The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century and ended in the deaths of 1.5 million inhabitants of Turkey, specifically of the Armenian ethnic background. This number is so astonishing because it accounts for almost 10% of the population of the entire country. This extreme loss of life took place from 1915- 1917 as reported, but the Armenians suffered through harsh conditions for two years after the "end " of the genocide. In understanding this genocide you must look onto several subjects which relate and coincide with the true nature of the genocide. These being, the history before, who was responsible, what happened, and what the losses were.
             The genocide in the early 20th century wasn't the start of the Armenian's persecution. In fact is spanned back to the mid to late 16th century, when the Ottoman Empire absorbed them into their lands and invaded. This began a long span of religious intolerance by the Muslims towards the Armenian Christians. As time went on the Ottoman Empire started its decline, and in the early 1800's the once conquered peoples of Greek, Serb and Romanian descent gained their independence, while the Armenian's were still under the control of the disintegrating Ottoman control. The empire fell into the rule of the sultan Abdul Hamid. By the late 1800's the youth of the Armenian peoples started pressing the government for political reforms such as the right to vote, and the end of special taxing of them just because they were Christian. The extremely hateful tyrant responded to their begging with a hard hand of persecution enforcing his special regiments to massacre over 100,000 Armenians from 1894 to 1896. A few years later, though some Turkish nationalists known as "young Turks" demanded political reforms and sought to reshape their country's quick decline. In July 1908 three Turkish nationalists convinced the government to reform and so ...