Arshavir Shirakian (also Shiragian, hy, Արշաւիր Շիրակեան; January 1, 1902 or 1900 – April 12, 1973) 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 across the ...
killer who was noted for his assassination of
Said Halim Pasha
Mehmed Said Halim Pasha ( ota, سعيد حليم پاشا ; tr, Sait Halim Paşa; 18 or 28 January 1865 or 19 February 1864 – 6 December 1921) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian originDanişmend (1971), p. 102 who served as Grand Vizier o ...
and Cemal Azmi as an act of vengeance for their roles in the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
. His memoirs, ''It was the Will for the Martyrs'' (Կտակն էր Նահատակներուն), is a description of his life during the Armenian genocide and the
Operation Nemesis
Operation Nemesis () was a program to assassinate both Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian genocide and officials of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic responsible for the massacre of Armenians during the September Days of 1918 in Baku. Maste ...
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, in 1900. Shirakian grew up around many members of the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation
The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...
. During the Armenian Genocide, Shirakian was entrusted the job of smuggling weapons and delivering secret messages amongst party members. Shirakian would describe in his memoirs that during those days, there were many hate rallies against Armenians and that many Armenian establishments were vandalized such as the Tokatlian Hotel.Arshavir Shiragian, The Legacy memoirs of an Armenian Patriot, Hairenik Press 1976, p. 108
Operation Nemesis
Arshavir Shirakian's first target was assassinating Armenian Vahe Ihsan (Yesayan). According to his memoirs, Vahe Ihsan was "a traitor who was despised by his countrymen, his relatives, and eventually by his own children" and "helped to draw up the list of prominent Armenians who were arrested and deported in 1915." Shirakian assassinated Ihsan on March 27, 1920, in
Said Halim Pasha
Mehmed Said Halim Pasha ( ota, سعيد حليم پاشا ; tr, Sait Halim Paşa; 18 or 28 January 1865 or 19 February 1864 – 6 December 1921) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian originDanişmend (1971), p. 102 who served as Grand Vizier o ...
while he was in exile in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Shirakian took up residence in a house on 28 Via Cola di Rienzo in Rome. On December 5, 1921, Shirakian assassinated
Said Halim Pasha
Mehmed Said Halim Pasha ( ota, سعيد حليم پاشا ; tr, Sait Halim Paşa; 18 or 28 January 1865 or 19 February 1864 – 6 December 1921) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian originDanişmend (1971), p. 102 who served as Grand Vizier o ...
while he was in a taxi on the home on Via Eustachio.
Shirakian, along with
Aram Yerganian
Aram Yerganian ( hy, Արամ Երկանեան; 20 May 1900 – 2 August 1934) was an Armenian revolutionary who was noted for his assassination of Behaeddin Sakir and Fatali Khan Khoyski as an act of vengeance for their roles in the Armenian ...
, was later given the task to assassinate both Cemal Azmi and
Behaeddin Shakir Baha al-Din or Bahaa ad-Din ( ar, بهاء الدين, Bahāʾ al-Dīn, splendour of the faith), or various variants like Bahauddin, Bahaeddine or (in Turkish) Bahattin, may refer to:
Surname
* A. K. M. Bahauddin, Bangladeshi politician and the M ...
, who were in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
. On April 17, 1922, Shirakian and Yerganian encountered Azmi and Shakir walking with their families at the Uhlandstrasse street. Shirakian managed to kill only Azmi and wound Shakir. Yerganian later ran after Shakir and managed to kill him with a shot to his head.
Later life
Arshavir Shirakian eventually married his wife Kayane and moved to New York in 1923, where they had a daughter, Sonia. He also was active in public life in the New York/New Jersey area and its Armenian community. He published his memoirs in 1965 entitled ''Ktakn er Nahataknerun'' (translated in English as ''It Was the Legacy of the Martyrs''). The memoirs were eventually translated into French (La dette du sang, 1982 and 1984), English (The Legacy, 1976, by Sonia Shiragian) and Italian (Condannato A Uccidere: Memorie di un Patriota Armeno, 2005, by Vasken Pambakian). A resident of
Leonia
Leonia is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 8,937,Englewood Hospital in
Englewood, New Jersey
Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...
. He is buried in the
Hackensack Cemetery
Hackensack Cemetery is a cemetery located in Hackensack, New Jersey, United States, founded by Baptists, Dutch Reformed, and Congregational benefactors in the 1890s, as a result of overcrowding in local churchyards and availability of open space. ...
in New Jersey. His daughter, Sonia, currently lives in South Carolina with her daughter Elizabeth Poston.
He is recognized and honored as a national hero by Armenians.