Van 1915

This work is the most detailed report on what happened to Armenians in the Ottoman province of Van in 1915. It was published in Yerevan in 1917 and remains a critical source in its own right. A-Do [Hovhannes Ter Martirosian] personally investigated the events in question and described many incidents in their harrowing details. He pinpointed April 16, 1915 as the beginning of genocidal attacks against Armenians. These attacks were not entirely unexpected and many Armenians fought back and defended their communities, most notably in the city of Van. A-Do’s report also covered the establishment of a provisional Armenian government during the first Russian occupation of this region, as well as the great exodus of Armenians to the Caucasus when the Russians withdrew.