Sardinia-Italy Consulate in Erzurum and its Role in the Armenian Issue

Abstract

In the Crimean War of 1853-1856, the Sardinia State, England, and France sided with the Ottoman Empire against Russia. After the war, some people from Sardinia were engaged in economic and commercial activities in Erzurum and its surroundings. The State of Sardinia appointed a consular officer to Erzurum in 1860. When the Italian Union was established in 1861 and the State of Sardinia was included in this union, a consul officer was appointed on behalf of the Italian State in 1862. The person whose name came to the fore in this period is Pharmacist Augusto Lavini, who has been in Erzurum since 1855. Lavini, who started to make a name for himself during the first Armenian revolt that broke out in 1890, engaged in activities with the Armenian committee members in Erzurum, which disturbed the Ottoman administration. Thereupon, he was dismissed in 1892. When the Sason Rebellion broke out in 1894, Italy decided to open a consulate in Erzurum and sent Attilio Monaco to Erzurum as a consul, despite the opposition of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was in a difficult situation facing this fait accompli. As a result of diplomatic efforts, the appointment of the Italian Consul could be delayed for about two months. Although the Ottoman Empire could not prevent the appointment of the consul, it prevented Italy’s direct intervention in the Sason Event by participating in the Investigation Commission of this consul. However, Monaco did his best to inform the western press in favor of the Armenians about the events that the Armenian committee members started in 1895 and went down in history as the “Erzurum Event”. After all these events, the Italian Consulate in Erzurum was closed in 1896. At the end of 1914, when the Ottoman Empire entered the First World War, Italy State reactivated its consulate in Erzurum. However, with the war of Italy against the Ottoman Empire in 1915, the Italian Consulate was closed.