“The Armenian Question Is Finally Closed”: Mass Conversions of Armenians in Anatolia during the Hamidian Massacres of 1895–1897

摘要

Few issues in late-nineteenth-century Armenian/Turkish history straddle sonmany of the “questions” of the period as does the mass conversion of Arme-nnians in the 1890s. The topic is enmeshed in the much-contested “ArmeniannQuestion,” the birth of Armenian nationalism, the so-called “Eastern Ques-ntion,” and the rise of Turkish nationalism. This article will deal with thesenconversions by situating them within the larger context of the “Armenian Ques-ntion” generally. Although important research has been done on the mass con-nversions during the genocide of 1915, surprisingly little has focused on thenmassacres of 1894–1897. Even more surprising is the lack of research tondate into the issue of mass conversions during the latter period, and nothingnhas been written based on Ottoman archives.n2nMy aim here is to make ancontribution towards filling this lacuna.