The Turkification of Toponyms in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey

Abstract

The present article examines the methods and stages of the policy of Turkification of the non-Muslim toponyms in the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey. Being stable linguistic facts, toponyms supply valuable material for topography and studies of dialects, ethnography, history and geography. They also contain important linguistic facts which can confirm the national belonging of a given settlement. Hence, realizing the strategic value of toponyms, the Turkish authorities have changed, distorted and have tried to get hold of the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Laz toponyms through translations ascribing them Turkish and at times Kurdish origins. The article contains the translated version of Enver Pasha’s decree on Turkification of toponyms issued on January 5, 1916 – a document which aims to conceal the traces of the Armenian Genocide. The article also examines the political aims of the Turkish authorities to replace the term Western Armenia with Eastern Anatolia as well as the dangerous consequences of the use of this term we could face. The Armenian toponyms that have been around since ancient times do not serve as linguistic evidence only. Rather, they provide unbiased historical evidence that reveals the whole truth of the real native masters of the Armenian Highland. Therefore, the protection, preservation and restoration of the Armenian toponyms is of great strategic significance for us.