Sason is a town in the Batman Province of Turkey . It is the seat of the Sason District . Its population is 12,696 (2021). It was formerly known as Kabilcevz.
120-575: Sason derives from the name of the historical region Sasun . In the Armenian tradition, the name of Sasun (from earlier Sanasunk ) is traditionally associated with Sanasar (i.e., biblical Sharezer), the son of the Assyrian king Sennacherib who fled to Armenia after murdering his father․ Sanasar is said to have settled in the area around Mount Sim, which was called Sanasunk (as if meaning "Sanasar's progeny") after him and his descendants that populated
240-614: A Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. Some scholars have linked the name Armenia with the Early Bronze Age state of Armani (Armanum, Armi) or the Late Bronze Age state of Arme (Shupria) . These connections are inconclusive as it is not known what languages were spoken in these kingdoms. Additionally, while it
360-518: A Seljuk incursion into Tarōn. In 1073, he defeated the Byzantine-Armenian general-turned-ruler Philaretos Brachamios , who attempted to subject Sasun to his rule. That same year, Tornik was assassinated through the conspiring of Philaretos and the emir of Mayyafariqin . He was succeeded by his son Chordvanel (1073–1120s), who is said to have captured thirty villages from the emirate of Arzen . Under Chordvanel's son Vigen (1120s–1175),
480-691: A became a key stronghold for resistance against Arab rule. Starting from the end of the 8th century, Sasun was ruled by the Tornikians, a branch of the Mamikonian family. In 851, the population of Sasun, under the leadership of a certain Hovhan Khutetsi, defeated an Arab army on the plain of Mush and killed its commander Yusuf. In 852 the Abbasid commander Bugha al-Kabir attacked Sasun and massacred thousands of its inhabitants. Despite this,
600-466: A broader geographical, economic and political region which included historical Sanasun and the adjacent territories, and was considered a part of the region of Taron - Turuberan . By one definition, Sasun encompassed the area between the Haçres and Sim/Kurtik Mountains in the north to Sasun village (modern Derince, Sason ) in the south and between Kulp in the west and Kavakbaşı (historical Khoytʻ) in
720-640: A few hundred were taken into Kurdish families or seized as war booty by Turkish officers. Others hid in mountains and canyons and crossed over to Russian-controlled territory in March 1916, when the Russian army captured Mush. An unknown number of Sasun Armenians survived the genocide by converting to Islam. Many of these Armenian converts later moved to different parts of Turkey. Some Sasun Armenians preserved their Christian faith and managed to remain in Sasun after
840-594: A group of non-Muslim Kurds called the Baliki or Belekʻtsʻi , who lived in the foothills of Mount Maratʻuk, spoke the Sasun dialect of Armenian, visited the Armenian holy sites, and cooperated with the Armenians in times of rebellion. In 1894, the Armenian villages of Sasun were mostly allied with and dependent on the Sasunlu Kurds, to whom they paid tribute. The main villages of the semi-nomadic Bekranlı were to
960-529: A larger region than the original gawaṛ . In the 10th century, an independent Armenian principality based in Sasun and ruled by a branch of the Mamikonian dynasty emerged and existed until the 12th century. The region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and the district ( kaza ) of Sasun was made a part of different administrative divisions before finally being attached to
1080-718: A member of the Artsruni family named Sadun Artsruni . During Timur's campaign in Armenia in 1387, the population of Tarōn was saved from destruction by taking refuge in the mountains of Sasun. In the 15th century, Sasun first fell under the suzerainty of the Qara Qoyunlu , then under that of the Aq Qoyunlu . In the 16th century Sasun was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Kurdish presence in Sasun can be traced to
1200-684: A part of the Bagratunis' holdings in Tarōn in the early 10th century. Soon after, however, the Tornikians accepted the suzerainty of the Bagratuni kingdom of Armenia based in Ani . At some point during the rule of the Tornikians, an episcopal see was established at Sasun with its seat at the monastery of Surb Aghberik or Vandir. Tarōn was conquered in its entirety by the Byzantines in the last decade of
1320-477: A result of deliberate provocations by the Ottoman authorities, who sought to bring Sasun to heel as a potential hotbed for rebellion. In 1891–92, the hamidiye irregular cavalry units were sent by the Ottoman authorities to attack Sasun, but were fought off by Armenian forces. The famous Armenian fedayi Arabo came to prominence in these battles. Several Armenian revolutionaries traveled to Sasun to join in
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#17327880597061440-529: A significant numerical strength in most areas within the region up until the Genocide in 1915." Sasun was likely divided into smaller administrative units with the intention of reducing the relative percentage of Armenians in each unit. In accordance with the legend of Sanasar, son of Sennacherib, settling in Sanasun, the 9th-10th-century Armenian historian Tovma Artsruni writes that the people of Sasun "are
1560-464: A significant place in Armenian culture, history and historical memory. The Sasun Armenians' reputation for courage and resistance to foreign rule is reflected in the Armenian national epic Daredevils of Sasun . In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Sasun became a focal point of the Armenian fedayi movement and was the site of numerous clashes between Armenian militiamen, Kurdish irregulars and
1680-519: A year as a lump sum. There were also illegal taxes imposed by Kurdish chieftains on the Armenians, which were frequently cause for conflict. Armenian sources write that relations between the Kurds and Armenians of Sasun worsened due to the deliberate policy of the Ottoman authorities. In the late 19th century, Sasun was made a part of the Bitlis vilayet , with most of it falling under the Sasun kaza in
1800-596: Is agreed that Arme was located to the immediate west of Lake Van (probably in the vicinity of Sason , and therefore in the greater Armenia region), the location of the older site of Armani is a matter of debate. Some modern researchers have placed it near modern Samsat , and have suggested it was populated, at least partially, by an early Indo-European-speaking people. It is possible that the name Armenia originates in Armini , Urartian for "inhabitant of Arme" or "Armean country". The Arme tribe of Urartian texts may have been
1920-677: Is also attested by the transfer of the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, the spiritual leader of the Armenian people, to the region. The Seljuk Empire soon started to collapse. In the early 12th century, Armenian princes of the Zakarid family drove out the Seljuk Turks and established a semi-independent principality in northern and eastern Armenia known as Zakarid Armenia , which lasted under
2040-657: Is at the Nor Geghi 1 Stone Age site in the Hrazdan river valley. Thousands of 325,000 year-old artifacts may indicate that this stage of human technological innovation occurred intermittently throughout the Old World, rather than spreading from a single point of origin (usually hypothesized to be Africa), as was previously thought. Many early Bronze Age settlements were built in Armenia (Valley of Ararat, Shengavit, Harich, Karaz, Amiranisgora, Margahovit, Garni, etc.). One of
2160-505: Is depicted in the Armenian epic poem Daredevils of Sasun , which narrates the story of four generations of heroes from Sasun who fight against the Arab conquerors during the time of Arab rule in Armenia . The epic was inspired by the memory of Sasun's protracted struggle against the Arabs and other foreign conquerors. The Armenians of Sasun spoke their own dialect of Western Armenian , which
2280-770: Is geographically located in the South Caucasus , it is generally considered geopolitically European. Since Armenia aligns itself in many respects geopolitically with Europe , the country is a member of numerous European organizations including the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe , the Council of Europe , the Eastern Partnership , Eurocontrol , the Assembly of European Regions , and
2400-477: Is included in the Mush-Tigranakert ( Diyarbakır ) or south-central group of Armenian dialects. The Sasun dialect itself was divided into two main sub-dialects: Hazro and Geliyeguzan. In the late Ottoman period, Kurds in the Sasun region were either sedentary villagers or seminomads who moved between two main pastures seasonally but had home villages. The Kurdish settlements formed a rough circle around
2520-708: The Aragatsotn Province , mostly around Talin. Four villages in Aragatsotn contain the name Sasun in their names: Nerkin Sasnashen (renamed in 1946), Sasunik (1964), Verin Sasunik (1995), Verin Sasnashen (2006). Another village, formed around a newly-established sovkhoz was named Talvorik in 1984 from the village of the same name in Sasun. Today, Sasun is a common male given name among Armenians. One notable namesake, Sasun Mikayelyan , led
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#17327880597062640-597: The Armenian Highlands . Each of the aforementioned nations and confederacies participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenians . A large cuneiform lapidary inscription found in Yerevan established that the modern capital of Armenia was founded in the summer of 782 BC by King Argishti I . Yerevan is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities . After the fall of the state of Urartu at
2760-620: The Armenian Revolutionary Federation . Ultimately, Ter Minasian and Papazian's strategy of cautiously preparing for defense in the mountains of Sasun was followed. In May 1915, the Ottoman army unsuccessfully attacked Sasun with the help of Kurdish tribes. Armenian partisan units remained in Sasun in June–July 1915 while Ottoman forces crushed Armenian resistance in Mush and massacred the survivors. After eradicating
2880-517: The Armenian genocide . The genocide was implemented in two phases: the wholesale killing of the able-bodied male population through massacre and subjection of army conscripts to forced labour, followed by the deportation of women, children, the elderly and infirm on death marches leading to the Syrian desert . Driven forward by military escorts, the deportees were deprived of food and water and subjected to periodic robbery, rape, and massacre. There
3000-824: The Babylonian king Bel in 2492 BC and established his nation in the Ararat region. The further origin of the name is uncertain. It is also further postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states – the Ḫayaša -Azzi (1600–1200 BC). The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription (515 BC) as Armina ( 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴 ). The Ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία ( Armenía ) and Ἀρμένιοι ( Arménioi , "Armenians") are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus ( c. 550 BC – c. 476 BC ). Xenophon ,
3120-648: The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 . At the time, Russian-controlled Eastern Armenia , Georgia, and Azerbaijan attempted to bond together in the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic . This federation, however, lasted from only February to May 1918, when all three parties decided to dissolve it. As a result, the Dashnaktsutyun government of Eastern Armenia declared its independence on 28 May as
3240-799: The Bronze Age and earlier, dating to about 4000 BC. Archaeological surveys in 2010 and 2011 at the Areni-1 cave complex have resulted in the discovery of the world's earliest known leather shoe , skirt, and wine-producing facility . Several Bronze Age cultures and states flourished in the area of Greater Armenia, including the Trialeti-Vanadzor culture , Hayasa-Azzi , and Mitanni (located in southwestern historical Armenia), all of which are believed to have had Indo-European populations. The Nairi confederation and its successor, Urartu , successively established their sovereignty over
3360-734: The Caucasus and Persian campaigns . The new government in Istanbul began to look on the Armenians with distrust and suspicion because the Imperial Russian Army contained a contingent of Armenian volunteers . On 24 April 1915, Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Ottoman authorities and, with the Tehcir Law (29 May 1915), eventually a large proportion of Armenians living in Anatolia perished in what has become known as
3480-862: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development . Armenia is also a member of certain regional groups throughout Eurasia , including the Asian Development Bank , the Collective Security Treaty Organization , the Eurasian Economic Union , and the Eurasian Development Bank . Armenia supported the once de facto independent Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), which was proclaimed in 1991 on territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan , until
3600-475: The First Republic of Armenia under the leadership of Aram Manukian . The First Republic's short-lived independence was fraught with war, territorial disputes , large-scale rebellions , and a mass influx of refugees from Western Armenia, bringing with them disease and starvation. The Entente Powers sought to help the newly founded Armenian state through relief funds and other forms of support. At
3720-513: The Kara Koyunlu , Timurid dynasty and Ağ Qoyunlu , which continued from the 13th century until the 15th century. After incessant invasions, each bringing destruction to the country, with time Armenia became weakened. In the 16th century, the Ottoman Empire and the Safavid dynasty of Iran divided Armenia. From the early 16th century, both Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia fell to
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3840-776: The Republic of Mountainous Armenia by Armenian forces under command of Garegin Nzhdeh on 26 April, which fought off both Soviet and Turkish intrusions in the Zangezur region of southern Armenia. After Soviet agreements to include the Syunik Province in Armenia's borders, the rebellion ended and the Red Army took control of the region on 13 July. Armenia was annexed by the Red Army and along with Georgia and Azerbaijan ,
3960-707: The Sasanian Empire , it seems, becoming the first officially Christian state, ten years before the Roman Empire granted Christianity an official toleration under Galerius , and 36 years before Constantine the Great was baptised. Prior to this, during the latter part of the Parthian period, Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian country. After the fall of the Kingdom of Armenia in 428, most of Armenia
4080-733: The Umayyad Caliphate . The principality was ruled by the Prince of Armenia, and recognised by the Caliph and the Byzantine Emperor . It was part of the administrative division/emirate Arminiya created by the Arabs, which also included parts of Georgia and Caucasian Albania , and had its centre in the Armenian city, Dvin . Arminiya lasted until 884, when it regained its independence from the weakened Abbasid Caliphate under Ashot I of Armenia . The reemergent Armenian kingdom
4200-399: The kaza of Kulp (24,819 total), and 39,887 Muslims and 47,879 Armenians (87,766 total) in the kaza of Mush. Raymond Kévorkian gives the Armenian population of the kaza of Sasun on the eve of the First World War as 24,233, based on the census carried out by the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople . For the greater region of Sasun, Kévorkian counts 80,233 Armenians at the start of
4320-543: The "Red Sultan" or "Bloody Sultan". During the 1890s, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation , commonly known as Dashnaktsutyun , became active within the Ottoman Empire with the aim of unifying the various small groups in the empire that were advocating for reform and defending Armenian villages from massacres that were widespread in some of the Armenian-populated areas of the empire. Dashnaktsutyun members also formed Armenian fedayi groups that defended Armenian civilians through armed resistance. The Dashnaks also worked for
4440-414: The "obscure and inscrutable speech" of the inhabitants of Sasun and states that "Half of them lose their native tongue from living so far apart and never greeting each other, and their mutual speech is a patchwork of borrowed words. They are so profoundly ignorant of each other that they even need interpreters." Armenian authors interpret this as referring to various and complex dialects of Armenian spoken by
4560-425: The 10th century, but the Tornikian principality of Sasun managed to maintain its independence from Byzantium and the Seljuks . In the 11th century Sasun was ruled first by Mushegh Tornikian, then by his son Tornik, who again expanded the principality of Sasun into Tarōn and conquered the city Arsamosata and parts of Andzit . Arab sources refer to the ruler of Sasun as malik al-Sanasina . In 1059, Tornik beat back
4680-420: The 1813 Treaty of Gulistan and the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay , following the Russo-Persian War (1804–13) and the Russo-Persian War (1826–28) , respectively, the Qajar dynasty of Iran was forced to irrevocably cede Eastern Armenia , consisting of the Erivan and Karabakh Khanates , to Imperial Russia . This period is known as Russian Armenia . While Western Armenia still remained under Ottoman rule,
4800-422: The 19th century, Eastern Armenia was ruled by the successive Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar empires, while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman rule. From 1604, Abbas I of Iran implemented a " scorched earth " policy in the region to protect his north-western frontier against any invading Ottoman forces , a policy that involved a forced resettlement of masses of Armenians outside of their homelands. In
4920-423: The Armenian Highlands. The first Armenian state of Urartu was established in 860 BC, and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia . The Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great in the 1st century BC and in the year 301 became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion . Armenia still recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church ,
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5040-536: The Armenian diaspora have been campaigning for official recognition of the events as genocide for over 30 years. These events are traditionally commemorated yearly on 24 April, the Armenian Martyr Day, or the Day of the Armenian genocide. Although the Russian Caucasus Army of Imperial forces commanded by Nikolai Yudenich and Armenians in volunteer units and Armenian militia led by Andranik Ozanian and Tovmas Nazarbekian succeeded in gaining most of Western Armenia during World War I, their gains were lost with
5160-414: The Armenian genocide. Armenian families in Sasun were large, with couples having eight children on average. The two main ethnic groups in Sasun were Armenians and Kurds. Ethnographer and Sasun native Vardan Petoyan writes that a very small number of Yazidis and Assyrians also lived in Sasun. According to scholar Tigran Martirosyan, "the Armenians of Sassoun held a relative demographic preponderance or
5280-599: The Armenians of Sasun at the time. The reputation of the Armenians of Sasun was one of a hardy, courageous and stubborn group of mountaineers. Tovma Artsruni describes them as "savage in their habits, drinkers of blood, who regard as naught the killing of their own brothers and even of themselves" but adds that they are "hospitable and respectful to strangers." The early 20th-century Armenian historian A-Do (Hovhannes Ter-Martirosian) describes Sasun Armenians as "rough, proud, individualist and brave, but poor." The Sasun Armenians' bravery and propensity for resistance to oppression
5400-526: The Armenians on the plain of Mush, the Ottoman forces focused their efforts on attacking Sasun. The district was surrounded and subjected to heavy bombardment. Ruben Ter Minasian estimates that around 30,000 Ottoman troops and Kurdish irregulars surrounded Sasun. On the Armenian side, some 1,000 men armed mainly with hunting rifles defended the kaza of Sasun, where about 20,000 natives and 30,000 refugees from other regions were under siege. Suffering from starvation and shortages in ammunition, on August 2, 1915
5520-572: The Armenians were granted considerable autonomy within their own enclaves and lived in relative harmony with other groups in the empire (including the ruling Turks). However, as Christians under a strict Muslim social structure , Armenians faced pervasive discrimination. In response to 1894 Sasun rebellion , Sultan Abdul Hamid II organised state-sponsored massacres against the Armenians between 1894 and 1896, resulting in an estimated death toll of 80,000 to 300,000 people. The Hamidian massacres , as they came to be known, gave Hamid international infamy as
5640-504: The Byzantine Empire conquered Bagratid Armenia. Soon, the other Armenian states fell under Byzantine control as well. The Byzantine rule was short-lived, as in 1071 the Seljuk Empire defeated the Byzantines and conquered Armenia at the Battle of Manzikert , establishing the Seljuk Empire. To escape death or servitude at the hands of those who had assassinated his relative, Gagik II of Armenia , King of Ani , an Armenian named Ruben I, Prince of Armenia , went with some of his countrymen into
5760-605: The Great , becoming the most powerful kingdom of its time east of the Roman Republic . In the next centuries, Armenia was in the Persian Empire 's sphere of influence during the reign of Tiridates I , the founder of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia , which itself was a branch of the Parthian Empire . Throughout its history, the kingdom of Armenia enjoyed both periods of independence and periods of autonomy subject to contemporary empires. Its strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many peoples, including Assyria (under Ashurbanipal , at around 669–627 BC,
5880-407: The Mush sanjak of the Bitlis vilayet . Kurds settled in Sasun as early as the end of the 13th century, and an autonomous Kurdish emirate existed there until the 19th century. The inhabitants of Sasun frequently enjoyed an autonomous or semi-independent status up to the modern era owing to the region's remoteness and inaccessibility, as well as to the armed resistance of its inhabitants. Sasun holds
6000-416: The Ottoman authorities. The Armenians of Sasun showed armed resistance during the Armenian genocide in 1915, during which most of them were killed. Some Armenians from Sasun managed to flee and settled in the territory of modern-day Armenia , while a small number remained in Sasun. Most of the Armenians that remained in Sasun after the genocide have since left the region, settling primarily in Istanbul , and
6120-403: The Safavid Empire. Owing to the century long Turco-Iranian geopolitical rivalry that would last in West Asia, significant parts of the region were frequently fought over between the two rivalling empires during the Ottoman–Persian Wars . From the mid 16th century with the Peace of Amasya , and decisively from the first half of the 17th century with the Treaty of Zuhab until the first half of
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#17327880597066240-497: The Sasun volunteer unit during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . Figures for the population and number of settlements in Sasun from the late Ottoman period differ significantly. This can be attributed to the difficulty of collecting data in such a remote area, as well as the reluctance of the inhabitants to provide information to officials and, later, displacement and death associated with local violence and massacres. Additionally, Armenian populations were frequently undercounted by
6360-484: The Sim Mountains (also known as Kurtik or Simsar) to the north, which separated Sasun from the plain of Mush , and the Sasun Mountains to the east, whose most prominent peaks are Andok (Antok), Tsovasar (Zowasor), Kepin and Maratʻuk (Marutʻasar). The source of the Batman River (Kʻaghirtʻ in the old Armenian sources), a tributary of the Tigris, was located in Sasun. The altitude in Sasun dropped drastically going from north to south, going from 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in
6480-399: The Sèvres treaty. Simultaneously, the Soviet Eleventh Army , under the command of Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze , invaded Armenia at Karavansarai (present-day Ijevan ) on 29 November. By 4 December, Ordzhonikidze's forces entered Yerevan and the short-lived Armenian republic collapsed. After the fall of the republic, the February Uprising soon took place in 1921, and led to the establishment of
6600-401: The Tornikians maintained their control over Sasun and continued to resist Arab rule. The frequent revolts of the Armenians of Sasun against Arab rule served as the historical basis for the medieval Armenian epic Daredevils of Sasun . Continuing the long-standing rivalry between the Mamikonian and Bagratuni dynasties and encouraged by the Byzantine Empire , the Tornikians of Sasun conquered
6720-412: The Tornikians remained in Sasun, taking refuge in the more inaccessible parts of the region. Under Mongol rule, Sasun was administered together with the rest of southwestern Armenia and maintained its autonomous status. Hulagu Khan conquered Sasun in the 1260s and annexed it to the Ilkhanate . According to the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi , Hulagu delegated the administration of Sasun to
6840-464: The Urumu, who in the 12th century BC attempted to invade Assyria from the north with their allies the Mushki and the Kaskians . The Urumu apparently settled in the vicinity of Sason, lending their name to the regions of Arme and the nearby lands of Urme and Inner Urumu. Given that this was an exonym , it may have meant "wasteland, dense forest", cf. armutu (wasteland), armaḫḫu (thicket, thick woods), armāniš (tree). The southerners considered
6960-411: The aftermath of the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War and occupied the old city of Alexandropol (present-day Gyumri ). The violent conflict finally concluded with the Treaty of Alexandropol on 2 December 1920. The treaty forced Armenia to disarm most of its military forces , cede all former Ottoman territory granted to it by the Treaty of Sèvres , and to give up all the "Wilsonian Armenia" granted to it at
7080-402: The area around Mount Sim, which was called Sanasunkʻ (as if meaning "Sanasar's progeny") after him and his descendants that populated the region. The prominent Armenian noble house of Artsruni and the bdeashkhs of Tsopʻkʻ and Aghdznikʻ, the latter of which ruled over Sanasun until the fifth century, all claimed descent from Sanasar. It has been proposed that the placename is related to
7200-414: The armed resistance. Among the leaders of the Armenian militias were Mihran Damadian , Hampartsoum Boyadjian , Hrayr Dzhoghk , Aghbiur Serob , Kevork Chavush and Krko (Krikor Moseyan). Unable to bring Sasun to submission with police forces and Kurdish irregulars in 1893, the Ottoman authorities sent the regular army to surround Sasun and declared martial law in the area. The Ottoman Fourth Army under
7320-409: The authorities after 1878 to downplay Armenian presence in the empire's eastern provinces. According to Justin McCarthy , comparatively accurate data was collected in 1911, which, when adjusted for the undercount of women and children typical of Ottoman census data, shows a population of 9,827 Muslims and 8,576 Armenians in the kaza of Sasun (18,403 people total), 20,108 Muslims and 4,711 Armenians in
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#17327880597067440-423: The beginning of the 6th century BC, the Armenian Highlands were for some time under the hegemony of the Medes , and after that they were part of the Achaemenid Empire . Armenia was part of the Achaemenid state from the second half of the 6th century BC until the second half of the 4th century BC divided into two satrapies - XIII (western part, with the capital in Melitene ) and XVIII (northeastern part). During
7560-426: The boundaries of Assyria reached as far as Armenia and the Caucasus Mountains ), Medes , Achaemenid Empire , Greeks , Parthians , Romans , Sasanian Empire , Byzantine Empire , Arabs , Seljuk Empire , Mongols , Ottoman Empire , the successive Safavid , Afsharid , and Qajar dynasties of Iran, and the Russians. Religion in ancient Armenia was historically related to a set of beliefs that, in Persia, led to
7680-459: The central area of Armenian settlement in Sasun. Kurds in Sasun strongly identified with their respective tribes and sub-tribes and were not unified as a single group. The main Kurdish tribes in Sasun, which each had their own sub-tribes ( kabile ), were the Bekranlı (also known as the Bikran), the Badıkanlı, the Sasunlu, and the Hıyanlı. Relations between these tribes were often tense, which sometimes led to armed clashes. Some sources also speak of
7800-411: The coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and Persian empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire , while most of
7920-451: The command of Zeki Pasha was charged with pacifying Sasun. After several months of fighting, the outnumbered Armenian forces under the leadership of Hampartsoum Boyadjian were defeated and the inhabitants of a number of villages in Sasun were massacred. The rebellion and massacre at Sasun is regarded as the beginning of the Hamidian massacres and provoked an international outcry. Armenian fedayi activity resumed in Sasun in 1896 under
8040-406: The deaths of as many as 20,000–30,000 Armenians. The Armenians living in the empire hoped that the Committee of Union and Progress would change their second-class status. The Armenian reform package (1914) was presented as a solution by appointing an inspector general over Armenian issues. The outbreak of World War I led to confrontation between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire in
8160-405: The defenders attempted to break out of the encirclement together with the besieged population, but only a few thousand managed to escape and reach Russian-controlled territory (at the time, the frontline ran through Malazgirt , about 25 miles from Mush). The vast majority of the population, including tens of thousands of refugees from nearby areas, was massacred. A few thousand were deported, while
8280-399: The early Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi does not mention Sanasun by name, he refers to "the Taurus Mountain, that is Sim and all the and all the Kłesurkʻ [ Kleisourai , mountain passes]," which is clearly describing the territory of Sanasun, as part of the territories granted to Sharashan, bdeashkh of Aghdznikʻ. Sanasun was strategically important because of its geographical position;
8400-432: The east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the capital , largest city and financial center . Armenia is a unitary , multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The Armenian Highlands has been home to the Hayasa-Azzi , Shupria and Nairi . By at least 600 BC, an archaic form of Proto-Armenian , an Indo-European language, had diffused into
8520-408: The east. After the creation of the Bitlis vilayet in 1875, most of Sasun was made part of the sanjak of Mush of the Bitlis vilayet and called the kaza of Sasun, with other parts of the greater region of Sasun falling under adjacent sanjaks. Little is known for certain about Sasun's internal sub-divisions during the late Ottoman period, and these seem to have changed frequently. One source gives
8640-433: The emergence of Zoroastrianism . It particularly focused on the worship of Mithra and also included a pantheon of gods such as Aramazd , Vahagn , Anahit , and Astghik . The country used the solar Armenian calendar , which consisted of 12 months. Christianity spread into the country in the early 4th century AD. Tiridates III of Armenia (238–314) made Christianity the state religion in 301, partly, in defiance of
8760-413: The end of the 13th century; Kurds settled in Sasun in greater numbers after the Ottoman conquest. According to the correspondence between Joseph Emin , an early Armenian revolutionary, and Hovhan Mshetsi, the abbot of St. Karapet Monastery in Mush, Sasun had its own armed detachments and cavalry in the second half of the 18th century. In first quarter of the 19th century and as late as the 1880s, Sasun
8880-547: The end of the war, the victorious powers sought to divide up the Ottoman Empire. Signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and Ottoman Empire at Sèvres on 10 August 1920, the Treaty of Sèvres promised to maintain the existence of the Armenian republic and to attach the former territories of Western Armenia to it. Because the new borders of Armenia were to be drawn by United States President Woodrow Wilson , Western Armenia
9000-681: The establishment of the First Republic of Armenia . By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Armenian SSR . The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union . Armenia is a developing country and ranks 85th on the Human Development Index (2021). Its economy is primarily based on industrial output and mineral extraction. While Armenia
9120-529: The four sons of Aram, Uz founded Trachonitis and Damascus : this country lies between Palestine and Celesyria . Ul founded Armenia; and Gather the Bactrians ; and Mesa the Mesaneans; it is now called Charax Spasini . The first human traces are supported by the presence of Acheulean tools, generally close to the obsidian outcrops more than 1 million years ago. The most recent and important excavation
9240-523: The genocide, although many of these later converted to Islam from the 1960s onward. According to one estimate, one third of the Armenian community in Istanbul is made up of Armenians from Sasun. Those Armenians from Sasun who managed to reach Eastern Armenia (the territory of modern-day Armenia ) settled mainly in villages around Talin and Ashtarak . Today, the Sasun dialect is spoken an estimated 10,000 people in Armenia, including in 19 villages in
9360-699: The gorges of the Taurus Mountains and then into Tarsus of Cilicia . The Byzantine governor of the palace gave them shelter where the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia was eventually established on 6 January 1198 under Leo I, King of Armenia , a descendant of Prince Ruben. Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders , and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. Cilicia's significance in Armenian history and statehood
9480-414: The important sites of the Early Bronze Age is Shengavit Settlement , It was located on the site of today's capital of Armenia, Yerevan . Such things were discovered in Armenia, for example, the oldest shoe , oldest wagon , oldest skirt , and the oldest wine-making facility . Armenia lies in the highlands surrounding the mountains of Ararat . There is evidence of an early civilisation in Armenia in
9600-503: The lack of transportation infrastructure for export. Within the Kingdom of Armenia, Sanasun or Sasun bordered the districts of Hashteankʻ of Tsopʻkʻ province to the northwest, Tarōn , Aspakuneatsʻ Dzor and Khoytʻ (Khutʻ) of Turuberan province to the northeast, and Salnoy Dzor, Gzekh, Aghdzn, and Npʻrkert of Aghdznik province to the east and southeast. Suren Yeremian estimates the area of historical Sanasun at 2,400 km (930 sq mi). In later periods, Sasun referred to
9720-812: The land of Mesopotamia between the Tigris and the Euphrates to the north of the Chaldees to the border of the mountains of Asshur and the land of 'Arara'. Jubilees 8:21 also apportions the Mountains of Ararat to Shem , which Jubilees 9:5 expounds to be apportioned to Aram . The historian Flavius Josephus also states in his Antiquities of the Jews , Aram had the Aramites, which the Greeks called Syrians ;... Of
9840-712: The late 6th century BC, the first geographical entity that was called Armenia by neighbouring populations was established under the Orontid Dynasty within the Achaemenid Empire , as part of the latter's territories. The kingdom became fully sovereign from the sphere of influence of the Seleucid Empire in 190 BC under King Artaxias I and begun the rule of the Artaxiad dynasty . Armenia reached its height between 95 and 66 BC under Tigranes
9960-496: The leadership of Andranik , Aghbiur Serob and Spaghanats Makar. Sasun was attacked by the Ottoman Army and Kurdish irregulars again in 1904 . The Armenian defenders were led by Hrayr Dzhdoghk, Andranik, Kevork Chavush, Sebastatsi Murad , Spaghanats Makar, Mshetsi Smbat, Sheniktsi Manuk, and Kaytsak Vagharshak, among others. Although the Armenian militiamen were defeated and the region's population again subjected to massacre,
10080-449: The name Hayastan trace back to much earlier dates and were first attested in c. 5th century in the works of Agathangelos , Faustus of Byzantium , Ghazar Parpetsi , Koryun , and Sebeos . The name has traditionally been derived from Hayk ( Հայկ ), the legendary patriarch of the Armenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah , who, according to the 5th-century AD author Moses of Chorene (Movsis Khorenatsi) , defeated
10200-548: The names of the sub-districts (or nahiye ) of Sasun in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as Brnashēn, Bun Sasun ("Sasun proper"), Kharzan, Khutʻ-Brnashēn, Khulpʻ, Hazzo-Khabljoz, Motkan, Shatakh, Talvorik (Talori), and Pʻsankʻ․ Sasun or Sanasun formed a part of the territory of the Kingdom of Urartu , as well as the Kingdom of Armenia under the successive rule of the Orontid , Artaxiad and Arsacid dynasties. Sanasun
10320-410: The north to 2,400 feet (730 m) in the south along a distance of just 100 miles (160 km). Summers were temperate in the north and very hot in the south, while winters were severe and long everywhere. The main roads leading out of Sasun, which went through mountain passes to the north, were made impassable by snowfall throughout the winter, cutting the region off from the outside world. The area
10440-564: The northern forests to be the abode of dangerous beasts. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram , a lineal descendant of Hayk. In the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament , the Table of Nations lists Aram as the son of Shem , to whom the Book of Jubilees attests, And for Aram there came forth the fourth portion, all
10560-416: The onset of the Armenian genocide , Armenian leaders in Mush and Sasun debated over strategy, with some advising caution and others calling for a preemptive uprising to take control of Sasun and the plain of Mush until the arrival of the Russian army. The main partisan leaders were Hagop Godoyan, Misak Bdeyan and Goryun, while the chief political leaders were Ruben Ter Minasian and Vahan Papazian (Goms) of
10680-758: The patronage of the Georgian Kingdom . The Orbelian Dynasty shared control with the Zakarids in various parts of the country, especially in Syunik and Vayots Dzor , while the House of Hasan-Jalalyan controlled provinces of Artsakh and Utik as the Kingdom of Artsakh. During the 1230s, the Mongol Empire conquered Zakarid Armenia and then the remainder of Armenia. The Mongolian invasions were soon followed by those of other Central Asian tribes, such as
10800-419: The peasants of Syria who followed [to Armenia] Adramelēkʻ and Sanasar." The Armenologist Heinrich Hübschmann was of the opinion that the inhabitants of Sasun were historically not Armenians, spoke a different language, and were clearly distinguishable from Armenians as late as the 10th century, citing Tovma Artsruni's descriptions of their way of life and language as evidence. Specifically, Tovma Artsruni notes
10920-553: The population of Sasun rejected the Ottoman authorities' demand to resettle on the plain of Mush. In the years prior to the Armenian genocide , a number of Sasun Armenians migrated to Aleppo (modern-day Syria ), which already had a sizable Armenian community. The majority of the Sasun Armenians in Aleppo made their living there as bakers or millers. A Compatriotic Union of Sasun was later formed in Aleppo. In 1915, at
11040-589: The principality expanded further westward and established alliances by marriage with the Artsrunis of Moks , the Katakalons , and the Pahlavunis . Vigen was succeeded by his grandson, Shahnshah (1175–1188), who unsuccessfully attempted to make his brother Catholicos at Rumkale . Catholicos Gregory IV called on Shah-Armen Beytemür, ruler of Ahlat , for aid against Shahnshah's aggression, but Beytemür
11160-404: The region in the plural, as Sanasounitai ( Σανασουνῖται ), which is likely a direct translation of Sanasunkʻ and also refers to the inhabitants of Sanasun. In the Armenian tradition, the name of Sasun is traditionally associated with Sanasar (i.e., biblical Sharezer), the son of the Assyrian king Sennacherib who fled to Armenia after murdering his father․ Sanasar is said to have settled in
11280-409: The region is now populated primarily by Kurds. The exact etymology of Sasun is unknown, although various folk etymologies exist. The name is first definitely attested in the 7th-century Armenian geography Ashkharhatsʻoytsʻ , attributed to Anania Shirakatsi . Sanasun is the older form of the name, and both versions are also attested in the plural forms Sanasunkʻ and Sasunkʻ. The Greeks referred to
11400-481: The region. The former name of the settlement, Kabilcevz , comes from the Arabic word jawz 'walnut' (Turkish ceviz ), in reference to the abundance of walnut trees in the area. During the Ottoman period, Sason, then known as Kabilcevz, was located in the nahiye of Hazzo-Kabilcevz in the kaza (district) of Sasun within the Bitlis vilayet . Sometimes, it fell under the kaza of Kulp instead. As of 1914, it
11520-582: The republic's dissolution in September 2023. The original native Armenian name for the country was Հայք ( [[[wikt:Հայք|Hayk’]]] Error: {{Lang}}: Non-latn text/Latn script subtag mismatch ( help ) ); however, it is currently rarely used. The contemporary name Հայաստան ( Hayastan ) became popular in the Middle Ages by addition of the Persian suffix -stan (place). However the origins of
11640-513: The research conducted by Arnold J. Toynbee , an estimated 600,000 Armenians died during deportation from 1915 to 1916. This figure, however, accounts for solely the first year of the Genocide and does not take into account those who died or were killed after the report was compiled on 24 May 1916. The International Association of Genocide Scholars places the death toll at "more than a million". The total number of people killed has been most widely estimated at between 1 and 1.5 million. Armenia and
11760-489: The river valleys that it encompassed, though difficult to pass, were a logical invasion route from the south toward the plain of Mush . The chief fortress of Sanasun bore the same name and was located near the later village of Sasun (modern Derince). Sanasun presumably came under direct Roman suzerainty together with the entire bdeashkhutʻiwn (viceroyalty) of Aghdznikʻ as a result of the Peace of Nisibis in 298 CE, although
11880-488: The sanjak of Mush and smaller sections going to the sanjaks of Genç and Siirt. In the 1880s, clashes occurred in Sasun between Armenian militiamen and Ottoman gendarmes. The Sasun Armenians were led by Vardan Goloshian, an Armenian revolutionary from Tiflis . The escalation of Armenian-Kurdish violence in Sasun in the early 1890s and the Ottoman intervention that culminated in the 1894 Sasun rebellion and massacre has been explained variously. Many sources view these events as
12000-449: The southern frontier of central Armenia. Sasun maintained its independence or semi-independence after the dethroning of the last Arsacid king of Armenia in 428. In the 510s, the future marzban of Armenia Mzhezh Gnuni led the Armenians of Sasun to defeat a group of raiding Huns . At some point after the Arab conquest of Armenia , Sasun came under the control of Mamikonian dynasty and
12120-468: The southwest of Sasun. They had lost their authority over some villages in Sasun to the Armenians and the Sasunlu some time before the 1890s. 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 to the north and Azerbaijan to
12240-620: The town or fortress of Sassu mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III (8th century BCE). Nicholas Adontz connects Sasun/Sanasun with Ususuani, one of the conquered lands mentioned in the inscriptions of the Urartian king Menua (9th-8th century BCE). Located in the eastern Taurus Mountains , Sasun was one of the most mountainous and inaccessible regions of historical Armenia, characterized by precipitous gorges and canyons, grassy valleys, thick forests, and river rapids. Its two main mountain ranges were
12360-630: The viceroyalty may have remained under the de facto authority of the King of Armenia. The Romans gave up rights to Aghdznikʻ to Sasanian Iran in 363 and the viceroyalty was possibly reconquered by Armenia in the 370s. Aghdznikʻ was divided between the Roman and Sasanian empires in the partition of Armenia in 387 , with most of it going it to the Sasanians. After the partition of Armenia, a line of mountain fortifications were built in Sasun, which had become
12480-532: The western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During World War I , up to 1.5 million Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian genocide . In 1918, following the Russian Revolution , all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to
12600-593: The wider goal of creating a "free, independent and unified" Armenia, although they sometimes set aside this goal in favour of a more realistic approach, such as advocating autonomy. The Ottoman Empire began to collapse, and in 1908, the Young Turk Revolution overthrew the government of Sultan Hamid. In April 1909, the Adana massacre occurred in the Adana Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire resulting in
12720-529: The world's oldest national church , as the country's primary religious establishment. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty , the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century before falling in 1045. Cilician Armenia , an Armenian principality and later a kingdom, was located on
12840-469: Was a mixed Armenian-Kurdish village, reportedly with 105 Kurdish households and 45 Armenian households. Most of the village's Armenian population was deported and died during the Armenian genocide . The settlement became the center of the Sason District in 1925. As of 2021, the population of the town was 12,696 (2021). In the local elections of March 2019 , Muzaffer Arslan was elected Mayor. He
12960-505: Was a region of historical Armenia. The region is now divided among the modern Turkish provinces of Muş , Bingöl , Bitlis , Siirt , Batman , and Diyarbakır , with the modern-day district of Sason in Batman Province encompassing only one part of historical Sasun. In antiquity, Sasun was one of the ten districts ( gawaṛ ) of the province of Aghdznikʻ (Arzanene) of the Kingdom of Armenia . Over time, Sasun came to denote
13080-404: Was a territory of the bdeashkh ( vitaxa , viceroy) of Aghdznikʻ , an office that was likely constituted during the reign of Tigranes the Great (1st century BCE) and continued to exist until the mid-5th century. It has been suggested that Sanasun formed "a tribal territory under its own chieftains" rather than a holding of the bdeashkh , but there is little evidence to support this. Although
13200-416: Was also frequently stricken by earthquakes. Sasun received very little rainfall and had poor soil for agriculture, so the population was largely dependent on their herds (mainly sheep) for survival․ Agriculture and some grape cultivation occurred on a limited scale. Although Sasun was replete with timber and deposits of iron and copper, these remained largely unexploited (except for limited local use) due to
13320-612: Was also referred to as " Wilsonian Armenia ". In addition, just days prior, on 5 August 1920, Mihran Damadian of the Armenian National Union, the de facto Armenian administration in Cilicia, declared the independence of Cilicia as an Armenian autonomous republic under French protectorate. There was even consideration of making Armenia a mandate under the protection of the United States. The treaty, however,
13440-567: Was divided up into three separate entities ( Armenian SSR , Azerbaijan SSR , and Georgian SSR ). Armenians enjoyed a period of relative stability within USSR in contrast to the turbulent final years of the Ottoman Empire. The situation was difficult for the church, which struggled with secular policies of USSR . After the death of Vladimir Lenin , Joseph Stalin , the general secretary of the Communist Party , gradually established himself as
13560-413: Was effectively governed by its own laws and was ruled by an Armenian prince ( ishkhan ) elected by a council of elders ( avagani ). Sasun's Armenians bore arms, which was forbidden under Ottoman law, produced their own weapons, and relied on nothing from the outside world. Ottoman tax collectors could not effectively work in Sasun due to its remoteness, and until 1890 Sasun Armenians paid their taxes once
13680-672: Was incorporated as a marzpanate within the Sasanian Empire . Following the Battle of Avarayr in 451, Christian Armenians maintained their religion and Armenia gained autonomy. The Sassanid Empire was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the mid 7th century, reuniting Armenian lands previously taken by the Byzantine Empire , and Armenia subsequently emerged as Arminiya , an autonomous principality under
13800-760: Was incorporated into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics as part of the Transcaucasian SFSR (TSFSR) on 4 March 1922. With this annexation, the Treaty of Alexandropol was superseded by the Turkish-Soviet Treaty of Kars . In the agreement, Turkey allowed the Soviet Union to assume control over Adjara with the port city of Batumi in return for sovereignty over the cities of Kars , Ardahan , and Iğdır , all of which were part of Russian Armenia. The TSFSR existed from 1922 to 1936, when it
13920-424: Was local Armenian resistance in the region, developed against the activities of the Ottoman Empire. The events of 1915 to 1917 are regarded by Armenians and the vast majority of Western historians to have been state-sponsored mass killings, or genocide. Turkish authorities deny the genocide took place to this day. The Armenian Genocide is acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides . According to
14040-589: Was rejected by the Turkish National Movement , and never came into effect. The movement used the treaty as the occasion to declare itself the rightful government of Turkey , replacing the monarchy based in Istanbul with a republic based in Ankara . In 1920, Turkish nationalist forces invaded the fledgling Armenian republic from the east. Turkish forces under the command of Kazım Karabekir captured Armenian territories that Russia had annexed in
14160-579: Was replaced by Mehmet Şafi Yavuz in February 2021. There are numerous ruins in the area, and also some historical water fountains, such as Sevek Çeşmesi, Nabuhan Çeşmesi, Hapyenk Çeşmesi, and Ağde Çeşmesi. There is also a türbe —a burial site of a holy man—called Şehan, which is the site of celebrations every July. The town had an Armenian church called Surp Stepanos. Sasun (historical region) Sasun or Sassoun ( Armenian : Սասուն ), also known as Sanasun or Sanasunkʻ (Armenian: Սանասունք ),
14280-594: Was ruled by the Bagratuni dynasty and lasted until 1045. In time, several areas of the Bagratid Armenia separated as independent kingdoms and principalities such as the Kingdom of Vaspurakan ruled by the House of Artsruni in the south, Kingdom of Syunik in the east, or Kingdom of Artsakh on the territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh , while still recognising the supremacy of the Bagratid kings. In 1045,
14400-472: Was taken prisoner and ransomed in exchange for a certain fortress called Tʻardzean. However, Beytemür then renewed his attack on Sasun, defeated Shahnshah and imposed a heavy tribute. In 1188, Shahnshah and his brothers Vasil and Tornik fled to the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia after being dispossessed by the Shah-Armens. King Leo II of Cilicia granted them the fortress of Seleucia . Some branches of
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