Voskan Martikian ( hy, Ոսկան Մարտիկյան; 1867 in

Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is ...

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) ...

– 1947) was an Ottoman politician, writer, and editor of

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.

Life

Voskan Martikian was born in

to Armenian parents. At a young age, he moved to Istanbul to receive higher learning. After receiving his education, he rose through the Ottoman ranks of government and held numerous posts in the Ottoman government and ministries. He headed the Ottoman Post-Telegraph Service and introduced many reforms that found much opposition. After the governmental elections of the Ottoman parliament, he was elected as member of parliament. Nationalist editor

Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın (7 December 1874 – 18 October 1957) was a prominent Turkish theorist, writer and politician. He is famous for being a dissident journalist, who has been put on trial and punished due to his columns. His publications defe ...

of the newspaper ''Tanin'' slandered Martikian claiming that he had drafted the new Ottoman banknotes to an Armenian and that cryptic Armenian codes were contained in its print. An Ottoman commission investigated the accusations and rebuffed the slanders against Martikian. However, his reputation was severely damaged as a trustworthy politician amongst the Young Turks. At the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, when the Ottoman Parliament was debating whether it should join the war, Martikian made no secret of his disapproval of entry. This created a further rift between the Ottoman authorities and himself. Under much pressure, he resigned from his seat in the parliament. In 1918, Voskan Martikian traveled to Europe and became an auditor at various universities. The newly formed Iraqi government invited Martikian to serve and he was awarded the title of “bey”. He was also a strong supporter of the Armenian community as a member of the National Political Assembly 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, ...

. He was active in numerous literary and social undertakings.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martikian, Voskan Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian refugees Turkish people of Armenian descent People from Erzincan Turkish writers Politicians of the Ottoman Empire 1867 births 1947 deaths Turkish male writers 19th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire Date of death missing Place of death missing