When we see discussion of what to do when visiting Izmir, I sometimes mention that Smyrna is a key place in the region's history; today happens to be an important anniversary, and it had a role in the makeup of the Izmiry population in the later 19th and early 20th c. --
Today is the 175th anniversary of The Massacre of Aleppo, known among Muslims as "The Events"
On the evening of Oct 17, 1850, Aleppian residents 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 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, in the northern part of Aleppo, where they began to loot and pillage both churches and private homes. Rioters attacked and killed at least 20 Christians. During the attacks, some 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 Fri 19 Oct, the a'yān, or the urban elites, used 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 2 Nov, 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 gathered around the city with the expectation 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.
Fighting again broke out, this time among Muslims, as ashraf and janissary factions fought over the change in governor.
On 5 Nov, the troops used artillery guns purchased from Britain to bombard the centers of insurgency, destroying several quarters and killing more than 5,000 individuals.
Fighting then devolved into house-to-house fighting, which was subsequently put down by 8 Nov, when civil order was restored. The official reports estimated that 3,400 had been killed, 1,500 had fled the city and 250 arrested.
Many of the Christians who fled went to Beirut and Smyrna/Izmir. The Syrian Catholic Patriarch was wounded in the attacks and died a year later, leading to the relocation of the diocese HQ out of Aleppo and in to Mardin.
In a subsequent round of Muslim violence against Christians in the Ottoman Empire (called the 1860 Christian-Druze War), residents of Aleppo were less inclined to follow the call by religious authorities to slaughter their neighbors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Aleppo_(1850)
From the wikipedia article:
On Dec 4, the governor issued a decree that they had 10 days to return stolen goods, and after that, those found with stolen property would be punished as thieves and rebels.
But the only property returned was livestock, and nobody was ever punished as a thief.
Muslims blamed the riots upon Bedouins.