Yenovk Shahen ( hy, Ենովք Շահէն; 3 February 1881 – 28 May 1915) was an ethnic

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 ...

actor and director who lived in 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) ...

. 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 ...

Life

Yenovk Shahen Yepranosian was born to an Armenian family in the village of Bardizag (Bahcecik) near

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the c ...

on 3 February 1881. He was the brother of Krikor Ankut, an arithmetician who was also deported during the Armenian Genocide but managed to survive. After receiving his early education in Bardizag, he and his family moved to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

While in Constantinople, it is noted that Shahen's interest in theatre grew after reading the biography of renowned Armenian playwright Bedros Adamian. He immediately began to play short roles for various plays. Shahen joined a theatrical group led by Mardiros Mnagyan. Thereafter, Shahen switched theatrical groups and joined one that renowned actor Vahram Papazyan already belonged to. Shahen and Papazyan became coworkers and close friends. Continuing his career in acting, Shahen participated in other theatrical groups including those led by Felekian and Zarifyan. Shahen was known for performing throughout the Ottoman Empire including Cairo,

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

, İzmit, and his native Bardizag. Some of his most notable roles as an actor included

François Coppée François Edouard Joachim Coppée (26 January 1842 – 23 May 1908) was a French poet and novelist. Biography Coppée was born in Paris to a civil servant. After attending the Lycée Saint-Louis he became a clerk in the ministry of war and won ...

's monologue "La grève des forgerons", Triboulet in

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's ''

Le roi s'amuse ''Le roi s'amuse'' (; literally, ''The King Amuses Himself'' or ''The King Has Fun'') is a French play in five acts written by Victor Hugo. First performed on 22 November 1832 but banned by the government after one evening, the play was used for G ...

'',

Iago Iago () is a fictional character in Shakespeare's ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Iago is the play's main antagonist, and Othello's standard-bearer. He is the husband of Emilia, who is in turn the attendant of Othello's wife Desdemona. Iago hates ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

'', and

Shylock Shylock is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's play ''The Merchant of Venice'' (c. 1600). A Venetian Jewish moneylender, Shylock is the play's principal antagonist. His defeat and conversion to Christianity form the climax of the ...

in ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

''.

Death

On 24 April 1915, Shahen was arrested at his home in the

Nişantaşı Nişantaşı is an upmarket, largely secular residential neighbourhood in the Şişli district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. Separated from Osmanbey and Pangaltı to the west by busy Halaskargazi Caddesi, it is a popular shopping di ...

district of

. Arrests were part of the larger scheme of the Armenian Genocide which included deporting Armenian intellectuals from the capital to the interior provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Shahen was eventually deported to Ayaş near Ankara where he and other Armenian intellectuals were imprisoned. He was eventually removed from prison and murdered near

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 ...

at the age of 34.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahen, Yenovk 1881 births 1915 deaths 19th-century Armenian male actors 20th-century Armenian male actors Armenian male stage actors People who died in the Armenian genocide Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Male actors from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century actors from the Ottoman Empire