Editing Van, Turkey (section)

====Ottoman Era demographics====
The demographics of Ottoman Van are a debated and contentious point as they relate directly to claims of ownership by either side prior to the outbreak of World War I. For the city of Van itself it has been estimated that it had around 50,000 inhabitants prior to World War I, of whom 30,000 were Armenian and 20,000 were Muslims. Based on the official 1914 Ottoman census, the population of Van province consisted of 179,422 Muslims and 67,797 [[Armenians]].<ref name=":0">Values as printed in the [[:File:Proportions des populations en Asie Mineure statistique officielle d1914.png|official statistics from 1914]].</ref> The Ottoman census figures include only male citizens, excluding women and children, and according to more recent research, an estimate for Van province (including women and children) is that it had 313,000 Muslims, 130,000 Armenians, and 65,000 others, including [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]].<ref>Justin McCarthy: ''Muslims and Minorities.'' New York University Press, 1983, p. 110 f.</ref>

The demographics of Van are a greatly debated point also given the changing provincial borders. For example, in 1875 the province was divided; Van and Hakkari were separated, only to be rejoined in 1888, drastically changing the census numbers. Some writers argue that this merging was done to keep the Armenians from forming a majority.<ref>Hewsen 2000, p. 35.</ref> In 1862 it was estimated that in Van there were 90,100 Christians (including [[Syriac Christianity|Syriac Christians]]) and 95,100 Muslims.<ref>{{Armenian Van-Vaspurakan 2000 |last=Ter Minassian |first=Anahide |author-link=Anahide Ter Minassian |title=10: The City of Van at the Turn of the Twentieth Century |p=179}}</ref> The French Consul in Van reported that in Van and Bitlis 51.46% were [[Kurds]], 32.70% were [[Armenians]] and 5.53% were Turks.<ref>Ter Minassian, ch.10, p. 180.</ref> On the other hand, the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople estimated 185,000 [[Armenians]] in Van, 18,000 [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], 72,000 [[Kurds]], 47,000 [[Turkish people|Turks]], 25,000 [[Yezidis]], 5,000 [[Zazas]] and 3,000 [[Gypsies]].<ref name=":1">Ter Minassian, ch.10, p. 181.</ref> Both sides have been accused of over-counting the numbers at the time given the [[Armenian genocide]] and population statistics became important during the [[Berlin Conference]].<ref>Sarkis Y. Karayan: "Demography of Van Province, 1844–1914". In: [[Richard G. Hovannisian]]: ''Armenian Van/Vaspurakan''. Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa/CA 2000, p. 196.</ref>