The Syunik rebellion of 1722–1730 ( hy, Սյունիքի ազատագրական պայքար, ''Syunik Liberation Struggle'') was a rebellion against the invading

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 the southeastern region of

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 ' ...

. Sometimes the movement would fight battles against local Persian armies as well. The main objectives were to clear the area of Turkish troops and to liberate it under the control of local Armenians. The leaders of the liberation movement were

David Bek Davit Bek or David Beg (; died 1728) was an Armenian military commander and the leader of an Armenian rebellion against invading Ottoman forces and implanted Safavid Muslim tribes in the mountainous region of Zangezur (today the Armenian provin ...

and

Mkhitar Sparapet Mkhitar Sparapet ( hy, Մխիթար Սպարապետ; ''sparapet'' meaning "general-in-chief") (? 1730), also known as Mkhitar Bek, was an 18th-century Armenian military commander and participant in the Armenian armed rebellion in the Syunik reg ...

. The general battle took place in the spring of 1727 at

Halidzor Fortress The fortress of Halidzor ( hy, Հալիձորի բերդ) is along a hill overlooking the Voghji River to the north, near the village of Kapan, which is southwest in the Syunik Province of Armenia. Halidzor Fortress is above sea level. Histor ...

, in what is now the Syunik region of

, near the modern-day city of Kapan, between the Armenian forces under the leadership of

and the Ottoman army.The Cambridge medieval history ,Volume 4, page 161

Battle of Halidzor The Battle of Halidzor ( hy, Հալիձորի ճակատամարտ) was a battle that took place in the spring of 1727 at Halidzor Fortress, in what is now the Syunik region of Armenia, near the modern-day city of Kapan, between the Armenian ...

The main account of the Battle of Halidzor comes from the mid-eighteenth-century Armenian work ''Patmutiun Ghapantsvots'' () by Ghukas Sebastatsi.A. G. Hovhannisian and H. D. Papazian
"Azatagrakan krivnere Syunikum"
he liberation battles in Syunikin ''Hay Zhoghovrdi Patmutyun'' istory of the Armenian People vol. 4 (Yerevan: Haykakan SSH Gitutyunneri Akademiayi Hratarakchutyun, 1972), pp. 170⁠–71. The battle took place amidst a larger military campaign launched by the

in the 1720s to secure control over the South Caucasus. The Ottomans encountered fierce resistance by local Armenian princes and lords in Syunik, especially near the town of Kapan, with

and Ter Avetis at the head of small make-shift forces.Hovhannisian and Papazian, "Azatagrakan krivnere Syunikum", 172. In the spring of 1727, pursued by the Ottomans, David Bek and his followers took refuge in the fortress at Halidzor. The Ottoman army put Halidzor under siege but came under incessant attacks launched by small Armenian units from the fortress. David Bek's comrades-in-arms, Mkhitar and Ter Avetis did their best to boost the morale of the men in the fortress, proclaiming, "Take heart, do not be afraid, follow us, and if our end has arrived, let us die bravely, because for us it is better to die with courage outside the walls than to see before our eyes the death of our families and friends inside the walls." After seven days, the Ottomans abandoned their emplacements and retreated. According to Armenian sources the remnants of the army dispersed across the region, with confusion and panic raging among its ranks.Mikayel Chamchian, History of Armenia, in The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Volume III: From the Eighteenth Century to Modern Times, eds. Agop Jack Hacikyan et al. (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2005), pp. ⁠176–179.

References

* Revue des études arméniennes: Volume 9 by Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Société des études armeniennes - , pg.305 ;Specific Wars involving Armenia Wars involving the Ottoman Empire 18th century in Armenia Battles involving Armenia 1727 in military history Conflicts in 1727 {{Armenia-stub