Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
The Russians took advantage of the fact that the Ottoman Empire was fighting a war on two fronts and moved their army towards the city in Eastern Anatolia with the largest Armenian population. The Armenians disagreed on whether to support the Russians or the Ottomans; some joined the Russian army, others the Ottoman army, and others did not join. The Ottoman government ordered the deportation of Armenians from towns most affected by the fighting; this later included all Armenians in Anatolia. Ottoman officials carried out the orders and Turks, Kurds and local tribespeople. Many Armenians died in these deportations, many fled to Syria, Russia, or Iraq, and many died while fleeing. The Armenians being deported were often raped, kidnapped, or starved. Around 800,000 to 1.5 million Armenians died during these massacres; the people who remained in the Ottoman Empire were often women and girls forced to marry into Turkish Muslim families. The boys were often adopted and converted to Islam.