Two-volume Book Published on “History of Educational Institutions in the Ottoman Provinces”
By Makrouhi Hagopian
Kevork P. Hagopian, after previously writing the book titled “History of Istanbul Armenian Educational Life and Institutions”, has now written the two-volume study: “History of Educational Institutions in the Ottoman Provinces”.
The previous book contained the history of 170 Armenian schools that existed within the administrative borders of the historical city of Constantinople for more than two centuries.
In these two new volumes, the author wrote that before the Genocide, approximately 1,000 Armenian educational institutions and orphanages operated within the borders of the Ottoman Empire, in which about 120,000 students of both sexes studied, with up to 5,000 teachers.
Some of these schools were awarded the title of “prestigious”, while others were modest institutions that provided education even in villages, playing an important role in the preservation of the Armenian identity.
The Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the last century consisted of 32 governorates and provinces, whose lands were spread over Europe, Asia and Africa. Starting from the last quarter of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire lost huge territories at the end of World War I. And in 1923, the Republic of Turkey was barely able to keep 16 Ottoman provinces within its current borders.
The author arranged his work, taking into account the history of Armenian schools that existed in the current state border area of Turkey as of 1915. The book contains topographical, religious, educational, communal, social, public and historical information.
Considering the scope of the work, the author has decided to summarize his studies in four volumes.
In the present two volumes, seven governorates (Vilayet), one governorate (Mutasarrıflık), and two provinces (Sanjak) are placed, which are:
1. Governorate of Adrianople or Edirne,
2. Governorate of Nicometia or Izmit,
3. Governorate of Khudaventikere or Bursa,
4. Governorate of Kastamunu or Kastampol,
5. Governorate of Aydın or Smyrna
6. Governorate of Enkuri or Ankara and its two subordinates:
— Province of Yozgat
– province of Kayseri
7. Governorate of Konya
8. Governorate of Adana
According to the data of the Ottoman and Armenian Patriarchates, in the geography covered by these two volumes, as of 1915, 512,000 Armenians lived in 316 settlements. In these regions, 416 Armenian churches belonging to the Apostolic, Catholic and Protestant denominations, 547 kindergartens, elementary, middle schools, secondary, daytime and boarding, private, co-educational Armenian schools operated. 48,564 students of both sexes studied in these educational institutions, and 1,237 teachers worked.
During his research, the author used approximately 600 Armenian, Turkish and foreign-language books, magazines, newspapers, yearbooks, the printed bulletins of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople, the records of the proceedings of the Patriarchate’s Religious and Political Council, the Ottoman education yearbooks (Salname), and Ottoman population data.
He used the Ottoman archival documents of the Turkey’s Prime Minister’s Office, revealing a lot of information, as well as archival data.
All these sources are mentioned in the two books as references.
Volume I consists of 512 pages, and Volume II 546 pages.
The books were published by Mayda Sarus, editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine “Paros” in Istanbul.
The presentation of the books took place on March 12, 2025, at the Ortakugh Church in Istanbul.
The patron of the publication was the Ortakugh St. Asdvadzadzin Church District Council, chaired by Sarkis Chetingaya.
The Armenian Evangelical Association of America and the Center for Armenian Studies at California State University of Northridge contributed to the costs of the publication.
