The Armenians and the Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Ari Şekeryan explores the political and social life of the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire during the stormy post-war years, as the empire heaved its final breaths. In doing so, he offers a broader understanding of ethnic communities' reactions to the collapse of empires and the transformation to nation-states.

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The Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918 and on the morning of 13 November 1918, a mighty fleet of battleships from Britain, France, Italy and Greece sailed to Istanbul, and dropped anchor without encountering resistance. This day marked the beginning of the end of the Ottoman Empire, a dissolution that would bring great suffering and chaos, but also new opportunities for all Ottomans, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Drawing upon a previously untouched collection of Armenian and Ottoman Turkish primary sources, Ari Şekeryan considers these understudied post-war years. Examining the Armenian community as they emerged from the aftermath of war and genocide, Şekeryan outlines their shifting political position and the strategies they used to survive this turbulent period. By focusing on the Ottoman Armistice (1918–1923), Şekeryan illuminates an oft-neglected period in history, and develops a new case study for understanding the political reactions of ethnic groups to the fall of empires and nation-states.