Great Surgun
[27] Already in the Seljuk era, the centuries-old process of marginalisation of the Armenian population by alien Turkic nomads in the region had begun,[28][29][30][4][31][32] which intensified especially after the invasions of Tamerlane.
[33] During the period of Mongol rule, Armenia was plundered and ravaged, and starting from the end of the 13th century, Ghazan Khan subjected the Armenian population, especially from Nakhichevan and nearby territories, to harsh persecution.
[35][36] Numerous nomadic tribes for a number of centuries moved in and settled in fertile areas with extensive pastures,[4] and their tribal rulers gradually appropriated the property of Armenian landowners, oppressing them.
Before, there were eight hundred Armenian churches, and now only two small ones, and the rest were destroyed by the Saracens.Since the 16th century, continuous Turkish-Persian wars, which were fought for control over its territory, caused great damage to Armenia.
[39][40] Being divided between two warring empires, for most of the 16th century the country served as their battlefield and was devastated by the scorched earth policy pursued by both the Ottomans and the Safavids.
[42][43] Armenian historian of the 16th century Yovanisik Caretsi writes about these events:[43] ... a certain commander, named Lala, set out with many soldiers, reached the Ararat region and filled the Armenians and Muslims, numbering 60 thousand, and drove them forward to the land of the Romans [Eastern Roman Empire].As a result of the war, according to the Treaty of Constantinople, Persia was forced to cede Tabriz, Shirvan and some parts of Eastern Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (Kartli and Kakheti kingdoms).
[53] At the first stage, by the order of the Shah, the gathering of the Armenian population (from Nakhichevan, Julfa, Syunik, Sevan, Lori, Abaran, Shirakavan, Kars, Van, Alashkert and Bayazet)[47][14] was organized in specially designated places.
The Armenians were loyal subjects of their shah and carried out his orders, and having learned about his intentions, they pleaded with him in every possible way to postpone their move because of the imminent onset of winter.
He summoned his nakharars and from among them appointed overseers and guides for the inhabitants of the country, so that each prince with his army would evict and expel the population of one gavar[province].
… But with the approach of autumn, the Turkish commander ... gathered a large army and launched a fierce attack on King Abbas in the province of Ararat (gavar).
On winter days, they dragged vardapets and bishops, priests and parishioners, nobles and commoners from their cloisters and dwellings in villages, cities, monasteries and sketes and drove them at full speed in front of their horses, brandishing their swords, hurrying them, for the enemy, the Turkish army stepped on their heels.
Then, along the way, they (soldiers) killed some and maimed others, took babies from their mothers' hands and threw them against stones, so that [women] would be easier on the march.According to Davrizhetsi, the deportation began in August 1604 and culminated in the autumn.
[57] Polish historian, Dariusz Kołodziejczyk, notes:[58] After a brilliant anti-Ottoman campaign of 1603-5, Shah Abbas regained control over the provinces of Yerevan and Nakhichevan, which were the main settlements of the Eastern Armenians.
As a result, the main center of Armenian religious and cultural life, the Holy See of Etchmiadzin, was once again within the borders of the Safavid Empire.
Feeling that his hold on the newly conquered territories was still precarious, Abbas implemented a scorched-earth policy and undertook the massive and forcible resettlement of the local population, mainly Armenians, to central Iran.
[78] After the deportation of Armenians, nomadic tribes (mainly Turks, as well as Kurds)[80] began to massively populate the territories they had left behind, while cities of Ararat, Alashkert and Bayazet became completely empty.
