Armenian intellectuals arrested in 1915

The deportation of the Armenian intellectuals is regarded as the beginning of the Armenian Genocide of 1915. It was carried out on the orders of the Minister of the Interior, Talaat Pasha, to deprive the Armenian population of its leaders and of any chance of resistance. On the night of 24 April 1915, the first group, of 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals of Constantinople, was arrested.

Later, on 29 May 1915, the detainees were moved to other places within the Ottoman Empire. Most of them were killed; more than 80 survived. By overall estimate, 2,345 prominent Armenians were deported, most of whom held no nationalist views and belonged to no political party.

The image shows portraits of some of the Armenian intellectuals who were arrested, deported and killed in 1915: ten portraits in two rows.