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Six Vilayets

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The Six Vilayets (Ottoman Turkish: ولايت سته, Vilâyat-ı Sitte), the Six Provinces, or the Six Armenian Vilayets (Armenian: Վեց Հայկական Վիլայեթները Vets' haykakan vilayet'nery; Turkish: Altı vilayet, Altı il[1]) were the main Armenian-populated vilayets ("provinces") of the Ottoman Empire. These were Van, Erzurum, Mamuret-ul-Aziz, Bitlis, Diyarbekir and Sivas.

Six Vilayets
  • ولايت سته
  • Վեց Հայկական Վիլայեթները
Vilayets of Ottoman Empire

The six Armenian provinces in early 20th century.
Today part ofTurkey

Name

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The term Six Armenian Vilayets was a diplomatic usage referring to the Ottoman provinces with substantial Armenian populations. In fact, this term was known in the diplomatic language of the time as the area for which a number of Great Powers wished reforms for the benefit of the Armenians.[2] The term was based on the official language adopted by the signatories of the Treaty of Berlin, the final act of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, in Article LXI: “The Sublime Porte undertakes to carry out, without further delay, the improvements and reforms demanded by local requirements in the provinces inhabited by the Armenians, and to guarantee their security against the Circassians and Kurds.”[3]

Population

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Ethnic groups

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Ethnic map of the Six Vilayets according to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1912.
 
Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire according to the 1914 official population statistics.
Statistical analysis of the racial elements in the Ottoman provinces by the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople, 1912[4]

Note: The analysis excludes certain portions of these provinces where Armenians are only a minor element. These portions are as follows: Hakkiari, in the Vilayet of Van; the south of Sairt, in the Vilayet of Bitlis; the south of the Vilayet of Diyarbekir; the south of Malatia, in the Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz; the north-west and west of the Vilayet of Sivas.[4]

Ethnic groups Bitlis Diyarbekir Erzurum Mamuret-ul-Aziz Sivas Van TOTAL %
Armenians 180,000 105,000 215,000 168,000 165,000 185,000 1,018,000 38.9
Turks1 48,000 72,000 265,000 182,000 192,000 47,000 806,000 30.8
Kurds2 77,000 55,000 75,000 95,000 50,000 72,000 499,000 19.1
Others3 30,000 64,000 48,000 5,000 100,000 43,000 290,000 11.1
TOTAL 382,000 296,000 630,000 450,000 507,000 350,000 2,615,000 100

1 including Qizilbash
2 including Zaza
3 Assyrians (Nestorians, Jacobites, Chaldeans), Circassians, Greeks, Yazidis, Persians, Lazs, Roma

Ottoman official population statistics, 1914[5]

Note: The Ottoman population statistics doesn't give information for separate Muslim ethnic groups such as the Turks, Kurds, Circassians, etc.

The official Ottoman population statistics of 1914 that were based on an earlier census underestimated the number of ethnic minorities, including the number of Armenians.[6] The Ottoman figures didn't define any ethnic groups, only religious ones. So the “Armenian” population as counted by the authorities only tallied ethnic Armenians who were also adherents of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Ethnic Armenians who professed the Muslim faith, which by that time had grown in number, were counted only as “Muslims” (not as Armenian Muslims or Armenians), while Armenian Protestants, just as Pontic Greeks, Caucasus Greeks, and Laz, were counted as "others".

Ethnic groups Bitlis Diyarbekir Erzurum Mamuret-ul-Aziz Sivas Van TOTAL %
Muslims 309,999 492,101 673,297 446,376 939,735 179,380 3,040,888 79.6
Armenians 119,132 65,850 136,618 87,862 151,674 67,792 628,928 16.5
Others 44,348 4,020 5,797 4,047 78,173 11,969 148,354 3.9
TOTAL 473,479 561,971 815,712 538,285 1,169,582 259,141 3,818,170 100
  • Maps
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    1893-96, Armenian population
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    Armenian population in the Six Vilayets.

Largest cities

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All figures are as of early 20th century.

City Vilayet Population Armenians %
Van[7] Van Vilayet 40,000 25,000 62.5%
Sivas[8] Sivas Vilayet 60,000 30,000 50%
Erzurum[9] Erzurum Vilayet 60,000 15,000 25%
Mezereh[10] Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz 12,000 6,000 50%
Bitlis[8] Bitlis Vilayet 30,000 7,000 23%
Diyarbekir Diyarbekir Vilayet 150,000 45,000 33%
Arapgir[11] Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz 20,000 10,000 50%
Malatya[12] Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz 40,000 20,000 50%

See also

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References

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Notes
  1. ^ (in Turkish) İsmail Soysal, Türkiye'nin Siyasal Andlaşmaları, I. Cilt (1920-1945), Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1983, p. 14.
  2. ^ Verheij, Jelle (2012). Jongerden, Joost; Verheij, Jelle (eds.). Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870–1915. Brill. p. 88. ISBN 9789004225183.
  3. ^ Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, Transmitted to Congress, With the Annual Message of the President, December 2, 1878. Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State, [2]https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1878/d523
  4. ^ a b "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-1916" by JAMES VISCOUNT BRYCE, London, T. Fisher Unwin Ltd., 1916
  5. ^ "1914 Population Statistics" (PDF). Turkish General Staff. pp. 603–628. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
  6. ^ Steven T. Katz,The Holocaust in Historical Context, 1994, p. 86 ...indicates (based on 1919 British estimates) that though Ottoman data were generally reliable they did underestimate the Armenian population in 1914...
  7. ^ Hakobyan 1987, p. 236.
  8. ^ a b Hakobyan 1987, p. 222.
  9. ^ Hakobyan 1987, p. 163.
  10. ^ Hakobyan 1987, p. 134.
  11. ^ Hakobyan 1987, p. 51.
  12. ^ Hakobyan 1987, p. 182.
Bibliography
  • Hakobyan, Tadevos (1987). Պատմական Հայաստանի քաղաքները (Cities of historic Armenia) (in Armenian). Yerevan: "Hayastan" Publishing.
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