Harutiun Jangülian (; 1855 – 15 June 1915) was an

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 around the ...

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

, and member of the

Armenian National Assembly The Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian millet in the Ottoman Empire, established by the Armenian National Constitution of 1863. Elections Tax paying members of the Armenian Gregorian church were given suffrage ...

. He was especially known for his involvement in the Kum Kapu demonstration. He spent six years imprisoned in exile. He returned to Constantinople and continued his political activity after his release. Jangülian was arrested on 24 April 1915, at the beginning of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, 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 t ...

, deported, and ultimately executed.

Early life

Harutiun Jangülian was born to an Armenian family in 1855 in

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

, within 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 ...

. At the time, Van was considered one of the centers of the Armenian Revolutionary Movement. He joined the

Social Democrat Hunchakian Party The Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (SDHP) (), is the oldest continuously-operating Armenian political party, founded in 1887 by a group of students in Geneva, Switzerland. It was the first socialist party to operate in the Ottoman Empire and i ...

while in Van and moved to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1884. There Jangülian met leading political activist

Hampartsoum Boyadjian Hampartsoum Boyadjian (; 14 May 1860 – 30 July 1915), also known by his ''nom de guerre, noms de guerre'' Murad and sometimes Medzn Murad (, "Mourad the Great"), was an Armenians, Armenian ''Armenian fedayi, fedayi'' (partisan leader) and a lea ...

of the Hnchak party. The two eventually became the chief organizers of the Kum Kapu demonstration.

Kum Kapu demonstration

Towards the close of the nineteenth century, Armenian revolutionary societies began to agitate for reform and renewed European attention to the

Armenian Question The Armenian question was the debate following the Congress of Berlin in 1878 as to how the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire should be treated. The term became commonplace among diplomatic circles and in the popular press. In specific terms, the ...

. The Hnchak party in particular used

mass demonstration A political demonstration is an action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause or people partaking in a protest against a cause of concern; it often consists of walking in a mass march formati ...

tactics.

Interior view of Holy Mother-of-God Patriarchal Church

The Kum Kapu demonstration took place on 27 July 1890 in Constantinople's Kumkapı district, where the

Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople 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 around the ...

is located. Jangülian interrupted a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

by stepping onto the altar and reading aloud a statement concerning maltreatment of Armenians, which denounced the church's leadership as indifferent. Demonstrators then forced the patriarch to join a procession heading to

Yıldız Palace Yıldız Palace (, ) is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman Empire, Ottoman pavilions and villas in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the List of sultans of the Ottoman ...

to demand reforms for the Armenian provinces. As the procession formed, police surrounded the crowd and shots were fired, resulting in several fatalities, including that of a policeman. Other sources claim seven deaths, including four police. Although some considered Jangülian a hero, he was subsequently sentenced to death, but the Sultan commuted his sentence to life imprisonment in exile. He was exiled to

Akka Akka or AKKA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Akka (film), ''Akka'' (film), a 1976 Indian Tamil film * Akka (TV series), ''Akka'' (TV series), a 2014–2015 Indian Tamil soap opera * Akka, a character in the children's novel ''The Wonderful ...

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and imprisoned in a fortress. He remained there until being pardoned and released in 1896. However, some sources claim he escaped.

Life after prison

Once free, Jangülian went to

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

where he tried to unify the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party, which had become divided over various political disagreements. Jangülian then moved to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and became an editor of the local Armenian newspaper ''Timagavor''. He later moved to Europe, where he sought to unite various Armenian political parties under one umbrella. After the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

in 1908, he returned to Constantinople, remaining politically active in the Hunchakian Party. He was elected as a deputy to the

representing the district of Gedikpaşa. In 1913, he published four volumes of his memoirs on Armenian Revolutionary figures and their activities, entitled ''Memories of the Armenian Crisis'' (Armenian: Հիշատակներ հայկական ճգնաժամեն).

Execution

Jangülian was one of the Armenian leaders deported during the

. He was arrested on 24 April 1915 and sent via train to Ayaş, a village near

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, to be imprisoned along with other Armenian intellectuals. On 2 June, a group including Jangülian,

Rupen Zartarian Rupen Zartarian or Ruben Zardaryan ( ; 1874 – 16 August 1915) was an Armenian writer, educator, and political activist. He was killed by Ottoman authorities during the Armenian genocide. Life Zartarian was born in 1874 in the city of Diyar ...

, Sarkis Minassian, Khachatur Malumian, and Nazaret Daghavarian were taken out. Ostensibly, they to be sent to undergo a court-martial in Diyarbakir; however, Jangülian along with the rest were executed en route in the area of Karacur between

Urfa Urfa, officially called Şanlıurfa (), is a city in southeastern Turkey and the capital of Şanlıurfa Province. The city was known as Edessa from Hellenistic period, Hellenistic times and into Christian times. Urfa is situated on a plain abo ...

and Severek (today

Siverek Siverek (; ; ) is a municipality and district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 3,936 km2, and its population is 267,942 (2022). Siverek is in the Şanlıurfa province but is geographically closer to the large city of Diyarbakır (a ...

). The order for the execution was given from Captain Şevket to Haci Onbaşı, a member of the Special Organization.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jangulian, Harutiun Social Democrat Hunchakian Party politicians Armenian revolutionaries 1855 births 1915 deaths People who died in the Armenian genocide Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Armenian people imprisoned in the Ottoman Empire Prisoners sentenced to death by the Ottoman Empire Armenian prisoners sentenced to death Political office-holders in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century historians from the Ottoman Empire Expatriates from the Ottoman Empire in Egypt Expatriates in Cyprus