Armenian revolutionary songs ( hy, Հայ յեղափոխական երգեր, ''Hay heghapokhagan yerker'') are songs that promote

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 ''O ...

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

. The origins of these songs lay largely in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Armenian political parties were established to struggle for the political and civil rights of Armenians living 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 ...

History

The Armenian revolutionary movement, initially led by the

Social Democrat Hunchakian Party The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) ( hy, Սոցիալ Դեմոկրատ Հնչակյան Կուսակցություն; ՍԴՀԿ, translit=Sots’ial Demokrat Hnch’akyan Kusakts’ut’yun), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian ...

(est. 1887) and 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 ...

(est. 1890), took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was caused by years of oppression from the

, especially under the rule of sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

. This was the period when Armenians began demanding their most basic rights and defending Armenian towns from Ottoman oppression. Certain armed Armenian patriotic groups formed to fight the Turkish oppression and defend Armenian towns from Kurdish brigands. These volunteer fighters were called '' fedayees''. In some instances, they were successful in defending Armenian locals, earning them popular support and elevating them to the status of heroes. This environment was thus ideal for the development of Armenian patriotic songs to support these freedom fighters.

Meaning

Some of the songs tell the stories of individual ''fedayees'', such as Serob Pasha and General Andranik, who confronted the Turkish onslaught. They also talk about historical battles, successful guerrilla operations, heroic deaths, and

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...

, among other sensitive topics.Peroomian, Rubina. ''Literary Responses to Catastrophe: A Comparison of the Armenian and the Jewish Experience''. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993, p. 72. The songs are generally heard at Armenian gatherings. It is also seen as a way to educate the newer generation of Armenians about their history through the songs. Armenian revolutionary songs are very popular among the youth of the

Armenian diaspora The Armenian diaspora refers to the communities of Armenians outside Armenia and other locations where Armenians are considered an indigenous population. Since antiquity, Armenians have established communities in many regions throughout the world. ...

List

Below is a list of several well-known Armenian songs. Popular current singers of these include Karnig Sarkissian, George Tutunjian,

Nersik Ispiryan Nersik Ispiryan ( hy, Ներսիկ Իսպիրյան, born May 15, 1963) is an Armenian singer best known for his Armenian nationalistic songs. Biography Nersik Ispiryan was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, Soviet Union. He graduated from Schoo ...

Harout Pamboukjian Harout Pamboukjian ( hy, Հարութ Փամբուկչյան; hyw, Յարութ Փամպուքճեան; born July 1, 1950), known as Dzakh Harut ( hy, Ձախ Հարութ, literally "Left Harout"), is an Armenian pop singer living in Los Ang ...

, Berj Nakkashian, Samuel Vartanian. Note that the English transcription of their Armenian names has been carried out in the Eastern Armenian dialect. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305234018/http://armcamping.com/2011/04/ergum-enq-arshavneri-yntatsqum

Lyrics

Notes

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External links

Armenian Revolutionary (Tashnag) and Patriotic Song Lyrics on FEDAYI.COM
Lists of patriotic songs Rev