war, demographic change and profiteering in kayseri (1915-1920)

310 Pages·2014·2.66 MB·English

A CITY TRANSFORMED: WAR, DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
AND PROFITEERING IN KAYSERI (1915-1920)

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO
THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
OF
MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY

BY

OYA GÖZEL DURMAZ

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

JUNE 2014
Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık
Director

I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy.

Prof. Dr. Ömer Turan
Head of Department

This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully
adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ferdan Ergut
Supervisor

Examining Committee Members

Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur (METU, HIST)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ferdan Ergut (METU, HIST)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Oktay Özel (Bilkent, HIST)
Assist. Prof. Dr. E. Attila Aytekin (METU, Pol. Scie.)
Assist. Prof. Dr. Selçuk Dursun (METU, HIST)
I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained
and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I
also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited
and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work.

Name, Last name : Oya Gözel Durmaz

Signature :

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ABSTRACT

A CITY TRANSFORMED: WAR, DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE
AND PROFITEERING IN KAYSERI (1915-1920)

Gözel Durmaz, Oya
Ph.D., Department of History
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ferdan Ergut

June 2014, 294 pages

One of the foundational origins of the Turkish Republic was the drastic
change in the demographic composition of Anatolia following the Balkan Wars
of 1912-1913 and World War I. This change was a result of factors such as the
deportation of Armenians, the exchange of populations between Turkey and
Greece and the high number of deaths in successive wars. All of them greatly
altered the composition of the population. The change in the demographic
composition of Turkey corresponded to a significant era in Turkish history: the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the establishment of the Turkish Republic
as a nation state. Thus, this process of demographic transformation became
significant in the socio-economic foundation of the new Republic.
The present study aims to analyze the socio-economic impacts of this
demographic change, especially Armenian deportation, on the sanjak of
Kayseri. In this respect, it starts with an assumption that the characteristics of
the local forces had a decisive role in the development of the process in the
localities. The basic questions that this dissertation addresses are: How were
the population policies of the Ottoman government, especially Armenian
deportation, implemented in Kayseri? To what extent the local dynamics and
factors, like the social and economic features of the city, and the character of
the governors, shaped the execution of these policies? Finally what were the
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implications of this demographic transformation on the social and economic
life of the inhabitants of Kayseri?

Keywords: The Armenian Deportation, Abandoned Properties, Kayseri,
Conversion to Islam

v
ÖZ

BİR KENTİN DÖNÜŞÜMÜ: KAYSERİ’DE SAVAŞ, DEMOGRAFİK
DEĞİŞİM VE VURGUNCULUK (1915-1920)

Gözel Durmaz, Oya
Doktora, Tarih Bölümü
Tez Yöneticisi: Doç Dr. Ferdan Ergut

Haziran 2014, 294 sayfa

Balkan Savaşları ve Birinci Dünya Savaşı süresince yaşanan demografik
dönüşüm Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin kurucu temellerinden biri olmuştur. Söz
konusu dönüşüm Ermeni tehciri, Türkiye ve Yunanistan arasında
gerçekleştirilen nüfus mübadelesi ve birbirini izleyen savaşlar dizisi boyunca
yaşanan ölümler gibi nedenlerden kaynaklanmıştır. Bu süreçte bugünkü
Türkiye topraklarında yaşayan nüfusun yapısında çok ciddi değişimler
meydana gelmiştir. Nüfus kompozisyonunda yaşanan bu köklü dönüşüm siyasi
açıdan Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nun yıkıldığı ve Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin
kurulduğu çok önemli bir döneme denk gelmiştir. Dolayısıyla yaşanan
demografik dönüşüm süreci, yeni kurulan Cumhuriyetin sosyo-ekonomik
temelleri üzerinde de çok önemli etkilerde bulunmuştur.
Bu çalışma yaşanan demografik değişimin, özellikle de Ermeni
tehcirinin, Kayseri sancağı üzerindeki sosyo-ekonomik etkilerini analiz etmeyi
hedeflemektedir. Bu bağlamda da, sürecin yerelliklerde şekillenmesinde yerel
güçlerin özelliklerinin belirleyici bir role sahip olduğu varsayımı üzerinden
hareket edilmiştir. Bu tez şu soruları cevaplaya çalışmıştır: Osmanlı
hükümetinin nüfus politikaları, özellikle de Ermeni tehciri, Kayseri’de nasıl
uygulandı? Şehrin toplumsal ve iktisadi özellikleri ile yerel yöneticilerin
karakteri gibi yerel dinamikler ve faktörler bu politikaların uygulanmasını ne
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dereceye kadar şekillendirdi? Son olarak da, bu demografik değişimin Kayseri
sancağında yaşayan insanların toplumsal ve iktisadi hayatları üzerinde ne gibi
etkileri oldu?

Anahtar Kelimeler: Ermeni Tehciri, Emval-i Metruke, Kayseri, İhtida

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To the beautiful children of June,
Ethem, Mehmet, Abdocan, Medeni, Ali İsmail, Hasan Ferit, Ahmet
and Berkin
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Ferdan Ergut who
accepted to become my supervisor and encouraged me to begin this
dissertation. I would also want to thank Oktay Özel, E. Attila Aytekin, Recep
Boztemur and Selçuk Dursun who kindly accepted to be members of the
dissertation committee, and read the draft and made valuable comments,
criticisms and suggestions which had vastly improved the work.
The contributions of Oktay Özel and E. Attila Aytekin were particularly
crucial in the development of this study. They were always ready to read the
drafts and made constructive criticisms during the dissertation writing process.
I am especially grateful to Oktay Özel for his encouragement and guidance
throughout my research. Without his support and trust to me, this work would
not come to an end.
I would also want to thank Hilmar Kaiser who was very kindly directed
me to research in the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archives. Without his
encouragement, I could not begin a thesis based on archival research. He spent
much time to improve my knowledge regarding the literature and never
hesitated to answer my questions. He read the draft and made constructive
criticisms to my study.
I am also grateful to Kaan Durukan who read the draft and contributed
greatly to the improvement of this dissertation with his comments and
suggestions. I would also like to thank Bedross der Matossian, Talha Çiçek and
Simon Payasliyan who have generously sent a copy of their studies to me.
I wish to express my gratitude to The Scientific and Technological
Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) for supporting me with scholarship
for five years. The Middle East Technical University also funded my research
projects and thus I could conduct research in the American and British
Archives.
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I also wish to thank my friends Özden Erdoğan, Deniz Dölek Sever,
Erinç Erdal, Gözde Somel, Çağdaş Sümer and Sibel İmren for their solidarity,
encouragement and motivation during this process. Finally, I would like to
thank to my family for their deep and infinite love. They have always
supported me both emotionally and financially in every field of my life. I have
to express my deepest thanks especially to my beloved, Orkun Saip Durmaz,
for his belief in me. He has always motivated me with his love, patience and
positive energy. His existence enriched me and increased my belief for the
coming beautiful days.
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