5 Things You Should Know About the Armenian Genocide

Tuesday marked the 103rd anniversary of the genocide of Armenians, the vast majority of whom were Christians.

On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman government arrested and executed hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and subsequently killed 1.5 million other Armenians, some whom were crucified. By 1922 there were fewer than 400,000 Armenians left in the Ottoman Empire.

The issue remains politicized, however, as many nations refuse to recognize the atrocities as a genocide because of the political implications and actions required when using that word, particularly on an international stage.

“Today, #Armenia’ns in all the corners of the world pay tribute to the memory of victims of #ArmenianGenocide. Today we are more than vocal that #NeverAgain promise should kept and #crimesagaisnthumanity should be prevented. #ArmenianGenocide103” the official Twitter account for the country of Armenia posted Tuesday.

Here are five things you should know about the Armenian genocide, Armenians today, and the 103rd anniversary.

Coinciding With World War I

Armenia, a former Soviet republic, is a landlocked country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. It was the first nation in the world to declare Christianity its official religion in the fourth century. In the 15th century, the Armenians, who were mostly Christian, were absorbed into the Ottoman Empire and were ruled by Muslims, a backgrounder from the History Channel explains.

Although conflict had been brewing for decades before the genocide, a pivotal moment occurred when a nationalist group known as the Young Turks, who wanted to “Turkify”…