Property Deed #46
Demande d'autorisation de transfert par vente la moitié de deux maisons d'une superficie totale de 500 pies, sise quartier Ganissef(?), appartenant à Madame Anush, fille de Panoss, aux noms de ses héritiers. Transmis le dossier y concernant à Monsieur le chef du contrôle du cadastre, pour examen et retour. Adana, la 14 Septembre 1336. Le directeur par intérim signé: Salaheddin
Name/Title
Property Deed #46Scope and Content
Issued on September 14, 1920 (14 Eylül 1336), this administrative record—signed by Acting Director Salaheddin in Adana—documents a formal request for the transfer of property rights via sale. The dossier concerns the sale of a one-half share of two houses with a combined area of 500 pies (paces/arşın). The property, located in the Ganissef? quarter of Adana, was registered to Madame Anush, daughter of Panoss (Panossian), and the transfer is processed in the names of her heirs. Following standard bureaucratic procedure, the document directs the relevant files to the Head of Cadastral Control for formal examination and subsequent return. The request reflects a fleeting moment of legal continuity under the French occupation of Cilicia (1919–1921). French forces had entered Adana in October 1919 as part of the Allied division of former Ottoman territories following World War I. Backed by Armenian volunteers and local communities, the French aimed to stabilize the region and reestablish civil governance. During this period, many Armenian families—dispossessed during the 1915 genocide—sought to reclaim ancestral properties under French military and administrative protection. Documents like this one stand as evidence of those efforts to restore legal ownership amid deep political uncertainty. However, this fragile window soon closed. With the Treaty of Ankara in October 1921, France agreed to withdraw from Cilicia, ceding control to the Turkish National Movement. In the aftermath, Armenian communities faced renewed violence and were forced into mass exodus. As such, this inheritance request marks one of the last formal efforts at restitution before the collapse of French authority and the final dispersal of Armenians from the region.Category
Misc. Documents