The Ottoman Empire ruled over the ancient armenian's homeland in the 1800's and by the end of the 1800's educated armenians were asking for a political reform of the Armenian Empire. The Armenian's wanted a constitution, the right to vote, and an end to discrimation again armenian's because they were christians. Sultan Abdul Hamid was the ruler, and he responded to this plee for chage by persucation of the armenian's and massacres. 100,000 Armenian's were killed between 1894 and 1896 alone. But the Sultan was over thrown and young turks took over in 1908, proposing a constitutional government. On the contrary, in 1913 three young turks by the names of Mehmed Talaat, Ismail Enver and Ahmed Djemal. They had ideas of one religion and one language and also expansion at the expense of the Armenians who were massacred again in 1909. In 1914, Armenians in the army had their weapons confiscated and they were put into slave labor battalions building roads or were used as human pack animals. Orders by the Three young leaders were sent out to exterminate Armenians and town by town person by person Armenians were taken by their homes and shops to be shot or hung. There were death marches, the young women were taken to live a life in servitude, sexual abuse, mercissly beaten. In the death marches, 75% of the armenians died and those who didnt were drowned, or taken to a cliff, or burned alive. When other countries became aware of this mass killing they became involved and in August of 1920 the Treaty of Sevres was signed by the Allied Powers, the Republic of Armenia, and the new moderate leaders of Turkey. The treaty recognized an independent Armenian state in an area comprising much of the former historic homeland.
http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/armenian_genocide.htm
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