Tehcir, Sevk, İskân: What Do the Words in the 1915 Documents Mean in English?

Why It Matters

Tehcir is an Ottoman Turkish administrative word for the ordered movement or displacement of people, and English renders it as 'deportation', 'relocation' or 'resettlement' depending on who is writing. Each rendering implies a different reading of the Events of 1915, so a translation choice is never only linguistic. This guide explains what tehcir, sevk, iskân and muhacir meant in the documents, how they are translated, and why the choice carries legal and moral weight.

Background

The wartime context

The Ottoman Empire entered the First World War in late October 1914 and fought Russia on the Caucasus front, including the heavy winter defeat at Sarıkamış in 1914–1915. Two Armenian political committees had been active in the empire since the late nineteenth century: the Hunchak (founded 1887) and the Dashnak or Dashnaksutyun (founded 1890 in Tbilisi). Ottoman authorities pointed to their armed activity, including the 1896 Ottoman Bank raid in Istanbul and the 1894 Sasun unrest, and to Armenian volunteer units that fought alongside the Russian army in 1914–1915. In April 1915 fighting broke out in and around Van, which Ottoman and Turkish sources call a rebellion behind the front and Armenian sources describe as self-defence.

Armenian sources and many historians stress that the great majority of Armenians were civilians with no connection to armed groups, and that relocation affected whole communities, including women, children and the elderly. On 24 May 1915 Britain, France and Russia issued a joint declaration condemning what they called 'crimes against humanity and civilization'. That is one of the earliest uses of that phrase in diplomacy.

The law and its title

The measure at the centre of the vocabulary question was a provisional law (kanun-ı muvakkat) dated 27 May 1915 and published in the official gazette Takvim-i Vekayi on 1 June 1915. Its published title concerns the measures the military would take against those who opposed government action in wartime. The text as usually reproduced does not name any community. The relocation of Armenians was carried out through Council of Ministers decisions and separate orders and instructions, followed by provisional laws on abandoned property in the autumn of 1915. Turkish official usage calls the framework the Sevk ve İskân Kanunu (Relocation and Resettlement Law). Much historiography calls it the 'Tehcir Law'. Both labels are later shorthand, which is itself a reminder that the name already contains an interpretation. Sister analyses cover the text in detail: Crossroads Review on what the 27 May 1915 law said and The Worldlogue on text, context and the Ottoman archive record.

Contested casualty figures

No universally accepted death toll exists. Turkish sources have cited figures of around 300,000 Armenian deaths. Armenian sources and many international scholars cite roughly one to one and a half million. Turkish sources also stress large Muslim civilian losses in Anatolia during the war, which are likewise not precisely established. The gaps come from incomplete pre-war census data, wartime disruption and disputes over archives and methods. This article does not adjudicate the numbers.

The vocabulary

Key Players & Positions

Translation choices map onto positions. 'Relocation' and 'resettlement' appear mainly in Turkish official English, which describes a temporary wartime security and administrative measure. 'Deportation' is common in English-language scholarship and journalism, and in the dispatches and memoirs of the period. Armenia, the diaspora and many scholars use 'genocide', often alongside 'deportation', and argue that the intent behind the measures and the conditions of the marches were destructive.

• Republic of Türkiye. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls the matter the 'Events of 1915', rejects the genocide characterization, and invites historians to examine the archives.
• Armenia and the diaspora. Armenian official statements and the annual 24 April commemoration describe the events as the Armenian Genocide and call for recognition.
• Other states and parliaments. A number of parliaments and governments have adopted recognition resolutions or statements. Examples include the German Bundestag in 2016 and a United States presidential statement in April 2021. Ankara rejected both.
• Scholars. The field is divided over terminology and intent. The International Association of Genocide Scholars affirmed the genocide characterization in a 1997 resolution. Some scholars, including Turkish and non-Turkish historians, dispute it or argue that the documentary record does not establish a centrally planned extermination.
• Courts. In Perinçek v. Switzerland (Grand Chamber, 2015) the European Court of Human Rights ruled on freedom of expression and stated that it was not called upon to determine whether the events constituted genocide. See Fact Check: 'An International Court Has Ruled the Events of 1915 a Genocide'.

Why the English word matters legally

Modern law gives these words specific meanings. The 1998 Rome Statute lists 'deportation or forcible transfer of population' as a crime against humanity (Article 7), and defines it as forced displacement by expulsion or other coercive acts from an area where people are lawfully present. That treaty is not retroactive. The 1948 Genocide Convention (Article II) defines genocide as listed acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.

Two precision points follow:

• Strictly, 'deportation' in modern law often implies crossing an international border. Most 1915 movements were within Ottoman territory, toward provinces such as Syria and Mesopotamia, so 'forcible transfer' or 'forced displacement' is the more exact legal rendering of the movement itself.
• 'Relocation' and 'resettlement' describe an administrative intent and a destination. Critics argue they soften an event in which, on their account, many people died of violence, hunger, disease and exposure. Defenders of the terms argue that 'deportation' presumes a conclusion about intent that the documents must establish.

For how other contested words work in coverage of Türkiye, see The Lexicon: How Contested Words Shape Coverage of Türkiye.

Source Comparison

Sources differ less on what the documents say than on how to translate and weigh them. The table summarizes common framings.

Two practical tips for readers. First, check whether a source is quoting the Ottoman word or supplying its own English gloss. Second, check whether an English term is used descriptively or as a legal conclusion. Primary text locations are mapped in The Source Map: Where to Find Türkiye's Official Texts and How to Cite Them, and our approach to wording is in Editorial Principles and Primary Source Standards. To read how Ankara's official language is constructed, see How to Read a Turkish Foreign Ministry Statement. The broader archive and diplomatic picture is set out by Archive of Nations.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Tehcir: ordered displacement; the most contested single word, translated as 'deportation' or 'forced displacement' in much scholarship and as 'relocation' in Turkish official English.
• Sevk ve iskân: 'dispatch and settlement', the official Turkish formula for the 1915 framework.
• Takvim-i Vekayi: the Ottoman official gazette in which the law was published on 1 June 1915.
• Kanun-ı muvakkat: provisional law issued by the government while parliament was not sitting.
• Dolus specialis: the specific intent to destroy a group that the Genocide Convention requires for the crime of genocide.
• Events of 1915: the term used in Turkish official English.

Related reading on this site: The Lexicon: How Contested Words Shape Coverage of Türkiye, Fact Check: 'An International Court Has Ruled the Events of 1915 a Genocide', The Source Map and About By the Text. On the normalization track, see The Political Axis on archives, law and normalization.

By the Text presents global affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.