Paramaz ( hy, Փարամազ; 1863–1915), born Matteos Sarkissian, was an Armenian
fedayee, freedom fighter, writer and political activist.
Biography
Matteos Sarkissian studied at
Gevorkian Seminary of
Echmiadzin
Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...
. In 1880s he taught in the schools of
Nakhichevan where he met
Stepan Sapah-Gulian.
Paramaz became the chief advisor to newly created fedayee groups in
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. As a
Hunchakian activist under the nickname of Paramaz, he promoted the revolutionary ideas in the Armenian villages, in 1903 he organized the assassination attempt of
Grigory Golitsin, Russian viceroy of the Caucasus.
Besides working in
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 ...
,
Van and other regions of
Western Armenia
Western Armenia (Western Armenian: Արեւմտեան Հայաստան, ''Arevmdian Hayasdan'') is a term to refer to the eastern parts of Turkey (formerly the Ottoman Empire) that are part of the historical homeland of the Armenians. Weste ...
, he was also active in the Caucasus where he worked to promote friendly interethnic relations.
Paramaz was one of the organizers of self-defense troops during the
Armenian-Tatar massacres of 1905-06. In Tatar settlements, he tried to promote anti-Tsarist sentiment and the vision that Armenian and Tatars should live together peacefully.
Paramaz's articles were published in different journals, including ''
Hunchak
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 ...
''. One of his plays, ''Easy come, easy go'' was staged in
Tigranakert.
He participates in the 7th Conference of 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 ...
, in
Constanţa, 1913 where he present the idea of plotting to assassinate some of the leaders of the
Ittihad ve Terraki, the organizers of
Adana massacre. The resolutions of the convention were given to the Young Turk Government by a spy, and Hunchakian leaders including Paramaz were arrested upon their arrival to Constantinople. After spending two years in Turkish jails, Paramaz was sentenced to death along with 20 other Hunchakians.
On 15 June 1915 Paramaz with 19 other comrades of his were hanged in the central square of Constantinople. The incident is famous as
The 20 Hunchakian gallows. Before his hanging, Paramaz declared to his executioners:
Biography
/ref> "You can only hang our bodies, but not our philosophy... You will see tomorrow on the Eastern horizon a Socialist Armenia".
Legacy
In 2001 the monument of Paramaz was opened in Meghri
Meghri ( hy, Մեղրի) is a town and the center of the urban community of Meghri, in Syunik Province in southern Armenia, near the border with Iran. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 4,580. According to the 2020 official es ...
town, 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 ' ...
. His writings were published in a separate book in Yerevan in 1990s.
Paramaz Square was opened in the center of the Uruguayan capital Montevideo by the mayor of the city in 2016.
See also
* The 20 Hunchakian gallows
References
External links
Biography of Paramaz
{{Authority control
1863 births
1915 deaths
People from Meghri
Armenian fedayi
Armenian educators
Armenian nationalists
People who died in the Armenian genocide
Armenians from the Ottoman Empire