Social Result of Migrations
After the defeat of Ottoman Empire in the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War, which was also called as 93 War, Ottoman Empire lost a land of 237,298 km2 including Romania, Serbia, Karadag, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, West Trace and a population of 8,200,000 peeople with the Berlin Agreement started on 13 June 1878. This also meant a great economical loss for the Ottoman Empire. Thousands of Muslims died both at war and in civilian life by massacres in Balkhans, mainly by Bulgarians. There started a great migration to Anatolia from those lost lands in Balkhans. On the other hand, Caucasian migration to Ottoman lands got speed as a result of Russian policy as forcing Caucasian people for migration. According to the first census of 1881-1882, which was the first one after these suffering years of large population changes, it was seen that Ottoman population was 39,109,601, including also autonomous Egypt and Syria. Among them, Anatolian Muslims were a group of 9,678,798. If the figures we have already given about the immigrants settled in Anatolia until the census years of 1881-1882, it can be clearly seen that the immigrants form the 20-25% of the Anatolian Muslim population. When the Anatolian Muslim population at 1867 census is compared to that of 1881-1882 cencus, this decrease in population despite the immigrant settlement should be counted as a result of Ottoman-Russian war and social and economical demolition of the war years. Moreover, epidemic diseases should not be considered.
Ottoman population in 1893 was 27.208.683 and 21.507.304 were Ottoman Muslim people living in Kosova, Manastır, Girit, Yanya, Ishkodra, Syria, Beirut, Musul, Kerkukh, Bagdat, Basra, Hicaz, Jerusalem ve Umman and the rest were 5.701.379 non-Muslim people. The decrease of non-Muslim population when compared to the previous census figures was because that those people were living in the counties that Ottoman Empire lost after the wars. In 1893', Anatolian Muslim population reached to 10.085.680. The rest of Ottoman Muslim population was generally Muslims living in Arabian countries. We know that some of them were Caucasians.
Continuing until the beginning of 20th century, these migrations were changing social structure while having demographical effects. At the cencus made between 1905-1906, Muslim immigrants from Crimea, Caucasia and Balkhans were become native settlers. After the 93 War, they got stronger economically in relatively peaceful period of Abdulhamid Khan the 2nd, and consequently they were increasing in their new homeland. At the cencus of 1905-1906, Ottoman population was 20.884.630, of which 15.508.753 were Muslim and 5.375.877 non-Muslim. At this census, Anatolian Muslims reached to 11.413.206 with the common effect of both immigrants and population increase among native settlers.
Taking as an opportunity of the weakness of Ottoman Empire during Ottoman-Italian War at Trablusgarb, Balkhan countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia and Karadag) attacked to Ottoman Empire in 1912 and this Balkhan war ended in 1913 by the London Agreement on 30 May 1913 signed between Ottoman Empire and the said Balkhan countrie. As a result of this agreement, Ottoman Empire left all its lands in Balkhans, and lost a land of 167,312 km2 including Selanik, Manastır, Kosova, Usküp, Ishkodra, Yanya, Girit ve Egean Islands together with a population loss of 6.581.000 people. With the census after the Balkhan war and just before the World War I, includes such a data that can be explained that migrations were about to stop. This census did not consider the Muslims and the Caucasians among them living in the Middle East countries like Hicaz, Umman, Bagdat, Basra which were practically separated.
The Ottoman population in 1914 within the borders similar to todays was 18,500,016, of which 15.044.844 were Muslim and 3.475.170 were non-Muslim. After deducting the Muslim population living in Jerusalem, Beirut, Aleppa, Sysia, the Anatolian Muslim population was 12,636,816. It can be stated that the immigrants were 40% of the Anatolian Muslim Population when compared with the 5 million immigrant from Crimea, Caucasia and Balkhans, which is a common and accepted figure in scientific publications.
The End
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