Bedros Parian (Armenian: Պետրոս Փարեան; 1873 – 26 August 1896), better known by his nom de guerre Papken Siuni (Բաբգէն Սիւնի), was an Armenian revolutionary and a leading figure in the late 19th-century Armenian national movement. A member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF),[1] he co-led the 1896 Ottoman Bank takeover, a seminal event aimed at internationalizing the Armenian Question amid the Hamidian massacres. His death during the operation cemented his status as a martyr in Armenian history.
Papken Siuni | |
|---|---|
 Papken Siuni, c. 1890s | |
| Native name | Բաբգէն Սիւնի |
| Born | 1873 Pingian, Harput Vilayet, Ottoman Empire (now Adatepe, Turkey) |
| Died | 26 August 1896 (aged 22–23) Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey) |
| Years of service | ?–1896 |
| Known for | 1896 Ottoman Bank takeover |
| Battles / wars | Armenian National Liberation Movement |
Early life and education
editBedros Parian was born in 1873 in the village of Pingian (modern-day Adatepe), near Akn in the Harput Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. His family belonged to the Armenian peasantry, though they traced their lineage to the medieval Artsakh nobility.[2] The region's Armenian population faced systemic discrimination under Ottoman rule, including heavy taxation and periodic violence.[3]
In 1887, Parian moved to Constantinople to attend the Getronagan Armenian High School, a hub for Armenian intellectual and nationalist thought.[4] There, he joined clandestine student circles influenced by the Armenian Enlightenment and the writings of Mkrtich Khrimian. His teachers included prominent intellectuals like Reteos Berberian, who emphasized Armenian cultural revival.[5]
Revolutionary career
editEarly activism
editParian adopted the pseudonym "Siuni" in homage to Syunik, a historic Armenian region known for resistance against foreign rule. By 1890, he co-founded the underground group Syunik, which merged with the ARF in 1893.[6] The ARF, founded in 1890, sought to unify Armenian resistance through armed struggle and diplomatic appeals to European powers.[7]
Hamidian massacres and radicalization
editThe Hamidian massacres (1894–1896) devastated Armenian communities, claiming over 100,000 lives.[8] Parian's parents were killed during massacres in Harput, a trauma that radicalized him.[2] In 1895, he relocated to Constantinople, where he organized ARF cells and distributed anti-Ottoman literature. Disguised as a porter, he evaded Ottoman authorities while smuggling weapons.[9]
Ottoman Bank takeover
editPlanning and objectives
editIn early 1896, ARF leaders, including Christapor Mikaelian, approved Siuni's proposal to seize the Ottoman Bank, a financial hub for European investors. The operation aimed to force European intervention by threatening economic interests.[10] Siuni and Karekin Pastermadjian (Armen Garo) recruited 28 militants, including students and artisans, and stockpiled grenades and Mauser pistols.[11]
The attack
editOn 26 August 1896, the group stormed the bank, taking 150 hostages.[12] Siuni carried explosives under a traditional Armenian vest (arkhalig). During the initial assault, a stray bullet detonated a grenade, killing him instantly.[5][13] Despite his death, the militants held the bank for 14 hours, demanding European oversight for Armenian reforms.[14]
Aftermath
editFrench and Russian diplomats negotiated the militants' safe passage to Marseille. While the takeover drew global headlines, European powers took no concrete action, emboldening Ottoman reprisals.[15] Over 6,000 Armenians in Constantinople were massacred in retaliation.[16][17]
Legacy
editPapken Siuni became a symbol of Armenian resistance. The ARF eulogized him as a "martyr of the nation," and his portrait circulated widely in Armenian diaspora communities.[18] In 2016, a memorial plaque was installed near the Ottoman Bank building (now the Istanbul Museum of the History of Science and Technology in Islam).[19]
Historians debate the takeover's efficacy. While some argue it raised international awareness,[20] others criticize it for provoking further violence.[a][23] Nevertheless, Siuni's tactics influenced later ARF operations, including the 1904 Sasun uprising.[24]
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Taner Akçam argues that such operations inadvertently justified Ottoman claims of Armenian "sedition," escalating state violence.[21] In his memoirs, Karekin Pastermadjian, a planner of the takeover, wrote that international indifference left no peaceful alternatives.[22][failed verification]
References
edit- ^ Guarch, G. H. (10 June 2022). The Armenian Testament: The definitive work on a highly topical subject, written by Shalom Seferad. Editorial Almuzara. ISBN 978-84-1131-157-1.
- ^ a b Nersisyan 1996, p. 71.
- ^ Suny 2015, p. 64.
- ^ Walker 1990, p. 132.
- ^ a b Berberian 2014.
- ^ Hoffmann 2016, p. 48.
- ^ Pasdermadjian 1918, p. 22.
- ^ Kévorkian 2011, p. 52.
- ^ Hoffmann 2016, p. 50.
- ^ Suny 2015, p. 88.
- ^ Hoffmann 2016, p. 53.
- ^ Morris, Benny; Ze'evi, Dror (24 April 2019). The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey's Destruction of Its Christian Minorities, 1894–1924. Harvard University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-674-91645-6.
- ^ Dadrian, Vahakn N. (2003). The History of the Armenian Genocide: Ethnic Conflict from the Balkans to Anatolia to the Caucasus. Berghahn Books. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-57181-666-5.
- ^ Walker 1990, p. 134.
- ^ Kévorkian 2011, p. 54.
- ^ Suny 2015, p. 89.
- ^ Suny, Ronald Grigor (22 May 1993). Looking Toward Ararat: Armenia in Modern History. Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-20773-9.
- ^ Pasdermadjian 1918, p. 45.
- ^ Hoffmann 2016, p. 67.
- ^ Walker 1990, p. 135.
- ^ Akçam 2007, p. 118.
- ^ Pasdermadjian 1918, p. 33.
- ^ Suny 2015, p. 90.
- ^ Hoffmann 2016, pp. 45–68.
Bibliography
edit- Nersisyan, A. (1996). "Babken Syuni". In Khudaverdyan, Kostandin (ed.). Հայկական Հարցի Հանրագիտարան [Encyclopedia of the Armenian Question] (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing. p. 71.
- Kévorkian, Raymond (2011). The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. London: Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780857730206.
- Suny, Ronald Grigor (2015). The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. London: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0-6911-4730-7.
- Walker, Christopher J. (1990). Armenia: The Survival of a Nation. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-0-312-04230-1.
- Hoffmann, Tessa (2016). "The 1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover: A Reassessment". Armenian Review. 57 (1–2): 45–68.
- Pasdermadjian, Garegin (1918). Why Armenia Should Be Free. Boston: Hairenik Publishing.
- Berberian, Nazaret (14 August 2014). "118 տարի առաջ Պանք Օթոմանը գրաւած էր Դաշնակցութեան կոմիտէն". Horizon Weekly (in Armenian).
- Akçam, Taner (2007). A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide and the Question of Turkish Responsibility. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 978-0-8050-7932-6.