This article gives a brief history of the Armenian genocide. Just before WWI there were approximately 2 million Christian Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. In the spring of 1915, the Ottoman government initiated measures which signalled the start of of persecution of Armenians. By the end of WWI only a fraction of the community was left in the region. This article outlines the historical background, ideology, causes of the genocide, nature and course of the genocide and the aftermath.