’t deal with us according to the tenets of our revolutionary past and at the same time forget the cooperation that existed between them and us during the last phase.[27]
If there is a deep grief that engulfs us today it is because they attach no importance to us even though we did everything that we could do for their sake.
The government is simply denying everything for which it was thankful to us in the past. When the ARF spoke about the elemental needs of the Armenian people and solicited their action in this regard, it did this for the welfare of the Armenian people and its honor, as well as the protection of its development. The government is aware that these issues are ingrained in the fundamental law of the country.[28] I am sorry to say that the government is apathetic even to the basic needs of the Armenian people and our organization. It follows, that instead of the whole country benefiting from such a situation, the government is wasting that opportunity and, in the process, condemning everything that was done during the last twenty years for the fruition of such a cause. Contrary to all this I still believe in the following; the development of the Armenian people can be secured only by keeping Armenians within the boundaries of Turkey Europe only exacerbates that development.[30] We advocated this every time and everywhere. We still believe in this wholeheartedly!
Beloved Vartkes:
You must resend the requisitions you forwarded to our bodies abroad as a result of the war, and where you state that we, like the Muslim population of the state, have to do all that is in our power for the [defense] of the state. We have been informed that everywhere else and also in Istanbul
[Page 4 of 4, corresponding to continuation of page 2/2 B in original Ottoman letter]
In order not to be the victims of vermin and other insects, we decided to destroy them all here. It is really improper to speak about such issues dear compatriot. To keep your place of residence clean is a basic requirement of civilized human behavior. I am much unnerved by the bites of insects as I write this letter, that I am unable to sit still and move my pen.
* * * *
We were at the home of our friend Agnuni[32] thinking about all these issues on the night of April 11.[33] An officer came to investigate. You[34] were there too. After three hours of interrogation they took our friend and took him to their center. They had taken Khazhag,[35] another close comrade, there too a few hours before that. We separated at midnight. You went home to rest, while I headed to the Azadamard[36] building to relax. I was apprehended there. It was only after taking two people from the Central Body that they were able to sleep that night.
Beloved Vartkes:
You know me well. You know that writing is not my forte. It’s evident then that there is so much anger in me that I filled four whole pages.
Fraternally,
Haig Tiriakian
Çankırı, Province of Kastamonu
Residing at the home of the sector’s official, Ahmed Effendi
[Official Seal of the Directorate of Ottoman Archives in Istanbul
C- By Way of a Conclusion
It is ironic, to say the least, that Tiriakian mentions Agnuni and Khazhag in his letter, but is unaware that they were exiled to the same place as he was.[37] Apparently the deportees were scattered in such a manner that they couldn’t contact each other. Let alone to know who was where.
Also interesting is the fact that by the time the Ottoman official of the Kastamonu province did sent Tiriakian’s letter to Constantinople for “delivery” to its assigned addressee, Vartkes Serengulian had been killed with Krikor Zohrab some two years earlier. Their story was as follows: The two men were ordered to appear before a court martial in Diyarbakir. Both went to Aleppo by train, escorted by one gendarme. They remained in the Syrian city for a few weeks waiting for the results of the futile attempts by the Ottoman governor there to have them sent back to the capital (some sources mention Jemal Pasha himself intervening for their return, but Talaat Pasha insisted on sending them to the court martial). They were then dispatched to Urfa and remained there for some time in the house of a Turkish deputy friend. They were then taken under police escort and led to Diyarbakir Aleppo
It may also be useful to mention that we know of very few survivors from Chankere: These include Aram Andonian and Father Gregoris Balakian. The first is the author of the “Andonian-Na’im Bey Documents,”[41] which ushered the investigation about the Armenian Genocide and condemned Talaat Pasha as the person most responsible for it, while the latter was the author of the “Armenian Golgotha,”[42] a damning memoir about the Armenian Genocide that was lately translated to English and published by his great [43]nephew, Peter Balakian. Interestingly enough, there was also a Zareh Moumdjian (Momjian) among the Chankere survivors.[44]
Given the wealth of detail one gathers from such documents, research in the Ottoman Archives Directorate as well as ATASE, are truly important. One hopes that a new generation of Armenian scholars with knowledge of the Ottoman language will rise to the occasion, to accomplish this task and to fully preserve the nation’s memory.
[2] The letter was handed to me by a close colleague who also does research in Ottoman Archives.
[3] For a partial list of Armenian notables exiled to Ayash and Chankere see the URL: http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Armenian_notables_deported_from_the_Ottoman_capital_in_1915#cite_note-Ray662-12
[4] Committee of Union and Progress, Ittihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti
[5] See Hanioglu’s 2 volumes about the history of the CUP: “The Young Turks in Opposition,” and “Preparation for a Revolution: The Young Turks, 1902-1908,” both published by Oxford University Press.
[6] Known as ATASE in Turkish. Although the Ottoman archives are relatively easy to get into, special allowance is needed to research within ATASE.
[7] Armenian names in this article are transliterated according to Western Armenian; except when the person in question is an Eastern Armenian.
[8] An Armenian political and revolutionary party/federation, which is more commonly known as “Tashnagtsutiun.”
[9] Corresponding to April 11 of the old, Julian calendar, this was in use at the time.
[10] Corresponding to April 18 of the old, Julian calendar.
[11] Kastamonu is one of the provinces of modern Turkey, in the Black Sea region, to the north of the country. It is surrounded by Sinop to the east, Bartın and Karabük to the west, Çankırı to the south, Çorum to the south east and the Black Sea to the north. During 1915, Çankırı was within the boundaries of this Vilayet.
[12] The old Ottoman name for Constantinople , literally meaning “the Abode of Happiness.”
[13] Ottoman honorific title.
[14] Mutasarrif corresponds to provincial governor
[15] May 1, 1917 according to new calendar
[16] June 1, 1915 according to new calendar
[17] May 29 in new calendar
[18] Turks
[19] Meaning ARF members
[20] Criers
[21] In Ottoman Turkish a khan is a safe place to sleep at night, with very limited comfort.
[22] Brother of Vahan Papazian, AKA Goms, deputy from Van in the Ottoman Parliament and a leading ARF member. Vertanes is known to have been permitted to return to the capital soon after 11 May 1915, see Raymond Kévorkian, Le Génocide des Arméniens, Odile Jacob, Paris 2006, p. 662. If this is true than there is a paradox here, since Tiriakian’s letter is dated May 16 and it mentions Vertanes Papzian as being with them in Chankere.
[23] Literally poor and wretched
[24] Talaat Pasha
[25] Remote town in the province of Angora (Ankara Constantinople .
[26] The wasted and disastrous Sarikamish offensive by Enver Pasha, Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire
[27] Meaning ARF-CUP cooperation.
[28] Meaning the new constitution.
[30] The word here is used in the context of the physical security of the Armenian people.
[31] Meaning the Allies.
[32] AKA Khachadur Malumyan, chairman of the Central Body (Badaskhanadou Marmin in Armenian) of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation in Constantinople .
[33] April 24 according to new calendar. This corresponds to a Sunday, which later became known within Armenian circles as “Red Sunday.”
[34] Meaning Vartkes.
[35] Karekin Chakalian, AKA Karekin Khazhag, another ARF leading member and writer.
[36] ARF newspaper in Constantinople as of 1909.
[37] Both Agnuni and Khazhag were taken to Ayash, and then dispatched to Diyarbakir
[38] Literally meaning Black Bridge
[39] Literally meaning The Valley of Satan.
[41] The existence of Na’im Bey was authenticated by Hilmar Kaiser, Armenian Activities in the [Ottoman] Archival Documents, 1914-1918, Vol. VII, p. 264.
[42] Haigagan Koghkotan in Armenian.
[44] The person who bears my family name was pardoned on condition of not returning to Istanbul, according to a telegramme from the Ministry of the Interior dated 25 August 1915, on the subject of exiles erroneously unlisted in an earlier 3 August 1915 telegramme. Zareh Moumdjian was in the second convoy, with only two survivors, which left Çankırı on 19 August 1915. He was jailed in Ankara
