When Faith Becomes a Political Weapon: Early 19th century Armenian Sectarian Violence in Istanbul
Journal: Analytical Bulletin of Armenian and Regional Studies (ABARS)
Year: 2024

While Armenian communities of early modern Istanbul were preoccupied with confessionalization and confessional strives, in the early nineteenth century these already established sects moved to a power struggle against one another for more hierarchical and influential position within the Ottoman State. Confessional disputes continued but they became means to instigate conflict between communities. On an individual level, for wealthy Istanbul Armenians, religious belonging or position within a cer