Aram Manoukian: Revolutionary, National Hero

Manoukian, considered the founding father of the first Republic of Armenia, was born in 1879 in the village of Zeyva (modern day Davit-Bek) in Ghapan. He joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation at an early age and in 1903 became involved in the ARF-led defense of Gandzak and Kars. Between 1912 and 1915, Manoukian lived in Van as an ARF activist, teaching at schools, writing in the press, and encouraging Armenian youth to organize. When World War I broke out in 1915, he led the successful “Resista