Publication |
2012.
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Summary/Abstract |
Relying on a thorough examination of unpublished documents housed in several European archives, this article analyses the role of the Austrian Empire in the Constantinople Armenian Catholics affair that started in 1828 when the Armenian Catholics were forced to leave Constantinople and give up their property and was terminated in 1831 when they obtained their independent millet. This central European power was active in this affair, from both a sincere wish to help and, particularly in its later phase, a desire to weaken the French protectorate over the Catholics in the Levant. The article also attempts to discover to what extent Austrian diplomats were led by their own Catholic faith, and whether they were motivated by any anti-Islamic feelings.
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