
The Armenian Genocide, which took place between 1915 and 1916, was a meticulously planned resettlement policy for Armenians, carried out by the Ottoman Empire. The Empire was governed according to Islamic law, which relegated non-Muslims to second-class status. The Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation, authorised the arrest and deportation of the country's entire ethnic Armenian population. This was followed by the Abandoned Properties Law, which gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate all land, homes, livestock, and other property belonging to the deported Armenians. These acts set the stage for the genocide that followed, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Arrest and deportation of the entire ethnic Armenian population | The Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation, was passed by the Ottoman Parliament on May 27, 1915, and went into effect on June 1, 1915. |
| Confiscation of property belonging to deported Armenians | The Abandoned Properties Law of September 13, 1915, gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate all land, homes, livestock, and other property belonging to deported Armenians. |
| Denial of basic civil rights and imposition of extra taxes on non-Muslims | The Ottoman Empire, governed by Islamic law, relegated non-Muslims to second-class status. |
| Deliberate degeneration of living conditions, forced deportation, and starvation | Turkey engaged in a meticulously planned resettlement policy for Armenians, which qualifies as "genocide" under international law, regardless of the number of deaths. |
| Incompetent handling of trials and lack of international laws for prosecution | Turkish courts-martial convicted and sentenced some perpetrators of the Armenian genocide to death, but their incompetency in holding fair trials led to the UK seizing some perpetrators and transporting them to Malta. The absence of international laws at the time allowed the orchestrators of the genocide to travel freely. |
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What You'll Learn
- The Tehcir Law, or Temporary Act of Deportation, authorised the arrest and deportation of all ethnic Armenians
- The Abandoned Properties Law gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate property belonging to deported Armenians
- The millet system deprived Armenians of political participation
- The Turkish government passed a law assigning property to the relatives of Ottoman leaders assassinated for their role in the Armenian genocide
- The UK seized some perpetrators of the Armenian genocide from Ottoman authorities, but they were not tried under international law

The Tehcir Law, or Temporary Act of Deportation, authorised the arrest and deportation of all ethnic Armenians
On 27 May 1915, the Ottoman Parliament passed the Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation. This law authorised the arrest and deportation of the entire ethnic Armenian population of the country. It came into effect on 1 June 1915 and expired on 8 February 1916.
The Tehcir Law was the first in a series of laws that set the stage for the Armenian Genocide. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forcibly marched out into the Syrian Desert and left without food or water to die. The Ottoman Empire, which was in existence from 1300 to 1923, was governed according to Islamic law, which relegated non-Muslims to second-class status by denying them basic civil rights and requiring them to pay extra taxes. This discriminatory system was institutionalised through the so-called millet system, which permitted the Armenians communal autonomy as a religious minority while depriving them of all forms of political participation.
The second law, the "Abandoned Properties Law" of 13 September 1915, gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate all land, homes, livestock, and other property belonging to the deported Armenians. This was followed by Law Number 882, passed by the Turkish government on 31 May 1926, which assigned property to the relatives of Ottoman leaders assassinated for their role in the Armenian Genocide. This law covered the families of important CUP members such as Talaat Pasha, Ahmet Cemal Pasha, Said Halim Pasha, and Behaeddin Shakir, among others.
Despite the lack of international laws in place at the time to prosecute the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, historians have since qualified the events as a "genocide" under international law, which includes the deliberate degeneration of living conditions for entire ethnic groups, as well as their forced deportation and starvation, regardless of the result.
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The Abandoned Properties Law gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate property belonging to deported Armenians
The Armenian Genocide, which took place between 1915 and 1916, was carried out by the Ottoman Empire, which was governed by Islamic law. The Ottoman Parliament passed the Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation, on May 27, 1915, which authorised the arrest and deportation of the country's entire ethnic Armenian population. This law went into effect on June 1, 1915, and expired on February 8, 1916.
On September 13, 1915, the Ottoman government passed the Abandoned Properties Law, which gave them the right to confiscate all land, homes, livestock, and other property belonging to the deported Armenians. This law set the stage for the genocide that followed, as hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forcibly marched into the Syrian Desert without food or water and left to die.
The Abandoned Properties Law was a clear violation of the basic civil rights of the Armenian people, who were already denied political participation and subjected to discriminatory taxation under the millet system. This law effectively stripped Armenians of their property and belongings, leaving them with nothing as they were deported and marched to their deaths.
The Armenian Genocide was a meticulously planned and premeditated act of violence and deportation, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. While there were no international laws in place at the time to prosecute those responsible, the term "genocide" under international law includes the deliberate degeneration of living conditions and forced deportation of ethnic groups, regardless of the number of deaths.
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The millet system deprived Armenians of political participation
The Armenian Genocide, which took place between 1915 and 1916, was a violation of international law. The Ottoman Empire, which was governed by Islamic law, passed the Tehcir Law (also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation) on 27 May 1915. This law authorised the arrest and deportation of the country's entire ethnic Armenian population. The law came into effect on 1 June 1915 and expired on 8 February 1916.
The millet system, which was a discriminatory system institutionalised by the Ottoman Empire, deprived Armenians of political participation. This system relegated non-Muslims to second-class status by denying them basic civil rights and requiring them to pay extra taxes. While the millet system permitted the Armenians communal autonomy as a religious minority, it also stripped them of any political power.
The Armenian Genocide also involved the deliberate degeneration of living conditions for entire ethnic groups, as well as their forced deportation and starvation. Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forcibly marched into the Syrian Desert without food or water and left to die. This treatment of the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire qualifies as "genocide" under international law, regardless of the number of deaths.
The perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide were not tried under international law, as none existed at the time. However, some of the principal perpetrators were convicted and sentenced to death by Turkish courts-martial in 1919.
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The Turkish government passed a law assigning property to the relatives of Ottoman leaders assassinated for their role in the Armenian genocide
The Armenian Genocide, which took place between 1915 and 1916, was carried out by the Ottoman Empire, which was governed by Islamic law. The Ottoman Parliament passed the Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation, which authorised the arrest and deportation of the country's entire ethnic Armenian population. This was followed by the "Abandoned Properties Law", which gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate all property belonging to the deported Armenians.
On 31 May 1926, the Turkish government passed Law Number 882, which assigned property to the relatives of Ottoman leaders assassinated for their role in the Armenian Genocide. This law covered the families of important CUP members such as Talaat Pasha, Ahmet Cemal Pasha, Said Halim Pasha, and Behaeddin Shakir, among others. The law stated that they would be allocated property belonging to "fugitive Armenians".
The Armenian Genocide was a meticulously planned resettlement policy for Armenians, who were blamed for undermining the Ottoman Empire during World War I. The genocide resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians, who were forcibly marched into the Syrian Desert and left without food or water. While some of the principal perpetrators were convicted and sentenced to death by Turkish courts-martial in 1919, there were no international laws in place at the time to try them, and they travelled relatively freely throughout Germany, Italy, and Central Asia.
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The UK seized some perpetrators of the Armenian genocide from Ottoman authorities, but they were not tried under international law
The Armenian Genocide, which took place between 1915 and 1916, was carried out by the Ottoman Empire, which was governed according to Islamic law. This system relegated non-Muslims to second-class status, denying them basic civil rights and requiring them to pay extra taxes. The Ottoman Parliament passed the Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation, which authorised the arrest and deportation of the country's entire ethnic Armenian population. This was followed by the "Abandoned Properties Law", which gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate all property belonging to the deported Armenians.
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Frequently asked questions
The Armenian Genocide broke Islamic law, which relegated non-Muslims to second-class status by denying them basic civil rights and requiring them to pay extra taxes. It also broke international law, which defines 'genocide' as the deliberate degeneration of living conditions for entire ethnic groups, as well as their forced deportation and starvation, regardless of the result.
The Tehcir Law, also known as the Temporary Act of Deportation, was passed by the Ottoman Parliament on May 27, 1915. This law authorised the arrest and deportation of the country's entire ethnic Armenian population.
The Abandoned Properties Law was passed on September 13, 1915, and gave the Ottoman government the right to confiscate all land, homes, livestock, and other property belonging to the deported Armenians.



































