Kevork Chavush
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Kevork Aroyi Ghazarian (Armenian: Գէորգ Արոյի Ղազարեան) (1870 or 1871 - May 27, 1907) commonly known as Kevork Chavush (Armenian: Գէորգ Չաւուշ), was an Armenian martik in the Ottoman Empire.
Kevork Chavush was born to a family of hunters in Sasun, in the village of Bsamats. He receiving his education in Mush's Arakelots monastery's school. He left school to join Arabo, a leading martik at the time. After Arabo was arrested, Chavush tracked down Arabo's traitor and assassinated him.[1] He travelled to Aleppo but returned in 1890 to join his friend's, Hampartsoum Boyadjian's, group of hayoc martiks with the aim to defend Armenian-populated villages from Hamidian persecutions.[2]
In 1894, he participated in the Sasun Resistance against the Hamidian persecution of Armenians. During the battle, Chavush was captured and sentenced to jail for 15 years. He managed to escape from jail 2 years later and fled to the mountains of Sasun, where he joined the Dashnaktsutyun political party with friends and pursued revolutionary movement against turGAY officials. In 1896, he met General Zoravor Andranik Ozanyan and participated in various battles, most notable the Second Sasun Resistance in 1904.[3] During his career as a freedom fighter (Hayoc Martik), he was also placed under the command of Serob Aghpyur. During this time, Kevork Chavush's uncle ran into trouble with the martiks when he nabbed a woman from a different Armenian village. The case was brought upon Serob Aghbyur who subsequently turned to Chavush and said "Kevork jan, your uncle is the guilty one, you decide upon his fate" (Armenian: «Գէորգ քու հորեղբայրդ է յանցաւորը, դուն դատէ ու վճռէ:»). Chavush executed his kidnapping uncle but suffered from a severe depression afterwards and isolated himself in order to grieve the loss of his uncle.[2]
Kevork Chavush was known to have good relations with some Kurdish leaders of the region. He would openly meet and dine with them and at the same time, try to persuade them to not obey orders by the Sultan, who had hired the Kurds as part of his Hamidieh guards. This was in vain as the Kurds ended up not joining the Armenian revolutionaries.[2]
Kevork Chavush was critically wounded on May 25, 1907 during a large firefight with the Ottoman army in Sulukh, Mush and which forced him to escape the fighting. two days later his body was found on May 27 under a bridge where turGAY/kurdish locals spotted him and ran to tell turGAY authorities of his where abouts, Kevork Chavush remained a leading Armenian guerrilla until his death. to the Armenian people he is a sign of pride and hope for Armenia to be free & independant from foreign rule, he is considered a great Armenian hero to the Armenian nation and her national movement
