Varto ( Kurdish : Gimgim ; Armenian : Վարդօ or Վարդո , Varto ) is a town in Muş Province , Turkey. It is the seat of Varto District . Its population is 10,914 (2022).
55-458: Some 5,200 Armenians were living in the district of Varto in 1914, including 600 in the town of Varto. Eight churches, 3 monasteries and 5 schools tended to their to spiritual needs. In June 1915 during the Armenian genocide , a great number of Varto's Armenians were massacred in the valley of Newala Ask. It was the epicenter of the 1966 earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people. There are about
110-491: A 2012 survey, 36% of Armenians asked agree or somewhat agree that Turkish recognition of the Armenian Genocide will result in territorial compensation, while 45% believe it will not. The online publication Barometer.am wrote: "It appears that our pragmatic population believes that all possible demands should be forwarded to Turkey [...] but a relative majority consider the practical realization of territorial claims to Turkey
165-696: A brief period, from 1918 to 1920, Armenia was an independent republic plagued by socio-economic crises such as large-scale Muslim uprisings . In late 1920, the communists came to power following an invasion of Armenia by the Red Army ; in 1922, Armenia became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR of the Soviet Union , later on forming the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (1936 to 21 September 1991). In 1991, Armenia declared independence from
220-490: A common origin of the Armenian and Greek languages. Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (and Phrygian ) and Indo-Iranian were dialectally close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian was situated between Proto-Greek ( centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian ( satem subgroup). This has led some scholars to propose a hypothetical Graeco-Armenian-Aryan clade within
275-596: A few elements regarding identification of its pantheon with Greco-Roman deities). In the early years of the 4th century, likely 301 CE, partly in defiance of the Sassanids it seems. In the late Parthian period, Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian-adhering land, but by the Christianisation, previously predominant Zoroastrianism and paganism in Armenia gradually declined. This is the period that an Armenian community
330-682: A hundred villages in the Varto district. Varto District is surrounded by Bingöl Mountains from the north and Şerafettin Mountains from the south. Akdoğan Lakes are located in the east of the district center. The altitude exceeds 3000 meters in the Bingöl mountains in the north of the district center and 2300 meters in the Akdoğan and Şerafettin mountains. The touristic places in Varto are Lake Akdoğan , Künav Cave , Bingöl Mountains , Kayalıdere Castle . Before
385-658: Is a term to refer to the western parts of the Armenian highlands located within Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire ) that comprise the historical homeland of the Armenians . Western Armenia, also referred to as Byzantine Armenia , emerged following the division of Greater Armenia between the Byzantine Empire (Western Armenia) and Sassanid Persia ( Eastern Armenia ) in AD 387. Since
440-470: Is considered a key issue in the modern history of the Armenian people. In 1894–1896 and 1915 the Ottoman Empire perpetrated systematic massacres and forced deportations of Armenians resulting in the Armenian genocide . The massive deportation and killings of Armenians began in the spring 1915. On 24 April 1915, Armenian intellectuals and community leaders were deported from Constantinople . Depending on
495-648: The 1927 Turkish census , all 9,822 inhabitants of the Varto District were Muslims. Musa Ayyıldız started to work as the Deputy Mayor on March 9, 2023 after the Presidential Decree. This article about an Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey location is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Armenians Armenians ( Armenian : հայեր , romanized : hayer , [hɑˈjɛɾ] ) are an ethnic group and nation native to
550-715: The Armenian Highland . Each of the aforementioned nations and tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people. Under Ashurbanipal (669–627 BCE), the Assyrian empire reached the Caucasus Mountains (modern Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan ). Luwianologist John D. Hawkins proposed that "Hai" people were possibly mentioned in the 10th century BCE Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions from Carchemish . A.E. Redgate later clarified that these "Hai" people may have been Armenians. The first geographical entity that
605-643: The Armenian genocide , the Armenian diaspora as well as Armenians indigenous to modern Turkey have sought political representation in Western Armenia or reunification with the Republic of Armenia. The area was conquered by the Ottomans in the 16th century during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–1555) against their Iranian Safavid arch-rivals. Being passed on from the former to the latter, Ottoman rule over
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#1732852305020660-587: The Armenian highlands of West Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and constituted the main population of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians . There is a wide-ranging diaspora of around five million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia ,
715-523: The Armenian language is classified as an Indo-European language , its placement within the broader Indo-European language family is a matter of debate. Until fairly recently, scholars believed Armenian to be most closely related to Greek and Ancient Macedonian . Eric P. Hamp placed Armenian in the "Pontic Indo-European" (also called Graeco-Armenian or Helleno-Armenian) subgroup of Indo-European languages in his 2012 Indo-European family tree. There are two possible explanations, not mutually exclusive, for
770-829: The Armenian language , there are several names for the region. Today, the most common is Arevmtyan Hayastan (Արևմտյան Հայաստան) in Eastern Armenian (mostly spoken in Armenia , Russia , Georgia , Iran ) and Arevmdean Hayasdan (Արեւմտեան Հայաստան) in Western Armenian (spoken in the Diaspora : US , France , Lebanon , Syria , Argentina , etc.). Archaic names (used before the 1920s) include Tačkahayastan (Տաճկահայաստան) in Eastern and Daǰkahayasdan in Western Armenian. Also used in
825-662: The Bronze Age Trialeti-Vanadzor culture and sites such as the burial complexes at Verin and Nerkin Naver are indicative of an Indo-European presence in Armenia by the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. The controversial Armenian hypothesis , put forward by some scholars, such as Thomas Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav V. Ivanov , proposes that the Indo-European homeland was around the Armenian Highland. This theory
880-688: The Bronze Age , several states flourished in the area of Greater Armenia, including the Hittite Empire (at the height of its power in the 14th century BCE), ( Mitanni (South-Western historical Armenia, 1500–1300 BCE), and Hayasa-Azzi (1500–1200 BCE). Soon after Hayasa-Azzi came Arme-Shupria (1300s–1190 BCE), the Nairi Confederation (1200–900 BCE), and the Kingdom of Urartu (860–590 BCE), who successively established their sovereignty over
935-575: The Mushki and the Kaskians . The Urumu apparently settled in the vicinity of Sason , lending their name to the regions of Arme and the nearby lands of Urme and Inner Urumu. The location of the older site of Armani is a matter of debate. Some modern researchers have placed it in the same general area as Arme, near modern Samsat , and have suggested it was populated, at least partially, by an early Indo-European-speaking people . The relationship between Armani and
990-839: The Proto Indo-European words póti (meaning "lord" or "master") or *h₂éyos / *áyos (meaning "metal"). Khorenatsi wrote that the word Armenian originated from the name Armenak or Aram (the descendant of Hayk). Khorenatsi refers to both Armenia and Armenians as Hayk‘ (Armenian: Հայք) (not to be confused with the aforementioned patriarch, Hayk). Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European While
1045-589: The Russian Empire following Iran's forced ceding of the territories after its loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the outcoming Treaty of Turkmenchay . Western Armenia however, remained in Ottoman hands. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is widely considered a genocide , resulting in an estimated 1.2 million victims. The first wave of persecution
1100-683: The Sykes–Picot agreement . Currently, Armenia does not have any territorial claims against Turkey , although one political party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation , the largest Armenian party in the diaspora , claims the area given to the Republic of Armenia (1918–1920) by US President Woodrow Wilson 's arbitral award as part of the Treaty of Sèvres in 1920, also known as Wilsonian Armenia . Since 2000, an organizing committee of
1155-511: The USSR and established the second Republic of Armenia. Also in 1991, the ethnic Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (later the Republic of Artsakh ), declared independence from Azerbaijan which lasted until 2023. Armenians are believed to have had a presence in the Armenian Highland for over 4,000 years. According to legend, Hayk , the patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation, led Armenians to victory over Bel of Babylon and settled in
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#17328523050201210-582: The United States , France , Georgia , Iran , Germany , Ukraine , Lebanon , Brazil , Argentina , Syria , and Turkey. The present-day Armenian diaspora was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian genocide with the exceptions of Iran, former Soviet states , and parts of the Levant . Armenian is an Indo-European language . It has two mutually intelligible spoken and written forms: Eastern Armenian , today spoken mainly in Armenia, Artsakh, Iran , and
1265-416: The 1890s . The Armenians living in their ancestral lands were exterminated or deported by Ottoman forces during the 1915 Armenian genocide and over the following years. The systematic destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, which had endured over 4000 years, is considered an example of cultural genocide . Since 2000, an organizing committee of the congress of heirs of Western Armenians who survived
1320-594: The 4th century in the Holy Land , and one of the quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem is called the Armenian Quarter . An Armenian Catholic monastic community of 35 founded in 1717 exists on an island near Venice , Italy. The region of Western Armenia was an influential part of the Eastern Roman Empire , which was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The Armenian population of
1375-449: The Armenian Highland. Today, with a population of 3.5 million (although more recent estimates place the population closer to 2.9 million), they constitute an overwhelming majority in Armenia, Armenians in the diaspora informally refer to them as Hayastantsi s ( Armenian : հայաստանցի ), meaning those that are from Armenia (that is, those born and raised in Armenia). They, as well as
1430-541: The Armenian genocide is active in diasporan communities . On August 10, 2020, the three traditional Armenian parties—the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF, Dashnaks), Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchaks) and the Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavars)—issued a joint statement on the centenary of the Sèvres Treaty, stating that the treaty is the only international document defining
1485-540: The Armenians of Iran and Russia, speak the Eastern dialect of the Armenian language. The country itself is secular as a result of Soviet domination, but most of its citizens identify themselves as Apostolic Armenian Christian. While the largest Armenian diaspora populations reside in Russia , the United States , France , and other countries, small Armenian trading and religious communities have existed outside Armenia for centuries. A prominent community has continued since
1540-629: The Eastern Mediterranean world suddenly and violently collapsed. Armenians have since remained isolated and genetic structure within the population developed ~500 years ago when Armenia was divided between the Ottomans and the Safavid Empire in Iran. A genetic study (Wang et al. 2018) supports the indigenous origin for Armenians in a region south of the Caucasus which he calls "Greater Caucasus". In
1595-686: The Great of Persia refers to Urashtu (in Babylonian ) as Armina ( Old Persian : 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴) and Harminuya (in Elamite). In Greek , Armenios ( Αρμένιοι ) is attested from about the same time, perhaps the earliest reference being a fragment attributed to Hecataeus of Miletus (476 BC). Xenophon , a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. Some have linked
1650-606: The Great , a member of the Artaxiad (Artashesian) dynasty , the Kingdom of Armenia extended from the Caucasus all the way to what is now central Turkey , Lebanon , and northern Iran . The Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia , itself a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia , was the first state to adopt Christianity as its religion (it had formerly been adherent to Armenian paganism , which was influenced by Zoroastrianism , while later on adopting
1705-558: The Indo-European language family from which the Armenian, Greek, Indo-Iranian, and possibly Phrygian languages all descend. According to Kim (2018), however, there is insufficient evidence for a cladistic connection between Armenian and Greek, and common features between these two languages can be explained as a result of contact. Contact is also the most likely explanation for morphological features shared by Armenian with Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages . It has been suggested that
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1760-460: The Ottoman Empire is estimated to have been between 1.5 and 2.5 million in the early 20th century. Most of the modern Armenian diaspora consists of Armenians scattered throughout the world as a direct consequence of massacres and genocide in the Ottoman Empire . However, Armenian communities in Iran , Georgia ( Tbilisi ), and Syria existed since antiquity . During the Middle Ages and
1815-532: The Ottoman Empire that remained under Ottoman rule after the eastern part of Armenia was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Qajar Persians , following the Russo-Persian War (1804–1813) and Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) . Western (Ottoman) Armenia consisted of six vilayets ( vilâyat-ı sitte ): the vilayets of Erzurum , Van , Bitlis , Diyarbekir , Kharput , and Sivas . The fate of Western Armenia – commonly referred to as "The Armenian Question " –
1870-510: The Ottoman rule, region was almost exclusively Armenian. It then became ethnically and religiously diverse. In 1891, Vital Cuinet reported a population of 16,994: 9,000 Muslims and 7,994 Armenians. Muslims were mostly Kurds and Circassian muhacir . The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople counted, on the eve of the First World War, 4,649 Armenians in the whole kaza , with seven churches, three monasteries, and four schools. According to
1925-462: The border between Armenia and Turkey. "The Treaty of Sevres is a valid international treaty, although it has not been ratified by all signatories, but it has not been legally replaced by any other international instrument. At least from the point of view of the rights of the Armenian Cause, the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian nation, it remains a promissory note based on international law." In
1980-640: The centuries prior to the genocide, additional communities were formed in Greece , Bulgaria , Hungary , Kievan Rus' and the territories of Russia, Poland , Austria , and Lebanon . There are also remnants of historic communities in Turkey ( Istanbul ), India , Myanmar , Thailand , Belgium , the Netherlands , Portugal , Italy , Israel-Palestine , Iraq , Romania , Serbia , Ethiopia , Sudan and Egypt . Western Armenia Western Armenia ( Western Armenian : Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, Arevmdian Hayasdan )
2035-422: The congress of heirs of Western Armenians who survived the Armenian genocide is active in diasporan communities. A 2014 survey in Armenia asked what kind of demands should Armenia make to Turkey. Some 80% agreed that Armenia should make territorial claims (30% said only territorial claims, while another 50% said territorial, moral, financial, and proprietary). Only 5.5% said no demands should be made. According to
2090-586: The eastern boundary of Anatolia was not considered to extend as far as the Araxes , the river which marks the present day boundary between the states of Armenia and Iran . After the Ottoman-Persian War (1623–1639) , Western Armenia became decisively part of the Ottoman Empire . After the Russo-Turkish War, 1828–1829 , the term "Western Armenia" referred to the Armenian -populated historical regions of
2145-478: The efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew . In the early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as a state religion, followed by the first pilgrimages to the Holy Land where a community established the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem . The earliest attestations of the exonym Armenia date around the 6th century BC. In his trilingual Behistun Inscription dated to 517 BC, Darius I
2200-542: The former Soviet republics; and Western Armenian , used in the historical Western Armenia and, after the Armenian genocide, primarily in the Armenian diasporan communities. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots . Most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church , a non-Chalcedonian Christian church, which is also the world's oldest national church . Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus' death, due to
2255-585: The later Arme-Shupria, if any, is undetermined. Additionally, their connections to Armenians is inconclusive as it is not known what languages were spoken in these regions. It has also been speculated that the land of Ermenen (located in or near Minni ), mentioned by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in 1446 BCE, could be a reference to Armenia. Armenians call themselves Hay ( Armenian : հայ , pronounced [ˈhaj]; plural: հայեր, [haˈjɛɾ]). The name has traditionally been derived from Hayk ( Armenian : Հայկ ),
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2310-488: The legendary patriarch of the Armenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah , who, according to Movses Khorenatsi (Moses of Khorene) , defeated the Babylonian king Bel in 2492 BC and established his nation in the Ararat region. It is also further postulated that the name Hay comes from, or is related to, one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states— Hayasa -Azzi (1600–1200 BC). Ultimately, Hay may derive from
2365-582: The name Armenia with the Early Bronze Age state of Armani (Armanum, Armi) or the Late Bronze Age state of Arme (Shupria) . Armini , Urartian for "inhabitant of Arme" or "Armean country", referring to the region of Shupria, to the immediate west of Lake Van. The Arme tribe of Urartian texts may have been the Urumu, who in the 12th century BC attempted to invade Assyria from the north with their allies
2420-592: The next few centuries, Djenghis Khan , Timurids , and the tribal Turkic federations of the Ak Koyunlu and the Kara Koyunlu ruled over the Armenians. From the early 16th century, both Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia fell under Iranian Safavid rule . Owing to the century long Turco-Iranian geo-political rivalry that would last in Western Asia, significant parts of the region were frequently fought over between
2475-401: The region became only decisive after the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 . The area then became known also as Turkish Armenia or Ottoman Armenia . During the 19th century, the Russian Empire conquered all of Eastern Armenia from Iran , and also some parts of Turkish Armenia, such as Kars . The region's Armenian population was affected during the widespread massacres of Armenians in
2530-563: The rivaling Byzantine and Sassanid Persian empires, until the Muslim conquest of Persia overran also the regions in which Armenians lived. In 885 CE the Armenians reestablished themselves as a sovereign kingdom under the leadership of Ashot I of the Bagratid Dynasty . A considerable portion of the Armenian nobility and peasantry fled the Byzantine occupation of Bagratid Armenia in 1045, and
2585-492: The same period were T'urk'ahayastan (Թուրքահայաստան) or T'rk'ahayastan (Թրքահայաստան), both meaning Turkish Armenia . In the Turkish language , the literal translation of Western Armenia is Batı Ermenistan . The region has been officially described as Eastern Anatolia ( Doğu Anadolu ) since the seven geographical regions of Turkey were defined at the 1941 First Geography Congress . Throughout much of recorded history
2640-791: The sources cited, about 1,500,000 Armenians were killed during this act. During the Caucasus campaign of World War I , the Russian Empire occupied most of the Armenian-populated regions of the Ottoman Empire. A temporary provincial government was established in occupied areas between 1915 and 1918. The chaos caused by the Russian Revolution of 1917 put a stop to all Russian military operations and Russian forces began to conduct withdrawals. The first and second congresses of Western Armenians took place in Yerevan in 1917 and 1919. The Sazonov–Paléologue Agreement of 26 April 1916 between Russian Foreign minister Sergey Sazonov and French ambassador to Russia Maurice Paléologue proposed to give Western Armenia to Russia in return for Russian assent to
2695-496: The subsequent invasion of the region by Seljuk Turks in 1064. They settled in large numbers in Cilicia , an Anatolian region where Armenians were already established as a minority since Roman times. In 1080, they founded an independent Armenian Principality then Kingdom of Cilicia , which became the focus of Armenian nationalism. The Armenians developed close social, cultural, military, and religious ties with nearby Crusader States , but eventually succumbed to Mamluk invasions. In
2750-510: The two rivalling empires. From the mid 16th century with the Peace of Amasya , and decisively from the first half of the 17th century with the Treaty of Zuhab until the first half of the 19th century, Eastern Armenia was ruled by the successive Iranian Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar empires, while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman rule. In the late 1820s, the parts of historic Armenia under Iranian control centering on Yerevan and Lake Sevan (all of Eastern Armenia) were incorporated into
2805-422: The way of a war, or that killings of Armenians were justified by their individual or collective support for the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. Passage of legislation in various foreign countries, condemning the persecution of the Armenians as genocide, has often provoked diplomatic conflict. (See recognition of the Armenian genocide ) Following the breakup of the Russian Empire in the aftermath of World War I for
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#17328523050202860-400: Was called Armenia by neighboring peoples (such as by Hecataeus of Miletus and on the Achaemenid Behistun Inscription) was the Satrapy of Armenia , established in the late 6th century BCE under the Orontid (Yervanduni) dynasty within the Achaemenid Persian Empire . The Orontids later ruled the independent Kingdom of Armenia . At its zenith (95–65 BCE), under the imperial reign of Tigran
2915-423: Was established in Judea (modern-day Palestine -Israel), leading to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem . Later on, to further strengthen Armenian national identity, Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet , in 405 CE. This event ushered the Golden Age of Armenia , during which many foreign books and manuscripts were translated to Armenian by Mesrop's pupils. Armenia lost its sovereignty again in 428 CE to
2970-519: Was in the years 1894 to 1896, the second one culminating in the events of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and 1916. With World War I in progress, the Ottoman Empire accused the (Christian) Armenians as liable to ally with Imperial Russia , and used it as a pretext to deal with the entire Armenian population as an enemy within their empire. Governments of the Republic of Turkey since that time have consistently rejected charges of genocide, typically arguing either that those Armenians who died were simply in
3025-630: Was partially confirmed by the research of geneticist David Reich (et al. 2018), among others. Similarly Grolle (et al. 2018) supports not only a homeland for Armenians on the Armenian highlands, but also that the Armenian highlands are the homeland for the "pre-proto-Indo-Europeans". A large genetic study in 2022 showed that many Armenians are "direct patrilineal descendants of the Yamnaya ". Genetic studies explain Armenian diversity by several mixtures of Eurasian populations that occurred between 3000 and 2000 BCE. But genetic signals of population mixture cease after 1200 BCE when Bronze Age civilizations in
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