Armenian family from Kars

An Armenian family from the city of Kars. The photograph was taken before the Armenian Genocide of 1915.

In the 10th–11th centuries Kars was the fortress centre of the Armenian Kingdom of Kars. In 1877 it was taken by Russian troops, and under the Treaty of San Stefano of 1878 Kars passed to Russia. Under the Treaty of Brest of 1918 it passed to the Ottoman Empire; from 1919 it was under the control of the Republic of Armenia, and by the Treaty of Kars of 1921 it finally became part of Turkey.

The photograph shows two women and three boys. The older woman wears a traditional headdress and veil, with a long chain around her neck. The boy seated in the centre holds a sheet of paper.