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System of a Down is an Armenian American band broadly categorized as heavy metal or alternative metal. The band, also known as SOAD by fans, got its start in the 1990s in Southern California. Singles “Sugar” and “Spiders” prompted interest from alternative radio, and the band gained tremendous exposure when it joined the Slayer and Ozzfest tours. The artists are known for using a variety of instruments, including many not typically associated with rock music. They have recorded using electric mandolins, sitars, and other East Asian instruments.

Armenians around the world observe April 24 of every year as Armenian Martyrs' Day, honoring the memory of the more than 1 million Armenians who died of persecution in the early 20th century. It was on April 24, 1915, during World War I, that the Turkish government initiated its final and most deadly campaign against the Armenians, beginning with the arrest and execution of approximately 250 Armenian leaders in the Turkish capital of Istanbul.

Between 1915 and 1923, almost the entire Armenian population was systematically driven from their homeland in the Ottoman Empire by Turkish officials. Many Armenian men were massacred outright or subject to forced labor. Eventually, men, women, and children were forced to march to desert areas of Syria and Iraq, denied basic human rights such as food and shelter, and frequently subject to crimes such as robbery and rape. Over one million Armenians—more than half of their population—are believed to have died in the process, including in mass killings. This ethnic cleansing campaign was largely hidden from public view by the events of World War I. The deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population is known as the Armenian Genocide or the Armenian Holocaust, and also referred to by Armenians as the Great Calamity.

Several factors contributed to the massacre of close to one million Armenians in Turkey during World War I. The Ottoman Empire was in rapid decline in the latter half of the nineteenth century. European powers, notably the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and (after 1871) the German Empire gradually severed various parts of the once-great empire. The Treaty of San Stefano ended the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 at Turkey’s expense. The genesis of that war had been the massacres carried out by Turkish troops in Bulgaria in 1876. As a result of the treaty, the Ottomans lost territory to Russia. The Russian imperial government acted as the protector of Christians within the Islamic Ottoman Empire, and Russia pressured the Ottoman government to allow Christian Armenians to have administrative autonomy in eastern Turkey.

This firsthand report, from what is now eastern Turkey, gave only a glimpse into the tragedy that was occurring in that region against members of the Armenian ethnic group. The failing Ottoman Empire had joined the German side in World War I, in part in reaction to successful revolts by various groups (predominately Christian) in the Balkan section of Europe. Then, in 1914, the Ottoman leaders blamed a failed attempt to invade Russia on Armenians (also Christians), saying they had alerted the Russians. This led to the Turkish leaders of the Ottoman Empire targeting the Armenian population for retribution, as the Turkish leaders believed the Armenians, as a whole, were not supportive of the government. Thus, what is now known as the Armenian Genocide began. Although never recognized as genocide by the Turkish government, more than eighty percent of the Armenian population of present-day Turkey was either deported or killed. This restrained letter, by Leslie Davis, regarding some of these activities is important because he directly experienced what was happening.

SIGNIFICANCE: The act of genocide, which is based on hatred, bigotry, and prejudice, is opposed to the concepts of human rights, civil rights, and basic freedoms.