An examination of Derova case: The politics of land-grabbing in Dersim Sandjak in the beginning of the twentieth century In the nineteenth century changes in the power structure and land tenure in the Eastern provinces resulted in the expulsion and seizure of the lands by Kurdish tribes. A general trend of land grabbing – an important source of tension between Armenian peasents and Kurdish tribes – was becoming clear to foreign observers by the beginning of the twentieth century. Following the reinstatement of the constitutional regime in 1908 Armenian community leaders and peasants emboldened by the initial positive measures pushed for the returned of the lands in Eastern provinces in general and in Dersim particular. On 21 February 1910, members of the Armenian Mirakian tribe of Dersim, Bedros and Giragos, submitted a petition to the governor of Mamüretülaziz and demanded the restitution of the lands to their original possessors in Derova that were grabbed by the leaders of the Arilli and Karsanan tribes. Upon this petition the government began to make an official inquiry regarding the former owners of the lands in question. However, the returning of the lands in Dereova to their Armenians possessors would be a complicated issue for the government, who would like to preserve and empower its power base in the region via tribal networks. This paper, by looking at land grabbing issue in Derova and its aftermath, seeks to investigate the economy and politics of the land grabbing in Dersim, the relations between the central state and the tribes in the beginning of the twentieth century.