Khanasor Expedition

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Khanasor Expedition


caption=
date=July 25 to July 27, 1897
place=Plain of Khanasor
result=Armenian victory, Mazrik tribe's influence on the region nulified.
combatant1=Kurds of Khanasor.
combatant2=Armenian Revolutionary Federation, assisted by the Hunchak and Armenakan.
commander1=Sharaf Beg
commander2="Khanasora" Vartan Mehrapanian, Nigol Douman and Ishkhan Arghoutian
strength1=The entire tribe
strength2=250 fedayees
casualties1=Most of the men of the tribe
casualties2=26 including Garo (brother of Stepan Zorian), "Khan" and Arisdages Zorian|

Khanasor Expedition (Armenian: _hy. Խանասորի Արշաւանքը) was performed by the Armenian militia against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe on July 25, 1897. In 1896, during the Defense of Van, the Ottoman-hired Mazrik tribe ambushed a squad of Armenian defenders and mercilessly slaughtered them. The Khanasor Expedition was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation's decision to retaliate.

Event

Merely a year after the events of the Ottoman Bank takeover, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation decided to retaliate and "punish" the Kurdish Mazrik tribe for their role in the Hamidian massacres and their ambush on the defenders of Van. The Mazrik tribe were settled in the fields of Khanasor, near Avarayr. The ARF, with the support of the Hunchakians and the Armenakans, organized an attack on the tribe. The operation was the brainchild of Nigol Douman alongside "Khanasora" Vartan Mehrpanian and Ishkhan Arghoutian, all of whom participated as commanders of the operation. On July 25, 1897, at dawn, 150 fedayees attacked the Mazrik tribe, killing all the men and sparing only the women and children. Mazrik commander Sharaf Beg managed to escape through the darkness. The attack ended on July 27, 1897.

Results

Although ARF founder Rosdom's brother Garo and 25 other fedayees were among the casualties, the Khanasor expedition was a small triumph for the Armenians, militarily and morally. As a result, Armenians built up their self-confidence; their belief in their ability to defend themselves was now reinforced. To this day, the ARF remembers the event in commemorative ceremonies honouring the expedition as an important event in the history of the Armenian struggle for freedom.

References

* Translated and NPOVed from the Armenian: Mihran Kurdoghlian, Badmoutioun Hayots, C. hador [Armenian History, volume III] , Athens, Greece, 1996, pg. 45-46.

ee also

*Armenian rebellions in the Ottoman Empire