&quote;They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else&quote;

A definitive history of the 20th century's first major genocide on its 100th anniversaryStarting 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.

Acknowledgments ixIntroduction xi
Sources, Notes, and Transliteration xxiii
1 Empire 1
2 Armenians 31
3 Nation 64
4 Great Powers 91
5 Revolution 141
6 Counterrevolution 174
7 War 208
8 Removal 246
9 Genocide 281
10 Orphaned Nation 328
Conclusion: Thinking about the Unthinkable: Genocide 350Historians Look at the Armenian Genocide: A Bibliographical Discussion 367Notes 375Index 463