Armenia and Imperial Decline

Armenia and Imperial Decline

Author: George Bournoutian

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-05-15

Total Pages: 790

ISBN-13: 1351062603

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This book seeks, for the first time, to examine the demography and the social and economic conditions in the Yerevan Province during the first decade of the twentieth century, before the great changes that occurred during World War I and the seven decades of Soviet rule. Unlike in Tiflis and Baku, the Armenian inhabitants of the Yerevan Province were overwhelmingly peasants. They did not play a major role in the political, intellectual or economic life of the South Caucasus. The aim of the book is to prove conclusively that the Armenians of the Yerevan Province not only benefited from living under the umbrella of imperial security, but, as junior and senior officials, they also acquired important administrative and professional skills. The social and economic changes of the last decade of Russian rule enabled the local Armenians to advance and, following the collapse of the Russian Empire, to occupy posts previously held by Russians. Thus, despite the absence of their most talented individuals and the lack of experienced political leaders, as well as the loss of half their territory to Turkish attacks in 1918, the local Armenian administration, in the face of terrible conditions and great odds, provided the foundation which allowed the Armenian Republic to maintain its independence until December of 1920. In fact, some of the survivors would assist in the modernization and nation building of Soviet Armenia. Providing a detailed overview of the history of the Yerevan Province in the late imperial age, this book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in the History of Armenia, the Russian Empire and the Caucasus.


Imperial Ends

Imperial Ends

Author: Alexander J. Motyl

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2001-08-01

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13: 9780231506700

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Despite their historical importance, empires have received scant attention from social scientists. Now, Alexander J. Motyl examines the structure, dynamics, and continuing relevance of empire—and asks, "Why do empires decline? Why do some empires collapse? And why do some collapsed empires revive?" Rejecting choice-centered theories of imperial decline, Motyl maintains that the very structure of empires promotes decay and that decay in turn facilitates the progressive loss of territory. Although most major empires have in fact declined in this manner, some, such as the Soviet Union, have collapsed suddenly and comprehensively. Motyl explains how and why collapse occurs, why such an outcome is hard to foresee, and why some collapsed empires revive. While broad-ranging historically and empirically, Imperial Ends focuses on five modern empires: the Soviet, Romanov, Ottoman, Habsburg, and Wilhelmine. Examining the possibility of a revival of the Soviet empire, Motyl points out that the expansion of NATO and the European Union, along with increasing globalization, will isolate Russia and its neighbors, promoting their dependence upon one another and perhaps facilitating the rise of the former core. With boldly stated conclusions and concise analytical interpretations, Imperial Ends cohesively illustrates to policymakers and social scientists alike the importance of possible imperial revivals and the rise of future empires.


Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire

Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire

Author: Parvaneh Pourshariati

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2017-03-30

Total Pages: 628

ISBN-13: 1786729814

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I.B.Tauris in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation Decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire has been acclaimed as one of the most intellectually exciting books about late antique Persia to have been published for years. It proposes a convincing contemporary answer to an age-old mystery and conundrum: why, in the seventh century ce, did the seemingly powerful and secure Sasanian empire of Persia succumb so quickly and disastrously to the all-conquering armies of Islam? In her bold solution to this enigma, Parvaneh Pourshariati explains that the decentralized dynastic system of the Sasanian ruling hierarchy in fact contained the seeds of its own destruction. This confederacy, whose powerbase relied on patronage and preferment, eventually became unstable, and its degeneration sealed the fate of a doomed dynasty.


The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire

The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire

Author: Alan Palmer

Publisher: Barnes & Noble Publishing

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9781566198479

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Like England's Charles II, the Ottoman Empire took "an unconscionable time dying." Since the seventeenth century, observers had been predicting the collapse of this so-called Sick Man of Europe, yet it survived all its rivals. As late as 1910, the Ottoman Empire straddled three continents. Unlike the Romanovs, Habsburgs, or Hohenzollerns, the House of Osman, which had allied itself with the Kaiser, was still recognized as an imperial dynasty during the peace conference following World War I. "The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" offers a provocative view of the empire's decline, from the failure to take Vienna in 1683 to the abolition of the Sultanate by Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) in 1922 during a revolutionary upsurge in Turkish national pride. The narrative contains instances of violent revolt and bloody reprisals, such as the massacres of Armenians in 1896, and other "ethnic episodes" in Crete and Macedonia. More generally, it emphasizes recurring problems: competition between religious and secular authority; the acceptance or rejection of Western ideas; and the strength or weakness of successive Sultans. The book also highlights the special challenges of the early twentieth century, when railways and oilfields gave new importance to Ottoman lands in the Middle East. Events of the past few years have placed the problems that faced the last Sultans back on the world agenda. The old empire's outposts in the Balkans and in Iraq are still considered trouble spots. Alan Palmer offers considerable insight into the historical roots of many contemporary problems: the Kurdish struggle for survival, the sad continuity of conflict in Lebanon, and the centuries-old Muslim presence in Sarajevo. He also recounts the Ottoman Empire's lingering interests in their oil-rich Libyan provinces. By exploring that legacy over the past three centuries, "The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" examines a past whose effect on the present may go a long way toward explaining the future. Praise for "The Decline and Fall of the Ottoman Empire" "Alan Palmer writes the sort of history that dons did before 'accessible' became an academic insult. It is cool, rational, scholarly, literate."--John Keegan "A scholarly, readable and balanced history."--"The Independent on Sunday" "A marvellously readable book based on massive research."--Robert Blake


The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity

The Young Turks' Crime Against Humanity

Author: Taner Akçam

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 529

ISBN-13: 0691153337

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Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in unprecedented detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. Presenting these previously inaccessible documents along with expert context and analysis, Taner Akçam's most authoritative work to date goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing.Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a "crime against humanity and civilization," the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's "official history" rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that Akçam now uses to overturn the official narrative.The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic.By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.


Shattering Empires

Shattering Empires

Author: Michael A. Reynolds

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-01-27

Total Pages: 341

ISBN-13: 1139494120

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The break-up of the Ottoman empire and the disintegration of the Russian empire were watershed events in modern history. The unravelling of these empires was both cause and consequence of World War I and resulted in the deaths of millions. It irrevocably changed the landscape of the Middle East and Eurasia and reverberates to this day in conflicts throughout the Caucasus and Middle East. Shattering Empires draws on extensive research in the Ottoman and Russian archives to tell the story of the rivalry and collapse of two great empires. Overturning accounts that portray their clash as one of conflicting nationalisms, this pioneering study argues that geopolitical competition and the emergence of a new global interstate order provide the key to understanding the course of history in the Ottoman-Russian borderlands in the twentieth century. It will appeal to those interested in Middle Eastern, Russian, and Eurasian history, international relations, ethnic conflict, and World War I.


"They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else"

Author: Ronald Grigor Suny

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2017-05-09

Total Pages: 517

ISBN-13: 0691175969

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A definitive history of the 20th century's first major genocide on its 100th anniversary Starting in early 1915, the Ottoman Turks began deporting and killing hundreds of thousands of Armenians in the first major genocide of the twentieth century. By the end of the First World War, the number of Armenians in what would become Turkey had been reduced by 90 percent—more than a million people. A century later, the Armenian Genocide remains controversial but relatively unknown, overshadowed by later slaughters and the chasm separating Turkish and Armenian interpretations of events. In this definitive narrative history, Ronald Suny cuts through nationalist myths, propaganda, and denial to provide an unmatched account of when, how, and why the atrocities of 1915–16 were committed. Drawing on archival documents and eyewitness accounts, this is an unforgettable chronicle of a cataclysm that set a tragic pattern for a century of genocide and crimes against humanity.


Imperial Rule

Imperial Rule

Author: Alekse? I. Miller

Publisher: Central European University Press

Published: 2004-01-01

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9789639241985

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Renowned academics compare major features of imperial rule in the 19th century, reflecting a significant shift away from nationalism and toward empires in the studies of state building. The book responds to the current interest in multi-unit formations, such as the European Union and the expanded outreach of the United States. National historical narratives have systematically marginalized imperial dimensions, yet empires play an important role. This book examines the methods discerned in the creation of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Ottoman Empire, the Hohenzollern rule and Imperial Russia. It inspects the respective imperial elites in these empires, and it details the role of nations, religions and ideologies in the legitimacy of empire building, bringing the Spanish Empire into the analysis. The final part of the book focuses on modern empires, such as the German "Reich." The essays suggest that empires were more adaptive and resilient to change than is commonly thought.


The Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire

The Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire

Author: John Bagnell Bury

Publisher: e-artnow

Published: 2019-05-29

Total Pages: 1380

ISBN-13:

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This carefully crafted ebook "Rise and Decline of the Roman Empire" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents: The Principate The Joint Government of the Princeps and Senate The Family of Augustus and His Plans to Found a Dynasty Rome and Parthia The Winning and Losing of Germany Rome Under Augustus Literature of the Augustan Age The Principate of Tiberius The Principate of Gaius Caligula The Principate of Claudius The Conquest of Britain The Principate of Nero The Wars for Armenia The Principate of Galba, and the Year of the Four Emperors Rebellions in Germany and Judea The Flavian Emperors Britain and Germany Under the Flavians Nerva and Trajan — the Conquest of Dacia Literature From the Death of Tiberius to Trajan The Principate of Hadrian The Principate of Antoninus Pius The Principate of Marcus Aurelius Literature Under Hadrian and the Antonines The Roman World Under the Empire — Politics, Philosophy, Religion and Art Roman Life and Manners Decline and the Last Years of the Roman Empire The Constitution of the Monarchy The Administrative Machinery Constantinople The Neighbours of the Empire at the End of the Fourth Century The Supremacy of Stilicho The German Invasions Under Honorius Theodosius II and Marcian The Dismemberment of the Empire in the West The Empire of Attila Leo I and Ricimer's Rule in Italy Church and State The Reign of Zeno, and the German Viceroyalty in Italy The Reign of Anastasius I and the Viceroyalty of Theoderic The Empire and Persia Justin I and Justinian I The Persian Wars The Reconquest of Africa The Reconquest of Italy Diplomacy and Commerce Administrative Reforms and Finance Ecclesiastical Policy The Legislative Work of Justinian Procopius


An Armenian Sketchbook

An Armenian Sketchbook

Author: Vasily Grossman

Publisher: New York Review of Books

Published: 2013-02-19

Total Pages: 161

ISBN-13: 1590176359

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An NYRB Classics Original Few writers had to confront as many of the last century’s mass tragedies as Vasily Grossman, who wrote with terrifying clarity about the Shoah, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the Terror Famine in the Ukraine. An Armenian Sketchbook, however, shows us a very different Grossman, notable for his tenderness, warmth, and sense of fun. After the Soviet government confiscated—or, as Grossman always put it, “arrested”—Life and Fate, he took on the task of revising a literal Russian translation of a long Armenian novel. The novel was of little interest to him, but he needed money and was evidently glad of an excuse to travel to Armenia. An Armenian Sketchbook is his account of the two months he spent there. This is by far the most personal and intimate of Grossman’s works, endowed with an air of absolute spontaneity, as though he is simply chatting to the reader about his impressions of Armenia—its mountains, its ancient churches, its people—while also examining his own thoughts and moods. A wonderfully human account of travel to a faraway place, An Armenian Sketchbook also has the vivid appeal of a self-portrait.