Six Vilayets

{{Short description|Provinces of the Ottoman Empire}} {{Infobox former subdivision |_noautocat =  | native_name = {{plainlist| * {{nobold|{{native name|ota|ولايت سته|italics=no|nolink=yes|paren=omit}}}} * {{nobold|{{native name|hy|Վեց Հայկական Վիլայեթները|italics=no|nolink=yes|paren=omit}}}} }} |conventional_long_name = Six Vilayets |common_name =  |subdivision = Vilayets |nation = Ottoman Empire |demonym =  |status_text =   |title_leader =  |title_deputy =  |leader1 =  |year_leader1 =  |deputy1 =  |year_deputy1 =   |legislature =  |house1 =  |house2 =  |type_house1 =  |type_house2 =   |capital = |coordinates =  |motto =  |anthem =  |political_subdiv =  |today = Turkey

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The '''Six Vilayets''' ({{langx|ota|ولايت سته}}, ''Vilâyat-ı Sitte''), the '''Six Provinces''', or the '''Six Armenian Vilayets''' ({{langx|hy|Վեց Հայկական Վիլայեթները}} ''Vets' haykakan vilayet'nery''; {{langx|tr|Altı vilayet, Altı il}}<ref>{{in lang|tr}} İsmail Soysal, ''Türkiye'nin Siyasal Andlaşmaları'', I. Cilt (1920-1945), Türk Tarih Kurumu, 1983, p. 14.</ref>) were the main Armenian-populated vilayets ("provinces") of the Ottoman Empire and, together, comprise most of Western Armenia. These were Van, Erzurum, Mamuret-ul-Aziz, Bitlis, Diyarbekir and Sivas.{{anchor|Term|Names|Etymology|Toponymy}}

==Name== 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.<ref name=":0222">{{Cite book|title=Social Relations in Ottoman Diyarbekir, 1870–1915|last=Verheij|first=Jelle|publisher=Brill|year=2012|isbn=9789004225183|editor-last=Jongerden|editor-first=Joost|pages=88|editor-last2=Verheij|editor-first2=Jelle}}</ref> 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.”<ref>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</ref>

==Population==

===Ethnic groups=== [[File:Six Vilayets ethnic groups.png|thumb|230px|Ethnic map of the Six Vilayets according to the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1912.]]

thumb|230px|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<ref name=bryce1>[http://www.armenianhouse.org/bryce/treatment/654-670-annexe.html "The Treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire 1915-1916" by JAMES VISCOUNT BRYCE, London, T. Fisher Unwin Ltd., 1916]</ref>

''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.''<ref name=bryce1/>

{| class="wikitable" ! 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 |- | Turks<big>1</big>||48,000||72,000||265,000||182,000||192,000||47,000||806,000||30.8 |- | Kurds<big>2</big>||77,000||55,000||75,000||95,000||50,000||72,000||499,000||19.1 |- | Others<big>3</big>||30,000||64,000||48,000||5,000||100,000||43,000||290,000||11.1 |- |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | '''TOTAL'''||'''382,000'''||'''296,000'''||'''630,000'''||'''450,000'''||'''507,000'''||'''350,000'''||'''2,615,000'''||'''100''' |- |colspan="9"| 1 including Qizilbash 2 including Zaza 3 Assyrians (Nestorians, Jacobites, Chaldeans), Circassians, Greeks, Yazidis, Persians, Lazs, Roma |- |}

;Ottoman official population statistics, 1914<ref name="1914-census">{{cite web | url =http://www.tsk.tr/8_TARIHTEN_KESITLER/8_1_Ermeni_Sorunu/konular/ermeni_faaliyetleri_pdf/Arsiv_Belgeleriyle_Ermeni_Faaliyetleri_Cilt_1.pdf | title =1914 Population Statistics | publisher =Turkish General Staff | pages =603–628 | access-date =29 January 2011 | url-status =dead | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20111007185405/http://www.tsk.tr/8_TARIHTEN_KESITLER/8_1_Ermeni_Sorunu/konular/ermeni_faaliyetleri_pdf/Arsiv_Belgeleriyle_Ermeni_Faaliyetleri_Cilt_1.pdf | archive-date =7 October 2011 }}</ref>

''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.<ref>Steven T. Katz,''The Holocaust in Historical Context'', 1994, [http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS394US394#sclient=psy-ab&hl=en&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS394US394&tbm=bks&source=hp&q=ottoman+census+armenians+underestimate+&pbx=1&oq=ottoman+census+armenians+underestimate+&aq=f&aqi=&aql=1&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=829509l832249l1l832424l14l13l0l0l0l0l227l1599l5.6.1l12l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=dad701cd94722d14&biw=1336&bih=617 p. 86] ''...indicates (based on 1919 British estimates) that though Ottoman data were generally reliable {{underline|they did underestimate the Armenian population in 1914}}...''</ref> 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".

{| class="wikitable" ! 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 |- |- bgcolor="#FFBBBB" | '''TOTAL'''||'''473,479'''||'''561,971'''||'''815,712'''||'''538,285'''||'''1,169,582'''||'''259,141'''||'''3,818,170'''||'''100''' |- |}

<gallery caption="Maps" widths="200px" perrow="5" align="left"> Image:Prorportions des populations musulmanes grecques et armeniennes en AsieMineure d'apres la statistique du livreJaune.png|1893-96, Armenian population File:Armenian population in the Six Vilayet (1896).JPG|Armenian population in the Six Vilayets. </gallery>

===Largest cities=== All figures are as of early 20th century. {| class="wikitable sortable" ! City ! Vilayet ! Population ! Armenians ! % |- | Van{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=236}} | Van Vilayet | 40,000 | 25,000 | 62.5% |- | Sivas{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=222}} | Sivas Vilayet | 60,000 | 30,000 | 50% |- | Erzurum{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=163}} | Erzurum Vilayet | 60,000 | 15,000 | 25% |- | Mezereh{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=134}} | Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz | 12,000 | 6,000 | 50% |- | Bitlis{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=222}} | Bitlis Vilayet | 30,000 | 7,000 | 23% |- | Diyarbekir | Diyarbekir Vilayet | 150,000 | 45,000 | 33% |- | Arapgir{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=51}} | Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz | 20,000 | 10,000 | 50% |- | Malatya{{sfn|Hakobyan|1987|p=182}} | Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz | 40,000 | 20,000 | 50% |- |}

== References == === Notes === {{reflist}}

=== Bibliography === *{{cite book|last=Hakobyan|first=Tadevos|title=Պատմական Հայաստանի քաղաքները ''(Cities of historic Armenia)''|year=1987|publisher="Hayastan" Publishing|location=Yerevan|language=hy}}

Vilayets Category:Vilayets of the Ottoman Empire in Asia Category:Ottoman period in Armenia Category:19th century in the Ottoman Empire Category:20th century in the Ottoman Empire