Avetis Aharonian (; 4 January 1866 – 20 March 1948) was an

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n politician, writer, public figure and revolutionary, also part of the Armenian national movement.

Biography

Aharonian was born in 1866 in Surmali, Erivan Governorate,

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(today Iğdır, Turkey). Growing up, he was influenced by the natural features of his birthplace, such as the Aras River and

Mount Ararat Mount Ararat, also known as Masis or Mount Ağrı, is a snow-capped and dormant compound volcano in Eastern Turkey, easternmost Turkey. It consists of two major volcanic cones: Greater Ararat and Little Ararat. Greater Ararat is the highest p ...

, both of which were located near Surmali. His mother, Zardar, was a literate person, who was able to educate her child by teaching him how to read and write. After completing elementary education at the village's school, he was sent to Echmiadzin's Gevorkian Seminary, and graduated from there. He became a teacher for a few years, after which he went to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; ) in Lausanne, Switzerland, was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second-oldest in Switzerland, and one of the oldest universities ...

to study history and philosophy. During this period of time, he met Kristapor Mikaelian, who was then the chief editor of the Troshag (Flag) newspaper and befriends Télémaque Tutundjian de Vartavan, who is in the Faculty of Law since 1900; they decide to join their efforts for the creation of an independent Armenia. He then began to write for the paper. In 1901, upon graduation, he went to study literature at the Sorbonne. In 1902, he returned to the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

and became the headmaster of the Nersisian School in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

and the chief editor of the Mourj (Hammer) newspaper. Thus, in 1909, he was captured by the Tsar's government and imprisoned in Metekhi's prison, where he fell ill. Two years later, after a generous donation of 20,000 rubles, he fled to Europe. He returned to the Caucasus in 1917, and chaired the Armenian National Council, which proclaimed the independence of the

First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia, was an independent History of Armenia, Armenian state that existed from May (28th ''de jure'', 30th ''de facto'') 1918 to 2 December 1920 in ...

on 28 May 1918. He signed the Treaty of Batum with the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. In 1919, he was the head the Armenian delegation at the Paris Peace Conference with Boghos Nubar, where he signed the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres () was a 1920 treaty signed between some of the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire, but not ratified. The treaty would have required the cession of large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, ...

formulating the " Wilsonian Armenia" in direct collaboration with 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. ...

. After 1920, Aharonian lived in emigration, in Paris. In 1926, he was nominated to the Nobel Prize for Literature by Antoine Meillet. He suffered a stroke in 1934 and lived for the last fourteen years of his life totally incapacitated. Aharonian died in

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

in 1948. His son, Vardges Aharonian, was a writer and activist.

Photos

File:Père-Lachaise - Division 97 - Aharonian 01.jpg, Grave of Avetis Aharonian File:Avetis Aharonyan second wife Nvard Saint Lazarus Island Venice 1920.jpg, Avetis Aharonyan with his second wife Nvard at the Saint Lazarus Island in Venice in 1920

References

*Translated from Armenian: N.A. Արդի հայ գրականութիւն Բ հատոր, '' odern Armenian literature: Volume II', 2004, pp. 245–246

External links

A documental video of Aharonian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aharonian, Avetis 1866 births 1948 deaths Armenian nationalists People from Iğdır People from Erivan Governorate University of Lausanne alumni University of Paris alumni Armenian male writers Armenian Revolutionary Federation politicians Armenian people of World War I People from the First Republic of Armenia Armenian people from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Mount Ararat 19th-century writers from the Russian Empire Armenian memoirists