Why Was Waldemar Belck Shot?

Résumé 0

From the beginning of the 19th century onwards, researchers and travellers from various fields and occupations visited the eastern and southern provinces of the Ottoman State to carry out work related to their fields. Recognition of various archaeological remains and sites dating from different periods, along with the discovery of the East, the region of Mesopotamia and a deep-rooted past resulted in an increased interest by these people in these regions. With the rivalry among some museums in Europe to improve their displays and collections focusing on these regions, the eastern and southern provinces of the Ottoman State became the target of various excavations and surveys. However, these research and investigations that went on throughout the 19th century did not always end in a positive way in terms of the safety of the researchers. Vital problems that could potentially even result in death arose during the work of various researchers at various times in these regions. To give an example, Friedrich Eduard Schulz, a researcher in the region, was killed around Hakkari during his work (Potts, 2017, pp. 249-270; Ainsworth, 1842, p. 294). Waldemar Belck (Fig. 1) also encountered such a situation while he was carrying out research on the Kingdom of Urartu in the region of Van. Belck got injured and could survive only by chance. In this article, I will discuss this incident involving Belck and its consequences.