The Shabin-Karahisar uprising (June 2–30, 1915) was a resistance effort by the

Armenian militia ''Fedayi'' (Western hy, Ֆէտայի ''Fedayi''; Eastern hy, Ֆիդայի ''Fidayi''), also known as the Armenian irregular units or Armenian militia, were Armenian civilians who voluntarily left their families to form self-defense units and ...

of the Hunchaks of the Giresun Province against Ottoman troops during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

. They had resisted the Ottoman onslaught for the duration of a month.Simon Payaslian, "The Armenian Resistance at Shabin-Karahisar in 1915" 5th International conferences on Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces The Armenians had positioned themselves in a fort right outside the town where about 250 men fought off Turkish soldiers.

Background

News of the massacres in 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 ...

made the people of Shabin-Karahisar think that their "turn" was coming soon. In April, 1915, hundreds of young men were suddenly imprisoned. In June, 1915, the region's Armenian religious leader was executed. Then, 200 Armenian merchants were killed as a part of a systematic campaign of genocide by the Ottoman authorities. The able-bodied Armenians of Shabin-Karahisar thus decided to confront the Ottomans. They started by burning their own homes and fortified themselves in a nearby castle. Many Ottoman soldiers fell those days. After weeks of confrontation, the

had no ammunition left. They decided to come out from the castle and fight with their own bare hands. Now, there were only women, children, and elderly in the city, who were all massacred following the resistance's suppression.Translated from the Armenian: Mihran Kurdoghlian, Badmoutioun Hayots, C. hador rmenian History, volume III Athens, Greece, 1996, pg. 93. Shabin Karahisar (

Şebinkarahisar Şebinkarahisar is a town in and the administrative seat for Şebinkarahisar District, Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of northeastern Turkey. Name The 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius writes that the Roman general Pompey captu ...

) was the birthplace of

Andranik Ozanian Andranik Ozanian, commonly known as General Andranik or simply Andranik;. Also spelled Antranik or Antranig 25 February 186531 August 1927), was an Armenian military commander and statesman, the best known '' fedayi'' and a key figure of the ...

, a well-known Armenian fedayee. The resistance at Shabin Karahisar was chronicled by

Aram Haigaz Aram Haigaz ( Armenian: Արամ Հայկազ - March 22, 1900 - March 10, 1986) was the pen name of Aram Chekenian, an Armenian writer who was born in the town of Shabin Karahisar, Ottoman Empire, and survived the Armenian genocide in 1915. He ...

, who survived the siege and subsequent deportation, in his book ''The Fall of the Airie''.

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See also