Armenian National Constitution

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Cover of the Armenian version of the Armenian National Constitution (read online)
English version by Harry Finnis Blosse Lynch (1901)
Ottoman Turkish version from the Düstur

The Armenian National Constitution (Armenian: Հայ ազգային սահմանադրութիւն, romanized: Hay azkayin sahmanatroutioun; French: Constitution nationale arménienne) or Regulation of the Armenian Nation (Ottoman Turkish: نظامنامهٔ ملّت ارمنیان, romanized: Nizâmnâme-i Millet-i Ermeniyân) was a basic law in the Ottoman Empire for members of the Gregorian Armenian Millet. Promulgated in 1863, it defined the powers of the Armenian Patriarch, a newly formed Armenian National Assembly, and lay members.[1] This code is still active among Armenian Church in diaspora.[1] The Ottoman Turkish version was published in the Düstur.[2] Other constitutions were promulgated for the Catholic Armenian and the Protestant Armenian millets.

The document itself was called a "constitution" in Armenian, while the Ottoman Turkish version was instead called a "regulation" on the millet.[2]

Background

The 1856 Imperial Reform Edict (Islâhat Hatt-ı Hümâyûnu), which sought to bring equality among millets, also brought the discontent of the Armenian Patriarchate.[3] Before the Hatt-ı Hümayun, the Armenian Patriarch was not only the spiritual leader of the community, but its secular leader (of all Armenians - the Armenian nation) as well. The Patriarch could at will dismiss the Bishops and his jurisdiction extended to 50 areas. Armenian reformers wanted to abolish what they saw as oppression by the nobility, drawing up a new `National Regulation'.[3] The "Code of Regulations" (1860) was drafted by members of the Armenian intelligentsia (Dr. Nahabet Rusinian, Dr. Servichen, Nigoghos Balian, Krikor Odian and Krikor Margosian). They primarily sought to define the powers of the Patriarch.

Finally the Council accepted the draft regulation on May 24, 1860, and presented it to the Sublime Porte. The government of Sultan Abdülaziz ratified it (with some minor changes) by a firman on March 17, 1863, and made it effective. The Armenian National Constitution was the was composed of 150 articles which defined the powers of Patriarch (his position in Ottoman Millet) and a newly formed Armenian National Assembly.[1] The Armenian Patriarch began to share his powers with the National Assembly and was limited by the Constitution. He perceived the changes as erosion of his community.[3]

Effects

While the constitution defined the condition of Armenians within the state, it also defined the authority of the Patriarch. The Armenian National Constitution of the was seen as a milestone by Armenian reformers. It attempted to define Armenia as a modern nation. The reforms which resulted in the Armenian National Assembly came about as individual Armenians and pressure group complained frequently for assistance from the Porte against injustices perpetuated by the Kurds (seen as feudal) and corrupt officialdom. At the beginning the relations between the Armenian National Assembly and the Porte were positive, but in the 1860s, the Ottomans, having crushed Kurdish resistance, no longer needed Armenian support, and the Empire became less responsive to Armenian claims.[4]

Henry Finnis Blosse Lynch, author of Armenia, Travels and Studies, wrote in the second volume, published in 1901, that the Armenian National Constitution was "practically in abeyance owing to the strained relations at present existing between the Palace and the Armenians."[5]

References

  • Lynch, Harry Finnis Blosse (1901). "Appendix I: National Constitution of the Armenians in the Turkish Empire". Armenia, Travels and Studies. Vol. 2. Longmans, Green and Co. p. 445-467. (PDF p. 573-595/644)

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Richard G. Hovannisian "The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times", page 198
  2. ^ a b Strauss, Johann (2010). "A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages". In Herzog, Christoph; Malek Sharif (eds.). The First Ottoman Experiment in Democracy. Wurzburg. p. 21-51.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (info page on book at Martin Luther University) - Cited: p. 37 (PDF p. 39)
  3. ^ a b c Mekerditch-B. Dadian, "La société arménienne contemporaine", Revue des deux Mondes, June 1867, pp. 903-928, read online
  4. ^ Edmund Herzig "Armenians Past And Present In The Making Of National Identity A Handbook" page.75
  5. ^ H. F. B. Lynch, Vol. II, p. 467.

Further reading

Copies of the Armenian constitution:

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