Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;, was an Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known fedayi and a key figure of the Armenian national liberation movement. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, he was one of the main Armenian leaders of military efforts for the independence of Armenia.
General Andranik Ozanian, wearing his uniform and medals with a papakha hat
Undated photo of Andranik. The text on the flag is from a Mikayel Nalbandian poem, "The Song of an Italian Girl", which became Armenia's national anthem): "Death is the same everywhere / A man dies but once / Blessed is the one that dies / For the freedom of his nation."
Andranik on his horse, early 1900s
The Holy Apostles Monastery of Mush
Fedayi, also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenian civilians who voluntarily left their families to form self-defense units and irregular armed bands in reaction to the mass murder of Armenians and the pillage of Armenian villages by criminals, Turkish and Kurdish gangs, Ottoman forces, and Hamidian guards during the reign of Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II in late 19th and early 20th centuries, known as the Hamidian massacres. Their ultimate goal was always to gain Armenian autonomy (Armenakans) or independence depending on their ideology and the degree of oppression visited on Armenians.
A fedayi group fighting under the ARF banner. The banner reads Liberty or Death.
Yeprem Khan was a revolutionary leader of Iran and a key figure of the revolution
A photo of an Armenian volunteer from the Library of Congress
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