Table Of ContentBrok er s of f a i t h,
Brok er s of e m pi r e
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B r o k e r s o f f a i t h ,
B r o k e r s o f e m p i r e
armenians and the politics of reform in
the ottoman empire
richard e. antaramian
stanford University p ress
stanford, c alifornia
stanford University press
stanford, california
©2020 by the Board of trustees of the leland stanford Junior University.
all rights reserved.
no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission of
stanford University press.
printed in the United states of america on acid-free, archival-quality paper
library of congress cataloging-in-publication data
names: antaramian, richard e., author.
title: Brokers of faith, brokers of empire : armenians and the politics of
reform in the ottoman empire / richard e. antaramian.
description: stanford, california : stanford University press, 2020. |
includes bibliographical references and index.
identifiers: lccn 2019046787 (print) | lccn 2019046788 (ebook) |
isBn 9781503611627 (cloth) | isBn 9781503612952 (paperback) |
isBn 9781503612969 (ebook)
subjects: lcsh: armenian church—political activity—turkey—history—
19th century. | clergy—political activity—turkey—history—19th century. |
armenians—turkey—politics and government—19th century. |
turkey—history—tanzimat, 1839-1876. | turkey—politics and
government—1829-1878. | turkey—history—ottoman empire, 1288-1918.
classification: lcc dr565 .a58 2020 (print) | lcc dr565 (ebook) |
ddc 956/.015—dc23
lc record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046787
lc ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046788
cover design: rob ehle
cover photo: armenian patriarch of Jerusalem, harootiun vehabedian,
ca. 1900–1910. library of congress.
typeset by newgen in 10/14 minion regular
con t en ts
acknowledgments vii
note on transliteration ix
introduction 1
1 The constitution 21
2 nodal Governance and the ottoman diocese 49
3 peripheralization 68
4 ottomanism 100
5 a catastrophic success 128
conclusion 159
notes 171
Bibliography 191
index 205
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ack no W l edGm en ts
This book relies on a wide variety of materials stored in archives and libraries
in salt lake city, london, paris, vienna, istanbul, and yerevan, among others
to reconstruct ottoman armenian communal life in the nineteenth century.
These sources include administrative documents, personal correspondence,
diplomatic dispatches, petitions, chronicles, pamphlets, newspapers, and as-
sembly records. research trips to consult, digitize, or otherwise acquire these
materials were supported by a fulbright hays fellowship, the armenian studies
program at the University of michigan, the rackham Graduate school at the
University of michigan, and the center for religion and civic culture at the
University of southern california.
i have incurred a number of debts, personal and professional, in the course
of writing this book, which i am happy to acknowledge here. my most signifi-
cant intellectual debts belong to my mentors. Gerard libaridian’s support and
encouragement over the last several years have known no limit. his example
as a teacher and thinker is the one i try most to emulate. müge Göçek’s mark
on this project is indelible. always generous with her time, our many cross-
disciplinary conversations over the years have shaped my thinking about ot-
toman society more than i will likely ever realize. ronald suny, whose bold
rethinking of armenian history still inspires, shared his wisdom throughout
the development of this project. Juan cole remains a friend and confidant.
my thanks are due to a number of people who reviewed parts of the manu-
script in its different stages. These include sabri ateş, frank castiglione, Jason
Glenn, paul lerner, devi mays, Umut Özsü, Brett sheehan, Josh White, and
murat yıldız. christine philliou and İpek yosmaoğlu read an early version of
the manuscript in its entirety and flew to los angeles to provide me with in-
valuable feedback. Though my stubbornness sometimes kept me from heeding
their advice, the final product has benefited immensely from their suggestions.
errors of judgment, fact, or argumentation are of course mine alone.
viii acknoWled Gments
for their moral support and friendship over the years, i thank Boris ad-
jemian, frank castiglione, vazken davitian, dzovinar derderian, christian
Garbis, carl holtman, asbed kotchikian, devi mays, Josh White, murat yıldız,
and Julien Zarifian. in los angeles, i have benefited from the support and
camaraderie of marjorie Becker, Bill deverell, Josh Goldstein, Wolf Grüner,
kyung moon hwang, maya maskarinec, lindsay o’neill, Ben Uchiyama, and
especially ketaki pant, edgardo perez-morales, Jason Glenn, paul lerner, and
Brett sheehan.
my family’s support cannot be overstated. edward and terry antaramian,
my parents, have taken special interest in the project from its beginning. my
father’s passion for family history opened a door to ottoman anatolia that will
never be closed. oleg and larisa ambartsumyan, my in-laws, have provided
assistance at every stage of this journey.
finally, liliya ambartsumyan, my love and my wife, has lived with this
project since its inception more than a decade ago. our sons, raffi and michael,
joined her along the way. Their unconditional love, support, and patience have
buoyed me at every turn. This book would not have been possible without their
innumerable sacrifices. for these reasons and more, this book belongs to them.
not e on tr a nsli t er at ion
i have followed a simplified system of transliteration for armenian. Where ap-
propriate, i have preferred the common rendering of armenian names that
have appeared in english; the reader will thus find midhat pasha’s adviser re-
ferred to as krikor odian rather than Grigor otean.
ottoman armenians used the Julian calendar. i have not converted
those dates. Gregorian dates are, however, listed alongside hicri dates where
appropriate.
all translations, unless otherwise noted, are mine.
