The Armenian congress at Erzurum (the 8th World Congress of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

), held from the end of July to August 2, 1914, was a watershed event where representatives of the ruling

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

party requested the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (the leading Armenian party in both the Ottoman and the Russian Empire) to incite a rebellion of Russian Armenians against the Tsarist regime in order to facilitate the conquest of

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

in the event of the opening up of a Caucasus front.

Proposals

The Ottoman plan was to draw the

Persians Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

Tatar Tatar may refer to: Peoples * Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar" * Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia * Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...

s and

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

into a holy war against the Allies. In order to carry this project it was necessary to make sure that Armenian (if the Armenians became hostile), their geographical position would not hamper cooperation between these races. If this agreement went forward and the Ottoman Armenians did not support the Russians, they would be offered autonomy. This offer was one step forward from

Armenian reform package The Armenian reforms, also known as the Yeniköy accord, was a reform plan devised by European powers between 1912 and 1914 that envisaged the creation of two provinces in Ottoman Armenia placed under the supervision of two European inspectors g ...

, which was already established in February 1914. The Tsar promised autonomy for

Russian Armenia Russian Armenia is the period of Armenian history under Russian rule from 1828, when Eastern Armenia became part of the Russian Empire following Qajar dynasty, Qajar Iran's loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826–1828) and the subsequent ceding of ...

. The Tsar promised autonomy to six Turkish Armenian vilayets as well as the two Russian-Armenian provinces.Joseph L. Grabill, (1971) Protestant Diplomacy and the Near East: Missionary Influence on American Policy, 1810-1927, page 59, Earlier a Tsarist Minister of Foreign Affairs reportedly had confided Russia's aim: "We need Armenia, but without the Armenians." Primarily because of trust in France and Great Britain as associates of Russia, the Armenian National Council of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

accepted the Tsar's offer. A representative meeting of Russian Armenians assembled in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

, Caucasus, during August 1914. Tsar asked Armenian's loyalty and support for Russia in the conflict.The Encyclopedia Americana, 1920, v.28, p.412 The proposal was agreed upon and nearly 20,000 Armenians responded to the call, of which only 7,000 were given arms.

Members

Negotiations in Erzurum were held between Armenian liaisons

Arshak Vramian Arshak or Arshag Vramian (, born Onnik Derdzakian; 22 March 1870/1871 – 17 April 1915) was an Armenian revolutionary and a leading member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He worked as an ARF activist in his native Constantinople before ...

, Rostom (

Stepan Zorian Stepan Zorian (Armenian Language, Armenian: Ստեփան Զօրեան, 1867–1919), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Rostom (), was one of the three founders of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and a leader of the Armenian national li ...

), and E. Aknouni ( Khatchatour Maloumian), and Ottoman liaisons Dr.

Behaeddin Shakir Baha al-Din or Bahaa ad-Din (), or various variants like Bahauddin, Baha eddine or (in Turkish) Bahattin, may refer to: bhs Surname * A. K. M. Bahauddin (born 1954), Bangladeshi politician and the Member of Parliament from Comilla * Salaheddine B ...

, Omer Naji (Omer Naci), and Hilmi Bey, accompanied by an international entourage of peoples from the Caucasus.

Conclusion

The Armenians were quite willing to remain loyal to their government, but declared their inability to agree to the other proposal, that of inciting their compatriots under Russian rule to insurrection. The rejection by the Ottoman Armenians of that one condition led to serious consequences for themselves. Learning of a possible conflict with Russian Armenians, the Ottoman government in September 1914 decided that the aliens (Russian Armenians) and Turkish Armenians would be a liability in a war against Russia. This incidentally proved of inestimable benefit to the Allies. For if the whole Armenian nation had gone against Russia, that country might have encountered defeat instead of victories early in the war. The Central Powers could have transferred large armies from the Eastern to the Western Front already in 1915 instead of 1917 with the result of such agreement. It is claimed that the proposal was developed by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Intelligence Bureau for the East The Intelligence Bureau for the East () was a German intelligence organisation established on the eve of World War I dedicated to promoting and sustaining subversive and nationalist agitations in the British Indian Empire and the Persian and Egy ...

, headquartered in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. The Intelligence Bureau for the East was established on the eve of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

dedicated to promoting and sustaining subversive and nationalist agitations in the

British Indian Empire The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

and the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

ian satellite states. It was involved in early plans for war and the

Ottoman Caliph The Ottoman Caliphate () was the claim of the heads of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty, rulers of the Ottoman Empire, to be the caliphs of Islam during the late medieval and early modern era. Ottoman rulers first assumed the style of caliph in t ...

's decision to declare ''Jihad''. The Ottoman Empire dismantled the

on December 16, 1914, just after the first engagement of the

Caucasus Campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...

during the

Bergmann Offensive The Bergmann Offensive (; in Turkish literature , "Battles of Köprüköy and Azap"; in Russian literature —"Köprüköy operation") was the first engagement of the Caucasus Campaign. The first battle after the Russians took Bayazet during W ...

on November 2, 1914. On the other side, the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

visited the ''Caucasus front'' on December 30, 1914, telling the head of the

Armenian Church Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

that "''a most brilliant future awaits the Armenians''".Avetoon Pesak Hacobian, 1917, Armenia and the War, p.78

References

{{Armenian Genocide 1914 in Armenia 1914 in the Ottoman Empire 1914 conferences

Proposals

Members

Conclusion

See also

References