Birinci Dünya Savaşı’nda Pontusçu Rum Çetelerinin Bafra Ve Çevresindeki Faaliyetleri (1914-1918)
Activities of Pontus Greek Gangs in and Around Bafra in the First World War (1914-1918)

Summary/Abstract: When the Ottoman Empire stood alongside the Central Powers during the First World War, Armenians and Greeks, who wanted to establish independent states in Anatolia, started ganging activities in the region. Armenians and Greeks believed that they could reach their aim by putting the Ottoman Empire in a difficult position behind-the-lines through ganging and supporting the Allies; for this purpose, the Greeks in Bafra didn’t obey Ottoman’s call for mobilization although they were citizens of the Empire during the War. They instead joined the Greek gangs. The district of Bafra, under Canik (Samsun) Sanjak, was one of the locations where these gangs carried outserious activities for the purpose of establishing a Pontus State; the so-called State would be located in Samsun (as the center), covering an area including Kastamonu, Batum and a part of Erzincan. Nebyan Mountains located among Bafra, Alaçam, Kavak and Samsun regions were centers for gangs in and around Bafra. According to the registrations of the Bafra courthouse, the crimes of murder, injury, extortion, highway robbery, theft, plunder were committed by the Greek gangs. The crimes of Pontus Greek gangs in the Black Sea Region were similar to those of the Armenian gangs in terms of purpose and method. The activities of Pontus Greek gangs in and around Bafra will be analyzed on the basis of the references from Ottoman archive documents and related studies in the literature. The truth that Turks were killed in a cruel way in and around Bafra, similar to the cruel activities in the other areas in the Ottoman Empire during the First World War will be explained in this study. Bafra and the area surrounding Bafra were important centers for Pontus activities. The aim of this study is to discover some important information about Pontus activities in and around Bafra and to contribute to the literature.

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