Sbaghanants Magar (Սպաղանաց Մակար)

By Vahe H, Apelian

 

This is the translation of an article I wrote in 1993. The information pieced together is from Roupen Der Minassian’s “Memoirs of an Armenian Revolutionary” and Antranig Chalabian’s “Revolutionary Figures” books.

 

I had not yet stepped into my teens when my father enrolled in the A.R.F. Badanegan Myoutium (Youth Association) whose meetings took place in an old, single level building situated on a hill. It had a balcony that overlooked the street below, but we were not permitted to get on the balcony for fear it might collapse. The building seemed to have been a one time the Middle Eastern type home for an extended family as it consisted of a large central hall, surrounded by many rooms with a common bathroom and a kitchen. In my days, it served as the A.R.F. West Beirut Community Center.

The center had its permanent resident, Vartan Shahbaz, a one-time fedayee, a freedom fighter. In his frail old age, he had found refuge in one of the rooms. But the center was a veritable beehive. Young and older adults impressed us kids, as they entered in and exited these rooms with an air of utmost determination pursuing something very important. The walls of the central hall were laden with pictures of the founders of the A.R.F, fedayees, and of the statesmen who founded the First Republic of Armenia along with others. It was in this building that we youngsters held our meetings on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons as the Armenian schools we attended held classes six days of the week but had the afternoon off on these two days of the week.

In time the stories of the events and persons we learned during our meetings took shape and form for us thanks to the pictures on the walls. But that was the case with Sbaghanats Magar. There were no pictures of him on the walls or in the books although we remained much impressed by the story we were told of the young A.R.F. Burea envoy Roupen Der Minassian resolving the conflict between him and the legendary freedom fighter Kevork Chavoush, that threatened to split the ranks of the fedayees on the Mountains of Sassoun.

A while back my father gifted me the two coffee table size volumes of A.R.F. Centennial Memorial Album edited by Hagop Manjikian, a Kessabtsi friend of his. There I came across a drawing of Sbaghanats Magar placed next to his one-time nemesis Kevork Chavoush. I cannot say that the drawing impressed me for I doubt that there will be any drawing that will do justice to my youthful image of the man who has remained etched in my memory much like the legendary Dork Angekh of our mythology. According to our eminent ancient historian Movses Khorenatsi, Dork Akegh was the great-grandson of our legendary founder and patriarch Haig, who led our ancestors to the foothills of Mount Ararat so that they might live there free of oppression from the tyrant Bel.

The reason for the serious conflict between the two great freedom fighters, Sbaghanats Magar, and Kevork Chavoush, was the latter’s secret marriage to Yeghso. By doing so Kevork Chavoush had broken an unwritten but a solemn code of honor among the ranks of the freedom fighters of not marrying. This had raised the ire of Spghanants Magar. There might have been other reasons as well we do not know. After all, surely conflicts arose at times among the ranks.

Kevork Chavoush was an undisputed leader but the person who confronted and challenged him, Spaghanats Magar, was not an ordinary freedom fighter. Magar’s reputation and influence among the ranks spread far from the mountains of Sassoun all the way to the highest A.R.F. authority, the Burea, whose members took special notice of the conflict between the two and delegated young Roupen Der Minassian to resolve the conflict. I make note of the conflict just to point out to the Spaghanats Magar’s reputation. As to how Roupen Der Minassian resolved the conflict and ended up immortalizing the event in his memoirs, is an altogether different subject that will make for a fascinating reading.

Who Was Spaghanats Magar?

Magar was the princely chief of the village Sbghank of Sasoun. Roupen Der Minassian in his memoir noted that he was “a giant of a man, a formidable person”. Roupen also noted that the people said: “ Kevork is a wolf or a tiger, but Uncle Magar is a raging bull during a combat”. And indeed, Roupen further noted in his memoir, “with large and bloody eyes, a big head, giant of a body, that fearless person, during a combat, looked neither to his left nor to his right, with a roaring voice, his hands over his dagger, he either charged forward or stood still even if hundreds of cannons exploded around him.”

Born and raised on the mountains of Sassoun, Magar should have been a true son of nature who knew neither cunningness nor considerate talk. A veritable feudal lord he must have been who was rebellious and coarse. In his own dialect and is his own way he would say, referring to the well known freedom fighters of the day. “What? Educated people like Damadian, or Kourken or Armenag, bossing me? Whether it is Arapo, Mourad, or Abro and Kevork, not even Serop, none of them is worth more than Magar”. For the princely Magar, the most any one of the famed combatants could have been was as his comrade-in-arms.

When did Spagahanats Magar become a fedayee?

For all indications, Magar espoused the cause when the ringing of the liberty reached the mountains of Sassoun Having accepted the call to fight for freedom Magar remained faithful to the unwritten freedom fighters’ code and did not marry to form a family of his own. He became the comrade in arms of the famous fedayees such as Serop Aghpuyr, Kevork Chavoush, Hriair, Antanig, Mourad, Damadian and almost anyone who took any leadership role on the mountains of Sassoun. All of his comrades-in-arms had a picture that helped them secure their rightful places in the annals of our freedom fighting history, but not Spaghanats Magar. Even his one-time nemesis, Kevork Chavoush, had his only snap-shot that has survived to this day, taken by Vahan Papazian on the Island of Aghtamar where the fedayees had convened. No picture of Magar has reached us and since my youth he has remained etched in my memory much like another Dork Ankegh.

Why did Magar decide to become a freedom fighter?

Shenegi Manoug was Magar’s comrade-in-arm. Fate would have them both killed during the same fight. I will allude to that later on. One day Roupen Der Minassian asked Shenegi Manoug why did he become a fedayee for he came from a well to do family as well?

Shenegi Manoug responded saying  “when people go atop Mount Maratouk or to Saint Garabed for pilgrimage, they do not choose the sickly animal as offering for sacrifice. That would not be acceptable to the Saint. People chose the best among the animals for sacrificing so that the purpose of the pilgrimage would be fulfilled. Our god is the freedom of the Armenians. Well-to-do and wealthy Armenians should be among the first offering to the sacrificial cause”.

We will never know the reason that drove the princely chief of the Sbghang to become a fedayee. But the fact is that he became one at a great personal sacrifice and went down in history having not an even a snap shot of him and without a family of his own..

What combats did Spghanats Magar take part?

I have pieced together the following, surely not all:

·                 Under Antranig’s leadership, in the assassination of the person, with his entire family, who treacherously had the legendary freedom fighter Serop Aghpuyr poisoned and rendered incapable to defend himself.

·                 In the defense of Sbghank when the Kurdish Khalil Bey attacked the village.

·                 In the ambushing the convoy and beheading of the same Khalil Bey under Antranig’s leadership.

·                 In the defense of Sassoun villages Dalvorig, Andog, Tsovasar between 1890-93.

·                 During the 1904 second revolt of Sassoun.

·                 In the combats in Daron and Vaspouragan during 1904-1908.

In all these combats Spaghanants Magar had assumed a leadership role. It might not be farfetched to claim that he took part in almost all combats in the Daron and Sassoun region from 1890 to his death in 1907.

For all indications he was illiterate, that is to say, he did not know how to read and write, which was unusual at the time on the Armenian Highlands. He appeared not to be a modest man for he did not shy away from claiming, if not boasting of the role that he thought rightfully belonged to him and to his village. In his own way, he would say. “ The whole nation looks up to Sassoun and Sassoun is the soul of the nation and the soul of Sassoun is Sbghank.” He would go on claiming that more than any other village of Sassoun  “it was Sbghank and Uncle Magar” who hosted and backed the fedayees in their times of need, for which they ended up paying a hefty price.

How was he killed?

After the martyrdom of Kevork Chaoush during the combat with Ottoman forces that came to be known in our history as the Battle of Soulukh, Spghanants Magar and Roupen Der Minassian became de facto leaders of the fedayees. It was during that time word reached them that Kevork Chavoush’s son Vartkes and wife Yeghso are in danger.

Spaghanats Magar and Shenegi Manoug took upon themselves to move the family to a secure place. But the enemy tracked them down. Spaghanats Magar had Varktes left behind to trusted hands saying “he is a kid, he might survive”, But he retained Yeghso under his protection saying that “Yeghso is honor, she should not be captured by the enemy.”

Spaghanats Magar had now assumed the safety of the woman whose marriage to Kevork Chavoush had raised his ire and caused serious conflict within the ranks. During ensuing combat, Shenegi Manoug and Spaghanats Magar were killed becaming two other sacrificial rams on the altar for freedom.