Vartkes Serengülian (; also known as Hovhannes or Gisak; 1871, in

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

– 1915, in

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 ...

), was an

Ottoman Armenian Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...

political and social activist, and a member of

Ottoman Parliament The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

Biography

He studied in the Ardzinian and Sanasarian colleges of Karin (

). In late 1880s he organized demonstrations in Karin and was arrested. After he was released in 1892 he worked in Constantinople, then in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and the

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 ...

as a revolutionary activist. 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 ...

, Serengyulian supported the ideas of

Hrayr Dzhoghk Hrayr Dzhoghk (, ; 1864 – 13 April 1904), born Armenak Ghazarian (), was an Armenian military leader and strategist, fedayee, statesman and teacher, part of the Armenian national liberation movement. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutio ...

, and cooperated with the

Armenakan Party The Armenakan Party (in Armenian Արմենական Կուսակցութիւն) was an Armenian political party established in Van, Ottoman Empire in 1885 by Mekertich Portukalian as an underground organization against the ruling system. It i ...

. He was arrested in Van and in 1901 was sentenced to a 101-year prison sentence. The

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (, abbr. ARF (ՀՅԴ) or ARF-D), also known as Dashnaktsutyun (Armenians, Armenian: Դաշնակցություն, Literal translation, lit. "Federation"), is an Armenian nationalism, Armenian nationalist a ...

(ARF) reportedly attempted to organize a prison break for him in the beginning of 1908. In the same year, 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 ...

he was released from prison and elected as a member of the

Ottoman parliament The General Assembly (; French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" or ''Genel Parlamento''; ) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Also known as the Ottoman Parliament ('' Legislation o ...

representing the ARF. As an MP he advocated the creation of trade unions within the Ottoman Empire and, spoke out against the atrocities perpetrated against the Armenian population in Adana. He had also several disputes with an other deputy known for his feeling hostile to the Armenians, Aziz Feyzi Pirinççizade. On the 2 June 1915 he was arrested together with the other Armenian deputy in Constantiople,

Krikor Zohrab Krikor Zohrab (; 26 June 1861 – 1915) was an influential Armenian writer, politician, and lawyer from Ottoman Constantinople, Constantinople. At the onset of the Armenian genocide he was arrested by the Turkish government and sent to appear bef ...

. They were deported to

, where they were killed by Cherkes Ahmet.Kevorkian, Raymond (2011), p.533–534

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Serengulian, Vartkes 1871 births 1915 deaths People from Erzurum Armenian politicians People who died in the Armenian genocide Armenians from the Ottoman Empire Political people from the Ottoman Empire