| Musa Dagh defense | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theArmenian genocide | |||||||
 Map of the Musa Dagh Armenian Self-Defense. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ottoman Empire | Armenians | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Captain Rifaat Bey | Reverend Dikran Antreassian Yesayi Yakhubian Yesayi Aprahamian Nerses Kazandjian Movses Ter-Kalutsian | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 19,000 (4,000 regular troops and 15,000 fighters) | 600 fighters[1] 4,000 Armenian civilians | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | 18 fighters killed 12 injured | ||||||
Musa Dagh (Turkish:Musa Dağı;Armenian:Մուսա լեռ,romanized: Musa leṛ;[2]Arabic:جبل موسى,romanized: Jebel Musa; meaning "Moses Mountain") is a mountain in theHatay Province of Turkey. In 1915, it was the location of a successfulArmenian resistance to theArmenian genocide, an event that inspiredFranz Werfel to write the novelThe Forty Days of Musa Dagh.
The deportation orders of the Armenian population of modern-day Turkey, issued by the Ottoman government, in July 1915 reached the six Armenian villages of the Musa Dagh region: Kabusia (Kaboussieh), Yoghunoluk, Bitias,Vakef, Kheter Bey (Khodr Bey) and Haji Habibli.[3] AsOttoman Turkish forces converged upon the town, the populace, aware of the impending danger, refused deportation and fell back upon Musa mountain, thwarting assaults for fifty-three days, from July to September 1915.[4][5] One of the leaders of the revolt was Movses Der Kalousdian, whose Armenian first name was the same as that of the mountain. French warships of the 3rd Squadron in theMediterranean under command of Vice AdmiralLouis Dartige du Fournet, sighted the survivors just as ammunition and food provisions were running out.[6] Five French ships, beginning with theprotected cruiserGuichen, under the command of CaptainJean-Joseph Brisson, evacuated 3,004 women and children and over 1,000 men from Musa Dagh to safety inPort Said.[7][8][9] The other French ships were theseaplane carrierFoudre, the protected cruiserD'Estrées, and thearmored cruisersAmiral Charner andDupleix.[10]
Starting in 1918, when theSanjak of Alexandretta came under French control, the population of the six Armenian villages returned to their homes. In 1932, a monument was erected at the top of the mountain to commemorate the event.[11]
The mountain was inAleppo Vilayet,Ottoman Empire, until afterWorld War I, when the French took possession and put it inSanjak of Alexandretta,Mandate of Syria.
On 29 June 1939, following an agreement between France andTurkey, the province was given to Turkey. Afterwards Armenians from six of the villages emigrated fromHatay Province, while some of the residents ofVakıflı village chose to stay.[12] Vakıflı is the only remaining ethnic Armenian village in Turkey,[13][14] with a population of 140Turkish-Armenians. Most who left Hatay in 1939 emigrated toLebanon where they resettled in the town ofAnjar. Today, the town of Anjar is divided into six districts, each commemorating one of the villages of Musa Dagh.
As the French squads came to the rescue of the survivors, the chief priest is quoted as having said, "The evil only happened... to enable God to show us His goodness."[15] This event was depicted inThe Promise, a 2016 Americanepichistoricaldrama film directed byTerry George and starringOscar Isaac,Charlotte Le Bon andChristian Bale, set in the final years of theOttoman Empire.
These historical events later inspiredFranz Werfel to write his novelThe Forty Days of Musa Dagh (1933), a fictionalized account based on his detailed research of historical sources.[16] Werfel told reporters: "The struggle of 5,000 people on Musa Dagh had so fascinated me that I wished to aid the Armenian people by writing about it and bringing it to the world".[17]A movie of the same name was released in 1982.[18] Six years after the novel was published, whenNazi Germany started conquering Europe, the copies of “The Forty Days of Musa Dagh” spread widely among young adults, some of whom found themselves in circumstances similar to those faced by Armenians. The book was popular inWarsaw ghetto andVilna ghetto and when the Jewish resisters decided to fight back in theBialystok ghetto, they spoke of the ghetto’s “Musa Dagh” moment at the planning meeting.[19]
An eyewitness account from theDeir-az-Zur Region in Syria was provided by a Turkish officer, a Jewish Ashkenazy settler from theFirst Aliya, born inRishon Letzion, Eitan Belkind.[20]
![French magazine Le Miroir [fr], 24 October 1915](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fwikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aM_100_15_g%25C3%25A9nocide_des_Arm%25C3%25A9niens.jpg)
Vakifli.
36°15′30″N35°54′13″E / 36.25833°N 35.90361°E /36.25833; 35.90361
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