Научная статья на тему 'The role of Armenian legion in the defense of the Armenian population of Kilikia (1919-1920)'

The role of Armenian legion in the defense of the Armenian population of Kilikia (1919-1920) Текст научной статьи по специальности «История и археология»

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Ключевые слова
KILIKIA / ARMENIAN LEGION / FRANCE / TURKEY / SELF-DEFENSE

Аннотация научной статьи по истории и археологии, автор научной работы — Eprikyan Armine Melsikovna, Bedjanyan Marine

Armenian legion had an important role in the defensive actions of kilikian Armenians in 1919-1920. Thanks to him Armenian migrants were able to return to their native homes, and many Armenian women escaped from the hands of Muslims. Besides, by organizing self-defensive battles against the kemals thousands of Armenians were saved from the massacres.

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Текст научной работы на тему «The role of Armenian legion in the defense of the Armenian population of Kilikia (1919-1920)»

The role of Armenian legion in the defense of the Armenian population of Kilikia (1919-1920)

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Eprikyan Armine Melsikovna, Yerevan State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan, a candidate of historical sciences, the Faculty of History and Law

E-mail: armineeprikyan@mail.ru Bedjanyan Marine, Magister

The role of Armenian legion in the defense of the Armenian population of Kilikia (1919-1920)

Abstract: Armenian legion had an important role in the defensive actions of kilikian Armenians in 1919-1920. Thanks to him Armenian migrants were able to return to their native homes, and many Armenian women escaped from the hands of Muslims. Besides, by organizing self-defensive battles against the kemals thousands of Armenians were saved from the massacres.

Keywords: Kilikia, Armenian legion, France, Turkey, self-defense.

Kilikia is situated in the North-eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea. At the beginning of the First World War it was populated by 215 000 Armenians and 185 000 Muslims [6]. In 1915 during the Armenian genocide, the Armenians of Kilikia were dislocated to the deserts of Syria, where the most part of them were massacred. Kilikia was liberated by Armenian legions and British troops after Turkey lost the war and in the result of it 150 000 Armenians returned to their motherland.

In autumn 1916 the French government and Armenian national delegation signed a contract to organize Armenian (eastern) legion in Cyprus from Armenian volunteers. The latter should fight under the French flag, thus giving sovereignty to Kilikia from France. Nearly 5 000 Armenians were included in that unit.

The legion took part in the major attack of Palestine, the battle of Megiddo, the liberation of Lebanon and Syria. According to the contract of Mudroz on armistice, which was signed on October 30, 1918, Turkey was obliged to remove its troops from Kilikia. From the 21st of November until the end of December the essential part of Kilikia was under the control of Armenian legion [4].

According to the armistice conditions, the osmanian officials should continue to govern Kilikia until the first of February 1919.

Colonel Romeo, who was the commander of Armenian legion, took the control over the Turkish authority [6].

But the allies were very careless in disarming the Turks and also in the question of taking the governing of the territory. In the result of this the Turks began to rebel everywhere.

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Section 2. History and archaeology

At the end of 1918 and at the beginning of 1919 Kilikia and its neighboring regions weren’t totally liberated from the disarmed Turkish units. The 3 000 policemen regiment of Hashim Bay was still in Kilikia, some Turkish regiments were fixed along the railway station, but the whole army full of armaments remained in the eastern region of Kilikia lying between the rivers Euphrates and Tigiris [6].

In contrast with Turks, the Armenian population wasn’t armed and so it took them a long time to avoid the Turkish attacks due to presence of Armenian legion.

Legionnaires played a great role in the safe return of migrants to Kilikia, as well as in the liberation of Armenian children from Muslims. They checked the trains coming from Halep to Polis and also Armenian women who had forcely changed their religion by Turks [7, 141].

Armenians hoped that France would give sovereignty to Kilikia, and the number of soldiers in the legion would increase to 20 000.

But soon it became obvious that the French didn’t want to keep their promise given to Armenians and gradually decreased the number of legions and during the Turkish rebellions very often they left Armenian population without defense.

The Armenian legion had just moved to Kilikia, when Dyort Yoli the retired governor armed the young Turks and began a rebellion.

3 000 armed Turks started terrorist actions over the whole territory of Payasi and Osmania, they blocked the roads, cut the telegram wires and attacked the Armenian population. On the 1st ofJanuary 1919 they wounded 4 legionnaires in the city. French military authority sent a group of Armenian legionnaires to subdue the Turk rebellioners, who pressed the rebellion successfully, and the rest of them escaped hiding themselves in Erzurum and Osmania [5, 197-198].

The role of Armenian officers Vahan Portugalyan and John Shishmanyan was very great in the process of Kilikia self-defense. Due to their work there was organized a military organ in Adana, where groups of volunteers were recruited. The letters hurried to help their compatriot fighters, who were struggling in different towns of Kilikia. When the British troops left the place in November 1919 the French replaced them and the kemals became more active. The role of Armenian legionnaires was great in the battles of self-defense in Kilikia in 1920, particularly during the Marash self-defense fights. On the 30th of October, 1919 the first French detachment entered Marash. At that time the Turkish trespasses towards the Armenians became more actual. Just on the second day when the French troops entered Marash one of the soldiers of Armenian legion was killed in the market by the Turks, and the criminal remained unpunished [1, 23].

In the middle of January 1920 there were approximately 3 000 soldiers in the French army of Marash: the half part of the 456 th division.

Commander Carat, who was in the city at that time overtook the government of all French troops there. Besides the French forces there were also a part ofArmenian 1st battalion,

one unit from the 2nd battalion and the 7th, 8th, 9th units from the 3rd battalion [2, 821]. Their presence restrained Armenians massacre and the French deportation planned for the Turkish relatives. The letters spread false information that the Armenian legionnaires were dangerous for the Muslim population of the city.

On the 18th ofJanuary the Turks presented the French an ultimatum, according to which the interference of the French should be interrupted in all spheres and Armenian volunteers should be removed from Marash. Partially trying to satisfy the Turkish demands, the French governor removed Armenian 7th and 8th units (almost 500 men) from the city on the 19 January, sending them to Islaihe to bring some food and munitions. On the 21st ofJanuary on the eve of Turkish attack there were only 600 Armenian legionnaires in Marash [1,4].

The legionnaires who had been sent to Islaihe were trapped on the way by the Turks and were fighting severely against the 2 000 Turkish unit for more than 8-9 days. On the 29th ofJanuary the legionnaires returned to Marash leaving more than 100 victims on their way. Just on the same day Armenian regions and 7 defensive lines of French were also attacked. Armenians who had nearly endured the great genocide psychologically and physically searched their salvation in the churches. Having only 20 legionnaires for the defense more than 2 000 Armenians found shelter in St. Astvatsatsin Church [3, 172].

Till the 7th of February the Armenians of Marash by the leadership of Armenian legionnaires were able to resist successfully and contradict the Turkish killers, in spite of the fact that the French government hadn’t supplied them with weapons and other means. The battles with changeable success continued until the 10th of February and ended with the French retreatment. Colonel Carat allowed only 5 000 Armenians to join his battalion.

On the retreatment way, according to several datas, more than 3 000 Armenians and 800-1200 French were killed. In whole, during the Marash battles 12 000 Armenians were killed and nearly 8 000 were exiled by the kemal government. During the self-defensive battles more than 150 Armenian legionnaires were killed [1, 42].

Armenian legion was also excellent in Djihan. In summer 1920 the native Muslim population rebelled against the French authority. The governor of the city Ibrahim Bay, abandoning his position passed to the rebellioners side. They climbed the mountain and from there bombed Djihan city and the railway station. To repress the rebellion Armenian political organizations recruited over 400 volunteers. But the latter’s were unable to repress the mutiny. After that failure, the French commanding ordered the battalion of Armenian legion which was situated in Djihan to repress Ibrahim Bay’s rebellion [5, 380]. The legionnaires managed to occupy the Turkish positions and seize their cannons. In the self-defensive battles of Urfa, Hachn and Ayntap Armenian legion didn’t take any collective participation. But the role of the younger from the Armenian legionnaires was very great in these battles. In 1920 at the end of summer the French authorities resolved

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History - the basis of spirituality of people

Armenian legion, as they were afraid of the autonomous am- power. At the end of 1921 France transferred Kilikia to the

bitions of Armenians. It was a serious blow to the Armenians Turks and the native Armenian population had to migrate

of Kilikia, as they were deprived from their major defensive from the motherland.

References:

1. Armenian national archive. - Fund 200, list 1, work 546.

2. Galustean G. Marash or Germanic and hero zeytun. - New York, 1934.

3. Gasparyan R. Armenian massacres in Kilikia in the 90th of the 19th century. - Yerevan, 2005.

4. Torosyan Sh. National-liberation movements of the Armenians in Kilikia 1919-1920. - Yerevan, 1987.

5. Poyajyan T. Armenian legion. - Boston, 1965.

6. Bremond E. La Cilicie en 1919-1920. - Paris 1921.

7. Gautherot Gustave. La France en Syrie et en Cilicie. - Paris, 1921.

Uralova Zilola Vokhid qizi, Djizak Transport-communication and vocational college, the 2nd year student of Building faculty E-mail: yaxshiyeva67@mail.ru

History - the basis of spirituality of people

Abstract: This article considers the great history of Uzbek statehood and its one of the powerful founder Muk-hammad Shaibani.

Keywords: Uzbekistan, Turkistan, history, Muhammad Shaibanikhan.

Without historical memory,

There is no future.

I. A. Karimov

History, first of all, thirty of the great images of the people living in the country among the great ancestors of our way of life, it becomes clear their outstanding service to the motherland. That is the precious heritage of those who always head held high, standing up straight. One of the great blessings of independence, the nation’s true history stretching to at least three thousand years of history with the Army gave me the opportunity. In this way, young people will play an important role in nurturing the spirit of the ancestors generations.

A relatively short period of time our identity, their ideas, experience a sense of national pride and understanding attitude. This feeling has been nourished by synchronizing the thinking of the great ideas of our ancestors today.

President Islam Karimov noted, “... the beginning of Uzbeks living in their opinion, their struggle for independence in the remembrance. This is a witness of history. The truth about the history of our nation has devoted his way, the word apostasy is irreversible opening of the children. A hard landing pages, browsing history, we need to know an obligation for the debt, “he refers to this situation. Ifwe look at the long history of our nation and made it to the tireless struggle for independence, freedom, along with the adjacent states are not indifferent to the fate of the witness.

Indeed, Islam Karimov, “the historical memory and the human factor is the key to a great future”, countries around the prospectus today highlighted the growing nationalism rooted in corruption, he said: “God bless, and today we are

living in the twenty-first century, nationalism is not that in the Middle Ages? Why do we feel it around the side-effects so far. One of history enhanced wants to write than others. For this purpose, the books, and the kind of institutions, organizations and make up. That nation is highlighted as a separate nation. It seemed as if this nation other nations living side by side in any aspect of the above, there are a unique feature” [1].

In fact, living together for centuries in Central Asia, drinking water from a river from a variety of enemies to fight together against the common and common values, such as a national divide people against each other forgive date in the future to put a huge mistake. Came into existence because of a historical or cultural object from one generation as well as representatives of various ethnic groups through many battles with labor and hardship created. It is only to a particular nation, ethnic group only know him in keeping with the historical limits will prevent a fair assessment of the processes. This is a historical fact.

Of course, a long history of any state in the socio-economic, political and legal crisis since the emergence of a new state to the ground. This is a historical fact.

As it is known, there are one-sided statements in historical and literature books, which printed out in the period of Soviet, in general, the Shaibanids family, including the founder of the dynasty of Mukhammad Shaibani.

The Republic of Uzbekistan gained its independence from the desire to create their own history. At the same time, which

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