On April 6-8, 2018, the third international symposium entitled “From the Ottomans to the Republic of Turkey” was held in Shanliurfa, Turkey. At the symposium, Ziyad Amrahov, PhD in History, instructor of the Department of History and Archeology of Khazar University delivered a report entitled “Hamidiyya regiments of Ottoman Empire in Russian historiography”.

Researchers from Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Albania and Romania participated in the symposium. Through comparative analysis, Ziyad Amrahov talked about the views in Russian historiography on “hamidiyye regiments” of Ottoman Empire. After the report, Ziyad Amrahov answered questions. Referring to various resources, Ziyad Amrahov refused the idea of Russian researchers who claimed that “the main aim of these cavalry regiments was to kill Ottoman Armenians”. He also stressed that after the decisions of Berlin Congress, Armenians failed to establish a state and therefore they escalated the conflicts in Eastern Anatolia, and, by organizing terrorist groups, Armenians massacred other peoples of the Empire, especially Kurds, Circassians and Turks. Considering tension in the region the Ottoman leaders held reforms and created stronger military unions (hamidiyye regiments) in order to control internal social and political situation and secure the borders.