Hampartsoum Boyadjian (; 14 May 1860 – 30 July 1915), also known by his ''

noms de guerre A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war. In ''ancien régime'' France it would be adopted by each new recruit (or assigned to them by ...

'' Murad and sometimes Medzn Murad (, "Mourad the Great"), was an

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

'' fedayi'' (partisan leader) and a leading political activist of the

Hunchak The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) (), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian political party, founded in 1887 by a group of students in Geneva, Switzerland. It was the first socialist party to operate in the Ottoman Empire and i ...

party.

Biography

He was born in

Hadjin Saimbeyli, historically known as Hadjin (), is a town and district of Adana Province in present-day Turkey. Its area is 989 km2, and its population is 13,621 (2022). The town is located at the Taurus mountains of Cilicia region, 157 km north o ...

in the region of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

. The Hunchakian leader Medzn Girayr (Harutiun-Mardiros Boyadjian) was his senior brother. Murad joined the Hunchakian party when he was a medical student in

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 ...

. In 1890, he took part in the

Kum Kapu demonstration The Kum Kapu demonstration occurred in the Kumkapı district of Constantinople on July 27, 1890. It ensued in skirmishing in which several demonstrators and four police officers were killed. The intent of the demonstration was "..to awaken the ...

. In 1894, he was a leader of the Sasun Resistance. He exhorted the inhabitants of Sasun to fight to their last drop of blood to defend their mountains and houses. Turkish authorities imprisoned and tortured him, and in 1896 Murad was exiled to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

. During his exile the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party convention elected Mourad as a member of its Central Committee. Murad was one of the most popular figures of the Armenian liberation movement, and several revolutionary groups worked towards his liberation. In 1906 he escaped from prison and in 1908 he returned to Constantinople. In the

1908 Ottoman general election General elections were held in November and December 1908 for all 288 seats of the Chamber of Deputies of the Ottoman Empire, following the Young Turk Revolution which established the Second Constitutional Era. They were the first elections cont ...

, he was elected a member of the

Ottoman parliament The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

representing Kozan (Sis) in the Adana Vilayet; he was one of 10 Armenian deputies in the new parliament. Murad, a Hunchakian who never gave up on the dream of a united and independent Armenia was labelled, like thousands of others, an undesirable by the

Young Turk 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, a ...

Government. He was among the first to be arrested on 24 April 1915 (known as

Red Sunday The deportation of Armenian intellectuals is conventionally held to mark the beginning of the Armenian genocide. Leaders of the Armenian community in the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (now Istanbul), and later other locations, were arrest ...

), on the eve of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, and sent to

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

, where he was severely tortured in prison. After a trial in July, he was hanged on 30 July 1915, with 12 of his friends. From 1992 to 1994, a battalion named after Medzn Murad led by Gevorg Guzelian took part in the

First Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...

Notes

Bibliography

* *''Metsn Murat (Hambardzum Pōyachean): Keankʻn u gortsunēutʻiwně'', by Sirvard,

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

, 1955. *Medzn Mourat, by Yeghia Jerejian, 2016, 248 pages,

External links

Hampartsoum Boyadjian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyadjian, Hampartsoum 1860 births 1915 deaths People from Saimbeyli People from Adana vilayet Armenian fedayi Armenian nationalists Political people from the Ottoman Empire Deputies of Adana People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging People who died in the Armenian genocide Armenians from the Ottoman Empire

Biography

See also

Notes

Bibliography

External links