Orhun Yalçın (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Institute of Near and Middle Eastern Studies)

History of Artvin and Kars in the 19th century

The cover of the petition written from Artvin on March 26, 1869 to Bishop Mesrob who was head of the Armenian Episcopate of Trebizond. Archives of the Patriarchate of Istanbul, Nubar Library, Paris.

In the Ottoman Empire, the 19th century is known as the period when modern state mechanisms were established and capitalism began to take root. As part of these modernization steps, the Empire promised in the Gülhane Edict of 1839 and the Islahat Order of 1856 to ensure the safety of life, property and honor of Christians and Jews. However, it can be seen that the practice of the Tanzimat in the provinces differed from what had been written on paper. Although detailed research and studies have been conducted for different regions of the empire, the provinces of Artvin and Kars regions did not attract the attention of the Tanzimat historians. However, Artvin and Kars, a border region between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire and situated far from the Ottoman imperial centre, have an interesting and important position in terms of understanding what modernization meant in a multinational empire. When did Tanzimat concepts reach the border regions of Artvin and Kars? How were the relevant intentions implemented? What was the relationship of the Armenian community, one of the main actors in the region, to these practices? How did the Tanzimat affect trade, administration, and power relations in the region?

Orhun Yalçın’s Ph.D. research examines the socio-economic, cultural and political conditions of Armenians in the region of Artvin and Kars during the Tanzimat period in the 19th century Ottoman Empire. Using primary sources in Armenian, Ottoman Turkish and French from the Archives of the Armenian Patriarchate and the Ottoman Archives, the project seeks to understand the relationship of the Armenians of Artvin and Kars to the developments of the Tanzimat and how modernization manifested itself in this region. In this context, it aims to contribute to the historiography of the Tanzimat by listening to the voices of the provincial population.