Ottoman Armenian Document #39
N°1119 – Donation request for authorization of transfer by XXXXX following the inheritance of 3/12 of a plot of land measuring 100 square feet, located in the Téké-Zemian district. Donor: Soultan. Donee: Armenian Catholic community. Transmitted to the Administrative Controller of the Land Registry for review and appeal. Adana, October 16, 1921. Signed by the Director of the Land Registry: Habib.
Name/Title
Ottoman Armenian Document #39Scope and Content
Inheritance request N°1119 records a donation request made by an individual named XXXXX for the transfer of inherited property—specifically, 3/12 of a 100-square-foot plot in the Téké-Zemian (Tekke-Zimyan) district of Adana. The land, owned by the Sultan(?), was to be donated to the Armenian Catholic community. The request was sent to the Administrative Controller of the Land Registry for review and possible appeal, and was signed in Adana by the Director of the Land Registry, Habib, on October 16, 1921. This document was created during a short period of French control over Cilicia (1919–1921), when France occupied the region following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. French forces entered Adana in October 1919, supported by local Armenians and volunteers. During this time, many Armenians who had been forced from their homes during the 1915 genocide tried to reclaim lost properties, relying on French military and administrative protection to do so. But these efforts happened in the middle of ongoing violence. On January 14, 1920 (Kânûn-ı Sânî 1, 920 Sâli), Armenian homes and the church in the Zimyan neighborhood were burned. It was one of several attacks during the French-Turkish conflict that made legal and civil recovery difficult and dangerous. Request N°1119 is one of many attempts by Armenians to recover land during this uncertain time. But the chance to reclaim property didn’t last. Just four days after this document was signed, France signed the Treaty of Ankara (October 20, 1921) and agreed to hand Cilicia over to the Turkish National Movement. After that, Armenians in the region faced renewed violence and were forced to flee once again. This request is one of the last examples of Armenians trying to legally recover property before French forces withdrew and Armenian life in the region came to an end.Category
Misc. Documents