Missak Kouyumjian (born September 8, 1877 Caesarea

Kayseri

Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...

, Ottoman Turkey - died September 13, 1913 Adana

Adana

Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...

, Ottoman Turkey), better known by his pen name Arandzar (in Armenian

Armenian language

The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...

 Առանձար), is a famed Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 short story writer, poet, and principal.

Biography

Arandzar received his education at the prestigious Sanasarian Academy in Garin (known as Erzurum

Erzurum

Erzurum is a city in Turkey. It is the largest city, the capital of Erzurum Province. The city is situated 1757 meters above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 361,235 in the 2000 census. .Erzurum, known as "The Rock" in NATO code, served as NATO's southeastern-most air force post during the...

). He then went to Europe and studied at the University of Zurich

University of Zurich

The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....

 in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. He moved to Alexandria, Egypt where he became the principal of the Armenian National School there. After the Young Turk Revolution

Young Turk Revolution

The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...

 in 1908, he moved to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 but shortly thereafter was sent to Adana to be the principal of the Armenian school there. He died there on September 13, 1913 at the age of 36.

Writings

His short stories first appeared in 1903 in the Tiflis-based periodical Murch (Hammer). He then had his work Vishti Tzitsagh (The Humor of Anger) fully published in 1905 followed by the publication of his drama Prgitchner (Saviors). His writings were centered upon the oppression and plight of the Armenian people under the tyranny of the Ottoman Empire. Arandzar's Gakhaghutiun...Minchev Amusnutiun (From the Gallows to the Wedding) contains one of the earliest references in international fiction to the technological advancement that would be put to the use in order to scientifically and technologically improve the organizational aspect of mass slaughter. This was something he believed will eventually happen to the Armenian people.

External Links

• Arandzar - A First in World Literature? by Eddie Arnavoudian