Written by Gevork Nazaryan
he great city of Ani is very dear to my heart, for my forefathers were
from the great city of Ani, one of the last families to leave Ani, was
the family of Nazar Nazaruni in the year 1475 A.D. The Nazaruni family
later on branched out and formed the populous family of Nazarians who
were spread all over Eastern Armenia, Western Armenia and as well as
Cilician Armenia. Some branches of the family even established
themselves in parts such as Artsakh ( The ShahNazaryan Noble House)
forming one of the five prominent noble houses of Artsakh. Others such
as GyulNazaryans established themselves in the famous merchant city of
Jugha, in Nakhichevan province of Eastern Armenia and were very famous
and were very close with the Persian Shahs, some late on moved to New
Jugha deep in Iran. Another famous branch of Nazaryan family were the
Lazaryans( Ghazaryan, Nazaryan), who established themselves in Moscow,
and were granted and recognized as one of the prominent noble houses of
Russian Empire. They did much for the Armenian community in Russia, by
building schools churches and universities which became important
Armenian spiritual and as well as educational centers of the early XIX
th century. Nazaryan family was famous for its active role in trade and
merchant business, names such as Nazar the mayor of Jugha and Manuk the
treasurer of Jugha, sons of Nazar Nazaruni established themselves in
Persian royal court and were respected throughout the region by the
people of the province of Goghtan in Eastern Armenia, it is from this
branch that my ancestry of the Nazaryan family derives, who in the XVIII
th and XIX th century moved to Ayntap and Kilis in Cilician Armenia,
where they lived until the early twenties of the XX th century when the
Turks launched a massive offensive against the Armenians of Cilicia to
"finish" the job of annihilation and ethnic cleansing of last Armenian
Bastion, Cilician Armenia. One of the heroic self-defense battles that
took place from 1920-21, was the heroic Battle of Ayntap, which lasted for a total of three hundred and fourteen days. The
Turks thought that when the French troops pull out of Cilicia, The
Armenian population would leave with it. They were wrong. Many of the
Armenians served in the French Foreign Legion, in the Armenian Legion (
Eastern Legion) the memories of the Armenian Genocide of 1915, where
most of their relatives were slaughtered were still fresh in their minds
and they full of hatred and antipathy toward the Turks, the Armenians of
Ayntap as well as other Cilician cities decided to die fighting rather
then surrender or leave their ancestral homeland. A fighting unit of
only 750 men was organized most of whom were experienced fighters and
had previously served in the Foreign Legion and as well as local militia
was formed and the major entries to the city were barricaded. The small
Armenian force had to fight enormous odds and stood against a Turkish
Army. Just as Armenians crushed one of the best Turkish Armies in
Sardarapat ( The "Galibolu" Army) so did the Ayntaptsis fought "battle
hardened" (and their hands bloodied with Armenian innocent victims blood) Turks of the Armenian Genocide (
after the Turks themselves admitted that they preferred to fight
defenseless women and children then Armenians in arms)yet incompetent
soldiers under weak leadership of Turkish officers. Many members of my
family participated in the fighting, my grandmother was wounded while
rushing ammunition and food to her brother on the barricades. The
Ayntaptsis did held out until they were asked by the temporary
government of Cilician Armenian to leave Ayntap, after many of the
Cilician cities fell to large Turkish Armies who paid a high price by
loosing thousands of men in their conquest of Cilicia. Ayntaptsi and
Kilistsi families of Nazaryan family along with their compatriots left
Ayntap and fought their way through to Syria, where they settled in
the Syrian border town of Azaz. In 1946 in the wake of the Great
Repatriation, my grandfather Hakop Nazaryan with his wife Ovsanna and
five sons, Andranik, Gevork, Grigor, Parkev ( my father) and Arsen (Sarkis' father) and
their sister Alice repatriated to Soviet Armenia. Thus the circle of
Nazaryan family was completed. The Great city of Ani and Eastern Armenia
were once home to my ancestors starting from Nazar Nazaruni of Ani and
Nazaryans of the province of Goghtan and Artsakh and even branching out and establishing themselves in New Jugha and
Isphahan in Iran.
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Ani Ancestral City: Nazar Nazaruni forefather of the Nazaryan Family |
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_____________________________________________________ Web Page/Graphics by Sarvue Illustrations www.oocities.org (mirror site of Armenia Ani) |
