THE HISTORY OF SEBASTIA

To Our English-Speaking Generation

Your parents who have survived the martyrdom of the Armenian people of Sebastia (Sivas) and of the province, in undertaking the preparation of the history of their birthplace, have been motivated with the desire to save from oblivion such events and memories as have historic significance, not only from the point of our national history, but also as an important document related to historic events of the present century.

Circumstances have rendered it impossible for you to learn the beautiful Armenian language. We have therefore translated, in an abridged form, salient points in our History of Sebastia, that is, a minimum of knowledge which every Sebastatzi, Armenian or English speaking, should know. For the tragedy of Armenia is also the tragedy of mankind in our century.

An Abridgement from the History of the Armenians of Sebastia

Geography : Sebastia, which Turks later called Sivas, is located at the upper reaches of River Halys (Kizil Irmak), and is the provincial capital. In 1915 the city's population consisted of 40,000 Turks and 30,000 Armenians. The plateau upon which the city has been founded is 1300 meters above sea level. Its climate is healthy, even though winters are severe. The province is rich in agricultural products and animal husbandry. The mountains are largely barren, even though there are areas covered with forests. A number of mines have been discovered, but to a large extent have not been exploited except for salt mines. (See map A).

History : (The Development of the Armenian People and Lesser Armenia). Armenians have been the indigenous and permanent people of the Armenian plateau, the component strains were the Haiasa-Azzis. The names Haiastan and Hai have been derived from Haiasa. (.....)

The city-states of Asia Minor were related in their racial origin to the Haiasa-Azzi racial union. The first of these city-states was, according to a Hitite inscription, Tegamma, which corresponds to the Armenian translation of the Biblical Torgoma, present Gurin, one of the principal cities of the Sivas province. The House of Torgom or Torgoma Toun has been deemed in Armenian traditional history a synonym of Armenia. Togoma includes also the Poukhkhouva "land" which corresponds to contemporary Arabkir. It is thus indicated that the land known as Lesser Armenia was inhabited by Armenians in times immemorial.

Sivas, the provincial capital of Lesser Armenia was built during the Roman ascendency by Queen Pudotoris of Capadocia during the first quarter of the first century B.C. and was named Augustus or Sevastia in honor of the Caesar Augustus.

Christianity in Sebastia : Beginning with the first century A.D. the Christian religion was preached in Sebastia and one of the earliest churches was established there by Apostle Thaddaeus, according to tradition.

In the year 301, for the first time in the world, King Trdat III of Armenia declared Christianity as the state religion, and in 314, as arranged by the King, St. Gregory the Illuminator was sent to Caesarea along with a large cortege, to be consecrated as a bishop by the bishop of Caesarea. On his way back to Armenia, St. Gregory stopped at Sebastia. The Armenian faithful and their bishop urged him to stay longer in their city, but he could stay only six days and took with him a number of candidates for priesthood so as to be trained for service in their fatherland. The martyrdom of the forty secretly Christian soldiers in the Roman army occurred during this period. The place of their martyrdom was the Armenian cemetery until 1915.

During the Byzantine Ascendency : Even though Lesser Armenia was under the political rule of the Byzantine Empire, the people maintained their religious and cultural ties with the motherland, despite the persistent efforts of the Byzantines for their assimilation and the imposition of the Calcedonian dogma upon them, using various types of pressure.

Lesser Armenia has given to the Byzantine Empire a number of distinguished scholars, such as the celebrated orator of the fourth century Proheresius, 272-368, who taught numerous Armenian students. The noted Patriarch of the Orthodox Church, Bishop Atticus, was an Armenian from Sivas, as well as Eusthatius the Bishop of Sebastia (357-376) who initiated the sectarian movement for church reform, and was the forerunner of the Paulician and Tondrakian movements.

Lesser Armenia gave to the Byzantine Empire celebrated generals, a number of whom ascended to the Imperial throne. Of the emperors who occupied the Byzantine throne, many were of Armenian origin, even though they bore Greek names. The Byzantine Empire was saved from downfall by Vardan Mamikonian (856-866), John Zimeskes (969-976) and Vasil II (976-1025) etc. So many prominent Armenians were active in the military, political, and intellectual life of the Empire that an English historian calls the eighth century the "Armenian Century."

King Senekerim of Vaspourakan and His Transfer to Sebastia : For a long time the Byzantine Empire strove to subdue the small kingdoms across its borders. Emperor Vasil II who was called "Bulgarian-killer", dealt with like severity with the Georgian and Armenian kingdoms.

Forseeing a similarly imminent fate and concerned over the ever-increasing incursions of the Seljuk Turks from Central Asia, King Senekerim of Vaspourakan (Van) proposed to the Emperor the exchange of his domain with Sebastia, and accordingly surrendered to the Empire 72 fortresses, eight cities, 400 villages, and 115 monasteries, receiving in exchange the capital city of Sebastia, with its large Armenian population, along with two cities, Larisa and Avara, and numerous villages. In 1021 King Senekerim came to Sebastia with his court, his army of 14,000, and a large body of his subjects. There he built for himself a beautiful royal palace and the Monastery of Sourb Nishan, which until the year of the genocide, in 1915 served as a religious and educational center. Senekerim died in 1026 and was succeeded by one of his four sons, David. Unfortunately the Senekerimian kingdom lasted only half a century, and came to an end amidst the political turmoil which raged at that time. Byzantium thus successively destroyed all the defensive positions in the east. It occupied similarly the Armenian Kingdom of Bagratounis in 1045, and the Kingdom of Kars in 1065, whereby the barbarians from Central Asia found an opportunity to invade the territories of the Empire, eventually reaching its very heart, Constantinople.

Disasters : In 1060 Sebastia was ravaged by Seljuk Doughril Beg, and in 1069 Doughril's successor, Alpaslan not only defeated the Byzantine army at Mantzikert (Manazkert), but moved into Asia Minor. Seljuk Danishmend became established in Sebastia while in Konia there was established a Seljouk sultanate (kingdom). These lasted until 1307.

Timurlane : In August 1400 Timurlane came and invested Sebastia. The defenders of the city numbered 4000, primarily cavalry and Archers, most of whom were Armenians. They resisted for three weeks, but surrendered upon Timurlane's promise not to shed blood. The Tartar autocrat, however dishonored his promise and ravaged and killed the inhabitants and buried alive 4000 soldiers, who had surrendered, in deep trenches. This place later was called "Black Earth," and in more recent times the Aramian School was built on the ground.

Ottoman Turks : Osman, son of the Turkish chieften Ertoghrul (1281-1325), was given a small territory which he gradually enlarged. His successors followed his example. Thus Sebastia became alternately subdued by Osmanli and Turkoman emirs. In the midst of this confused state there arose groups of criminals called Jelalis who preyed upon and murdered the peaceful population.

National Liberation Movements and Cultural Revival : Despite untold varieties of plunder and pilage by their rulers, the Armenians of Sebastia always considered themselves as natives, superior to their oppressors. The Armenian Church became a stronghold of national preservation. There are historic references to some fifteen bards as saints and national heroes, which proved an effective medium in the preservation of the Armenian national identity.

Only a few pieces remain from the work of two bards of Sebastia, known as Michael and Ghazar, but we have numerous verses of love and martyrdom from Hovsep of Sebastia, which constitute priceless examples of our medieval literary and cultural revival.

First Effort for National Liberation : The oppression of the Turkish and Persian overlords was unbearable for Armenians. Therefore, in 1541, Catholicos Stepanos of Salmast, held a secret meeting which decided that the Catholicos himself visit Europe in person so as to ask for the assistance of the Christian nations for the liberation of Armenians. But his appeals proved unfruitful.

Second Secret Meeting : was held in the St. Nishan Monastery of Sebastia, under the presidency of Catholicos Michael of Sebastia, and it was decided to send Abgar Tbir of Tokat to the Pope of Rome. The Pope demanded that Armenians accept Catholicism. Etchmiadzin was inclined to accept but the effort proved abortive.

Third Attempt : In 1678 Catholicos Hakob of Julfa held a secret meeting at Etchmiadzin, where it was decided that the Catholicos go to Rome in person, accept the Pope's supremacy, thereby securing his protection. All these attempts proved fruitless.

(.....)

Sebastia and Its Monasteries

When the Armenian kingdoms in Lesser Armenia and Cilicia were overthrown, the churches and monasteries became the primary supports of the leaderless Armenian people.

At the upper valley of River Halys some forty Armenian villages and as many in the Gurin and Manjilik districts had their nearby monasteries and their feasts and days of pilgrimage and to where people went in great numbers, offering sacrifice, held festivities, sang and danced.

There were four monasteries near Sebastia : Sourp Nishan, Sourp Hagop, Anabad, and Khonorgdoor.

Sourp Nishan, founded by King Senekerim, from 1201 up to 1915 had served as the diocesan see. The monastery has had a seminary and has trained future clergymen. Mekhitar himself was ordained there. It has been also a center for illuminated manuscripts.

At present the monastery has been transformed into a Turkish military center. The most celebrated monasteries in the upper valley of Halys were St. Hreshtakapet, St. Tagavor and Devotz, while that of Gurin and Manjilik was St. Toros.

Cultural Organization

Until the forties of the past century, Armenians living under the barbaric Ottoman rule were denied the means for cultural development.

The European powers imposed on Turkey, as a great market for their capitalistic enterprises, certain reforms (Tanzimat). Armenians living in Constantinople profited by the new regulations. They opened schools, began to publish periodicals, books, and organized the Armenian theatre. Moreover, in 1860 the Turkish government allowed the establishment of a National Constitution whereby Armenians could direct their own internal problems.

In the provinces, however, the previous autocratic and unsafe circumstances continued. Notwithstanding this fact, Armenians from the provinces who returned to their birthplace after a period of employment in Constantinople, followed the example of the capital city and established schools in their birthplace. In 1850 there was organized the Senekerimian Association to assist educational institutions. A welfare association (Akhkadakhnam) was founded in 1857 and continued to serve until 1915. Owing to the work of the association there was not even one Armenian beggar in Sivas, despite all the successive disasters. One after another there were organized the Antznever and Lousaper Associations, in 1870, which established sunday schools and assisted poor students. The Dramatic Association (1870) began to present various dramas. The Armenian Women's Association (Hayouhiatz) supported the girls' school. The Orphans' Care Association (Vorpaser) began to serve in 1887 and following the 1895-1896 massacres assumed the care of hundreds of orphans of both sexes and the difficult task of their education. The "Bartev" athletic association began to serve the physical well-being of the young generation. In 1889 there was organized the Administration of the National Hospital which erected a building for the care of the sick of both sexes and where the poor received free treatment.

Thus from the fifties of the previous century until 1915, there were more than 70 philanthropic, educational and cultural associations which, despite the short period of existence of some of them, is a most effective proof of the progressive character of the Armenians of Sebastia.

Educational Institutions

Until the first quarter of the preceding century there were no regular schools in Turkey. Priests and noviciates taught limited numbers of pupils to read from religious books in nondescript schools. From 1840 on, however, there were established neighborhood schools. The first school with a regular program was the Tarkmanchatz (in memory of the Holy Bible Translators). It was established In 1851. From 1870 on there were established the Kayaniantz and Hripsimiantz girls' schools. There were also private and neighborhood schools. The Aramian National Secondary School was established in the 1890's upon the ground known as Black Earth (Sev Hogher), where 4,000 soldiers were buried alive by Timurlane. The official opening of the school took place in 1893. It gave to the community more than 100 well schooled young men. In 1912 the Sanasarian Varjaran, a boarding school with high standards, was transferred from Erzeroom to Sebastia. It hardly begun to bear fruit when it was closed in 1915. In the city there were also the school of the French Jesuits and the college of the American missionaries, which rendered excellent service in educating Armenian boys and girls.

The Theatre : In 1870 there was organized a Dramatic Association, which presented various plays, and which Turkish officials occasionally attended. During the ascendency of Sultan Hamid all dramatic activities were prohibited. In 1908, after the declaration of the Ottoman Constituton, the theatre assumed a new life, and the works of Armenian and non-Armenian authors were presented.

The Press : In 1875 a native Armenian of Sebastia brought a printing press from Constantinople and began the publication of the "Sivas" weekly, half Armenian half Turkish. In 1908 two other weeklies, "Antranig" and "Hoghtar" began publication.

The Province of Sivas : It extended from the Black Sea to the center of Asia Minor, and was divided into four subdivisions : Sivas, Tokat, Shabin Karahisar, and Amasia, with a total area of 83,700 square kilometers, that is, as large as Belgium, Holland and Soviet Armenia, with a combined population of 17 million, whereas that of the Sivas Vilayet (province) was only 750,000.

The Turkish government did not have reliable statistics, and always tended to minimize the number of Armenians. Impartial studies have arrived at the following figures on the comparative number of the various nationalities in Sivas :

Turks 190,000

Kizilbash 125,000

Circassians 45,000

Kurds 50,000

Khalds, Afshars, Chechens 30,000

Armenians 262,000

Greeks 45,000

As can be seen, Armenians constituted the largest segment of the population in the province of Sivas.

Armenian peasants were obliged to pay twice as heavy taxes as Turkish peasants. The Turkish element was primarily engaged in government service. There were also a small number of shopkeepers and laborers. However the business, the crafts, manufacture, not to mention the professions, were largely in the hands of Armenians. Here is a comparative picture of the various nationalities engaged in enterprises of industrial production. It was prepared by M. Leart ("La Question Arménienne", pages 65-67), which indicates : Armenian enterprises 130; Turkish 20; others 3, and workers : 14,000 Armenians; 3,500 Turks; 200 Greeks.

In Sebastia there were :

750 shopkeepers : 600 Armenians and 150 Turks

1750 craftsmen : 1500 Armenians and 250 Turks

1500 grocers : 1000 Armenians and 500 Turks.

Other occupations indicated the same proportion.

When Reshid Akif Pasha was Governor of Sivas, a truly just one - a rare phenomenon in Turkey - ninety per cent of the products which were exhibited were those of Armenian carftsmen.

The Irredentist Movement and Armenian Question :

In 1878 as a consequence of the Russo-Turkish war Bulgarians were set free from Turkish yoke. Armenians appealed to Russia to impose on the Turks at least sorely needed reforms in the administration of the six Armenian provinces. Article 16 of the Treaty of San Stefano, therefore, compelled the Turkish government to assume the implementation of the required reforms within six months. The Russian army was to stay at Erzroom pending the implementation of the reforms. Unfortunately, however, inspired by jealousy, the great powers assumed the defense of Turkey, and holding another conference in Berlin, distorted the intent of Article 16, substituting another article, Article 61, which left the question of reform to the tender mercies of the Turkish government. Needless to say, this turn of events encouraged the Turkish rulers to resume their policy of persecuting Armenians. They formed army detachments composed of Kurdish brigands known as "Hamidieh", which oppressed and murdered Armenians with impunity. The protests of the Armenian Patriarchate in Constantinople remained ineffective. Under these circumstances there were organized two political parties, the Hunchakists and Dashnakists. These organizations hoped to invite the aid of the great powers so as to force the implementation of reforms. The Turkish government, however, certain of the neutrality of not only the English but also of the Russian governments, organized without hindrance, the great massacre of 1895-96 with a loss of 300,000 Armenian souls.

Even after these events the policy of oppression for the extermination of Armenians continued according to a secret plan. The attack on Sasoon's mountains, strongly defensive position, in 1904, for the purpose of eradicating the Armenians of that locality was but a part of that plan. In a heroic self defense Sasoon remained unvanquished, but at the cost of the lives of 10,000 brave sons.

Once more the Armenian Question was placed on the agenda. Although the Turkish government strongly opposed it. Russian diplomacy found it expedient to favor the plan of introducing administrative reforms in Armenia, which required the naming of two European overseers who were to supervise the implementation of reforms. The province of Sivas (Sebastia) fell within the specified area of reform, along with those of Trebizon, Erzroom, Van, Moush, Diarbekir (Dikranagerd) and Harpout. The plan might have provided a minimum of security and peaceful progress for Armenians. Unfortunately, soon there broke out in 1914 World War I. The Turks, allied with Germany, launched an attack on the Caucasian front of Russia under the delusion that this was the time for the realization of their Pan-Turanian dreams. They were however severely beaten.

The Turkish Policy of Genocide

It is commonly supposed that the idea of genocide was developed by the Ittihad Party. In reality, since their abandonment of their home in Central Asia and their invasion of Armenia and as far as the Balkan Peinsula, Turks have never constituted a majority, nor were able to assimilate the civilization of the conquered territories. Therefore, in order to perpetuate their rule, they organized periodic massacres, pilage and plunder.

Here is an incomplete picture of the massacres which the Turkish government has organized only during the last 150 years :

1822-23 In Greece and islands 58,750 persons

1860 In Lebanon 12,000 persons

1876 In Bulgaria 14,700 persons

Twelve partial massacres of Armenians 246,000 persons

1895-96 The Great Massacre of 1895-96 300,000 persons

1909 Adana Massacres 30,000 persons

1915 The Genocide 1,500,000 persons

1918-20 Massacres of Kars, Ardahan and Bakou 80,000 persons

A Barbaric Bequest : In 1878 as Bulgaria was liberated from Turkish yoke, Said Pasha, the Sadrazam (premier) of the day left the following dictum to his successors to insure the territorial integrity of the Ottoman Empire : "intelligence demands the destruction and obliteration from the face of our soil all elements that may cause us harm by creating opportunities for interference by European governments." Directing his words to the question of Armenians, he added, "...consequently we must wipe off the face of our soil the Armenian nation."

Soon after Sultan Hamid attempted the execution of that plan and massacred 300,000 Armenians.

Ittihad Terakki party, which came to power as a result of the declaration of the Ottoman Constitution, adopted the policy of the dethroned sultan.

Declaration of the Ottoman Constitution

Sultan Hamid's 30-year tyranny was opposed by a secret organization known as "Young Turks", which was instrumental in July 1908 in inciting the revolt of the Third Army Corps in Salonika, and its march upon Constantinople. The Sultan was obliged to establish a constitutional government, which declared the high principles of freedom, justice, equality, and the brotherhood of component nationalities of the empire. However, the Ittihad Terrakki chauvinistic political party, which came to power, soon betrayed these principles, secretly adopted the Sultan's policy which planned the extermination of Armenians and collaborated in the massacre which took place in 1909 in the province of Adana, with the loss of 30,000 souls.

Ittihad's Armenian Policy : In November, 1910 Ittihad Party held a secret conference in its headquarters at Salonika, where certain Pan-Turanian propagandists from the Caucasus also were present. According to the plan which the conference developped, all Turkic tribes, as far as Central Asia, were to be liberated from Russian rule and united with the Ottoman Empire. Germany was sympathetic to this movement. There was, however, one definite impediment to the realization of that plan - the Armenian people. The conference adopted the slogan, "Turkey for only Turks". It meant either to Turkify the other nationalities, especially Armenians, or to destroy them.

From then on there began a series of political crimes, which gave rise to the Balkan War. Turkey was defeated. The great powers also participated in the peace conference which followed.

How Was the Genocide Organized?

The obliteration of an entire nation in comparative peacetime was quite impossible. But the World War of 1914 created an extremely favorable opportunity for the government to execute its criminal plan successfully. To ensure the success of that fiendish project the Turkish government first secured the neutrality of its ally, Germany.

There was created a special committee to direct the genocide. First of all, the most bloodthirsty prisoners in Turkish prisons were released and assigned to locations where the slaughter was to take place. So as to forestall any armed resistence, all Armenian soldiers in the Turkish army were disarmed and reduced to labor battalions. They then arrested all the prominent persons in the cities and villages and crowded them in prisons, whence at night they were taken in groups, bound to one another, to points where their executioners awaited them.

Then began searches in Armenian homes under the pretext of looking for firearms, often abusing and torturing members of the household. The villages were treated similarly.

The deportation of the people of Sebastia began on June 22, 1915. The government made a hypocritic announcement which stated that "As a wartime necessity Armenian fellow countrymen will be moved to the interior provinces. Their security is guaranteed. Their homes and properties will remain under seal until their return."

The entire Armenian population of the city was exiled in seven successive "caravans". On the road, every male over the age of ten was taken away and surrendered to the executioners. Beautiful girls and women were raped and resisters were murdered. So as to make the wretched people die of hunger and thirst, they were driven through rugged and waterless terrain. In a short time the people were decimated. More than one and a half million people were sacrificed in this criminal act, unprecedented in human history. (1)

It is true that there were instances of heroic resistance. A group of young men of Sivas, which included Miss Shahinian, were martyred fighting to the last. The people of the city of Shabin Karahisar, in the Sivas province, took refuge in the old citadel of the town and fought for a whole month and were overcome only because of starvation. Similarly, the people of Gemerek, Chat, and Darende regions, had sought refuge in an inaccessible cave. Hundreds of young men from this group made the Ak Dagh Mountain their refuge for four years and wreaked vengeance upon the malefactors. A group of them even succeeded in reaching the Caucasus and joined the Armenian army. A considerable number of these men managed to survive for four years until the Armistice.

But the most despicable crime was committed against the soldiers who had been faithfully serving the state. In the Sivas district, about 10,000 of them, after being disarmed, were used as laborers and craftsmen in the area of the Sivas vilayet until June 1916. They were then taken away section by section, imprisoned for months and subjected to hunger and privations to cause debility. They were then sent in successive groups and were killed.

Unfortunately the criminal Turkish government remained unpunished and no compensation of any sort was offered. The victorious European powers oblivious of all moral responsibility, driven by cold-blooded commercial interest even competed with one another for Turkish commercial favors.

But once more history repeated itself. The great crime of Turkish chauvinism soon served as an example for Nazism and Fascism which brought about World War II with the sacrifice of 50 million souls. The unpunished Turkish crime served as an example for the Nazi genocide.

Armenian Volunteers : Thousands of Armenians outside of Turkey and especially in the United States, upon receiving the terrible reports concerning the total annihilation of their people volunteered so as to fight against the Turks on the Caucasian front. They served as the vanguards of the Czarist armies, fought bravely and reached as far as Erzinjan. However, as a result of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the Russian armies deserted their positions facing the Turkish army. The Armenians, Georgians, and Azerbaijanis united in forming a government, known as the Seim, so as to fill the political vacuum which was thus created. Turkish diplomacy was, however, able to saw dissension among them; by isolating the Armenians they planned to crush them. The Armenians were forced to declare an independent republic on May 28, 1918 and to sign a highly unfavorable treaty. Soon after Turkish forces once more marched on the fledgling republic so as to administer the final blow to the Armenian national existence. But the nation was equal to this fateful challenge to its very existence. At the battle of Sardarabad the Armenian fighters aided by the entire population repulsed the Turkish army with heavy losses.

During this most fateful period national hero General Antranig, born in Shabin Karahisar, of the Sivas province, distinguished himself with his volunteer groups, among which there were hundreds of young men of Sivas, and played a providential role in protecting masses of Armenian refugees who had escaped from Turkey.

The Armenian Legion : France had planned to take over Cilicia at the end of the War. It was hoped, therefore that this historic area which had been once an Armenian kingdom, might have an Armenian government under French mandate, similar to Syria and Lebanon. With that objective in view, the Armenian National Delegation at Paris appealed to young Armenians in the dispersion to form volunteer groups and to fight under the French tricolor, so as to gain the right to an Armenian home. Hundreds of young men of Sivas, as from other localities, responded to the call and served in French units operating under the supreme command of the British General Allenby. The Armenian Legion was ordered to attack a strong Turkish position in the Palestine front, which previously the foreign legionnaires had been unable to overtake. In a fierce charge, the Armenian Legion succeeded in capturing the position. The Turkish rout all along the front was complete. Their forces pel mel retreated to the interior. The Armenian Legion entered Cilicia as a part of the French army. The French authorities invited to Cilicia the Armenian refugees in Syria and Lebanon so as to increase the numerical proportion of Armenians in the area. Thus some thirty thousand Armenians became resettled in Cilicia. But alas, a peaceful life had hardly begun for the much suffered people when French diplomacy made an about face, changing its pro-Armenian stance into an extremely Turkophile one. It signed the Treaty of Ankara, disarmed the Armenian legionaires and volunteer groups, hastened to evacuate Cilicia, abandoning the Armenians to the mercy of vengeful Turkish guerrillas. The defenseless people once more were subjected to hasty escape and inevitable massacre.

(...)

Translated from the Armenian by Bedros Norehad

(1) Miss Mary Graffam, director of the American Girls School of Sivas, who heroically joined her students in their exile as far as Malatia, described her eyewitness account of these infernal events in the Missionary Herald, issue of December, 1915.

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