Haig (Hrach) Tiriakian (1871–1915) was an Ottoman Armenian politician and a member of the

Armenian National Assembly Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian millet in the Ottoman Empire, established by the Armenian National Constitution of 1863. Hovanissian, Richard G. (1997) ''The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times.'' New Yor ...

. Tiriakian played an important role during the

Ottoman Bank takeover The occupation of the Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası Baskını, "Raid on the Ottoman Bank"; hy, Պանք Օթօմանի գրաւումը, ''Bank Otomani k'ravumĕ'' "Ottoman Bank takeover") by members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federat ...

in 1896. A member 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 ...

, Tiriakian lead an active life in Armenian politic affairs. He was killed during 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 ...

in 1915.

Life

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 ...

descent, Haig (Hrach) Tiriakian was born in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

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 1871. In 1893, Tiriakian then went to Nancy,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

where he studied agriculture until 1896. During his time in Europe, Tiriakian joined the

where his first assignment was assigned the planning of the

. The takeover was planned in order to raise further awareness and action by the major European powers. The bank was largely employed European personnel from Great Britain and France. Stirred by the inaction of the European powers in regards to

Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide an ...

, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation members saw its seizure as the best way to bring full attention to the massacres. The organizational planning of the takeover required Tiriakian to visit various countries around the world before the takeover took place. Tiriakian eventually took part in the seizure along with other Armenian political activists such as

Armen Garo Garegin or Karekin Pastermadjian ( classical hy, Գարեգին Փաստրմաճեան), better known by his '' nom de guerre'' Armen Garo or Armen Karo (Արմէն Գարօ; 9 February 1872 – 23 March 1923) was an Armenian activist and p ...

and

Papken Siuni Bedros Parian (; 1873 – 26 August 1896), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Papken Siuni ( hy, Բաբգէն Սիւնի), was an important figure in the Armenian national movement, an Armenian Revolutionary Federation member and the leader, al ...

. Tiriakian describes the event as follows: After the takeover concluded, Tiriakian was one of many participants who were exiled then shipped to

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 Franc ...

. While in exile, Tiriakian attended the Second General Congress of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation held in 1898 in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

which had him appointed the Responsible Body for the

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

region. After making a brief visit to

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, Tiriakian returned to the Ottoman Empire in secret. One of the main goals of his return was to gather money from wealthy Armenians in order to help fund the Armenian revolutionary movement. However, since the Ottoman authorities had an arrest warrant for him, he was caught and sent to life imprisonment in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...

. After the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Constit ...

in 1908, Tiriakian was set free and returned to Constantinople. In Constantinople, he became a publicist and manager of the ''Azadamard'' Armenian newspaper.

Death

Haig Tiriakian was arrested as part of the deportation of Armenian notables on 24 April 1915 during the

. He was deported to Ayaş, a village in the interior of the Ottoman Empire. After learning that another Haig Tiriakian had been detained in Ayaş, he demanded his namesake's release and his own transfer from Çankırı to Ayaş. He was then tortured and eventually killed in the vicinity of

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiriakian, Haig 1871 births 1915 deaths Armenian nationalists People who died in the Armenian genocide Armenians from the Ottoman Empire People from Trabzon Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians