Sayfo; Village of Palu

Village of Palu

The village of Palu is near the Murad River in the northern part of the Diyarbakir vilayet and was heavily populated by Armenians prior to 1895. Social and political relations in Palu were dominated by a traditional feudal system led by the Cemsidbeyzade family, who functioned as influential local Beys. In 1894, tensions increased when the Ottoman government officially banned the collection of tithes by these Beys, leading to conflict over land rights and resource extraction at the expense of the Christian peasantry. In the spring of 1895, the inhabitants of the village of Habab and neighboring areas submitted complaints to the Sultan and the Grand Vizier regarding persistent harassment and extra-legal exactions by these local Kurdish and Turkish Beys.

The atrocities in Palu during the Hamidian massacres from 1895 to 1897 were characterized by extreme violence and systemic property destruction beginning in early November 1895. Between November 2 and November 10, 1895, Kurdish tribes and local Turks from the surrounding countryside attacked nearly every Christian village in the district surrounding Palu, plundering houses and setting them on fire. On the morning of November 11, 1895, a large assembly of Kurds and Turks appeared at the town of Palu. While the Ottoman army initially defended the town, the local Mufti, identified as a primary perpetrator, reportedly convinced the commander to abandon resistance and allow the attackers entry. The ensuing two days of carnage resulted in the deaths of hundreds of men. The total number of casualties for the district is recorded as high as 1,500, though later accepted estimates identified 900 deaths. Specific atrocities against women were noted as being particularly severe in this district. Ecclesiastical destruction was widespread, with 44 churches reported as destroyed or damaged and six Christian villages entirely burned to the ground in the district. To escape slaughter, an estimated 3,000 Christians were forced into conversion to Islam.

In the late nineteenth century, American missionaries from Harput were active in the Palu district, which fueled resentment and suspicion among local Muslim leaders who mistrusted foreign intervention in communal affairs.

During the Sayfo genocide period from 1915 to 1924, Palu was the site of mass killings directed by both the Ottoman army and local paramilitary groups associated with the Committee of Union and Progress. On June 1, 1915, a massacre of approximately 1,200 Christian soldiers occurred near Palu; these men had been utilized as a labor battalion for road construction since late 1914 before being disarmed and executed. In August 1915, systematic violence engulfed the district villages, following a pattern where the male population was killed immediately to prevent resistance. On August 10, 1915, the male population of the town of Palu was marched to the bridge over the Murad River, where they were killed by having their throats slashed and their bodies thrown into the river. The remaining women and children were deported, leaving the Christian neighborhoods empty. Following these atrocities, the Ottoman government settled Muslim immigrants, primarily Pomaks from Thrace, in the houses and villages formerly belonging to the Christian population.

In the post-war period of the 1920s, the demographic landscape of Palu town was permanently altered, consisting of Kurdish, Zaza, and Turkish neighborhoods, with the latter populated by immigrants settled in the wake of the genocide.