Latest / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History / Armenia's Secret Resistance: The Fedayee Fighters of 1894-1896
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot about the genocide, about the Soviet era, about the ancient kingdoms. But there's a chapter in between that I think really captures something essential about Armenian survival — the fedayee movement of the 1890s. Luna: Yeah, I've heard that term — fedayee — but I'm not entirely clear on what it meant in practice. Lucas: It comes from an Arabic root meaning 'one who sacrifices'. And that's exactly what these fighters were — ordinary Armenians, mostly from the rural highlands, who took up arms in self-defense during the Hamidian massacres under Sultan Abdul Hamid II. This was before 1915, in the mid-1890s, when Ottoman state policy and Kurdish tribal raids were systematically targeting Armenian villages. Lucas: In response, secret guerrilla bands formed. They were loosely organized, often around a charismatic leader — a figure like Serob Aghbiur, who became a legend in the Sasun region. Or Andranik Ozanian, who later became a national hero. Luna: So these were like Armenian Robin Hoods, operating in the mountains? Lucas: Very much so. They protected villages, ambushed tax collectors, and sometimes raided Kurdish tribes that had been attacking Armenians. The Ottoman authorities called them bandits, but for the local population, they were protectors. And they had a kind of romantic code — they'd often leave a mark, a carved cross or a note, saying 'the fedayee were here'. Lucas: Now, if you've been stepping into history with us episode by episode, you know we try to keep this show ad-free and independent. A couple of dollars a month on buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo — that's what genuinely keeps these stories going. If you've gotten something out of them, that's where it helps. Luna: Yeah, every little bit makes a real difference. So — back to the mountains. What was the spark that turned this into a full-blown resistance by 1894? Lucas: The spark was the Sasun Resistance of 1894. The Sasun region is a rugged, mountainous area southwest of Lake Van. Armenian villagers there had been subjected to double taxation — both by the Ottoman state and by Kurdish chieftains. When they refused to pay, the Ottoman government sent in troops and Kurdish irregulars to 'pacify' the area. Lucas: But this time, the Armenians didn't just submit. They had organized a self-defense force — maybe a few hundred men, with old hunting rifles and some pistols. They fortified a few villages and held out for weeks against a much larger Ottoman force. The European powers — Britain, France, Russia — got wind of it and demanded an investigation. Luna: Wait — did that investigation actually happen? I thought Europe usually just talked and did nothing. Lucas: They did send a commission, but it was a farce. The Ottoman authorities controlled the process, and the report basically blamed the Armenians for rebelling. Still, the Sasun resistance became a rallying cry. It inspired similar uprisings in Zeitun, another mountainous region, in 1895. Lucas: Zeitun had a history of defiance — it had been semi-autonomous for centuries. In 1895, the Armenians of Zeitun seized the local government building and held off Ottoman troops for months. The siege was eventually resolved through European mediation, but the message was clear: Armenians would fight back. Luna: And this is where the fedayee leaders really emerged, isn't it? Lucas: Exactly. Men like Serob Aghbiur, whose real name was Serob Vartanian, became iconic. He operated in the Sasun region, and he was known for his strict code: no killing of civilians, no looting, and always sharing supplies with the poor. The Ottoman authorities put a price on his head, but the local population protected him. Lucas: Then there was Andranik Ozanian. He joined the fedayee movement in the mid-1890s, and he quickly rose to prominence. Andranik was different — he was more strategic, more focused on building a long-term resistance. He would later become a general in the First Republic of Armenia. Luna: What about the political parties? I know the Dashnaks and Hunchaks were forming around this time. Lucas: The parties were deeply involved. The Hunchakian Revolutionary Party, founded in 1887 in Geneva, was Marxist-leaning and believed in mass uprising. The Dashnaktsutyun — the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — formed in 1890 in Tiflis, and it was more nationalist and pragmatic. Both parties organized fedayee groups, supplied them with weapons, and tried to coordinate resistance. Lucas: There was often tension between them. The Hunchaks wanted immediate revolution; the Dashnaks preferred a more measured approach. But in the field, fedayee bands often ignored party lines and fought alongside each other. Luna: And the weapons — where were they coming from? Armenia is landlocked, surrounded by empires. Lucas: Great question. The primary supply route was from the Russian Caucasus, across the border. Armenian communities in Tiflis, Baku, and even as far as Persia would smuggle rifles, ammunition, and dynamite. The Persian city of Tabriz was a major hub. Some weapons were bought from Ottoman soldiers or Kurdish tribes. It was dangerous, slow, and often intercepted. Lucas: There's a famous story about a fedayee named Kevork Chavush — 'George the Sergeant' — who once carried a load of rifles on his back across the mountains for days to arm a village. That kind of dedication was common. Luna: That's incredible. So the fedayee were essentially the military arm of a national awakening. Lucas: Exactly. And the culmination of this early phase was the Ottoman Bank takeover in Constantinople in August 1896. A group of fedayee, led by a Dashnak member named Papken Siuni, stormed the Ottoman Bank, taking hostages and demanding European intervention for Armenian reforms. Lucas: They held the building for 14 hours. The Ottoman government panicked, but the French ambassador negotiated a safe passage for the attackers. However, the aftermath was brutal — a pogrom in Constantinople killed thousands of Armenians. Luna: So was the bank takeover a failure then? Lucas: In the short term, yes — it provoked more massacres. But symbolically, it was huge. It showed that Armenians could strike at the heart of the empire. It also put the Armenian Question back on the European agenda, even if only temporarily. And it inspired a new generation of revolutionaries. Lucas: The fedayee movement continued into the early 1900s. Some of these same fighters would later be key figures in the 1915 resistance at Van and Musa Dagh. So the legacy is direct. Luna: I had no idea there was this whole armed resistance a full twenty years before the genocide. It really changes the picture. Lucas: It does. And it's a story that Armenians themselves sometimes downplay, because the genocide narrative is so overwhelming. But the fedayee represent a moment when ordinary people said 'enough' — and they fought back with whatever they had. Lucas: Next time, I want to look at what happened to that revolutionary energy after 1908, when the Young Turks came to power and Armenians initially hoped for a better future. Luna: I'm already curious. Until then.