Erzeroum (Karin).
General view of the Armenian-populated town (1900s)
This article presents and analyzes the main statistical sources on the Armenian population of the Erzurum province of the Ottoman Empire for the period of 1878-1914. The data is grouped by the source origin: Ottoman official, of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, data from other Armenian, Russian and Western sources.
Comparative statistical tables of data provided by the Ottoman, Armenian, Russian and Western sources are compiled.
An attempt was made to estimate the number of the Armenian population of the Erzurum province by districts and sub-districts on the eve of the Armenian genocide. The calculations are based on the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople’s 1913-14 census data, which are adjusted with figures found in Genocide survivors’ accounts, refugees’ registration data and other auxiliary sources.
According to calculations, made on the basis of comparison and analysis of statistical data from various sources, the Armenian population of Erzeroum vilayet was about 251,600 on the eve of the Armenian Genocide (distribution of Sandzak and nahie see in the table below).
This number is approximately twice the data provided by the Ottoman statistics in 1914 and 25% higher than the census of 1913-14 carried out by the Armenian Patriarchate.
The Number of Armenian Population of the Erzeroum Province on the Eve of the Armenian Genocide
See the full version of the article in the Journal of Genocide Studies, 2 (1), Yerevan, 2014, pp. 31-58.
© The Armenian Genocide Museum & Institute
