While scholarship on the Armenian Genocide has expanded significantly in recent years, the history of the concentration camps in present-day Syria, where Ottoman authorities deported Armenians during the death marches, remains largely understudied.


This is the first book to offer an in-depth and multifaceted examination of these camps. The chapters trace the origins and development of the camp system and document the atrocities committed at infamous sites such as Deir ez-Zor, Ras al-Ain, Meskene and others. Contributors explore the brutal realities of daily life in the camps, the interactions between deportees and local populations, as well as the ways in which some Armenians managed to resist and survive against overwhelming odds. Combining a comparative perspective that situates the camps within a global context with detailed analyses of specific locations, this volume provides critical new insights into the operation and function of concentration camps during the Armenian Genocide.

Bedross Der Matossian is Professor of Modern Middle East history and the Hymen Rosenberg Professor in Judaic Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA. He is the author, editor, and co-editor of seven books, including Shattered Dreams of Revolution: From Liberty to Violence in the Late Ottoman Empire (2014) and The Horrors of Adana: Revolution and Violence in the Early Twentieth Century (2022). He serves on the editorial board of journals, including the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES).


Dr. Edita Gzoyan is a genocide studies scholar specializing in the legal and historical dimensions of the Armenian Genocide. She is Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Armenian Genocide Studies and teaches at the American University of Armenia. Her research focuses on gendered violence, forced child transfer, and international criminal law, including the edited volume The Silenced Crime: Forcible Child Transfer During the Armenian Genocide (2025).