List of massacres in Turkey

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The following is a list of massacres that occurred within the borders of present-day Turkey:

Name Date Location Deaths Responsible Party Victims Notes
Fall of Miletus 494 BC Miletus Most Milesian men Persian Empire Greeks [1]
Battle of Aegospotami 405 BC Aegospotami 3,000 Sparta Athenian sailors 3,000 Athenian sailors executed
Fall of Sestos 353 BC Sestos All males of Sestos Athens Greeks
Asiatic Vespers 88 BC Asia (Roman province) 80,000–150,000 Mithridates VI of Pontus Romans and Italians [2][3]

Middle Ages

Name Date Location Deaths Responsible Party Victims Notes
Nika Revolt January 532 Constantinople 30,000 Byzantine Empire Rioters About thirty thousand rioters were reportedly killed.[4]
Sack of Amorium August 838 Amorium 30,000–70,000[5] Abbasid Caliphate Byzantines
Battle of Levounion 29 April 1091 Enez tens of thousands[6] Byzantine Empire & Cumans Pechenegs The Pechenegs consisting of 80,000 warriors and their families invaded the Byzantine Empire. Near Enez they were ambushed by a combined Byzantine and Cuman army, fighting soon turned into wholesale slaughter. Warriors and civilians were killed and the Pecheneg people were nearly wiped out.[6]
Siege of Antioch 3 June 1098 Antioch Muslim and Christian population Crusaders Muslim and Christian population
Massacre of the Latins May 1182 Constantinople Uncertain – tens of thousands Byzantine mob Roman Catholics The bulk of the Latin community, estimated at over 60,000 at the time, was wiped out or forced to flee; some 4,000 survivors were sold as slaves to the Turks. The massacre further worsened relations and increased enmity between the Western and Eastern Christian churches, and a sequence of hostilities between the two followed.
Siege of Constantinople (1204) 8–13 April 1204 Constantinople 2,000[7] Crusaders Byzantines The city was sacked and looted.
Fall of Constantinople 1453 Constantinople 4,000[8][9] Ottomans Byzantines 4,000 persons of both sexes and all ages were massacred during these days. Moreover, the dwellings and the churches were plundered. Some 30,000 were enslaved.[9]
Siege of Trebizond 1461[10] Trabzon Ottomans Trebizonds

Ottoman Empire

Before 1914

Name Date Location Deaths Responsible Party Victims Notes
Massacres during the Greek War of Independence 1821–1829 Ottoman Empire Unknown Ottoman government and Greek rebels Greeks, Turks, Albanians and Jews Massacres were committed by both sides during the conflict.
Massacres of Badr Khan 1843-1846 Hakkari 4,000-7,000 Kurdish Emirs of Bhutan, Badr Khan and Nurullah Assyrians Many who were not killed were sold into slavery. 1826 Janissaries massacred by government (link to Auspicious Incident).
Ashitha Revolt 1843 Hakkari 10,000 Tyari Assyrians, and other local assyrian tribes. Kurds Assyrians of Lower Tyari revolted against the oppressive rule of the Kurdish Mir of Berwari,[11] and killed 10,000 Kurds of Bedir Khan.[12]
Hamidian massacres 1894–1896 Eastern Ottoman Empire 80,000–300,000[13] Ottoman Empire
Hamidiye,
Turkish, Kurdish tribes Circassian troops

Laz troops[14]

 Armenians
Massacres of Diyarbakır (1895) 1895 Diyarbakır Vilayet 25,000 Young Turks and Kurdish irregulars Armenians and Assyrians
Adana massacre April 1909 Adana Vilayet 20,000 local Turkish nationalist activist, conservative reactionary to Young Turk government Armenians
Ethnic cleansing of Turks in Edirne during First Balkan War[15] October 1912-June 1913 Edirne Vilayet 5,000 (excluding Edeköy Massacre)[16] Bulgarian army Turks
Havsa Massacre 1912 Havsa in Edirne Vilayet 10 Bulgarian army Turks Turkish quarter was almost entirely burnt.[17]
Edeköy Massacre November 1912 Edeköy (nowadays Kadıdondurma) in Edirne Vilayet Thousands[18] Bulgarian army Turks Many incidents of torture and robbery.[18]
Destruction of Thracian Bulgarians 1913 Thrace; Bulgarköy, Edirne[19] 60,000[20][21] Young Turk government, Ottoman army Bulgarians

World War I (1914–1918)

Name Date Location Deaths Responsible Party Victims Notes
Greek genocide[22][23][24][25] 1917–1922 Ottoman Empire 300,000–900,000 Young Turk government Greeks Reports detail massacres, deportations, individual killings, rapes, burning of entire Greek villages, destruction of Greek Orthodox churches and monasteries, drafts for "Labor Brigades", looting, terrorism and other atrocities.[26][27]
Assyrian genocide[28] 1914–1918 Ottoman Empire and Persia 250,000-275,000 Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes Assyrians Denied by the Turkish government.
Armenian genocide 1915–1917 Ottoman Empire 600,000-1,500,000 Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes Armenians The Armenians of the eastern regions of the empire were massacred. The Turkish government currently denies the genocide.[29][30][31] It is the second most publicised case of genocide after the Holocaust.[32]
Yazidi genocide (1915) 1915-1917 Ottoman Empire 300,000-500,000[33] Young Turk government and Kurdish tribes Yazidis The Yazidis were killed in mass, deported and forcefully converted to Islam, nearly wiped out their population.[34]
Massacres in Eastern Anatolia 1914-1918 Eastern Anatolia 128,000-600,000[35] Russian Army and possibly Armenian irregulars

Assyrian volunteers[36]

 Muslim population (Turks and Kurds) According to J. Rummel, 128,000-600,000 Muslim Turks and Kurds were killed (death toll includes death by famine and diseases) by Russian troops and possibly Armenian irregulars and Assyrians during World War I.[35]
Massacres in the Çoruh River valley 1916[37] Çoruh River valley 45,000[37] Cossack regiments Muslim population (Turks and Kurds) During WWI, Russian "General Liakhov, for instance 'accused the Muslims of treachery, and sent his Cossacks from Batum with orders to kill every native at sight, and burn every village and every mosque. And very efficiently had they performed their task, for as we passed up the Chorokh valley to Artvin not a single habitable dwelling or a single living creature did we see.'"[37]

Post-World War I (1919–1923)

Name Date Location Deaths Responsible Party Victims Notes
Massacre in Marash 1920 Marash, Aleppo Vilayet 5,000–12,000 Turks Armenians [38][39][40]
Kahyaoğlu Farm Massacre [tr] June 11, 1920 Yeşiloba, Adana Vilayet 64+ to ~200 Armenians Turks Report which was given to Mustafa Kemal Pasha included 43 men, 21 women and tens of children. Other estimates are up to 200.[41]
Karadeniz massacre January 28–29, 1921 waters of the Black Sea 15 Kemalists/Committee of Union and Progress (disputed) Communist Party of Turkey Mustafa Suphi the founder of the Communist Party of Turkey and his 14 comrades were assassinated while they were being sent to Erzurum for trial[42]
Cabar Massacre [tr] April 1–2 1921 Cabar,Denizli 83 Kingdom of Greece Turks

Republic of Turkey (1923–present)

Name Date Location Deaths Responsible Party Victims Notes
Diyarbakir massacre 1925 Diyarbakir Province, Elazığ Province 15,200 (206 villages destroyed) Turkish security forces Kurds Part of Deportations of Kurds between 1916 and 1934.[43]
Zilan massacre July 1930 Van Province 5,000–15,000 Turkish security forces Kurds 5,000 women, children, and elderly people were reportedly killed[44]
1934 Thrace pogroms 21 June-4 July 1934 Thrace 1 Local people Jews Over 15,000 Jews had to flee from region[45]
Dersim rebellion Summer 1937-Spring 1938 Tunceli Province 13,806–70,000[46] Turkish security forces Alevi Kurds/Zazas The killings have been condemned by some as an ethnocide or genocide[47][48]
Zini Rift Massacre 6 August 1938 Erzincan Province 95 Turkish security forces Kurds [49][50][51][52]
Muğlalı incident July 1943 Van Province 32 Turkish security forces Kurds 33 Kurdish villagers were extrajudicially executed by General Mustafa Muğlalı for allegedly smuggling livestock, one of them escaped.[53][54][55]
Karahan village massacre October 1944 Van Province 6 Turkish security forces Kurds 6 Kurdish villagers were extrajudicially executed by General Mustafa Muğlalı. This was the second massacre of Muğlalı, with the possibility of more uncovered massacres having been committed.[56]
Istanbul pogrom 6–7 September 1955 Istanbul 13–30[57] Turkish government[58] primarily Greeks, as well as Armenians, Jews The killings are identified as genocidal by Alfred-Maurice de Zayas.[59] Many of the non-Muslim minorities, mostly Greek Christians, forced to leave Turkey. Several churches are demolished by explosives.
Taksim Square massacre May 1, 1977 Taksim Square in Istanbul 34[60]-42[61] Some unidentified armed people Leftist demonstrators, civilians
Beyazıt massacre March 16, 1978 Istanbul 7 Grey Wolves, Turkish deep state (alleged) Leftist university students Cemil Sönmez, Baki Ekiz, Hatice Özen, Abdullah Şimşek, Murat Kurt, Hamdi Akıl and Turan Ören were killed and 41 others were injured by a bomb that was followed by gunfire March 16, 1978.
Ümraniye massacre March 17, 1978 Ümraniye in Istanbul 5 Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist Grey Wolves affiliated workers Grey Wolves claim that the victims were badly tortured.[62] Reaction to the aforementioned Beyazıt massacre.
Malatya massacre April 17, 1978 Malatya Province 8 Grey Wolves, Salafists Alevi Turks Grey Wolves and salafists attacked Alevi regions of city after assassination of Hamit Fendoğlu [tr] leaving 8 dead, including 3 children and 100 wounded. 1000 shops were looted and destroyed.[63]
Balgat massacre August 10, 1978 Çankaya, Ankara 5 Grey Wolves Civilians (claimed that they were leftist)
Bahçelievler massacre October 9, 1978 Bahçelievler, Ankara 7[64] Grey Wolves Workers' Party of Turkey member students
Maraş massacre December 19–26, 1978 Kahramanmaraş Province 109[65] Grey Wolves[65] Alevi Kurds
Piyangotepe massacre May 16, 1979 Keçiören in Ankara 7 Grey Wolves Civilians [citation needed]
Adana high school massacre September 19, 1979 Adana Construction Vocational High School 6 Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist Grey Wolves affiliated teachers Müslüm Teke, Yılmaz Kızılay, Davut Korkmaz, Ahmet Güleç, Özcan Doruk and Mustafa Karaca were killed by 2 Leftist men. Reaction to the aforementioned Maraş massacre where the Grey Wolves killed more than a hundred civilians.[62][66][67]
Çorum massacre May–July, 1980 Çorum Province 57[68] Grey Wolves Alevi Turks
Ortabağ massacre January 23, 1987 Uludere in Şırnak Province 8 PKK Civilians [69][70]
Pınarcık massacre June 20, 1987 Pınarcık in Mardin Province 30 JİTEM/PKK (disputed) Civilians
Çevrimli massacre June 11, 1990 Güçlükonak in Şırnak Province 27 PKK Civilians In the massacre, 27 people were killed, 12 were children and 7 were women. 4 village guards died in clashes with PKK members, 1 PKK member was killed.[71][72][73][74][75]
Çetinkaya Store massacre December 25, 1991 Bakırköy in Istanbul 11 PKK Civilians The PKK attacks a store in the Bakırköy district with Molotov cocktails, resulting in 11 deaths, including 7 women and 1 child.[72][76][77]
Cevizdalı massacre October 21, 1992 Cevizdalı in Bitlis Province 30 PKK Civilians Cevizdali village of Bitlis was raided during the nighttime, PKK militias killed 30 people, including 8 children, and wounded 20 others. Militias then burned whole the village by the news they received that soldiers are on the way to the village.[78][79]
Sivas massacre[80]

(aka Madımak massacre)

 July 2, 1993 Sivas 35 (+2 perpetrators) Salafists, Grey Wolves Alevi and leftist intellectuals
Başbağlar massacre July 5, 1993 Başbağlar, near Erzincan 33 JİTEM/PKK (disputed)[81] Civilians
Digor massacre [tr] August 14, 1993 Digor, Kars 17 Turkish security forces Kurdish Civilians Opened fire on Kurdish villagers by the Special Operation Department. 17 villagers including 7 children were killed and 63 were injured.[82][83]
Vartinis massacre October 3, 1993 Vartinis, Muş province 9 Turkish Armed Forces Civilians
Lice massacre October 20–23, 1993 Lice in Diyarbakır Province 30+ Turkish Armed Forces Kurdish Civilians Turkish security forces attacked the town of Lice, destroying 401 houses, 242 shops and massacring more than thirty civilians, and leaving 100 wounded.[84]
Yavi Massacre[85] October 25, 1993 Yavi, Çat, Erzurum Province 38 PKK Civilians
Ormancık massacre January 21, 1994 Ormancık, Savur, Mardin Province 19 PKK Village guards and affiliated civilians The massacre may have been a chemical attack.[86][87][88]
Kuşkonar and Koçağılı massacre March 23, 1994 Kuşkonar and Koçağılı villages, Şırnak 38[89] Turkish Air Force Kurdish Civilians The government bombed and killed residents of villages who refused to join the government forces. The government spread pictures of dead children in newspapers and blamed the PKK. Turkey was condemned for carrying out the massacre of Kurdish civilians in the ECHR.
Gazi Quarter massacre March 15, 1995 Istanbul and Ankara 23[90] JİTEM, Turkish deep state (alleged) Alevis More than 400 injured[90]
Güçlükonak massacre [tr] February 15, 1996 Güçlükonak in Şırnak province 11 JİTEM Civilians 11 residents are shot and burned to death in a minibus by JITEM[91][92][93][94][95][96]
Blue Market massacre March 13, 1999 Istanbul 13 PKK Civilians [97]
Operation Back to Life December 19, 2000 Turkey 32 Turkish security forces Leftist prisoners Deaths include 30 prisoners and 2 soldiers[98][99]
Diyarbakır events of March 2006 [tr] March 28–31, 2006 Diyarbakır 14 Turkish security forces Protesters 14 Kurdish civilians including 6 children, 4 of them under the age of 10 were killed by the security forces in protests[100][101]
Zirve Publishing House massacre April 18, 2007 Malatya 3 Islamists German Christians [102]
Mardin engagement ceremony massacre May 4, 2009 Bilge, Mardin 44[103] Village Guards Civilians Reuters said it was "one of the worst attacks involving civilians in Turkey's modern history", declaring that the scale of the attack had shocked the nation.[104]
Roboski airstrike December 28, 2011 Uludere in Şırnak Province 34[89] Turkish Air Force Kurdish Civilians Warplanes killed who had been involved in smuggling gasoline and cigarettes in the area, villagers during an operation meant to target Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels. The government gave no information about the facts.[105][106][107]
Suruç bombing July 20, 2015 Suruç in Şanlıurfa Province 34 ISIL Socialist Party of the Oppressed member university students
2015 Ankara bombings October 10, 2015 Ankara 109 ISIL Protesters, civilians
Cizre basement massacre February 7, 2016 Cizre, Şırnak +178 Turkish Armed Forces Kurdish Civilians 178 civilians, dozens of them children, some of them as young as 9 were burnt alive in three basements.[108][109] Turkish government reacted to the massacre by calling it "baseless terror propaganda", and covering it up by flattening the ruins and filling the basements up with rubble.[110]
February 2016 Ankara bombing February 17, 2016 Ankara 30 TAK Civilian employees of Turkish Armed Forces and soldiers
March 2016 Ankara bombing March 13, 2016 Ankara 38 TAK Civilians
2016 Atatürk Airport attack June 28, 2016 Atatürk Airport, Istanbul 45 ISIL Civilians
2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt July 15–16, 2016 Turkey (Mainly Istanbul, Ankara, Malatya, Kars and Marmaris) 270–350[111] Peace at Home Council Civilians and soldiers Turkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its political history on July 15, 2016, when a section of the Turkish military launched a coordinated operation in several major cities to topple the government[112]
2017 Istanbul nightclub attack January 1, 2017 Istanbul 39 ISIS Civilians A gunman opened fire in the Reina Nightclub during New Year celebrations
2021 Konya massacre July 30, 2021 Meram district, Konya Province 7 Mehmet Altun Kurds

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