Armenian Genocide - Donahue 1 Julianna Donahue AP European...

Donahue 1
Julianna Donahue
AP European History
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4 April 2019
The Armenian Genocide
Throughout human history, periods of conflict and peace have defined what
civilizations are present. The way in which these conflicts are carried out has also changed over
time. One of the worst types of conflict is genocide. The United Nations defines genocide as,
“...acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious
group” (). One of the most glossed over genocides in history is the Armenian Genocide. The
Ottoman Empire was the one of the world’s most powerful and longest lasting empires, spanning
from the year 1299 to 1922. After the Treaty of Versa ille was signed the Ottoman empire
collapsed as stability was not brought to the region. During the last years of the Ottoma ns rule
over the Middle East and Mediterranean, they committed one of the first modern genocides. The
Armenian Genocide occurred from April 1915 to 1923, and was “the Ottoman turkey?
government’s systematic of extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly citizens within the
Ottoman Empire” (no citation) . This genocide was implemented in two phases, first was the
killing of Armenian men or forcing them to labor camps, and second was the deportation of
women, children, the sick, and the elderly on death marches to the Syrian desert. The Armenians
had been a part of the Ottoman since the early 16th century, when the Ottomans took over
western Armenia. As they were citizens of the Ottoman Empire, why did the genocide occur, and

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what were its effects?
To understand exactly why the genocide occurred one must understand the unstable
history of the region. Christian and Islamic groups had been fightin g the Middle East for
centuries by 1915, but during the years right before the Armenian Genocide the region had
actually been relatively peaceful. This peace quickly ended in 1915 when the genocide began.
Armenia was once one of the richest and largest kingdoms present in the Middle East, at one
point controlling most of Turkey and Iran, and some portions of Russia. When the Ottomans took
control of Armenia, they were one of a long line of invaders; Greece, Rome, Persia, Arabs,
Seljuks, and Mongols. The people of Armenia had long been under the control of other people
who they did n ot consider Armenia, and their invaders thought the same of them. The Armenian
Genocide was not caused by a single event, but rather a large build up of many small events that
resulted in the almost destruction of an entire race of people.
One major factor that contributed to the Armenian Genocide was the harsh treatment of
Armenians before it occurred. Armenians were considered to be second-class citizens in the
Ottoman Empire, and could sometimes be treated as if they were not human at all. Armenians
could not bear arms, and could not seek retribution in a court of law. Because of this the
Armenians were left at the mercy of the much larger Muslim majority. The Armenians had also