The following is a list of massacres that occurred within what became the borders of present-day Turkey:
Antiquity NameDateLocationDeathsResponsible PartyVictimsNotesFall of Miletus494 BCMiletusMost Milesian menPersian EmpireGreeksHerodotus 6.19.3;Battle of Aegospotami405 BCAegospotami3,000SpartaAthenian sailors3,000 Athenian sailors executedFall of Sestos353 BCSestosAll males of SestosAthensGreeksAsiatic Vespers88 BCAsia (Roman province)80,000–150,000Mithridates VI of PontusRomans and ItaliansValerius Maximus 9.2.3; Memnon 22.9.Plutarch, 24.4.
Middle Ages NameDateLocationDeathsResponsible PartyVictimsNotesNika RevoltJanuary 532Constantinople30,000Byzantine EmpireRiotersAbout thirty thousand rioters were reportedly killed.This is the number given by Procopius, Wars (Internet Medieval Sourcebook.)Sack of AmoriumAugust 838Amorium30,000–70,000Abbasid CaliphateByzantinesBattle of Levounion29 April 1091 Eneztens of thousands Byzantine Empire & CumansPechenegsThe Pechenegs consisting of 80,000 warriors and their families invaded the Byzantine Empire. Near Enez they were ambushed by a combined Byzantine and Cuman army, fighting soon turned into wholesale slaughter. Warriors and civilians were killed and the Pecheneg people were nearly wiped out.Siege of Antioch3 June 1098AntiochMuslim and Christian populationCrusadersMuslim and Christian populationMassacre of the LatinsMay 1182ConstantinopleUncertain – tens of thousandsByzantine mobRoman CatholicsThe bulk of the Latin community, estimated at over 60,000 at the time, was wiped out or forced to flee; some 4,000 survivors were sold as slaves to the Turks. The massacre further worsened relations and increased enmity between the Western and Eastern Christian churches, and a sequence of hostilities between the two followed.Siege of Constantinople (1204)8–13 April 1204Constantinople2,000 CrusadersByzantinesThe city was sacked and looted.Fall of Constantinople1453Constantinople4,000 Ottomans Byzantines4,000 persons of both sexes and all ages were massacred during these days. Moreover, the dwellings and the churches were plundered. Some 30,000 were enslaved.Siege of Trebizond1461William Miller, Trebizond: The last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era: 1204–1461, 1926 (Chicago: Argonaut, 1969), p. 106TrabzonOttomansTrebizonds
Ottoman Empire
Before 1914 NameDateLocationDeathsResponsible PartyVictimsNotesMassacres during the Greek War of Independence1821–1829Ottoman EmpireUnknownOttoman government and Greek rebelsGreeks, Turks, Albanians and JewsMassacres were committed by both sides during the conflict.Massacres of Badr Khan1843-1846Hakkari10,000-15,000Kurdish Emirs of Bhutan, Badr Khan and NurullahAssyriansMany who were not killed were sold into slavery. 1826 Janissaries massacred by government (link to Auspicious Incident).Hamidian massacres1894–1896Eastern Ottoman Empire80,000–300,000Akçam, Taner. A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2006, p. 42. .Ottoman EmpireHamidiye,Turkish, Kurdish tribes Circassian troops Laz troopsArmeniansMassacres of Diyarbakır (1895)1895Diyarbakır Vilayet25,000Young Turks and Kurdish irregularsArmenians and AssyriansAdana massacreApril 1909Adana Vilayet20,000local Turkish nationalist activist, conservative reactionary to Young Turk governmentArmeniansEthnic cleansing of Turks in Edirne during First Balkan WarOctober 1912-June 1913Edirne Vilayet5,000 (excluding Edeköy Massacre)Bulgarian armyTurksHavsa Massacre1912Havsa in Edirne Vilayet10Bulgarian armyTurksTurkish quarter was almost entirely burnt.Edeköy MassacreNovember 1912Edeköy (nowadays Kadıdondurma) in Edirne VilayetThousandsBulgarian armyTurksMany incidents of torture and robbery.Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians1913Thrace; Bulgarköy, Edirne60,000Carnegie (1914). Report of the international commission to inquire into the causes and conduct of the Balkan Wars. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceYoung Turk government, Ottoman armyBulgarians
World War I (1914–1918) NameDateLocationDeathsResponsible PartyVictimsNotes Greek genocideGaunt, David. Massacres, Resistance, Protectors: Muslim-Christian Relations in Eastern Anatolia during World War I. Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2006. 1917–1922 Ottoman Empire 300,000–900,000 Young Turk government Greeks Reports detail massacres, deportations, individual killings, rapes, burning of entire Greek villages, destruction of Greek Orthodox churches and monasteries, drafts for "Labor Brigades", looting, terrorism and other atrocities.The New York Times Advanced search engine for article and headline archives (subscription necessary for viewing article content).Alexander Westwood and Darren O'Brien, , , 2006 Assyrian genocide 1914–1918 Ottoman Empire and Persia 250,000-275,000 Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes Assyrians Denied by the Turkish government. Armenian genocide 1915–1917 Ottoman Empire 600,000-1,500,000 Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes Armenians The Armenians of the eastern regions of the empire were massacred. The Turkish government currently denies the genocide. It is the second most publicised case of genocide after the Holocaust.Yazidi genocide (1915)1915-1917Ottoman Empire300,000-500,000Young Turk government and Kurdish tribesYazidisThe Yazidis were killed in mass, deported and forcefully converted to Islam, nearly wiped out their population.Massacres in Eastern Anatolia1914-1918Eastern Anatolia128,000-600,000 Russian Army and possibly Armenian irregulars Assyrian volunteersMuslim population (Turks and Kurds)According to J. Rummel, 128,000-600,000 Muslim Turks and Kurds were killed (death toll includes death by famine and diseases) by Russian troops and possibly Armenian irregulars and Assyrians during World War I. Massacres in the Çoruh River valley 1916 Çoruh River valley 45,000 Cossack regiments Muslim population (Turks and Kurds) During WWI, Russian "General Liakhov, for instance 'accused the Muslims of treachery, and sent his Cossacks from Batum with orders to kill every native at sight, and burn every village and every mosque. And very efficiently had they performed their task, for as we passed up the Chorokh valley to Artvin not a single habitable dwelling or a single living creature did we see.'"
Post-World War I (1919–1923)
NameDateLocationDeathsResponsible PartyVictimsNotesMassacre in Marash1920Marash, Aleppo Vilayet5,000–12,000TurksArmeniansUn épisode de la tragédie arménienne: le massacre de MaracheJune 11, 1920Yeşiloba, Adana Vilayet64+ to ~200ArmeniansTurksReport which was given to Mustafa Kemal Pasha included 43 men, 21 women and tens of children. Other estimates are up to 200.Karadeniz massacreJanuary 28–29, 1921waters of the Black Sea15Kemalists/Committee of Union and Progress (disputed)Communist Party of TurkeyMustafa Suphi the founder of the Communist Party of Turkey and his 14 comrades were assassinated while they were being sent to Erzurum for trialApril 1–2 1921Cabar,Denizli83Kingdom of GreeceTurks
Republic of Turkey (1923–present)
NameDateLocationDeathsResponsible PartyVictimsNotes Diyarbakir massacre 1925 Diyarbakir Province, Elazığ Province 15,200 (206 villages destroyed) Turkish security forces Kurds Part of Deportations of Kurds between 1916 and 1934. Zilan massacre July 1930 Van Province 5,000–15,000 Turkish security forces Kurds 5,000 women, children, and elderly people were reportedly killedAhmet Kahraman, ibid, pp. 207–208. 1934 Thrace pogroms21 June-4 July 1934Thrace1Local peopleJewsOver 15,000 Jews had to flee from regionDersim rebellionSummer 1937-Spring 1938Tunceli Province13,806–70,000Turkish security forcesAlevi Kurds/ZazasThe killings have been condemned by some as an ethnocide or genocideThe Suppression of the Dersim Rebellion in Turkey (1937–38) Excerpts from: Martin van Bruinessen, "Genocide in Kurdistan? The suppression of the Dersim rebellion in Turkey (1937–38) and the chemical war against the Iraqi Kurds (1988)", in: George J. Andreopoulos (ed), Conceptual and historical dimensions of genocide. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1994, pp. 141–170.İsmail Besikçi, Tunceli Kanunu (1935) ve Dersim Jenosidi, Belge Yayınları, 1990.Zini Rift Massacre6 August 1938Erzincan Province95Turkish security forcesKurdsMuğlalı incidentJuly 1943Van Province32Turkish security forcesKurds33 Kurdish villagers were extrajudicially executed by General Mustafa Muğlalı for allegedly smuggling livestock, one of them escaped.Karahan village massacreOctober 1944Van Province6Turkish security forcesKurds6 Kurdish villagers were extrajudicially executed by General Mustafa Muğlalı. This was the second massacre of Muğlalı, with the possibility of more uncovered massacres having been committed.Istanbul pogrom6–7 September 1955Istanbul13–30Turkish governmentprimarily Greeks, as well as Armenians, JewsThe killings are identified as genocidal by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas.Alfred de Zayas publication about the Istanbul Pogrom Many of the non-Muslim minorities, mostly Greek Christians, forced to leave Turkey. Several churches are demolished by explosives.Taksim Square massacreMay 1, 1977Taksim Square in Istanbul34-42Some unidentified armed peopleLeftist demonstrators, civilians Beyazıt massacre March 16, 1978 Istanbul 7 Grey Wolves, Turkish deep state (alleged) Leftist university students Cemil Sönmez, Baki Ekiz, Hatice Özen, Abdullah Şimşek, Murat Kurt, Hamdi Akıl and Turan Ören were killed and 41 others were injured by a bomb that was followed by gunfire March 16, 1978.Ümraniye massacreMarch 17, 1978Ümraniye in Istanbul5Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–LeninistGrey Wolves affiliated workersGrey Wolves claim that the victims were badly tortured. Reaction to the aforementioned Beyazıt massacre.Malatya massacreApril 17, 1978Malatya Province8Grey Wolves, SalafistsAlevi TurksGrey Wolves and salafists attacked Alevi regions of city after assassination of leaving 8 dead, including 3 children and 100 wounded. 1000 shops were looted and destroyed.Balgat massacreAugust 10, 1978Çankaya, Ankara5Grey WolvesCivilians (claimed that they were leftist) Bahçelievler massacre October 9, 1978 Bahçelievler, Ankara 7 Grey Wolves Workers' Party of Turkey member students Maraş massacre December 19–26, 1978 Kahramanmaraş Province 109 Grey Wolves Alevi KurdsPiyangotepe massacreMay 16, 1979Keçiören in Ankara 7Grey WolvesCiviliansAdana high school massacreSeptember 19, 1979Adana Construction Vocational High School6Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–LeninistGrey Wolves affiliated teachersMüslüm Teke, Yılmaz Kızılay, Davut Korkmaz, Ahmet Güleç, Özcan Doruk and Mustafa Karaca were killed by 2 Leftist men. Reaction to the aforementioned Maraş massacre where the Grey Wolves killed more than a hundred civilians. Çorum massacre May–July, 1980 Çorum Province 57Cüneyt Arcayürek: Darbeler ve Gizli Servisler, (Sayfa.221) Grey Wolves Alevi Turks Ortabağ massacreJanuary 23, 1987Uludere in Şırnak Province8PKKCivilians Pınarcık massacre June 20, 1987 Pınarcık in Mardin Province 30 JİTEM/PKK (disputed) CiviliansÇevrimli massacreJune 11, 1990Güçlükonak in Şırnak Province27PKKCiviliansIn the massacre, 27 people were killed, 12 were children and 7 were women. 4 village guards died in clashes with PKK members, 1 PKK member was killed.Çetinkaya Store massacreDecember 25, 1991Bakırköy in Istanbul11PKKCiviliansThe PKK attacks a store in the Bakırköy district with Molotov cocktails, resulting in 11 deaths, including 7 women and 1 child.Cevizdalı massacreOctober 21, 1992Cevizdalı in Bitlis Province30PKKCiviliansCevizdali village of Bitlis was raided during the nighttime, PKK militias killed 30 people, including 8 children, and wounded 20 others. Militias then burned whole the village by the news they received that soldiers are on the way to the village.The Kurds of Turkey: Killings, Disappearances and Torture Sivas massacre