Gregory Yeghikian (1880–24 January 1951) was an

Iranian Armenian Iranian-Armenians ( hy, իրանահայեր ''iranahayer''), also known as Persian-Armenians ( hy, պարսկահայեր ''parskahayer''), are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of thei ...

playwright, historian, and one of supporters of

Pan-Iranist Pan-Iranism is an ideology that advocates solidarity and reunification of Iranian peoples living in the Iranian plateau and other regions that have significant Iranian cultural influence, including the Persians, Azerbaijanis (a Turkic-speakin ...

movement. He was born in the

Sivas Vilayet The Vilayet of Sivas (, ota, ولايت سيوس, Vilâyet-i Sivas) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire, and was one of the Six Armenian vilayets. The vilayet was bordered by Erzurum Vilayet to the east, M ...

, studied in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and because of pressures of

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) ...

, he left

and went to different countries. In the beginning of the 20th century, he went to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and started to work as a

principle A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a Legal rule, rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, suc ...

in Gilan Province. Then he was recruited by

Kuchik Khan Mirza Kuchik Khan ( fa, میرزا كوچک خان) (common alternative spellings ''Kouchek'', ''Koochek'', ''Kuchak'', ''Kuchek'', ''Kouchak'', ''Koochak'', ''Kuçek'') (October 12, 1880 – December 2, 1921) was an Iranian twentieth-century ...

, Iranian

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

and started to work as translator for him in the ''Nehzat-e Jangal'' (Jungle Movement). After being involved in the political movement, Yeghikian went to

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

and started to write plays. Critics believe that Yeghikian had two different types of plays, historical plays and social plays. For example, his plays ''Fight Between East and West'' and '' Anooshiravan'' were his historical plays and ''Fear Square'' and ''Who is Guilty?'' were his social plays.

Works

Some of his plays

* ''Fight Between East and West'' * ''Anooshiravan'' * ''Fear Square'' * ''Who is Guilty?'' * ''It can be Late, but Sweet'' * ''Grand Horsewoman''

His historic works

* ''Soviet Union and the Jungle Movement''

Iran-e Kabir

Iran-e Kabir (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: ایران کبیر,

romanized Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

: ''Irān-e Kabir,'' lit''. "''Greater Iran''")'' was a periodical published in the city of Rasht by the Armenian political activist Gregory Yeghikian ( hy, Գրիգոր Եղիկյան). It advocated the unification of Iranian peoples (e.g., Afghans,

Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...

, etc.) including the

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

. Yaqikiān believed that, with education and the rising of the levels of people’s awareness, such a goal was feasible through peaceful means. The journal benefited from the contributions of a number of leading intellectuals of the time, including Moḥammad Moʿin and ʿAli Esfandiāri ( Nimā Yušij), and carried articles, poetry, a serialized story, and some news. It also published articles in support of the

who had risen in rebellion in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, which caused the protest of the Turkish counsel in Rasht and led to the banning of the paper by the order of the minister of court. Yaqikiān tried, without success, to have the ban removed and eventually moved to

, where he published the paper Irān-e Konuni.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yeghikian, Gregory Iranian dramatists and playwrights 1880 births 1951 deaths 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Iranian people of Armenian descent Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Iran Armenians from the Ottoman Empire People from Sivas vilayet