The Horrors of Adana: Revolution and Violence in the Early Twentieth Century

by Bedross Der Matossian

Overview

In April 1909, two waves of massacres shook the province of Adana, located in the southern Anatolia region of modern-day Turkey, killing more than 20,000 Armenians and 2,000 Muslims. The central Ottoman government failed to prosecute the main culprits, a miscarriage of justice that would have repercussions for years to come. Despite the significance of these events and the extent of violence and destruction, the Adana Massacres are often left out of historical narratives. The Horrors of Adana offers one of the first close examinations of these events, analyzing sociopolitical and economic transformations that culminated in a cataclysm of violence.

Bedross Der Matossian provides voice and agency to all involved in the massacres—perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. Drawing on primary sources in a dozen languages, he develops an interdisciplinary approach to understand the rumors and emotions, public spheres and humanitarian interventions that together informed this complex event. Ultimately, through consideration of the Adana Massacres in micro-historical detail, this book offers an important macrocosmic understanding of ethnic violence, illuminating how and why ordinary people can become perpetrators.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781503631038
Publisher:	Stanford University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	360
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Bedross Der Matossian is Associate Professor of History at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He is the author of Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire (Stanford, 2014).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Note on Transliteration and Translation xiii

Introduction 1

1 A Frayed Tapestry: The Transformation of Adana in the Nineteenth Century 27

2 Agitation and Paranoia: Adana during the Hamidian Period 51

3 Bad Blood, Thwarted Hopes: Contesting the Public Sphere in Postrevolutionary Adana 67

4 An Imagined Uprising: The First Wave of Massacres 97

5 False Protection: The Second Wave of Massacres 134

6 After the Fact: Humanitarian Aid and Reactions to the Massacres 153

7 Justice on Trial: The Courts-Martial and Investigation Commissions 183

8 The Form of justice: The Courts-Martial and the Imperial Ottoman Penal Code 207

Conclusion 224

Bibliography of Primary Sources 241

Notes 249

Index 313

Editorial Reviews

"With The Horrors of Adana, the Adana Massacres get their own story, a story that needs telling. Bedross Der Matossian's deeply researched and engagingly argued book situates Adana in a longer trajectory of 'forgotten' massacres and as part of Ottoman history more broadly."

University of Nevada, Las Vegas, author of The British Empire and the Armenian Genocide: Humanitarianism and Imperia - Michelle Tusan

"The Horrors of Adana is an outstanding analysis of a massacre never before deeply studied. Bedross Der Matossian offers a thorough inquiry into the perpetrators, victims, bystanders, and social-political context, useful to all those interested in understanding processes of mass violence."

Sciences Po Paris, author of Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide - Jacques Semelin

"Der Matossian's well-written and meticulously researched book, utilizing rare documentation from fifteen different archives, employing an interdisciplinary perspective and an objective, conversational tone, offers insights into this untold history."

Eleni Sakellis The National Herald

"The Horrors of Adana is a truly groundbreaking and highly nuanced exploration of intercommunal, sectarian, and nationalist violence in the late Ottoman Empire. A must-read for scholars of the modern Middle East."

Rice University, author of Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World - Ussama Makdisi

"The Horrors of Adana is a truly groundbreaking and highly nuanced exploration of intercommunal, sectarian, and nationalist violence in the late Ottoman Empire. A must-read for scholars of the modern Middle East."—Ussama Makdisi, Rice University, author of Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World

"The Horrors of Adana is an outstanding analysis of a massacre never before deeply studied. Bedross Der Matossian offers a thorough inquiry into the perpetrators, victims, bystanders, and social-political context, useful to all those interested in understanding processes of mass violence."—Jacques Semelin, Sciences Po Paris, author of Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide

"With The Horrors of Adana, the Adana Massacres get their own story, a story that needs telling. Bedross Der Matossian's deeply researched and engagingly argued book situates Adana in a longer trajectory of 'forgotten' massacres and as part of Ottoman history more broadly."—Michelle Tusan, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, author of The British Empire and the Armenian Genocide: Humanitarianism and Imperial Politics from Gladstone to Churchill

From the Publisher