Armenian fedayi
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Armenian fedayi | |
---|---|
Active | 1880s–1920s |
Country | Ottoman Empire Russian Empire Qajar Iran |
Allegiance | Armenians |
Type | Iranian Constitutional Revolution Armenian Genocide Resistance |
Commanders | |
Before 1893 | Arabo |
1893–1899 | Aghbiur Serob |
1899–1904 | Andranik |
1904–1907 | Kevork Chavush |
Fedayi (
Some of the key Fedayi figures also participated in the
The Armenian term fedayi is ultimately derived from
History
Goals and activities
Armenian fedayis' main goal was to defend
Their activities in the Ottoman Empire dissipated after the
Persian Constitutional Revolution
Several fedayi and ARF key figures such as Aram Manukian, Hamo Ohanjanyan and Stepan Stepanian agreed upon joining the ongoing Iranian Constitutional Revolution in neighboring Qajar Persia.[3]
They established that the movement was one that had political, ideological and economic components and was thus aimed at establishing law and order, human rights and the interests of all working people. They also felt that it would work for the benefit and interest of
World War I
Some fedayi groups joined the Ottoman army after the Ottoman government passed a new law to support the war effort that required all enabled adult males up to the age of 45 to either be recruited in the Ottoman army or to pay special fees (which would be used in the war effort) to be excluded from service. As a result of this law, most able-bodied men were removed from their homes, leaving only the women, children, and elderly by themselves. Most of the Armenian recruits were later turned into road laborers, out of which many were executed.[when?]
The Genocide, committed during World War I by the Ottoman Empire, gave way to the return of the fedayis, who reorganised themselves once again inside the borders of the Ottoman Empire. In turn, tens of thousands of Armenians volunteered to be drafted in several different armies. These Armenian volunteer units were formed inside the Russian army to fight against the Ottoman Empire.[4]
The Russian Caucasus Front collapsed following the
To consider emergency measures, the
The total number of
In the Caucasus, where, without mentioning the 150,000 Armenians in the Imperial Russian Army, more than 40,000 of their volunteers helped to liberate part of the Armenian vilayets, and where, under the command of their leaders, Antranik and Nazerbekoff, they alone, among the peoples of the Caucasus, offered resistance to the Turkish armies, from the beginning of the Bolshevist withdrawal right up to the signing of an armistice."[6]
Boghos Nubar, as part of the Armenian Delegation, intended to expand the independent First Republic of Armenia. Thus, he might have elevated the number of Armenian fedayees who were able to fight in order to show that the Armenians are capable of defending an eventually large Ottoman-Armenian border. In reality, their numbers at that time were much lower, considering that there were no more than a few handful of fedayees in most of the confrontations between them and Kurdish irregulars or Turkish soldiers, even according to foreign accounts. Moreover, many of the fedayees were the same and reappeared in various places and battles. One should also note that many Armenian irregular fighters died defending regions of Western Armenia during the Armenian genocide.
Notable fedayis
See also
References
- ^ Middle East Glossary - The Israel Project: FEDAYEE Archived 2012-04-27 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 019917170X.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8133-3817-0.
- ^ "Ottoman labour battalions". hist.net. Archived from the original on 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2006-10-19.
- ^ a b (Pasdermadjian 1918, pp. 38)
- ^ Letter to French Foreign Office - December 3, 1918
Sources
- Pasdermadjian, Garegin; Aram Torossian (1918). Why Armenia Should be Free: Armenia's Role in the Present War. Hairenik Pub. Co. p. 38.
Bibliography
- Vartanian, H.K. The Western Armenian Liberation Struggle Yerevan, 1967
- Translated from the Armenian: Mihran Kurdoghlian, Badmoutioun Hayots, C. hador [Armenian History, volume III], Athens, Greece, 1996, pg. 59–62.