Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / Armenian Fedayi: Guerrilla Fighters Before the Genocide
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the big structural forces — the millet system, the Hamidian massacres, the genocide. But one thing that often gets overlooked is how Armenians actually fought back. Not just diplomatically, but with arms. And that brings us to the fedayi. Luna: Fedayi — that's the Armenian guerrilla fighters, right? Lucas: Exactly. The word comes from Arabic, meaning 'one who sacrifices'. And these were exactly that — men and women who took up arms in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to defend Armenian villages in the Ottoman east. They weren't a single army, but a loose collection of bands, often tied to political parties like the Dashnaks or the Hunchaks. Lucas: To understand why they emerged, you have to picture the situation in the 1890s. The Hamidian massacres of 1894-96 had devastated Armenian communities. Hundreds of thousands dead. Villages burned. And the Ottoman state did nothing to protect Armenians — in fact, they often encouraged the attacks. So local self-defense became a matter of survival. Luna: So the fedayi were essentially community protectors? Lucas: That's right. But they were also revolutionaries. Many of them were inspired by the same nationalist ideas sweeping Europe. They wanted not just to defend, but to liberate — to create an autonomous or independent Armenia. And they were willing to die for it. The most famous early leader was a man named Aghbiur Serob — Serob the Veteran. Lucas: Serob was a former schoolteacher who became a legendary fedayi commander. He operated in the Taron region, around Mush and Sasun. His band raided tax collectors, ambushed Kurdish tribesmen who preyed on Armenian villages, and even fought Ottoman gendarmes. His reputation grew so much that the Ottoman authorities put a huge bounty on his head. Luna: What happened to him? Lucas: He was killed in 1899, betrayed by a Kurdish informant. But his death only fueled the movement. His lieutenant, Kevork Chavush, took over. Chavush was a master of hit-and-run tactics. He once held off an entire Ottoman battalion at the Holy Apostles Monastery, a fortified church complex. The battle lasted for days before he escaped through a secret tunnel. Luna: Wait — a secret tunnel in a monastery? That sounds like something out of an adventure novel. Lucas: It does, doesn't it? But these monasteries were often built with such features. They served as refuges during invasions. Anyway, Chavush was eventually killed in 1907 at the battle of Sulukh, in a dramatic last stand. His death was a huge blow, but the fedayi kept fighting. Lucas: Now, one figure you absolutely have to know is Andranik Ozanian. Andranik — or Zoravar Andranik, General Andranik — is maybe the most famous Armenian fedayi of all. He started as a fighter in the 1890s, then became a commander during the Balkan Wars, and later led Armenian volunteers in the Russian army during World War I. Luna: He's a national hero in Armenia today, right? Statues everywhere. Lucas: Absolutely. But his life was incredibly complex. He fought for the Russian Empire, but he also fought alongside the Bulgarians against the Ottomans. He was a committed socialist and a member of the Dashnak party, but he also had a deep religious faith. He once said, 'I am a soldier of the Armenian people, not of any government.' Lucas: Andranik's tactics were brutal but effective. He used the mountainous terrain to his advantage, moving quickly and striking unexpectedly. He also had a strict code of conduct — no harming civilians, no looting, and he expected the same from his men. That was part of the fedayi ethos: they saw themselves as honorable warriors, not bandits. Luna: But they were also outnumbered and outgunned. How did they survive? Lucas: Intelligence networks, local support, and sheer determination. Villagers would hide them, feed them, and provide information about Ottoman troop movements. The fedayi also had a network of safe houses and supply caches. And they were masters of propaganda — they wrote songs, poems, and memoirs that inspired others to join. Lucas: One of the most striking things is that there were women fedayi too. Sosé Mayrig — Mother Sosé — was a famous example. She was the wife of a fedayi commander and fought alongside her husband. After he was killed, she continued fighting for years, becoming a symbol of resistance. She wore traditional Armenian dress and carried a rifle, and she was known for her fierce courage. Luna: That's incredible. Were there many women like her? Lucas: Not many, but some. And they were highly respected. The fedayi movement was, in many ways, ahead of its time in terms of gender equality — at least in theory. In practice, women still faced barriers, but those who fought earned real admiration. Lucas: Now, the fedayi weren't just fighting the Ottomans. They also clashed with Kurdish tribes, who were often armed by the state and used to suppress Armenians. And there were internal conflicts within the Armenian community itself — between the Dashnaks and the Hunchaks, for example, who had different ideologies and sometimes fought each other. Luna: Really? They fought each other? Lucas: Yeah, it's a tragic part of the story. The Hunchaks were more Marxist and internationalist, while the Dashnaks were more nationalist and socialist. There were feuds, assassinations, even open battles. It weakened the movement and made it easier for the Ottomans to pick them off. Lucas: The 1908 Young Turk Revolution seemed like a turning point. The Committee of Union and Progress promised equality for all Ottomans, and many fedayi laid down their arms. Andranik even met with Young Turk leaders and expressed support. But it didn't last. The Young Turks soon turned to a more Turkish nationalist and exclusionary policy, setting the stage for the genocide. Luna: So the fedayi were disarmed, and then the genocide happened? Lucas: Partly. Some fedayi took up arms again during the deportations, organizing resistance in places like Van and Musa Dagh. Andranik himself led a volunteer unit in the Russian Caucasus army, which helped Armenian refugees. But without a state behind them, they could only do so much. The genocide destroyed the communities that had sustained the fedayi. Lucas: Still, the legacy of the fedayi lived on. After the war, some fought in the First Armenian Republic. And later, in the diaspora, the fedayi became romanticized figures — symbols of a time when Armenians fought back. Their songs are still sung, their stories still told. Luna: It's a complex legacy. They were freedom fighters, but also sometimes divisive. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes them so interesting. They weren't saints. They made mistakes, they had factional fights, and their armed struggle ultimately couldn't prevent the genocide. But they showed that Armenians were not passive victims. They fought, and they fought with incredible bravery. Lucas: One story that always stays with me is about the battle of Holy Apostles Monastery. After Kevork Chavush escaped, the Ottomans destroyed the monastery. But the locals rebuilt it, and today it still stands — a testament to that spirit. Luna: Thanks, Lucas. I feel like I understand a whole new dimension of Armenian history now.