The Massacre of Aleppo (Arabic: قومة حلب, romanized: Qawmat Ḥalab), often referred to simply as The Events (al-hawādith), was a riot perpetrated by Muslim residents of Aleppo, largely from the eastern quarters of the city, against Christian residents, largely located in the northern suburbs of Judayde (Jdeideh) and Salibeh. The riot began on the evening of October 17, 1850, and ended two days later on October 19, 1850. The riot resulted in numerous deaths, including that of Peter VII Jarweh, the Syriac Catholic Patriarch.
The riot is generally characterized as the culmination of tensions between the diverse groups that had historically populated Aleppo, including tensions between the Muslim and Christian communities and between Janissaries and the ashraf. Non-Aleppine ethnic groups, including Bedouin, have also been blamed for the riot, especially by local historians. It has been argued, however, that The Events reflect instead more complex social dynamics, particularly the disruption caused by the sweeping reforms implemented by the Ottoman Empire in its nineteenth-century attempts at modernization, also known as the Tanzimat, and by the Empire's incorporation into the modern world economic system.
The aftermath included the replacement of the governor of Aleppo, leading to the eruption of fighting between Janissary and ashraf groups on November 5. With the intervention of state forces utilizing artillery purchased from the United Kingdom, the renewed fighting ended by November 8. Attempts at the restitution of stolen property and the bringing of legal charges against rioters spurred on further disagreement between Muslim and Christian residents.
The massacre is considered by historians to be particularly important in Aleppine history since it represents the first time that disturbances pitted Muslims against Christians in the region. Additionally, the implications of The Events include integral insights into the social, political and economic elements of the 19th-century Middle East.
As the Caliphate weakened in the 19th century, restrictions on Christians were eased, due to the increasing intervention and influence of European powers. Catholics and Melkites were officially recognised as Millets in 1831 and 1848, respectively. 1839 reforms allowed Christians to build new churches, which was previously prohibited. A newly formed municipal advisory council provided Christians with the opportunity to express their opinions.
Perhaps the most significant changes during this time, however, were the alterations being made to the taxation system. Traditionally, direct taxation was only required for adult, non-Muslim men, through a system known as jizya. Taxes for Muslims, rather than being applied to the individual, were instead announced by the government and left to be collected by various corporate entities, such as guilds or quarters, from among their individual members. Yet, an individual head tax was introduced for Muslim residents during the Egyptian occupation of Syria in the 1830s, under Muhammad Ali Pasha, and was continued even after the Ottoman forces regained control of the region. Not only did this lead to increasing economic burden upon the Muslim residents of Aleppo, spurring on dramatic decreases in their relative wealth while their Christian neighbours prospered because of connections with Europe, but it also created a sense of disillusionment in terms of the relationship between Muslims and the state, for it undermined the distinction between Muslims and non-Muslims, thereby possibly calling into question the role of Muslims as the defenders of Islam as well. The already apparent class distinction became more dramatic with Muhammad Ali Pasha's modernization efforts and led to the increasing social discontinuity that set the stage for conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities. These taxation reforms were coupled with an economic depression that spread throughout Aleppo in the mid-1800s, and were thus particularly devastating for residents from the eastern quarters of the city, for they were largely engaged in the caravan trade and the grain trade, the two sectors most deeply affected by the economic depression.
As trade with Europe increased, merchants who were mostly Christians and Jews prospered, while Muslim residents faced increasing economic hardships. The Muslim population of the city was badly hit by inflation as a result of the foreign merchandise that flooded the market after Syria was integrated into the world economy. The ease of commercial restrictions upon Christians spurred on discontent among Muslims, for they perceived this to be a threat to their traditional economic advantages in the region. Muslims also sought to stop the building of new churches, without much success. Additionally, Aleppo had a large Janissary faction, which had been growing increasingly discontented with the Ottoman government since their official abolishment in 1826. The janissaries largely resided in the eastern quarters of Aleppo, and were thus particularly affected by these economic hardships.
When the Catholic patriarch Maximos III Mazloum was carried in a procession through the city with much extravagance, Muslims saw this as a sign of increasing Christian domination of the city. Celebratory fire during the festivities gave rise to rumours that Christians were arming themselves.
General reforms occurring within the Ottoman Empire as it attempted to modernize, specifically census-taking and the forced conscription of citizens, also led to increased tensions and feelings of insecurity for the Muslim residents of Aleppo. Following the first-ever census of Aleppo's adult men, rumors spread that the Empire intended to begin to conscript adult men in the area. Backlash against looming threat of conscription, then, meant that the taking of the census became the catalyst for the 1850 riots in Aleppo.
On the evening of Wednesday, October 17, 1850, Aleppian residents protesting against the looming threat of conscription marched to the palace of Mustafa Zarif Pasha, the governor of Aleppo. Pasha barred the gates to his residence and refused to hear their demands, so the protesters then sought out 'Abdallah al-Babinsi, the leader of the city's janissary faction. Although he refused to lead the movement, some accounts of his interactions with the mob state that his remarks carried an implicit approval of the rioters' actions. The rioters then advanced to the predominantly Christian quarters of Judeida and Saliba, located in the northern part of Aleppo, where they began to loot and pillage both churches and private homes. Rioters attacked and killed approximately 20 Christians. During the attacks, many Christians managed to find refuge among the caravanserais in the bazaars or were protected by their Muslim neighbors. The rioting continued throughout the next day, October 18.
On Friday, October 19, the a'yān, or the urban elites, used to their moral authority, in combination with forces supplied by 'Abdallah, to break up the rioters. In turn, they agreed to present the rioters' demands to Pasha. These demands included requests that there would be no conscription, that only recoverable plunder could be returned, that the ringing of church bells and carrying of crosses in religious processions would cease, and that Christians would be prohibited from owning slaves. Initially, Pasha accepted these demands, and also added a pledge that the hated individual head tax would be replaced with a property tax. Additionally, 'Abdallah was appointed acting governor.
On November 2, troops that had been requested by Pasha as reinforcements from the central government arrived, demanding that the city disarm. Before addressing these internal problems, however, the troops were tasked with fighting off the nomadic Bedouin groups that had gathered around the city with the expectations of easily raiding Aleppo, because of its recent chaos. The Bedouins quickly retreated, but because of his rumored connections with them, 'Abdallah was removed from his position as acting governor and replaced by his rival, Yusuf Sharayyifzadah, the leader of the ashraf faction in the city.