CODEX Entry 3011: Armenian Highlands
The current population of Armenians in Turkey is 60,000, down from 2 million in 1914, after the Armenian Genocide¹ ². The Armenian Highlands are in the far east of Turkey. This region has a rich and violent history, once even ruled by Xerxes of Persia, and Alexander the Great. The Armenians here were massacred in the 11th Century by the Byzantines³, 1552 by the Safevids, 1877 and 1894-96 by the Kurds, and then again in 1915 and 1923 by the Ottomans. Remaining populations in the east became Crypto-Armenians, pretending to convert to Islam. Most churches were destroyed or converted to government buildings.
References:
¹ Jones, Adam, Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction
² Walker, Christopher J, Armenia: The Survival of A Nation
³ Prof. Dr. Orhan Kılıç, Detections on the Armenian Population Around Lake Van