Euphrates College (

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

: ''Fırat Koleji'',

Armenian 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 ...

: ''Եփրատ Գոլէճ'') was a

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

al high school in the region of

Harput Harpoot () or Kharberd () is an ancient town located in the Elazığ Province of Turkey. It now forms a small district of the city of Elazığ. p. 1. In the late Ottoman period, it fell under the Mamuret-ul-Aziz Vilayet (also known as the Harpu ...

(the town of Harput is now part of the city of

Elazığ Elazığ () is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, and the administrative centre of Elazığ Province and Elazığ District. Founded in and around the former city of Harput, it is located in the uppermost Euphrates valley. The plai ...

, in eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), founded and directed by

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missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

and attended mostly by the Armenian community in the region.

History

In 1852 the

American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian mission, Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the l ...

established a

theological seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

in Harput to educate

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

men for the

Armenian Evangelical Church The Armenian Evangelical Church () was established on July 1, 1846, by thirty-seven men and three women in Constantinople. History In the 19th century there was an intellectual and spiritual awakening in Constantinople. This awakening and enlig ...

, and expanded it 1859 to "American Harput Missionary College". To meet the growing demand for general education in English language, the school's program was extended in 1878, and it was renamed "Armenia College". However, after 10 years, the Ottoman authorities urged to change the school's name, which became finally "Euphrates College". For the building of the college, $140,000 funds were raised from the US Government and $40,000 from the local people in 1875. The facilities at the college consisted of a hospital and an orphanage in addition to a theological seminary and high schools for boys and girls. In 1891, the school shortly released a handwritten newspaper called ''Asbarez'', which was soon forbidden by the Ottoman authorities. In 1895,

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 ...

looted and burned the Armenian villages on the Harput plain, and in the same month the town was attacked and eight of the twelve buildings on the campus were burned down. Following a change in the approach towards the Armenian population during the

Second Constitutional Era The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...

of the Ottoman Empire, the Armenians received much more rights. In 1909, the college began to publish a newspaper called ''Yeprad'' (

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

in Armenian). A printing press was installed within the college and following several bulletins, but also religious and school books were printed in

Armenian script The Armenian alphabet (, or , ) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasu ...

. The college was an influential institution for the cultivation of the

Armenian language Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...

during the Ottoman Empire and in 1913 the 1500th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet was celebrated with a large procession. With the support of German missionaries, in the college was inaugurated a Bible school on the 1 October 1913. In 1915 several of the leading Armenian members of the faculty were arrested, tortured, and executed on trumped-up charges. The college buildings were then occupied by the Ottoman Military and initially used as training camp, and later as a military hospital. Euphrates College was officially closed shortly after the founding of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and nothing now remains of its buildings.

Presidents

* Dr. Crosby Wheeler (1878-1893) * Dr.

James Levi Barton James Levi Barton (1855–1936) was an American Protestant missionary and educator who devoted his life to establishing and administering schools and colleges in the Near East, and overseeing Near East relief efforts before and after World War I. ...

(1893-1894) * Dr. Caleb Frank Gates (1894-1903) * Rev. Henry H. Riggs (1903-1910) *

Ernest Wilson Riggs Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian ...

(1910 - 1921) (Henry H. Riggs' brother) departed Euphrates in 1921 to conduct

Near East Relief The Near East Foundation (NEF) is an American international social and economic development organization based in Syracuse, New York. The NEF had its genesis in a number of earlier organizations. As the scope of relief expanded from aid to Greek, ...

work for a year, was expelled from Turkey, and then became a corresponding secretary of the

Faculty

Ellsworth Huntington __NOTOC__ Ellsworth Huntington (September 16, 1876 – October 17, 1947) was a professor of geography at Yale University during the early 20th century, known for his studies on environmental determinism/climatic determinism, economic growth, and e ...

(1897–1901) * Ashur Youssouf * Donabed Lulejian In addition to Lulejian: Nigohos Tenekejian, Hachadoor Nahigian, Garabed Sohigian, Hovhannes Bujicanian, Mergerdich Vorberian, Samuel Hachadoorian. These 7 names are cited as Professors at Euphrates College on a memorial monument at Vernon Grove Cemetery,

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. Other memorials to Armenia & 11 Armenian victims of a 1914 fire on West St. are also in the same cemetery.

Notable students

Shahan Natalie Shahan Natalie (; July 14, 1884 – April 19, 1983) was an Armenian writer and political activist who was the principal organizer of Operation Nemesis, a campaign of revenge against officials of the former Ottoman Empire who organized the Armen ...

References

External links