Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
Monday evenings, 21 & 28 October, at 19:00
|Cemiyet Lokal, Efruzgâh Odası
Across two sessions, we will explore Armenian religious, cultural and social life, migration, urban communities, and the political transformations of the 19th and 20th centuries, drawing on archival sources and Armenian literature.
Saat ve Yer
Monday evenings, 21 & 28 October, at 19:00
Cemiyet Lokal, Efruzgâh Odası, Asmalı Mescit, Yemenici Abdüllatif Sk. No: 1/3, 34430 Beyoğlu/İstanbul, Türkiye
Etkinlik Detayları
On 21 and 28 September, Mondays at 19.30, we invite you to join historian Cenker Sarıkaya at Cemiyet’s Efruzgâh Room, overlooking the Golden Horn and Istanbul’s Art Nouveau architecture, for a two-part lecture series on Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Through Armenian religious traditions, literature, urban life, and major political developments, we will explore Ottoman history from the perspective of the Armenian community.
This two-part lecture series approaches the Armenian community as a historical actor and covers Ottoman history from the perspective of Armenians. It seeks to offer an introduction to the Armenian community through its Apostolic, Catholic, and Protestant denominations, as well as through literature produced in Armenian or Armeno-Turkish (Turkish written in Armenian script). The lectures balance social and cultural life within Armenian communities with major political developments, offering a holistic approach to Ottoman Armenian history.
The material is divided into two sessions: the first covers the period from the 15th to the 18th centuries, while the second focuses exclusively on the 19th and 20th centuries. Each session is expected to last around 2.5 hours, including a 30-minute break.
Lectures of academic standard
Gift package and refreshments
Certificate of participation
Access to video recordings of the sessions for later viewing
Additional readings to deepen your knowledge
The opportunity to meet fellow participants in person and ask questions to the lecturer
At the beginning of the seminar, during our welcome and introduction on Monday, 21 September, you will receive an educational package. Through the QR code included in the package, you will have access to video recordings of the sessions, as well as the readings for each session. This will give you the opportunity to catch up on any session you may have missed or revisit the lectures at a later time. The educational materials will remain accessible to you after the seminar, so you can return to the recordings and revisit the course whenever you wish. The recordings are not sold separately to those who have not participated in the seminar. For questions, bank transfer or cash payment options, and applications for scholarship-supported participation, you can contact us here. You can either purchase a ticket for the full seminar or purchase tickets for individual sessions.
Program
1st Session | Armenians in the Ottoman Empire: Community, Religion and Urban Life | Monday, October 21, 19.00
Welcome & Demirhindi Sherbet Reception | 19.00
Armenians in the Ottoman Empire: Community, Religion and Urban Life | 19.30
The first session will focus on the communal organisation of the Armenian community and how it changed under Ottoman administration. In this context, it will discuss the establishment of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1461 and its relationship with other Armenian religious institutions such as Etchmiadzin. This section will also introduce Armenian Catholic history through Mekhitar of Sebaste and the Mekhitarist order.
Another key theme in this session will be the migration of Armenians to western urban centres such as Constantinople and Rodosto (Tekirdağ). It will incorporate the writings of Eremya Çelebi Kömürcüyan, a 17th-century Armenian intellectual who travelled extensively across the Ottoman Empire and the Armenian Highlands.
2nd Session | Armenians in the Late Ottoman Empire: Modernisation, Politics and Society | Monday, October 28, 19.30
The second session will then shift its attention to the 19th and 20th centuries to discuss how discourses surrounding modernisation affected the Armenian community. It will pay particular attention to the reorganisation of the Armenian community under the 1863 constitution, the emergence of Protestant Armenians, confrontations with the Ottoman state in events such as the Ottoman Bank takeover.
This section will conclude with the trials of Ottoman officials in 1919–1920 and the question of Armenian properties during the emergence of the new Turkish republic. Alongside archival documents, this lecture will include excerpts from Armenian literature when relevant.
Cenker Sarıkaya
Cenker Sarıkaya is an MPhil student in Jewish Studies at the University of Oxford. Graduated from Koç University with degrees in History, Archaeology, and Art History. His research focuses on cultural heritage and debates surrounding education during the late Ottoman and early Republican periods.
At Koç University, he wrote his undergraduate thesis, titled “Sivdadano! Avla Turko: Linguistic Boundaries and the Integration of the Jewish Community in Early Republican Istanbul, 1923–1938,” under the supervision of Dr. Alexis Rappas. In his thesis, he examined changes in language education policies at the Alliance Israélite Universelle and other Jewish schools following the establishment of the Republic.
He currently continues his research at the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul (SRII). Alongside his academic research, he works as an editor for Éditions Isis. His first book, Histoire de la mission lazaristes de Smyrne, will be published by Libra Kitap in 2026. He is currently working on an article about the Swedish photographer Guillaume Berggren.
Ücretler
Full Participation
By purchasing this ticket, you will be able to attend both sessions of the lectures in full, receive the complete gift package, and enjoy unlimited access to the lecture videos and estra content through our website.
₺2.000,00
+₺400,00 KDV
Student
By purchasing this ticket, you will be able to attend both sessions of the lectures in full, receive the complete gift package, and enjoy unlimited access to the lecture videos and estra content through our website. Student tickets are available exclusively to undergraduate students under the age of 25. If necessary, Cemiyet may request and verify your student ID or proof of enrollment.
₺750,00
+₺150,00 KDV
One Seating
With this ticket, you will be able to attend one of the two lectures, according to your preference. If you would like to attend both lectures and access all the lecture content, we recommend purchasing the full participation ticket.
₺1.250,00
+₺250,00 KDV
Scholarship Ticket
By purchasing this ticket, you will enable a student to attend both lectures in full, receive the complete lecture package, and enjoy unlimited access to the lecture content through our website. You will also be informed of the school and department of the student whose participation you have supported.
₺750,00
+₺150,00 KDV
+₺22,50 bilet hizmet bedeli
Davetnâme-i Cemiyet-i Hâssa
This limited-edition ticket is intended as a way of supporting the activities of Cemiyet. You may choose the amount you wish to contribute. By purchasing this ticket, you will be able to attend both lectures in full, receive the complete lecture package, and enjoy unlimited access to the lecture content through our website. In addition, guests who purchase the *Davetnâme-i Cemiyet-i Hâssa* will have a special place reserved for them at the event, with their names displayed at their seats.
₺
Toplam
₺0,00
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