Avetis Aharonian () (4 January 1866 – 20 March 1948) was an

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...

n politician, writer, public figure and revolutionary, also part of the

Armenian national movement The Armenian national movement ( hy, Հայ ազգային-ազատագրական շարժում ''Hay azgayin-azatagrakan sharzhum'') included social, cultural, but primarily political and military movements that reached their height during Worl ...

Biography

Aharonian was born in 1866 in Surmali,

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

(today Iğdır, Turkey). Growing up, he was influenced by the natural features of his birthplace, such as the

Aras River , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

and

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat or , ''Ararat''; or is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in the extreme east of Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest peak in Turkey and th ...

, both of which were located near Surmali. His mother, Zardar, was a literate person, who was able to educate her child by teaching him how to read and write. After completing elementary education at the village's school, he was sent to

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

Gevorkian Seminary Gevorkian Theological Seminary ( hy, Գևորգյան Հոգևոր Ճեմարան ''Gevorkyan Hogevor Č̣emaran''), also known as Gevorkian Seminary ( hy, Գևրգյան Ճեմարան ''Gevorkyan Č̣emaran'', ), is a theological university-ins ...

, and graduated from there. He became a teacher for a few years, after which he went to

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

to study history and philosophy. During this period of time, he met Kristapor Mikaelian, who was then the chief editor of the Troshag (Flag) newspaper and befriends Télémaque Tutundjian de Vartavan, who is in the Faculty of Law since 1900; they decide to join their efforts for the creation of an independent Armenia. He then began to write for the paper. In 1901, upon graduation, he went to study literature at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. In 1902, he returned to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historica ...

and became the headmaster of the

Nersisian School Nersisian School ( hy, Ներսիսեան դպրոց, ''Nersisian Dprots''; ka, ნერსისიანის სემინარია, ; russian: Нерсесяновское училище, translit=Nersisyanovskoye učilišče) was an ...

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

and the chief editor of the Mourj (Hammer) newspaper. Thus, in 1909, he was captured by the Tsar's government and imprisoned in

Metekhi Metekhi (Metechi; ka, მეტეხი) is a historic neighborhood of Tbilisi, Georgia, located (42.92N 44.34E) on the elevated cliff that overlooks the Mtkvari river. The neighborhood is home to the eponymous Metekhi Church of Assumption. ...

's prison, where he fell ill. Two years later, after a generous donation of 20,000 rubles, he fled to Europe. He returned to the Caucasus in 1917, and chaired the Armenian National Council, which proclaimed the independence of the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...

on 28 May 1918. He signed the

Treaty of Batum The Treaty of Batum was signed in Batum on 4 June 1918, between the Ottoman Empire and the three Transcaucasian states: the First Republic of Armenia, the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Democratic Republic of Georgia. It was the first ...

with the

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 1919, he was the head the Armenian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference with

Boghos Nubar Boghos Nubar ( hyw, Պօղոս Նուպար), also known as Boghos Nubar Pasha () (2 August 1851 – 25 June 1930), was a chairman of the Armenian National Delegation, and the founder, alongside ten other Armenian national movement leaders, of th ...

, where he signed the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres (french: Traité de Sèvres) was a 1920 treaty signed between the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty ceded large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Italy, as well ...

formulating the "

Wilsonian Armenia Wilsonian Armenia () refers to the unimplemented boundary configuration of the First Republic of Armenia in the Treaty of Sèvres, as drawn by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's Department of State. The Treaty of Sèvres was a peace treaty that ha ...

" in direct collaboration with the

Armenian Diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

. After 1920, Aharonian lived in emigration, in Paris. In 1926, he was nominated to the Nobel Prize for Literature by

Antoine Meillet Paul Jules Antoine Meillet (; 11 November 1866 Moulins, France – 21 September 1936 Châteaumeillant, France) was one of the most important French linguists of the early 20th century. He began his studies at the Sorbonne University, where he wa ...

. He suffered a stroke in 1934 and lived for the last fourteen years of his life totally incapacitated. Aharonian died in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

in 1948. His son, Vardges Aharonian, was a writer and activist.

Photos

File:Père-Lachaise - Division 97 - Aharonian 01.jpg, Grave of Avetis Aharonian File:Avetis Aharonyan second wife Nvard Saint Lazarus Island Venice 1920.jpg, Avetis Aharonyan with his second wife Nvard at the

Saint Lazarus Island San Lazzaro degli Armeni (, "Saint Lazarus of the Armenians"; called Saint Lazarus Island in English sources; hy, Սուրբ Ղազար, Surb Ghazar) is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon which has been home to the monastery of the Mekhitar ...

in Venice in 1920

References

*Translated from Armenian: N.A. Արդի հայ գրականութիւն Բ հատոր, '' odern Armenian literature: Volume II', 2004, pp. 245–246

External links

A documental video of Aharonian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aharonian, Avetis 1866 births 1948 deaths Armenian nationalists People from Iğdır People from Erivan Governorate University of Lausanne alumni University of Paris alumni Armenian male writers Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians Armenian people of World War I People of the First Republic of Armenia Armenian people from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Mount Ararat