Hamazasp Srvandztyan (; 1873 – 18 February 1921), commonly known as Hamazasp, was an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n fedayee military commander and member of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

Early life

Hamazasp was born in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

in 1873 and was the nephew of the folklorist

Garegin Srvandztiants Garegin or Karekin Srvandztiants (; November 17, 1840November 17, 1892) was an Armenian philologist, folklorist, ethnographer, and ecclesiastic. Life Karekin Srvandztiants was born in Van in the Ottoman Empire in 1840. He was the uncle of militar ...

. Hamazasp was first a member of the

Armenakan Party The Armenakan Party (in Armenian Արմենական Կուսակցութիւն) was an Armenian political party established in Van, Ottoman Empire in 1885 by Mekertich Portukalian as an underground organization against the ruling system. It i ...

and then the

. After finishing school, he began to learn handicraft as a jeweler and a watchmaker. From an early age he was involved in the

Armenian national liberation movement The Armenian national movement ( ''Hay azgayin-azatagrakan sharzhum'') included social, cultural, but primarily political and military movements that reached their height during World War I and the following years, initially seeking improved statu ...

. To avoid persecution by the Ottoman government, he moved to

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

, then to Shushi from Van. He participated in the Armenian–Tatar clashes of 1905–07. Hamazasp was especially notable in the Battle of

Askeran Askeran ( or , ; ) is a town in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, as the centre of its Askeran Province. The town had an ethnic Armenian-m ...

Ravine on 22 August 1905, defeating a 200-member Turkish detachment of which only 6 survived. He also organized the defense of the Armenian villagers of the

Elisabethpol Governorate The Elizavetpol Governorate, also known after 1918 as the Ganja Governorate, was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Yelisavetpol (present-day Ganja). The area of the governorate s ...

. In 1908, the Tsarist government arrested Hamazasp and condemned him to death, but this was replaced by a 15 years of exile to

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

sentence. In 1913 he escaped from prison and went to Europe, then to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. At the 8th General Assembly of the ARF party that took place in

Karin Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise * Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' *Karin Kokubu, a main character in ...

in 1914, he was strongly opposed to any cooperation with the

Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...

, and largely supported an alliance with the Russian Empire.

World War I

Armenian 3rd battalion cavalry and troops rallying at Etchmiadzin 1914

At the beginning of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Hamazasp participated in the

Caucasus Campaign The Caucasus campaign comprised armed conflicts between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire, later including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus, the German Empire, the Central Caspian Dict ...

and was appointed Commander of the 3rd Armenian volunteer battalion. He took part in many battles, and also ensured the safe migration of the Armenian population from Basen and Alashkert. He was one of the volunteer liberators of the Siege of Van in May 1915. In June he fought in the

Battle of Bitlis The Battle of Bitlis refers to a series of engagements in the summer of 1916 for the town of Bitlis and to a lesser extent nearby Muş, between Russian Imperial forces and their Ottoman counterparts. The town was the last stronghold of the O ...

, and in October fought in

Hizan Hizan (; ) is a town in Bitlis Province, Turkey. It is the seat of Hizan District.İlçe Beled ...

. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

in 1917, Hamazasp was appointed the military police commander of Alashkert, until Russian troops left the Caucasian front. Commanders of Armenian volunteer units

In 1918, he fought for the

Baku Commune Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, as a Commander of the Armenian brigade (3,000 soldiers and officers). He displayed his abilities as an experienced strategist and organizer, playing a decisive role in the operations of Ganja and

Yevlakh Yevlakh (, ) is a city in Azerbaijan, 265 km west of the capital of Baku. It is surrounded by but administratively separate from the Yevlakh District. Etymology The settlement is mentioned by the 13th century Armenian historian Stephen O ...

and for 4 months fought against overwhelming Turkish forces of the Army of Islam. After the fall of the Baku Commune, he went to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

First Republic of Armenia

In the autumn of 1918, after the defeat of Turkey in the First World War, Hamazasp came back to Armenia and was appointed military commander of the region of Nor Bayazet. He participated in various actions of defense of the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

, including the suppression of the

May Uprising The May Uprising () was a failed coup d'état by the Armenian Bolsheviks that started in Gyumri on May 10, 1920. It was eventually suppressed by the Armenian government on May 14 and its leaders executed or exiled. Although the revolt failed, Ar ...

in 1920. After the establishment of the Soviet power in Armenia, Hamazasp came to Yerevan with the aim of being helpful for the new government. However, he was arrested by the Bolsheviks and, after two months of imprisonment, he was brutally hacked to death on 18 February 1921, when the

February Uprising The February Uprising () was an anti-Bolshevik rebellion by the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation which started on February 13 and was suppressed on April 2, 1921, by the recapture of Yerevan by Bolshevik forces. Background After t ...

was on the way.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Armenian Genocide profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Srvandztyan, Hamazasp 1873 births 1921 deaths People from Van, Turkey Armenian fedayi Armenian generals Armenian nationalists Armenian people of World War I Imperial Russian Army personnel Russian military personnel of World War I Armenian expatriates in Iran Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian people executed by the Soviet Union Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to the Russian Empire Armenian military personnel in the Imperial Russian Army of World War I