Durham E-Theses The settlement of Armenian refugees in Syria and Lebanon, 1915-1939. Greenshields, Thomas Hugh How to cite: Greenshields, Thomas Hugh (1978) The settlement of Armenian refugees in Syria and Lebanon, 1915-1939., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1868/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk i T. H. Greenshields The Settlement of Armenian Refugees in Syria and Lebanon, 1915-1939 Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1978 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. ii Abstract This thesis investigates the settlement of Armenian refugees in Syria and Lebanon between 1915 and 1939. The topic was conceived not so much as a refugee study but as a study of the processes of minority settlement in the Middle East., for while the importance of the ethnic mosaic pattern in the area has long been recognised, there have been few studies of the processes involved in the evolution of this pattern. A study of the processes of Armenian settlement would enable an assessment of the relative significance of ethnicity, economic status and political manipulation in determining the settlement pattern as well as test the writer's assumption of the interdependence of these constraints. While for purposes of analysis the principal constraints on settlement were investigated separately, and regional and urban patterns were differentiated, the object of the study was not to test individually the significan Ice of the various constraints discussed, but to construct an overall picture of the processes in operation against which their significance could ultimately be tested. The study reveals that while economic and social constraints acted powerfully to inhibit dispersal and maintain concentrationg political manipulation was less significant. In all respects, however, social, economic and Political constraints were interdependent and their principal effect was to maintain a self-perpetuating process of concentration and segregation, ý4i To Mum and Dad iv Acknowledgement s I wish to acknowledge with gratitude the opportunity given to pursue this research by Professor W. B. Fisher, the patient advice of my supervisor, Dick Lawless, the assistance given to me in the field by members of the Armenian community of Syria and Lebanon, the patience and support of my cousins Ken and Dorothy and the help and encouragement of my colleagues, friends and relations. V Contents Pagge Introduction 1 Chapter 1. The Historical Background 26 Armenia and the Armenians 26 The Armenians in the Ottoman Empire on 29 the Eve of the First World War The Armenians in Syria 38 The "Armenian Question" 50 Chapter 2. The Refugee Migrations and the 55 Evolution of the Armenian Population of Syria and Lebanon, 1915-1939 Repatriation 55 The Indigenous Armenian Population 57 The Refugee Migrations 59 The Rescue of Women and Children 63 Naturalisation 64 Emigration 64 Demography 67 Population Totals 78 Conclusions 89 Chapter 3. The Armenians in Syria and Lebanon: 91 Population Distribution Origins, Migrations and Arrival Points 91 Distribution 102 103 French offical estimates Non-French estimates 167 Estimates for Particular Regions & Towns 174 Rural-urban distribution 199 Conclusions 200 Chapter 4. Economic Constraints on --Dettlement 203 Introduction 203 Occupational Structure and Settlement 206 vi Page .a. &- Economic Status and Settlement 266 Conclusions 282 Chapter 5. Settlement Schemes 285 First Attempts 285 Early French Attempts at Redistribution 285 Karen Jeppe 290 The need for large-scale schemes 294 The Carle Proposals 298 The Nansen Office Settlement Scheme 300 Initial proposals 300 Ras ul Ain 309 Proposals for settlement in the Interior 311 Settlement in the Sanjak of Alexandretta 313 Massiaf (Mouchachene Armene) 316 The Adoption of Alternative schemes of 317 Urban Resettlement The revival of plans for large-scale 319 colonisation Reappraisal 321 Private initiatives 323 The f or tunes of the Nansen Office 325 settlements Conclusions 342 Chapter 6. Social and Political Constraints on 344 Settlement Armenian Social Aspirations and Political 344 Divisions The Acceptance of permanent settlement 344 Security of culture and security of life 348 Religious Segregation and Political 353 Rivalries Conclusions 359 The attitude of the Indigenous Population 360 The political motives and social constraints 367 behind French policy Conclusions 393 vii Paae Urban Settlement : Introduction 395 Chapter 7. Urban Settlement : Aleppo 397 Distribution within the City 397 The Camps 399 Social Structure of the Camps 405 Living Conditions within the Camps 06 The persistence of the Camps 411 The Transfer to New Quarters 412 Social Structure of the New Quarters 423 Living Conditions in the New Quarters 426 Conclusions 428 431 Chapter 8. Urban Settlement : Beirut Distribution 431 The Camps 441 Social Structure of the Camps 446 Living Conditions 447 The Transfer to New Quarters 450 472 Social Structure of the New Quarters Living Conditions in the New Quarters 477 Conclusions 479 Chapter 9. Urban Settlement : Damascuss, Alexandretta 481 and Conclusions Damascus 481 Distribution 481 484 Social Structure and Living Conditions 484 The Nansen Office Quarter 488 Social Structure and Living Conditions in the Nansen Office Quarter Conclusion 490 Alexandretta 490 490 Initial Settlement and Living Conditions Resettlement 493 Conclusion 497 497 Urban Settlement : Conclusions viii Page Conclusions 500 A-r-, Orphanages f or Armenians in Syria 520 _ppendix. and Lebanon, 1920-1939 Abbreviations 522 References 524 Archives consulted 565 Bibliography 566 Maps 584 List of Figures Fig. 32 1 .1 Distribution of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, after Cuinet 1.2 Distribution of Armenians in the 33 Ottoman Empire, after Ormanian 1.3 Distribution of Armenians in Syria 41 and Lebanon, after Cuinet 1.4 Centres of Armenian settlement in 46 north-west Syria before the Great War 1.5 Armenian dwellings in the Antioch 47 region before 1909 (after Brezol) 2.1 Origin of Armenian deportees repatriated 58 from Damascus, 1918 2.2 Destination of refugees leaving Syria 66 and Lebanon, Juneq 1928 - June, 1929 2.3 Age - Sex Pyramid for the Nansen Office 72 Dec 1927 settlements . j, ix Page Fig. 2.4 Children as percentage Armenian 75 population in the Nansen Office rural settlements 3.1 Migration of Christian Refugees from 93 Cilicia to Syria, Nov., 1921 to Jan., 1922 3.2 Origin of Armenian Migrants to Syria, 96 1922-24 and 1929-30 3.3 Origin of Armenian Refugee Families 98 in Northern Syria, 1925 3.4 Origin of Armenian Refugees in Lebanon 99 requesting Naturalisation, February,, 1932 3.5 Armenian Migration from the Sanjak of 101 Alexandretta, June-July, 1939 3.6 Administrative Divisions of the French 104 Mandated Levant States, Dec., 1925 3.7 Administrative Divisions of Syria and 106 Lebanon, 1939 3.8 Distribution of Armenians in the State log of Damascus and the Sanjak of Alexandretta according to the Census of 1922 3.9 Distribution of Armenians in Syria and 117 Lebanon according to the Civil Register 1926 3.10 Distribution of Armenians in Lebanon,, 1932 126 3.11 Distribution of Armenians in the Sanjak 131 of Alexandretta, 1936 3.12 Distribution of Armenians in the Syrian 136 Republic Dec 31 at - , 1938 3.13 Distribution of Armenians in Lebanon, 148 Dec. 31,19439 by District 3.14 Distribution of Armenians in Lebanon, 149 Dec, 31,, 19431, by settlement 3-15 Distribution of Refugees in Syria and 152 Lebanon,, May 1927 after Duguet (1928) 198 3.16 Distribution of Orphanages for Armenians in Syria and Lebanon 1920-39 5.1 Agricultural colonies for Armenian 292 Refugees established in Syria & Lebanon., 1922-1939, and areas suggested for settlement x Page Fig. 7.1 Armenian Refugee "Camps" in Aleppo, 403 1920-1930 7.2 Changes in the Built-up Area of North 404 Aleppo 1931-1941 .00 7.3 Plan of the A. C. O. Quarter in Davidie, 424 Aleppo, 1939 8.1 Distribution of Armenian Population in 432 Beirut, 1932 8.2 Location Quotients for Different 433 Population Groups in Beirut, 1932 8.3 Changes in the Built-up Area of East 444 Beirut,, 1922-1935 8.4 Changes in the Built-up Area of East 46o Beirut,, 1934/35 - 1939/41 8.5 Development of the new Armenian quarters 468 of Beirut 9.1 Armenian "Quarters" in Damascus, 1920-1939 482 List of Plates 5.1 Kirik Khane 5.2 Kirik Khane 5.3 Haiachene 5.4 Rihaniye 00, 7.1-7.4 Aleppo "camp" 7.5 Aleppo : demolishing the camps 7.6-7.7 Aleppo 4*Pbuilding the new quarters 7.8 Meidan quarter,, Aleppo 8.1-8.2 Beirut "camp" 8.3 Beirut : Les Pavillons 8.4 Beirut : Nor Marache 8.5 Beirut : Nor Adana 8.6 Beirut : Nor Hadjin 9.1 Nansen Office quarter, Damascus 9.2 Alexandretta camp xi Note on Standardisation of Names 'ý,ihere possible names have been standardised, according to French Levant Series T contemporary mapping. .1,; ames of places outside Syria and Lebanon have been standardised.