Study Questions
Cox, Armenia

  1. Summarize the long-term history of the Armenians.

  2. When were they incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and what was their status within the empire for most of their history?

  3. What happened to Armenians 1894-96 and what were the longer term effects of these events?

  4. What was happening to the Ottoman Empire over the last half of the 19th century and how did the regime respond?

  5. Who were the Young Turks and/or the CUP?

  6. What happens in Adana in 1909 and why?

  7. Who was Ziya Gokalp and what ideology did he promote? What changes in the CUP does this manifest?

  8. In discussing the leaders who would take power in 1913 and their views, what difference does Cox raise between the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust?

  9. Despite that difference, what similarities does Cox then note between both some of their goals (as war approaches) and the implementation of genocide as war progresses?

  10. Who were Behaeddin Shakir and the Special Organization?

  11. What happens in April 1914 that has led to April 24, 1915, becoming Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day?

  12. What other minorities were also targeted? How many perish?

  13. What happens to the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and “Armenia” near, at the end of, or shortly after the war? What role do Ataturk and the USSR play?

  14. What happens to Enver, Jemal, and Talat?

  15. What features of the genocide does Cox emphasize in the section “Organized from On High”?

  16. What is both the physical and cultural toll of the genocide on Armenians?

  17. What are some of the arguments Turkey makes to deny the genocide and what are some of the reasons they do so? How have some other countries facilitated that denial?

  18. What is the “lethal convergence of factors” (65) according to Cox that led to the genocide?

  19. What does Cox say about the role that religion played in the genocide?